Power of Attorney Legal Information

A power of attorney is a type of legal document in which you declare that you are assigning another person (a close relative or a trusted friend) the authority to make certain decisions on your behalf while you are temporarily unable. The person to whom you give these rights to is called an "agent". You, as the designator, are called the "principal." The agent is a "fiduciary", which means that he or she must perform any decisions with your best interests in mind and completely in good faith. Good faith simply means that something is being done without the intent to deceive.

If a person were going to be hospitalized for a common surgery, or was going to be physically unable to perform certain financial or legal obligations, an agent can be selected for a Limited Power of Attorney. This person could perform such tasks as banking affairs, paying bills or other tasks as assigned by you. As long as you, as the principal, are capable of making decisions with a sound mind, the agent must follow your directions. Once you are able to perform the required tasks on your own, the power and privileges are revoked. In other instances, there should be a time limit set for these powers, with an indefinite time frame or permanency clause avoided. This document is also null and void if you become permanently incapacitated or were to die.

The second type of authority is a General Power of Attorney. This document gives the agent the ability to perform any tasks that you yourself can do including, but not limited to decisions and follow through of banking transactions, opening safety deposit boxes, completing transactions involving securities, stocks and/or bonds, the buying and selling of personal property, purchasing life insurance, settling claims, entering into legally binding contracts, controlling real estate (which would include, selling, buying and/or managing), filing tax returns and decisions related to government benefits. The person acting as your agent should be a trusted individual. Again, the agent is someone who would act with only your best interests in mind.

A Health Care Power of Attorney designates an agent to make health care decisions for you if you are unconscious, mentally incompetent, or otherwise unable to make such decisions. It is important to understand that there is a difference between this document and a Living Will. A Living Will only provides directive in the event that life sustaining decisions are in question. Your agent would be entitled to make decisions including but not limited to surgeries, doctors, hospitals, after care and the amount of life saving efforts performed on your behalf. Again, the agent should be someone you have absolute trust in. With these documents and the power bestowed on the agent, it is imperative that an understanding be in place regarding your wishes before the document is signed. In most states, this person cannot be a health care provider or a hospital/care facility employee, even if they are related.

Legal Jobs Other Than Judges And Lawyers

There are hundreds of legal jobs, even though many people think only of judges and lawyers when they think of the legal profession. The law is an exciting and rewarding field in which to work, and no matter what your talents and skills are, you're likely to find an occupation that suits you well.

One interesting legal job is that of a trial consultant. This is a professional whose job it is to advise a lawyer which potential jurors to try to get on the jury for a particular case. This might sound like an inexact judgment to make, but trial consultants use all sorts of sociological, psychological and technological tools in analyzing the background of a particular juror and deciding whether or not he or she is likely to decide in a lawyer's favor given the facts of a particular case. (There was even a John Grisham novel that revolved around this particular occupation.)

Then there's the position of legal nurse consultant, a position most people have probably never even heard of. Legal nurse consultants are registered nurses who provide background information and advice for cases involving medical issues. Believe it or not, legal nurse consultants can make upwards of two-hundred dollars an hour, and this is a career--or side career, as many nurses do this kind of work in addition to their regular practices--that's really starting to take off. The practical knowledge that attorneys can glean from legal nurse consultants can mean the difference between a win and a loss in court.

The court reporter, by contrast, is a position that most people are familiar with. This was a job once called "stenographer" (it's still called that, by the way, in some places) and was once held predominantly by women. Court reporters create written records of every word spoken during a trial or other court proceedings. Aided by new technologies, court reporters can record up to two hundred words a minute in many cases. And there is a real shortage of court reporters nowadays, which means there are plenty of job openings, generous benefits packages, and plenty of vacation time available to those who enter into this profession. Some court reporters even make over a hundred thousand dollars a year.

There are also the jobs of paralegals and legal researchers to consider. The duties of these two kinds of professionals often intersect, but both provide crucial help to lawyers. Paralegals and legal researchers draw up legal documents and memos, research past legal cases that pertain to current cases and help lawyers write their presentations to juries. Both of these jobs require patience, ingenuity, hard work, long hours and self-motivation.

No matter what kind of job you have in the legal world, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're helping justice get served. Every day will involve new people to meet and new challenges to be solved. You won't get bored!

Attorneys - Legal Information On Filing A Lawsuit

The constitution was put in place to protect your rights as a human being, occasionally people are treated wrongfully and need to protect their own rights. You do this by filing a lawsuit against those who have wronged you. Filing a lawsuit has many steps to take to accomplish what you want so knowing those steps is the best way to approach your case.

The very first step in filing a lawsuit is filing the original complaint and the issuing of a summons. These two things will outline what it is that has happened to you, who it is you are filing the lawsuit against, and also what you are wishing to receive from the court system as a sort of relief or payment for your grief. After these two things are filed and issued the clerk of courts then informs the person that is being issued the lawsuit of the suit. After informed the defendant is informed of this they will give their answer to the summons which will most likely be an acceptance of the lawsuit or a countersuit where they will claim that the matter was actually caused by the prosecution.

After the defendant has filed their answer with the courts the case is officially opened and the discovery process begins. The discovery process is when both sides will begin to gather evidence to back up their side of the matter. This evidence must be registered and exchanged so that both sides are protected in a lawful way and may not be ambushed by hidden evidence or a secret withheld witness.

At this point something called a pretrial conference may be held with the judge that will be presiding over the lawsuit. The pretrial conference is set in place to minimize delays in the courts and is usually set around a week before the trial actually starts. The pretrial conference is also used so that a settlement may be negotiated if that is what both the prosecution and the defense want.

After all these different steps have happened the trial is able to begin. Witnesses are able to be questioned from both the prosecution and the defense. And the evidence is presented from both sides so that the proper outcome may be decided. The judge will then give the jury instructions on how to deliberate on the matter. The jury will then decide and the case will either reach what is called a verdict or a deadlock.