Hiring an Estate Planning Attorney - 7 Things to Know Before You Do

The Top 7 Things to Know Before You Hire a Wills, Trusts or Estate Attorney

You should consider several different questions before you sign an agreement with any attorney, but this is even more important when it comes to hiring a wills, trusts or estate attorney. This attorney will address sensitive family and financial issues that range from helping you pass assets on to your children and close family members, to protecting you from unnecessary taxes, to helping you determine the best person to make medical decisions on your behalf. This is why you need to know the answers to the seven questions discussed in this special report.

#1: Does the attorney offer a free consultation and will he explain what will happen at this initial meeting?
An attorney should offer you a free, no hassle consultation. First, meeting him or her will help to put you at ease and will give you a chance to discuss your case in a frank manner. You will also have a chance to ask questions and to determine if this is an attorney whom you can trust to address your legal concerns. Second, it gives the attorney the opportunity to ask you questions and to learn more about your case. You might discover that you do not get along very well with this attorney. Conversely, the attorney may realize that your case is not the type that he wants to take or is not related to his field of expertise. For this type of relationship to work in an effective and productive manner, both you and your attorney need to be able to work together comfortably.

#2 Does the attorney offer a flat fee for the services that he will perform and will this be put in writing?
Every attorney should use a written agreement, which is known as a retainer agreement. In this agreement, the attorney should clearly state the fee that you will be charged and honor this agreement. The attorney should clearly explain the fee, the services that he will perform, and should also clearly explain the options that are available to you to pay this fee. You should not sign this agreement until you understand how much you will be charged, what the attorney will do for you, what information he will need from you, any deadlines involved, and any other obligations that you are required to perform. You should always feel free to ask the attorney questions if you do not understand something in the agreement or otherwise. You should also ask about the expected completion of the work.

A flat fee encourages the attorney to work in an efficient manner and also prevents you from receiving an unexpectedly large bill upon the completion of the services. This can happen if it takes the attorney longer to complete the work than he initially thought.

#3 Does the attorney guarantee his service? Will he refund your money if you are not completely satisfied?
Your attorney works for you and is being paid to help you plan your estate. You should not tolerate an attorney that will not refund your money if you are not completely satisfied with the work. Additionally, your attorney should be willing to revise your documents that he is initially drafting. However, after he has drafted them and you have expressed your satisfaction, you should not expect the attorney to revise these documents unless you have kept the attorney on retainer. Please note that no attorney will guarantee results if your matter is being litigated in court.

#4 Will the attorney help you make wise choices about insurance, saving for your children's college, and retirement planning?

Your attorney should help you make decisions about the most appropriate documents and vehicles to accomplish your estate planning objectives, but should also assist you with buying insurance, saving for college, planning for retirement, and all of the other challenging decisions that will arise. In fact, your attorney should have a team of trusted advisors in place in order to help you make the best possible decisions.
If your attorney is unable or unwilling to advise you on these matters, then you should seek out an attorney who will do so. Having such an attorney will prevent you from making expensive and unnecessary mistakes, and will save you time in having to hunt for additional advisors.

#5 Does your attorney have a process in place to respond to your phone calls and emails quickly in case questions arise? Will your attorney keep you informed about how your matter is progressing?

Your attorney should be able to answer your phone calls, emails, and questions quickly. You are paying this attorney for service and for professional guidance and attention, not just for the drafting of your estate planning documents. How often have you heard from friends and loved ones about an attorney that takes days, weeks or more to respond to phone calls? Do not tolerate such unprofessional behavior. Ask your attorney about this and if he is unable to convince you that he has such a process in place, then continue your search for an attorney that will get back to you in a time efficient manner.

#6 Does your attorney have a process for helping you capture and pass on not only your physical and financial wealth, but also your intellectual and spiritual assets, as well as what is important to you?
Some attorneys recognize that wealth is not measured solely by your net worth, by the value of your brokerage and retirement accounts, but is also measured by who you are as a person. Your intangible assets, such as lessons that you have learned over a lifetime of building wealth, or the wisdom you have accumulated through your life experiences that you would like your children to know more about, are very valuable, almost priceless. These should not be forgotten.

When deciding whether to hire an attorney, be sure to select someone who will help you capture, document, and pass on all of your assets, including those intangible ones that are often overlooked.

