TLC's Paralegal Information BLOG

Grandparents’ Rights 2009 Book

2009-08-19T11:56:00.001-04:00

I highly recommend this e-book Grandparents' Rights 2009 for grandparents who have these questions.

Are you having difficulties visiting with your grandchildren?
Do you have a grandchild who is being treated poorly or even abused? Do you know your legal rights as a Grandparent?

In every state, grandparents NOW have the right to ask for visitation or custody. Enough research has been gathered over the years to prove that children NEED their grandparents and have problems as they grow up if this Grandparent-Grandchild relationship is interfered with. Judges have learned to take seriously the "best-interests-of-the-child" concept. This has opened the door for Grandparents to help their grandchildren.

With the number of divorces escalating at a frightening rate, more grandparents are experiencing serious problems involving their grandchildren.
~ You may have difficulty seeing them on a steady basis or you may have been denied visits altogether.

~ You may suspect or even know that they are neglected and possibly abused.

~ You may have found that they are being "warehoused" in daycare.

~ It is not uncommon for grandchildren to have been "given" to the other Grandparents and maybe necessary to go to court to help their grandchildren. This report is designed to let grandparents know their legal rights.

What options do they have concerning their grandchildren?

Click here to get the information you have been looking for! Grandparents' Rights 2009

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10 Things to Ponder while Starting a Paralegal Business

2009-07-11T18:05:00.001-04:00

Review your current software programs and determine which programs are suitable and necessary for your business
Hire a professional to design your new business resume and cover letter
Decide on the name of your business and whether to file an LLC or S Corp or keeping it simple as a sole proprietor
Design letterhead and business cards
Register your business in your county and State. Many of the state websites will have the information for you.
Purchase office equipment. You will definitely need a telephone, fax machine, desktop computer, copy machine, desk, comfortable chair, locking filing cabinets
Write a business plan. Go to the SBA.gov website for help with this. It is not a hard thing to do, but it does take time and a lot of thought
Create and send sales letters and brochures to available attorneys and businesses in your surrounding area in the county in which you live
Join local paralegal associations and be sure to mark your calendar to attend the monthly luncheons and any special committee meetings. By doing this, you will gain a network of people for your business contacts and get your foot in the door to new clients
Place ads on Craigslist.com and local newspapers and yellowpages

A more detailed blog will provide a breakdown of each and every point in the above list by separate blog entries. They will provide information that I have accumulated in order to do the entire checklist of the 10 Things to Ponder while Starting a Paralegal Business. These points are my opinion only and I am sharing them with you so that you do not have to reinvent the wheel when you make your decision to work from home.

What is a Notary allowed to do?

2009-07-02T12:07:00.001-04:00

Notaries are "ministerial" officials who are required to follow a lengthy set of oath instructions and understand state Notary Laws. The definition of a notary's job is: to identify document signers, complete certificates and follow instructions. It is the execution of these responsibilities, with the multiplicity of ID's, Forms and procedures that require a Properly Trained and Professional Notary. The notary's two basic job functions are to witness or verify the signing of documents. Notaries are also authorized to administer oaths when they are required by notarizing text, committing the signer, signatures and certificates. A false statement made to a Notary, under Oath, is Perjury; exactly the same as a false statement made under Oath in a Court of Law. Notarization is serious legal business.

Some of the usual and customary notarial functions include:

Administering Oaths and Affirmations.
Taking Affidavits and Depositions.
Receiving and certifying Acknowledgments or proof of such written instruments as Deeds, Mortgages, and Powers of Attorney.
Demanding acceptance or payment of foreign inland Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes and Obligations in Writing, and protesting the same for nonpayment.
Copy Certifications.

A notary is not responsible for verifying truth or accuracy of the contents of a document. A notary does not make documents Legal, Official or Validated. A document with errors or discrepancies prior to notarization will contain the same errors if notarized. In the process of performing their job functions, notaries try to prevent fraud, and compel truthfulness.

Oaths are verbal pledges to a Supreme Being with a legal purpose that a person will attest faithfully and truthfully Oaths must be given in person, and may be administered any time, day or night. Notaries may give any oath required by state law, including oaths of office to public officials. A notary "administers" or "gives" an oath. The person who "takes" an oath or "swears to it" is called a constituent.

An affirmation is an act in which a notary certifies that a person made a voluntary vow in the presence of a notary under the penalty of perjury. There is no reference to a Supreme Being in an affirmation. It is a solemn declaration made by a constituent who declines to take an oath for religious reasons or conscientious scruples.

