Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Domestic Relations: "How long does it take to get a divorce?"
Domestic Relations: "How long does it take to get a divorce?"
For more online resources on this and related topics, please go to our website at: www.tibbslawoffice.com and our Youtube channel at: www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Domestic Relations: "How much child support will I be ordered to pay or receive?"
Domestic Relations: "How much child support will I be ordered to pay or receive?"
For more online resources on this and related topics, please go to our website at: www.tibbslawoffice.com and our youtube channel at: www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Domestic Relations: "How can I protect my assets if the marriage doesn't work out?"
Domestic Relations: "How can I protect my assets in the event my marriage doesn't work out?"
For more online resources on this and related topics, please go to our website at: www.tibbslawoffice.com and our youtube channel at: www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Avoiding Probate
"Avoiding Probate"
When I work with estate planning clients, the most common goal of my clients is to "avoid probate." Clients will come to me and tell me that they would like me to prepare a will for them so they can "avoid probate." There are ways to avoid Probate; however, you will not avoid probate by creating a will. In fact, a will is almost guaranteed to be "probated."
Clients can avoid probate by making sure that any bank accounts and retirement accounts have a "transfer on death beneficiary" designated with the bank or account manager. Generally, you will be required to fill out TOD beneficiary designation forms when you open any type of retirement account; however, this practice is not common with regular savings, checking, or certificate of deposit accounts. In order to designate a TOD beneficiary for these accounts, the client will have to go to the teller and request a form to fill out to ensure their wishes are carried out.
Clients can "avoid probate" with property such as bank accounts and retirement accounts (as stated above), real property, life insurance policies, and vehicles. If a client successfully completes the paperwork for these items, these items will be kept out of the probate court. With that said, if the client owns other personal property at his death, the heirs will have to go through probate court to determine the proper disposition of the other property. This is where a will becomes very helpful.
If the client had a will at the time she passed away, the executor will be able to determine the decedent's wishes and distribute the property according to the directions in the will. If there is no will, the property will be distributed according to the (intestacy) laws of the state in which the decedent died. If you agree with the way the law distributes property when a person dies intestate, you may choose not to prepare a will at all; however, you must be familiar with the intestate laws in order to make that determination. I recommend seeking counsel when determining which estate planning tools are right for your specific situation.
To find more information this and similar topics, please go to: www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice. You can also find other resources at: www.tibbslawoffice.com.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Domestic Relations: "What is financial misconduct?"
Domestic Relations: "What is financial misconduct?"
For more online resources on this and related topics, please go to our website at: www.tibbslawoffice.com and our youtube channel at: www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Domestic Relations: "What if I don't know anything about our marital finances?"
Domestic Relations: "What if I don't know anything about our marital finances?"
For more online resources on this and related topics, please go to our website at: www.tibbslawoffice.com and our Youtube channel at: www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Tibbs Law Office, LLC Introduction
Allow us to introduce ourselves. This video should have been created and posted several months ago; however, its better late than never! We hope you find our content helpful in your search for justice.
http://www.tibbslawoffice.com
http://www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice
Avoiding Points on your License
"Avoiding points on your License"
If you are like me, you have been pulled over a few times. You are just cruising down the highway, thinking about the day's events and by the time you see the stealth Crown Victoria with the reflective police seal on the side and the thin lights on top that at first glance appear to be a bike rack, it is too late. You know that he has already clocked you but you tap your breaks and hold your breath. After you pass him, you continue to hold your breath while you watch him in your rear view mirror. As soon as you pass him, you hear the cracking of his tires over the rock-covered pull off as he pulls out of the median and begins to creep behind you. He doesn't put on his lights right away, he teases you by following closely for a few miles, while he looks you up on his computer. Then you see the red and blue flashing strobe lights. You finally breath, you cuss under your breath, and you begin to make your way over to the shoulder.
I have received several moving violations over the years. I have had at least two speeding tickets, one of which resulted in a suspension of my license, one stop sign violation, one official warning, and one warning, off the record. As a young adult, I used to just pay my traffic tickets and be done. I didn't want to mess with the court date, or the court costs. That is until I began prosecuting traffic cases for the Dublin Mayor's Court in Columbus, Ohio as a legal intern.
As a legal intern, I learned that the prosecutor is not interested in conducting a trial for traffic violations. I learned that if you went to court and pled "not guilty," they would set the case for a pre-trial, during which the defendant (or defendant's attorney) would have the opportunity to speak to the prosecutor and tell the prosecutor why the defendant should not be convicted of the charged violation. The best tactic that worked with the prosecutor that I worked with was not to deny that you were speeding, but rather to state that although you were speeding, you have a job that you will get fired from if you get this moving violation. Often times, the prosecutor would amend the charge so that the defendant was going a lower speed than what the ticket states, or the amendment would be a lesser charge. Amendments to the charge would often result in less points for the defendant, less of a fine, and a lesser conviction.
