Legal Discussions

Malik Ahmad Attorney at law asked:


Enough is enough as lenders had their say and swayed of course in all loan modification programs and in preventing the foreclosures process. They have frustrated almost every program the government and the fed had announced. The latest of course was the Obama Plan, which was launched with great fanfare, and of course it had helped the deterioraing foreclosure situations little bit but not enough–it has not stopped tremendous homeowners and their foreclosures. Banks had frustrated all these efforts, and are determined to do their nitpicking on every small issues. We agree with the analysts that the Obama Plan had no teeth in it when it comes to enforcement. Also, the 31 percent limitation of loan modification is not rationale. Again, it had not addressed the principals reduction which is a core issue in this crisis and bring it to the latest market values. Lately, the state top prosecutors are agreeing to seek the judicial remedy again, and are thinking of taking the lenders back to the judicial process. In our view, they are late. A judicial remedy is best, and of course quite expensive for the lenders, who had lately again been giving the despicable bonuses to their executives for doing nothing. When are they going to learn a lesson in this regard.

Here is what you should do and write to your state attorney general:

1. Write all the facts about your loan, no doc, full doc, ARMS etc.

2. Write down the name of your loan officers, and all the names of the concerned parties like escrow agent, loan officer, real estate agent, the full docs situations, your credit report score at that time etc. Make a detailed summary and send to attorney general’s office.

3. Find out what issues your are claiming like issues under TILA, RESPA, HOEPA and deceptive trade practices etc.

4. Attach the copies of default notices.

5. Send them the copies of your detailed notes with the lenders and the helplessness they had shown in this regard to have a viable workout program with you.

 



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T J Madigan asked:


Even though you are selling your home without an agent, the assistance of a professional is still needed at various steps in the home selling process. The requirement of a real estate attorney depends on the laws in your state. Even if you live in a state where a real estate attorney is not needed, as a for sale by owner seller, it will still be beneficial for you to use one.

An attorney can serve many purposes in the housing transaction. When you hire an attorney that specialized in real estate, that attorney is responsible for seeing that your best interests are met in the housing transaction. An attorney can act as the escrow agent by holding down payments, documentation, and earnest money deposits. Not only that, the attorney can help you decipher and evaluate complicated offers you might receive from a buyer. In the event that the lenders attorney does not handle the closing, your attorney will host and handle the closing. If the lenders attorney does handle the closing, then your real attorney will represent you in the process.

Your primary concern should be to find a real estate attorney that will provide you with assistance you need in the housing transaction. You can use a local or internet directory to find the names of some attorneys in your area. Asking friends or family who have recently sold homes for references is another way that you can find an attorney to assist you. If there are neighbors with for sale signs in their yards, you can casually inquire about the attorney they are using. Hiring an attorney that comes as a reference is often better than cold calling attorneys.

As you look for an attorney to hire, you should choose one that works primarily with real estate transactions. Avoid choosing a criminal or family law attorney that handles real estate transactions on the side. Your interests will not be best served by an attorney that does not spend a significant part of his or her time in real estate transactions. Certainly do not hire an attorney that has never worked in real estate.

Along with experience in real estate transactions, price will be the other factor you use to choose a real estate attorney. The attorney you hire will have two major responsibilities: reading and advising you on documents and representing you at closing. Get a price quote from prospective attorneys on those two tasks. You can get a discount from the attorney by letting him or her know that you will be preparing and filling out some of the documentation. Shop around among several attorneys to get a feel for experience level and price charged.

The most important thing is that you have a real estate professional available to assist you through the transaction. Even if you have successfully sold a for sale by owner home before, it is better to have legal assistance than to attempt to complete the process on your own.



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Liz H asked:


My kids are going to visit my parents in Michigan, while I live in Missouri. It’s only for a month, but my parents want power of attorney just in case they need to go to the hospital for something. How do I go about doing this? As fast as possible. I forgot all about it and they leave Saturday.

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Myron asked:


A friend of mine is considering applying for disability benefits. We met with an attorney who said that the fee would be 25% of the past-due benefits. Could someone explain what this means? He also said that he doesn’t make money on every case–how could this be? We just need to know if we’re going to end up with a huge legal bill.

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Charlotte Attorney asked:


Hiring a personal injury attorney in Charlotte NC might seem like a difficult endeavor to take on. To begin with, you’re injured, you feel as though you’re being taken advantage of by insurance companies, and you’re over your head in medical bills. How do you go about finding someone to entrust your case to? You’ll need someone who can recognize that you do, indeed, have a case, one that warrants their time, the court’s time, and one that can be won within a reasonable amount of time.