#7 Will your attorney make sure that your assets are structured and owned in the right way?

You could hire an attorney at the largest firm around and pay him an exorbitant fee, but if your assets are not titled and owned in the right manner, then the plan that he created will not work for you. The attorney that you plan to hire should be willing to ensure not only that your documents are drafted correctly, but also that your assets are structured properly.

Do not be afraid to ask these questions before you hire an attorney to work with your family on legal planning matters. When you find an attorney that says yes to these questions, hire him or her quickly before the practice fills up and he or she stops taking on new clients. Asking these questions and hearing the right answers before you engage a lawyer to work on your wills, trusts, and estate will ensure you put in place legal planning for your family that will work when you need it.

Trademark Registration Basics - Do I Need a Trademark Attorney to Register My Mark?

 

The United States is moving towards an 'idea economy' were intellectual property has value often in excess of the physical goods or services you are providing. If you have a company name, brand or service you are offering, you should consider filing a trademark registration with the USPTO. There are certainly plenty of self-help guides, forms services and on-line forms available for you to attempt a 'do it yourself' trademark application. But the real question is whether you should attempt something so important to your company without getting expert advice. Here are some of the more important considerations if you want to trademark a name and are considering your options:

1. Trademark attorneys go to law school and receive on-the job training in order to understand all the intricacies of trademark registration. You do not likely have the necessary education, experience, training to identify the liabilities that they may be exposing themselves to if they register a trademark without the proper due diligence.
2. If you fail to do a trademark clearance or availability search, you could end-up triggering a trademark infringement lawsuit or threat letter against you.
3. Just because you successfully navigate the trademark registration process, does not mean that your trademark will stand up in court or provide protection. You could be registered and end up with an invalid trademark registration.
4. There are many decisions that you need to make when filling out the forms such which company to list as the trademark owner, which international class to file in, what specimen to attach, what to insert into the 'first use' fields, and dozens of other critical decisions. These decisions can determine whether your trademark name is accepted by the trademark office, or whether it will stand up to scrutiny.
5. Once you receive your trademark registration certificate, you need to protect your mark, correctly use your mark in commerce and monitor for competitors who may be infringing your trademark.

In this radio interview with trademark attorney Brian Hall, some of the pitfalls of the trademark registration process are discussed. The trademark registration process may seem straight forward, but it is not. Highly trained and skilled attorneys work with trademark issues as part of their daily lives. They understand the risks and potential rewards. The good news is that hiring a qualified attorney to trademark your name typically costs less than $1,500, which includes trademark clearance, clearance opinion letter, completion of the registration paperwork, responses to all office actions and all other activities through publication for opposition.

The Many Advantages Of Using A Criminal Attorney

A Tampa criminal attorney protects the rights of defendants. The basis of this criminal legal system is principled on the idea that all people are innocent before proven otherwise. There are some legal systems that believe that the accused is guilty until proven innocent.

In this system the state has to prove that a person is guilty as charged. In other systems the accused has to prove that he is innocent. In our system of justice the government has the burden of proof and has to prove a defendant's guilt.

In theory the defendant does not have to offer any evidence of innocence because the state has to demonstrate that the defendant is guilty. Almost all lawyers will of course build a case in favor of their client because lawyers are called to represent their clients to the best of their ability. Under our system of justice the accused has the right to a jury trial made up of his peers. In other systems the defendant must submit to a court trial where the judge listens to the evidence and then decides guilt your innocence.

A jury trial made up of the one's peers is one of the foundational guarantees in a democratic system of government. The state does not determine guilt or innocence the people make this determination. The defendant does not have to choose a jury trial he can choose to plea bargain instead.

The criminal defense attorney can negotiate a plea bargain for his client if there is so much evidence to convict the accused that it would make more sense to try to plead guilty to a lessor charge. The criminal lawyer will negotiate with the prosecution in order for the state to recommend to the judge that the defendant should be able to plead guilty rather than go through the time and expense of a jury trial. The lawyer has to be an expert negotiator in order to get the best plea bargain deal for his client.
If the prosecution will not bargain or if the deal the state offers is not suitable to the defendant the lawyer will take the case to trial. There are many ways a criminal defense attorney will mount a defense in the trial. If there is physical evidence the state is relying on to prove the defendant's guilt the lawyer can challenge the chain of custody. Evidence must be tracked and stored carefully when it is in the possession of the cops. If the evidence has not been properly tracked the attorney can question the chain of custody and the evidence might be thrown out of court.
The attorney can try to impeach the testimony of a prosecution witness by questioning the veracity of the witness. If the witness has been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude then the testimony might be tainted. Moral turpitude refers to crimes of deception. If the witness has been convicted of a crime where he deceived others then how can the jury trust what he is saying in court?