In taking a verification upon oath, or affirmation for an affidavit, deposition or other sworn document, the notary must execute a Jurat. The purpose of a Jurat is to compel truthfulness. The notary appeals to the signer's conscience and requires him/her to swear to the truthfulness of the document's content under criminal penalties for perjury. Sometimes a Jurat (Latin for oath) is executed without reference to a document, as with the oath of office given to a public official.

An affidavit is a written statement signed by a person who asserts it to be true and makes the assertion upon oath or affirmation. It is a declaration reduced to writing, signed by the affiant (the person making an affidavit), and sworn to in person before an officer. It is also known as "verification upon oath or affirmation".

Disclaimer: A Notary Public is not an Attorney at Law and it is illegal for a Notary to give any form of Legal Advice.

Insurance Companies are at it again!

2009-06-24T12:24:00.002-04:00

I was looking over the Philadelphia Inquirer today and found an interesting article about how insurance companies receive a verdict for their gross negligence and they always try to get out of it by using any stalling tactics that they wish. Below is an article from today that explains what attorneys do after they receive a verdict against the insurance company that they represent. This poor guy lost a leg and has limited use of his arm and is in tremendous pain every day. He is now broke and his grandparents are out of money just by helping him live daily life while waiting for his first check from the insurance company.

Posted on Wed, Jun. 24, 2009

N.J. crash victim caught in county-insurer lawsuits
By Barbara Boyer
Inquirer Staff Writer

Nicholas Anderson should be a multimillionaire.
Instead, he is penniless - and in need of medical treatment he can't afford.
On Dec. 23, 2004, Anderson was driving home to Atco when a tire caught on a six-inch lip on the roadside and he lost control of his car. The car crashed into a guardrail, which impaled the vehicle, severing Anderson's left leg and nearly severing his left arm. He was 18.

He sued Camden County, and last year a jury awarded him $31 million, finding that the county-maintained road was dangerous because of the drop in elevation between the road and shoulder, and because of the guardrail's design.

"I'm in pain every day," Anderson said.

As Anderson struggles with health and financial problems, lawyers continue to maneuver in state and federal courts.

Just days after the verdict, the county's insurance carrier sued the county. State National Insurance Co. says it should not have to pay because the county's attorney did not properly prepare for trial or adequately update State National, according to the federal lawsuit.
Camden County spokesman Ken Shuttleworth said he could not comment on pending cases. One of the county's attorneys, William M. Tambussi, said that the county's trial attorney handled the case properly and that State National decided to speak up only after the jury returned such a large verdict. The county has cross-sued State National.

Superior Court Judge John Fratto adjusted the verdict to $19.3 million this year.
Anderson's attorney, John M. Dodig, pointed out that while State National and the county try to avoid payment, they are running costs higher with interest compounded daily.

"The insurance company is wrongfully and in bad faith refusing to live up to its obligation to pay the verdict," Dodig said. "And I fully expect that they will be found to have acted in bad faith."
Officials from State National declined to comment for this article.

The accident happened just before midnight, after Anderson had given his best friend a ride home.

Anderson was about a mile from his home when an oncoming car crossed the center line on Raritan Avenue near Third Street in Atco and he swerved. The tires on his 2004 Subaru Impreza got caught on the asphalt's edge. The car went into a skid and crashed into the metal guardrail.

The road has since been fixed and a new guardrail installed. At the time, there was a shorter guardrail that could not absorb the impact. Instead, the sharp end of the rail sliced through Anderson's vehicle.

"I remember yelling for help. I reached down and felt that my leg wasn't there. I felt blood and dirt," he said. He remembers paramedics, and waking up in the hospital, where he saw his best friend.

"It wasn't until I woke up at the hospital that I realized the gravity of the situation," said Anderson, who enjoyed skiing and other sports. "I just started to cry, and then my friend started to cry, because life was never going to be the same."

Recovery has included 34 surgeries and intensive physical therapy. His left leg was fitted with a prosthetic device. He had nine fractures in his right leg, which remains in pain.

Anderson, now 23, regained minimal use of his left arm. He has an artificial elbow, and the arm remains prone to infection and might have to be amputated, he said.

Many of Anderson's expenses were covered through an insurance policy held by his grandparents, who helped raise him. Eventually, changes in insurance ended coverage for specialists he once saw at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. Therapy to build strength in his arm and legs also ended.

"At this point, my grandparents are running out of money," he said.

Anderson said he tried to return to his job at an office-supply store, but could not tolerate the pain. He tried taking online classes with Camden County College, with hope of becoming a medical business administrator, but had to withdraw from three of four because of his surgeries.
"Essentially," he said, "I'm broke."

