It happens all the time.

You have to declare in the sale what items are included with the purchase, they are called chattels.

Technically nothing is included, although most people will leave the stove and fridge, maybe even the washer and dryer. But sometimes that doesn’t happen. If you buy from someone who rents properties they could be taking all the appliances to put into another home.

Or maybe someone has the perfect washer and dryer and they want to take them to the new home.

Not considering what you think is included could lead to thousands of dollars in new appliances, money you probably don’t want to spend after buying a home.

Double check your chattels, it’ll save you time and money.

You could: a) Do what the families say.

This would mean removal of life support measures without consent constitutes battery. (However, any interference with the body without consent is battery.)

- the law is also obsessed with the autonomy of the individual. The needs of the family is largely irrelevant within the legal model.

Another scenario b) Do what the doctors say.

- But a point to make, courts should not interfere in end of life decision making.

- Specifically, in the US withdrawal of treatment is the traditional malpractice test, which measures physician actions against standards of medical care.

- Keep in mind though, critical care medicine is a complex area. Neither family members nor the courts have the medical knowledge to know understand conditions. For example, a family member may be optimistic if a patient squeezes their hand. The family member may not realize that this is simply a reflexive action and does not indicate any kind of meaningful brain function. As well, a family member may not be able to realize that the patient is in pain. Conversely, health care providers are sensitize to subtle signs of pain such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. Great deference should be granted to the health care providers. The judgement of family members is clouded by their emotional involvement, making it difficult for them to make a rational choice.

- The physician owes a duty of care to the patient, and not to the patient’s family. The wishes of the family should be taken into account, but their approval is not required.

-there is the argument that the withdrawal of care, even without consent, does not constitute battery. There is authority to support the proposition that battery only applies to positive acts; and that refraining from intervening does not constitute battery. Traditionally the courts have stated that a decision not to provide treatment is exclusively within the purview of the doctor and is not a decision to be made by the courts.

Or how about position c) Do what the courts say.

-The courtroom with its legal absolutes is not the right place to decide end of life matters. There is a dichotomy between the legal perspective and the lived experience of those involved with an end of life decision.
-there is a role for the courts to play in end of life decision making.

- Complete deference to health care providers is inappropriate. Sometimes doctors do make mistakes. That is why there is such a thing as medical negligence.

-in the UK, court approval is required before treatment can be withdrawn from a patient in a permanent vegetative state.

- While courts do not have any expertise in making medical decisions, they do have expertise in resolving factual disputes and in making legal decisions. The very suggestion that there is such a thing as medical negligence does raise the fact that doctors can, and on occasion do make mistakes.

So those are three broad overviews of three separate situations that could take effect in the decision making process for health care with someone who is critically ill.

There are certain times when you may seek counsel from a general practice attorney, or someone in a different specialization, but I would recommend keeping that consult as just that–consultation on what to do next. Be it insurance, real estate, traffic, family, estate planning, everything you need pretty much, there’s going to be specialized help.

For good reason too, law is not exactly a subject you can master, especially if you stretch beyond one or a few specializations. The intricacies of every discipline are all the more reasons to select someone who’s done more than scratch the surface of basic law in a particular area.

Experience matters, pay attention, and increase the chances of a positive outcome for your issue.

Below are seven ways lawyers and other professional service companies are branding their business online.

1. Create a company blog and post relevant articles to it at least twice a week. Blogs offer the perfect opportunity to establish a company as an expert on relevant subject matter. The other good news about blogs is that they rank higher than websites because they are updated more frequently. Search engine optimization (SEO) experts recommend blogs for promoting a business.

2. Create a digital community for different client niches that are hard to communicate with otherwise. By creatng a digital meeting place for blogs, job postings and forums, a company can offer expert advise and gently promote the company image while establishing the company as a helpful problem-solver and building trust.

3. Maintain a first-rate website. Keep the website up to date. Prospective clients will judge your company by its website. It is a good idea to update your website completely every two years. Post company events and awards that show-ff the firm as an accomplished leader in the industry.

4. Utilize social media as a vehicle for communicating about company events and to promote the company brand. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are three of the best tools to use. Foursquare is a new social media tool that is gaining ground as the newest member of the pack.

5. Be creative and make a video. What makes video so special is that they have the ability to go viral over the Internet. Videos are superior for creating traffic. Many companies rely heavily on videos to boost their rankings on Google.

6. Broadcast brand information as often as possible using press release broadcasts via email. Use press release to announce company promotions, company awards and achievements.

7. Use carefully designed email campaigns to keep in front of old clients and to engage prospective new clients. Email campaigns have proven to play an important role in Internet marketing.

For many professional service companies, the size and age of the company combined with a prestigious client list served to promote business relationships in the past. While “wining and dining” potential clients the “old-fashioned” way has not been replaced, using online techniques designed to get faster results and provide a forum for promoting “brand” are being used to complement traditional business development methods. Progressive service companies see the writing on the wall and embrace online branding strategies as a way to differentiate their firm from the competition and reap the benefits of promoting a positive image.

Author Bio: Ethan Wayne writes for NSB Civil Rights, the law firm popularized by attorney and partner Barry Scheck in the film Conviction (2010).

I should just publish now….OK, here are a few additional tips.