Because of these circumstances, you need an attorney more than ever. But to start from the beginning, what kind of injury do you need to have to hire an attorney? What is a personal injury lawsuit? If you’ve been injured through no fault of your own, you are entitled to certain benefits. First of all, you shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s negligence! Property owners are expected to maintain their properties in a manner that is safe for patrons to move about without danger. If a puddle of water is on the floor due to a ceiling’s drip, warnings should be placed around the puddle and the ceiling should be fixed. Someone who slips and falls, then injures their back is not at fault. I had a friend who lives in Charlotte, NC that went to a convenience store with a big walk-in cooler where they stored the beer and wine. There was a leaking pipe in the ceiling of the cooler and the temperature of the cooler was actually set too low. While the clerk had mopped up the water puddle, he failed to do a very good job and he did not put any warning signs up that the area might be slippery. The small amount of water on the floor iced over in the cooler and my friend walked in, her feet slipped out beneath her, she fell on her coccyx bone so hard she fractured it. and she cracked her head on the floor. She was out of work for more  than six months, and the severe head injury left her with cognitive issues.

Hiring a Charlotte personal injury attorney proved to the convenience store’s insurance company and their attorney’s that she meant business. That single act of hiring an attorney lends credibility to the fact that the plaintiff intends to sue the defendant. Plus, if the case doesn’t go to court and only goes through mediation, the attorney is much more skilled at bargaining, than the client. Without an attorney, an injured person may not know when or how to settle out of court. They could be bullied in mediation, especially if they are simply tired of the whole process, and merely want it over with.

Personal injury most typically involves an automobile accident. The Carolinas are filled with careless drivers who either are in a hurry, not paying attention, or worse, driving drunk; can also create a situation where they cause personal injury to another person. In these cases, the person who inflicted the injury (the defendant),  will usually have an insurance company that is doing the litigation on their behalf. Shouldn’t the plaintiff (injured person) have the same? 

So then, who should you hire? How do you find an attorney? Today, going online is the easiest way to investigate an attorney at your leisure. You’re able to read about the attorney in their own words on their website and then, you can also investigate them based on what the Better Business Bureau might have to say about them. You can also go to your state’s bar association and see if any complaints have lodged against a particular attorney. What you’re looking for is an expert in personal injury. You don’t want to waste your time talking to a divorce lawyer about your case, only to have them refer you to someone else. You need a person of substantive expertise in a particular area of the law.

Attorneys who are really good in their field are able to weave persuasive legal arguments that influence judges and juries to find in favor of their clients. Charlotte NC Attorneys who practice in one specific area of the law are much like doctors who specialize in one specific part of the body. They become such experts, that they are able to find what is most relevant in each case and rule out that which does not matter. We can all agree from watching TV and movies that the characters who play lawyers and have the best oratory skills, are those that the judges and juries look upon most favorably.

Finally, hiring an attorney when you have been injured through someone else’s negligence ensures that you aren’t alone in the whole process! As you’re going through medical treatments, paying for bills, and losing time from work; you’ll have an attorney on your side documenting everything that is happening to you. Someone who understands the way the judicial system works is by your side, and they’ll fight for you to make sure that whatever you deserve is awarded to you.

Now, when you contact a Charlotte North Carolina law office, before you hire an attorney, ask questions! You’re interviewing them to give them a job to do, so you’ll want to ask about their firm. How big is it? Is it so small that you’re going to be handed over to a paralegal and never be able to speak with the attorney directly? Or, is it big enough that an attorney be available to you? Will you be able to get regular updates from your attorney, so that you know what the status of your case is? Even though things can get pretty drawn out during a case, you don’t want to feel forgotten. Make sure if you hire an attorney, you’ll be getting some of his time. After all, he’ll be taking a chunk of your money when it is awarded.

Lastly, when the time comes to either go to trial or mediation, trust your attorneys. That’s why you hired them. They are the expert, not you. If they feel the case is winnable in court, take it to court, if not, trust them and settle in mediation. Your attorney will have your best interest in mind at all times. After all, it’s in their best interest to take the  best possible care of you, and get you the largest settlement possible!



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Rex Bush, Doctor Of Jurisprudence, Attorney At Law asked:


A power of attorney is a legal document. You use it to give someone the power to act for you. You are the principal. He is your agent. The person acting for you is also known as your “attorney-in-fact.”