His lawyer, he said, had told him the suit would take time, including appeals. But Dodig, of Feldman, Shepherd, Wohlgelernter, Tanner, Weinstock, & Dodig in Philadelphia, said he has been surprised by the insurance company's response.

State National provides excessive-liability insurance for Camden County. The county is responsible for $300,000 before the insurance plan must pay.

According to State National's lawsuit, Camden County failed to promptly notify it about Anderson's lawsuit and did not provide adequate updates until after the deadline for defense expert reports, after discovery was complete and a trial had been scheduled.

"As State National began to receive information about the case, it was clear that serious errors plagued Camden's defense of the case," the suit says.

Camden County also did not provide enough information for the insurance company to assess a settlement offer, the suit says. The lawsuit quotes a county attorney who it says advised the insurance firm, "Frankly, any jury will most likely see this case for what it is - a young man who was either speeding or simply lost control of the car on a turn and was severely injured."

The trial of Anderson's lawsuit began Oct. 8, 2008. Four days later, the county's attorney advised that "evaluation of this case has changed substantially," according to the lawsuit.

"The jury returned an unprecedented verdict of $31 million against Camden," the suit said. "If county counsel and/or Camden had properly investigated the Anderson claim and adequately defended the Anderson lawsuit, all parties' potential liability exposure could have been minimized."

Tambussi said the insurance company was simply trying to get out of paying the verdict. The insurance company had lawyers involved before trial and who monitored the trial. At no time did the company ask for a postponement or offer settlement, he said.

Tambussi said the county's trial attorney, Donna Whiteside, whose name was added to the lawsuit on Friday, properly notified the company of the lawsuit. Whiteside referred questions to her attorney, Catherine Bick of Monmouth County, who said she could not comment on the lawsuit.

Tambussi said the county would continue disputing State National's claims.

"It's really easy to Monday-morning quarterback a trial attorney," Tambussi said. "There's a saying among lawyers that we're always one verdict away from a million-dollar verdict - for or against you. You can never predict what a jury will do."

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New Services Offered at TLC Paralegal Services

2009-06-17T13:39:00.001-04:00

- Posting content daily (Word Press)

- Double checking spelling, grammar, appropriateness of public postings etc.

- Submitting site info to online directories

- Announcing site(s) on news blogs

Twitter @tlcparalegal

Email: tlcparalegalservices@comcast.net

www.tlcparalegalservices.com

NJ Courts Closed for Temporary Layoff Day

2009-06-17T13:18:00.001-04:00

State Courts Closing on June 29 for Second Temporary Layoff Day

The second day of the Judiciary's two-day temporary layoff plan is Monday, June 29, when the Supreme Court, the Appellate Division, the Superior Courts in each county and the Tax Court, as well as the Administrative Office of the Courts in Trenton, will be closed. The plan was developed in response to the fiscal crisis facing the state and is consistent with the temporary layoff plan for Judiciary staff approved by the Civil Service Commission and promulgated by an order issued on May 14 by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner.

Municipal courts are not affected by the state temporary layoff. Litigants should check with local courts for hours of operation and scheduled court proceedings.

Other offices that will be closed by the temporary layoff of Judiciary employees include all county probation offices, the regional offices of the Intensive Supervision Program and the Juvenile Intensive Supervision Program, all business offices where the public files court papers or makes payments to the courts, the offices of the Supreme, Appellate and Tax Court clerks where papers are filed for those courts, and the Office of Attorney Ethics in West Trenton.

According to the Chief Justice's order, the computation of time periods under the Rules of Court and any statutes of limitation shall be deemed the same as a legal holiday, with the time periods and statutes of limitations tolled for state court matters on the two dates the courts will be closed.

The Judiciary's Web site, njcourts.com, contains a wealth of resources that will be available on Friday during the temporary layoff. NJMCDirect, the statewide online ticket payment system, will be available for ticket payments, time payments and other municipal court information.

The online Self-Help Resource Center, where self-represented litigants can find packets of information to prepare their cases for court, is on the Web site home page.

The Foreclosure Prevention Resources Center, also on the home page, contains forms and information for homeowners who need assistance.

Online research materials such as the Rules of Court, archived court opinions, Supreme Court Webcast archives, statistical information, YouTube videos about court programs and Notices to the Bar also will remain available during the temporary layoff.

JEFIS, the Judiciary's electronic case filing system, will be available for attorneys filing papers in Special Civil cases during the temporary layoff.

This was a press release on njcourtsonline.com

Taking the week off

2009-06-10T12:37:00.000-04:00

My sons' grandmother passed away last evening while I was attending my son, Jonathan's graduation. She will be missed dearly and was a great woman. I will be taking the next day or so off to console my sons and be there for them. Any prayers are appreciated.