posted by kennyb on Oct 11
It can be tough to get an appointment and very expensive to see a lawyer to get the legal information you need. Whether you need information on prepaid legal services, law firms, legal aid (if you need finnacial assistance), family law for a divorce or something else you might be going through, criminal law, legal wills, personal injury attorneys, and so, on, this site can point you in the right direction.
Here are some explanations of what these kinds of legal terms :
- Prepaid Legal is a nifty way to prepare yourself for unexpected legal needs. Consultation and legal advice may take only a few hours, but add up to several thousands of dollars if you’re not careful. Prepaid legal will assure you of legal advice within your budget, as well as for other legal matters, such as when you need contracts reviewed or drawn up. This service, which will soon be available in other parts of North America, comes in various plans you can choose from.
- Law Firms are companies that offer legal services and assistance. Composed, of course, by lawyers, these law firms assist their clients by advising them about their responsibilities and rights, represent them in court and attend to financial matters and business transactions. Larger law firms are quite diverse, while smaller companies may have specific concentrations.
- Legal Aid is provided by the US government to individuals who are not able to afford a lawyer or legal assistance. This is possible by two systems. Some legal aid centers have what is known as staff attorneys, who are employed to advise and represent clients with low-range incomes, while some firms are paid by the government to handle a number of these pro bono cases.
- Family Law is a branch of law that deals with all issues concerning marriage and the family, from legalizing marital unions – same sex and common law marriages as well as regular ones – to the dissolution of these unions and concerns, financial or otherwise, that would arise out of these separations. Extreme cases such as spousal abuse and violence, and child abuse fall under family law.
- Criminal Law is defined by different criminal actions and their corresponding penalties, punishments and corrective rehabilitation. Arrests, trials and sentencing of accused criminals are governed by Criminal Law. Examples of crimes are murder and manslaughter, robbery, theft and burglary, rape, kidnapping, arson, theft, obstruction of justice, assault, among many others. Defenses made for crimes include insanity, provocation, intoxication, duress and self defense.
- Legal advice is counsel given by lawyers to clients, technically an opinion made by the lawyer regarding how particular laws apply to real life cases. Legal advice is normally administered with an accompanying fee, in some cases with compensation other than monetary, or given free as pro bono publico. Because lawyers may not give legal advice without proper licensing, as is the case in most countries, legal advice, though an opinion of the lawyer, is considered to be formal and binding.
- Common law is a system of laws that were created based on actual experiences within a courtroom and the actions taken, when there is no applicable written law that exists prior to the case. Thus collectively establishing new procedures, called the precedent, which the court adopts as a new law and used when trying future cases with similar situations. These common laws are not universal, and may only be used depending on a particular jurisdiction where it was determined.
- Legal wills are documents drawn up by an individual that gives or denies authority to that individual’s property after his passing among the people who share a relationship with him. Wills are not required legally to be drafted with the aid of a lawyer, although it is highly recommended, especially when many contestations of the will arise. Also, there must be at least two disinterested witnesses present when a will is signed.
- Divorce law is a specialized branch of family law, developed due to the rising number of divorce cases in the country and the ensuing issues related to the termination of marriage, including child custody, alimony, and division of property. The terms of a divorce are therefore determined legally, taking into consideration any existing pre-nuptial agreements.
- Law forms are found in abundance online in today’s digital age, and may be downloaded for free or with a minimal fee. Examples of law forms include court forms, which differ according to which state you live in, tax forms, corporate and business forms and contracts, including licenses and agreements, bankruptcy, eviction, marriage and divorce forms.
- Personal injury attorneys are lawyers who handle cases of victims of personal injury, qualified by the negligence or offense made by an individual, a corporation, or other system. These include actual physical injury, but also defamation, slander, libel, false arrest and invasion of privacy. Personal injury attorneys specialize in what are called “tort laws,” and handle work injuries, car and work accidents, medical malpractices, among others.