When clients contact me regarding traffic violations, I often charge a reasonable flat rate, that when added to their fine and court costs, actually ends up costing them less than if they had just paid their ticket. By contesting the ticket, clients often get less points. This will save them money in the long-run with their car insurance rates because insurance rates go up when people get points on their license.
While I can't guarantee this result for every client, I have had favorable results for many clients. The type of client that will get the best result is the client that has employment (especially if their job involves driving) or is going to school and has a clean (or good) driving record for the two years preceding the new violation (or if this is a first violation). Although it is possible for defendants to achieve these results on their own, it is difficult because not all courts will set the case for a pre-trial, and sometimes the attorney has to make the deal while court is in session. As a defendant, it is difficult to get the prosecutor to talk to you while many other things are going on.
Hiring an attorney for this task will get you better results because your attorney can file your "not guilty" plea, which allows you to not attend the "Cattle-call" style arraignment and at the pretrial, the cases with attorneys get called as soon as the attorney and prosecutor have made a deal. This allows you to save a lot of time.
If you are like me, you have been pulled over a few times. You are just cruising down the highway, thinking about the day's events and by the time you see the stealth Crown Victoria with the reflective police seal on the side and the thin lights on top that at first glance appear to be a bike rack, it is too late. You know that he has already clocked you but you tap your breaks and hold your breath. After you pass him, you continue to hold your breath while you watch him in your rear view mirror. As soon as you pass him, you hear the cracking of his tires over the rock-covered pull off as he pulls out of the median and begins to creep behind you. He doesn't put on his lights right away, he teases you by following closely for a few miles, while he looks you up on his computer. Then you see the red and blue flashing strobe lights. You finally breath, you cuss under your breath, and you begin to make your way over to the shoulder.
I have received several moving violations over the years. I have had at least two speeding tickets, one of which resulted in a suspension of my license, one stop sign violation, one official warning, and one warning, off the record. As a young adult, I used to just pay my traffic tickets and be done. I didn't want to mess with the court date, or the court costs. That is until I began prosecuting traffic cases for the Dublin Mayor's Court in Columbus, Ohio as a legal intern.
As a legal intern, I learned that the prosecutor is not interested in conducting a trial for traffic violations. I learned that if you went to court and pled "not guilty," they would set the case for a pre-trial, during which the defendant (or defendant's attorney) would have the opportunity to speak to the prosecutor and tell the prosecutor why the defendant should not be convicted of the charged violation. The best tactic that worked with the prosecutor that I worked with was not to deny that you were speeding, but rather to state that although you were speeding, you have a job that you will get fired from if you get this moving violation. Often times, the prosecutor would amend the charge so that the defendant was going a lower speed than what the ticket states, or the amendment would be a lesser charge. Amendments to the charge would often result in less points for the defendant, less of a fine, and a lesser conviction.
When clients contact me regarding traffic violations, I often charge a reasonable flat rate, that when added to their fine and court costs, actually ends up costing them less than if they had just paid their ticket. By contesting the ticket, clients often get less points. This will save them money in the long-run with their car insurance rates because insurance rates go up when people get points on their license.
While I can't guarantee this result for every client, I have had favorable results for many clients. The type of client that will get the best result is the client that has employment (especially if their job involves driving) or is going to school and has a clean (or good) driving record for the two years preceding the new violation (or if this is a first violation). Although it is possible for defendants to achieve these results on their own, it is difficult because not all courts will set the case for a pre-trial, and sometimes the attorney has to make the deal while court is in session. As a defendant, it is difficult to get the prosecutor to talk to you while many other things are going on.
Hiring an attorney for this task will get you better results because your attorney can file your "not guilty" plea, which allows you to not attend the "Cattle-call" style arraignment and at the pretrial, the cases with attorneys get called as soon as the attorney and prosecutor have made a deal. This allows you to save a lot of time.
Domestic Relations: "Is marital fault a factor in determining support, dividing property, and determining parenting time?"
Domestic Relations: "Is marital fault a factor in determining support, dividing property, and determining parenting time?"
For more online resources on this and other related topics, please check out our website at: www.tibbslawoffice.com and our Youtube channel at: www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Domestic Relations: "Is there a way to get child support while the divorce case is pending?"
Domestic Relations: "Is there a way to get child support while the divorce case is pending?"
For more online resources on this and other related topics, please go to our website at: www.tibbslawoffice.com and our Youtube channel at: www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice.
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