The Tampa criminal attorney needs to be a good negotiator in order to plea bargain with the prosecution. The defense lawyer has to be a good litigator because he has to be able to raise pertinent and relevant defenses to help prove his client's innocence. The criminal defense lawyer is required to be a zealous advocate for his client.

Best Attorney To Deal With Your Case

Have you anytime encountered with situation where you have experienced any arrest by the cops in the country or else with any other charges in the society? If so how did you try to overcome the situation? The most important thing you must have in your mind while encountering with any such situation is regarding the level of patience. This is something that is not seen among many people. It is natural that such situation can really cause great tension in atmosphere and it is very difficult to remain calm. If you are calm about the charges even if you know you have not committed any mistakes, there are lots of advantages that can be derived out of the process. You will get the presence of mind to approach a criminal attorney Orlando in order to deal the situation in more logical way.

It is always better to check for opinions from your friends and family while deciding on the attorney to deal with the case. You should try your level best to get hold of the best attorney in the city as you cannot take chance with this issue. Internet can be considered as the best source where you can check for the available attorneys and you can fix an appointment for initial consultation. Most of the firms are ready to provide free initial consultation and you should be alert enough during your discussion with the lawyer to recognize the lawyer's interest in the case. If you find something displeasing then it is advised to check with another law firm rather than sticking with the same. At the same time you should also check with the fees charged by the law firm in checking with your case. Once you are satisfied with an attorney you can make a background study in order to determine his efficiency in the field along with the experience in dealing with such cases. Also you can directly ask for reference and there is nothing wrong in contacting their previous clients in order to know about their experience while dealing with their issues. The attorneys will function very sincerely in order to put you out of the charges that are beaten against you and if you have committed any mistakes then the attorneys will try their level best to reduce the number of charges on you.

Why Do You Need a Power of Attorney?

Is your spouse working outside of the country or deployed somewhere else of quite a distance? Are all family accounts and utility services in your name? Do you intend to buy a property that needs marital consent? Or is your spouse on a business trip and there are some documents in the office that needs your spouse's immediate attention? If yes, you should have readied a power of attorney while your spouse is out for work somewhere else, or you will find yourself helpless to act on behalf of your husband or to attend to this matter in case problems arise.

If you and your spouse have an existing business wherein you are not the registered owner but your spouse, although said business is considered to be a conjugal property but he is the only authorized person to sign on all the documents and transactions and there are some urgent matters that should be resolved and cannot wait for the spouse to return from the trip, and attend to your business concerns, all you need to do is to have a power of attorney always ready on hand so that in case a call of urgency arise and your spouse is not around to oversee the matter of urgent concern, you can act on his absence A power of attorney will is a written legal form executed but the principal that grants authority to an agent or a representative, in this case it is you being the spouse, to act in behalf of the principal, in this case it is your spouse. If a business transaction requires the signature and if you are not listed in the account as one of the authorized signatory, you will not be able to help or act to complete the business transaction if your spouse is still away and you do not have an appropriate power of attorney.

You may just search through the internet for a ready power of attorney forms which you can just copy and fill in the vital information needed in your favor or if you do not rely on the internet, though it may cost you a little money and a little of your time and effort, you can just visit any legal office and ask for assistance, and they can prepare a power of attorney for you. To avoid wasting time going back and forth of the legal office, go to the legal office with your spouse when he is available because he is the one who will execute the power of attorney. It is also good to call ahead and inquire, so that you may ready the needed requirements before going to the legal office.

Your spouse may execute a general power of attorney, to grant you as his agent, the authority to carry on usual business matters for him as the principal even if he is away, like signing checks, paying bills, approving office disbursement and signing contracts, if necessary.

Types of Attorney

Attorney may refer to:

• Attorney at law, a lawyer in some countries
• Attorney general, the principal legal adviser to a government
• Attorney-in-fact, a person authorised to act on someone else's behalf in a legal or business matter by a power of attorney