First off the best way to at least get acquainted with the right attorney is to operate on recommendation.

That would be a recommendation and referral from someone you trust.

After that use common sense, do your due diligence. THere are a lot of ways to check out the lawyer in question. Look online for peer and client reviews. You can also check if there are issues against the lawyer at the bar level.

Following that you want to use another piece of common sense. Your particular need should fall into a category of expertise for the particular lawyer. Don’t get a real estate lawyer to handle your divorce and vice versa. Although some lawyers can be ‘jack of all trades’ the reality is that lawyer may be good at many things kind of well and expert in nothing.

Lastly, commons sense, call your lawyer and chat about their experience, the way they handle cases, and discuss your case with them. If you don’t feel comfortable with your selection remember the saying, “attorneys are a dime a dozen”. Although they don’t really cost a dime, you can find another one with ease.

The results? There’s good news for bankruptcy lawyers, there’s still plenty of work to be had. The bad news which is also laced with good news, bankruptcy numbers are still very high, but some filings show signs of slowing down.

The following stats and graphs were compiled by San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney CC Legal.

Chapter 13 bankruptcies, where debtors by an large can keep some assets like their homes, were up across the state. It is essentially a form of debt consolidation where the court supervised repayment attempts to prevent a foreclosure in hopes the debtor can repay debts. Unfortunately Chapter 13 claims remain on credit reports for 10 years rather than 5 like Chapter 7.

California saw some cities decline in Chapter 7 filings, but the average claim was higher than the previous quarter, and in fact another all-time high in the state of California.

Chapter 7 on the other hand witnesses a decline quarter over quarter. This is the first time a decline in quarter to quarter bankruptcy claims has been observed in almost 5 years.

With a double dip recession here in September, the question is whether this data will continue to decline/slow or whether California will experience another downturn. We’d see evidence of the effects of a double dip recession in the beginning of 2012 (although the results prior would be indicative of tough economic times.)

It’s pretty clear, not much has changed, and although some numbers are down suggesting more people are staying afloat in tough economic times, the number of bankruptcy filings are still around record setting numbers. THat’s good news in a way for bankruptcy lawyers, and bad news for everyone else.

Data from RAND California.

The Elements of a Negligence Action -the plaintiff usually has the burden of proving the first five, while the defendant has the burden of proving the sixth.

1. Duty of Care (limiting step) – there are policy considerations that can lead to the finding and non finding of a duty of care; this duty of care exists when it is reasonably foreseeable that your actions will have an effect on another person.

2. Standard of Care and its Breach – in most (but not all) negligence actions, the standard of care is the reasonable person standard .

3. Causation – has the breach of the duty of care caused an injury to the plaintiff? But for the breach of the duty of care, would the injury have occurred?

4. Remoteness of Damages (limiting step) – also called legal causation; if the damages are found to be too remote from the breach of the standard of care, then the plaintiff will not win the case.

5. Actual Loss – without loss, the plaintiff will not be successful (as opposed to intentional torts)

6. Defences – voluntary assumption of risk, illegality

It goes without saying, nowadays there are fewer and fewer people retiring with a mound of cash. Some of our elderly folks need to work well into their seventies, and even then they’ll end up racking up debt to stay afloat.

In a will a Executor is appointed over the estate to divvy everything up. But what happens when you have more debts than assets?

Well because wills are essentially gifts in kind you can’t really end up with a loss. Imagine that, grandma gives you her VISA bill for Christmas…… That’s not a gift. (That’s a hilarious grandma but not a Christmas gift, at least not in our house).

What will happen if there are debts against the estate is those creditors will be offered a pro rated share of the estate, and the remainder given to the beneficiaries. If the estate can’t cover debts, the estate would declare bankruptcy, but the Executor (recipients in the will) are never on the hook for the debts of someone else.

So go ahead, rack up your credit card bills before you die, nobody will have to pay…..Nah, just kidding, that’s terrible.

It can amount to a lot of cash tomorrow, but generally this is the only way one can afford representation.

Although remember, you do’nt pay a premium to have an attorney work on contingent basis, there’s no penalty for not paying as expenses come up. In the end, you’d probably end up getting more money having adequate representation than trying to go about receiving compensation on your own.

That means the following concern should happen less in our digital age.

My attorney for 2 years has done nothing that I understand. I drive 80 miles one way for a meeting and we discuss options/strategies then I leave (after she charges 400.00) and she does not follow thru. The first year she did a great job but now the attorney spills her personal info about her own troubles. The type of battle I hired her is for a custody case where the father has been found in contempt, found to be lying to counselor about child. My attorney has stopped returning my calls or emails or texts and I think its because I told her I am broke (43,000 spent so far) I asked for a copy of my parenting plan and what does her office send – Counselor’s notes – I think I need to cut my losses and get another attorney.

Although attorney’s work for you, you do’nt have to put up with their personal life. It’s not a time for them to bruden you with their personal problems. After all you’re paying them top dollar to do a job for you in a professional and timely manner.

If the attorney you contact can’t return your calls at initial contact then what makes you think they’ll talk to you when you’re a client? Same goes for attorneys that no longer return calls. Cut you losses and move on, find someone who will do a more professional job.