Two types of powers of attorney are the general power of attorney and the special power of attorney.

A special power of attorney is used to give another person authority to do one single thing.

A general power of attorney is not limited to a specific purpose. If you want someone to be able to act on your behalf while you are out of the country then the general one is what you need.

Now let’s say you are going to Afghanistan, on active duty. You want to give your wife power to do just about anything while you are gone.

Here’s a how a general power of attorney for that purpose might look:

General Power of Attorney

I, Andy Rasmussen, do hereby grant my wife, Jesica Rasmussen, a general power of attorney to perform any action on my behalf and to sign my name to any documents needed to accomplish said actions until I return home.

Signature & Date

A notary seal is not required but if you are leaving the country for military service you might want to dress it up a bit and include a notary section. Then sign the power in front of a notary just so your wife doesn’t have any trouble with it while you are gone.

Now let’s say you are caring for your invalid mother. She’s not mentally incompetent…yet. But, she does want you to take care of her affairs and pay her bills. A general power of attorney is what is called for. Here’s how it might look.

General Power of Attorney

I, Sally Smith, do hereby grant my daughter Louisa Lewis, a general power of attorney to handle any and all of my affairs, to include personal, business and other.

Signature & Date

Once again, given the circumstances it would be best to have a notary section on this one and to get it properly notarized.

Durable Power of Attorney

Let’s say Louisa in the above example is worried about her mother becoming mentally incapacitated. In that case Louisa might have to go to court to get the right to manage her mother’s affairs.

What’s called for is a “durable power of attorney.” It’s still a general power of attorney but in this case we’ll make it durable so it continues even if her mother becomes mentally disabled. Here’s how it might look:

I, Sally Smith, do hereby grant my daughter Louisa Lewis, a general power of attorney to handle any and all of my affairs, to include personal, business and other. This power of attorney shall continue and survive even if I become disabled whether mentally disabled or physically disabled.

Signature & Date

For sure you would want to have this one notarized and it would be best that you had it drafted by or at least approved by an attorney who works primarily in the area of estate planning.

It is common to see some very comprehensive (10-20 page) General Durable Powers of Attorney. The reasoning behind these very thorough documents is that some financial institutions are very reluctant to rely upon broad, sweeping statements that a principal has granted ALL authority to their agent to do WHATEVER they would be able to do.

Some institutions or people who are dealing with an agent want to see very specific language that pertains to the actual transaction that they are carrying out on behalf of the principal. This just raises the comfort level of some people when dealing with an agent.

Also, in some states there is no penalty for not honoring a power of attorney. If someone chooses not to deal with an agent because they have their doubts about the power of attorney there’s no penalty for refusing to honor the power of attorney. At that point, one would have to establish a guardianship/conservatorship (which, of course, is not a very desirable outcome).

Conclusion

A general power of attorney can be a very simple document. However, since they can be used so broadly, it is best that they be given more care and attention than a simple special power of attorney. When dealing with the aged or infirm you should consider a durable power of attorney. Have an attorney draft it or at least review it.

Acknowledgment

The information on durable powers of attorney was written with the assistance of attorney J. RobRoy Platt of Lehi, Utah. Mr. Platt’s law practice focuses on estate planning issues.

Disclaimer

This article is intended to inform about powers of attorney. Please seek legal advice in your state of residence if your power of attorney involves any matter of consequence.



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Questionasker asked:


How can I find an attorney specializing in internet defamation and libel to write a cease and desist letter?
How can I find an attorney specializing in internet defamation and libel to write a cease and desist letter to a company located in Massachusetts. The material posted on line about me and my company is libel per se.

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nimzaj1969 asked:


I have a friend that is contemplating whether to get an attorney or not for a recent DUI arrest. He lives in Las Vegas and it’s his first but his concern is wasting money on an attorney if there is little chance of getting it reduced.

Also a point that might be worth mentioning, when he was pulled over, he requested a seargant come to the scene and was denied the request. Is there any merit to this and does he have any recourse if he does pursue with an attorney?

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seriously2sweet4u asked:


If you’ve read my other questions, I’m sure you know what this is about. But, I’m wondering how much it costs to call an attorney just to get possibly some advice and find out more information about current laws in North Carolina.

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DJHFDSADFLHADF asked:


What is the difference between an Attorney and a Lawyer?

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