The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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I get that question all too often. Even poor people have more than they probably think. Do you have a home (even a mobile home)? Do you have a car or truck? Do you have any money in a bank? While there are some ways around transferring a home, vehicle or bank account to a loved one or loved ones after death there are exceptions and even then it probably needed to be planned before your death and placed in the proper format. A proper Will takes care of those items in one document. It’s true t...
There are several laws, one of which is brand new and becomes effective in Alabama on 1 June 2018 and there is a Federal law in the works and a European Union law set to kickoff on May 25th. Some of the existing civil and criminal laws that protect us against bad actors that might steal our personal information include criminal theft (various degrees), civil conversion, and the tort of invasion of privacy. Some of the defenses include negligence on the part of the plaintiff, private information...
Right now in front of this United States Supreme Court the Arizona death penalty challenge means no change in the standing State laws. A much more liberal sided Court in the future could well change that dependent on their interpretation of the United States Constitution and a then considered murder case or cases. First, the United States Supreme Court turned down a request to hear the case. Before the United States Supreme Court might hear a case, a Writ of Certiorari may be filed with the...
Sometimes things are on my heart and I find an urge to write about them. Often times it is the death of a loved one or a close friend that tugs at my heart. With the wedding season almost upon us and a recent experience I have a strong urge to write on marriage. Now I am certainly no pro on the subject, in fact maybe I am a failure having had a prior marriage. I must say I envy those with long marriages such as that of my parents that lasted sixty-two years until the death of my mother. But...
Without specifics about yourself I’ll make this answer generic in a personal and in a business sense. I presume you looked at your financial estate planning (401k, mutual funds, stocks and bonds, life insurance, etc) and as you do you also think about your legal estate planning. After all you are a year older; you may have gotten married, had a new child, had a child reach the age of majority (19 years), gotten divorced or suffered the death of a spouse or even a child. You may have a child g...
The Bible does not tell us the date of Jesus's birth nor does it tell us to celebrate His birth. A celebration of Jesus's resurrection following His death on the cross is a more appropriate celebration for Christians than His birth. That is because Jesus' resurrection from the dead is the proof of the deity of the Son and the real hope for those that believe on Him that their soul will reside with God forever. Society however would much rather celebrate a birth rather than a death. I remember...
The biggest issues that I see unfortunately occur after someone is dead when a new Will is now an impossibility. Some people will do a Will with a lawyer at some point in their life . . . . . forty years ago and never update it. An old Will that is defective in language or the kids in the Will are now grown with their own families can make the probate process considerably more difficult than it should be. The person who sees me for other estate planning that does not include a Will, I have come...
Actually there has. Many of the Court cases involving religion are establishment clause cases where there is an attempt to separate any activity that seems to tie a governmental entity to a religious group. Many such cases have involved the display of Christian or Jewish symbols on city owned property especially during the Christmas or Hanukkah seasons. What has been very rare have been cases involving the Free Exercise of Religion clause. Of interest is the Trinity Lutheran Church of Colombia,...
Talking about monuments that you may not like or receiving a peaceful assembly approval by local law enforcement on public spaces to protest a monument that one may dislike is free speech, but the destruction of existing monuments are protected by law. The actual destruction of a monument is protected by the following: (1) Section 13A-7-21, Code of Alabama Criminal mischief in the first degree. (a) A person commits the crime of criminal mischief in the first degree if, with intent to damage...
Aside from the lawyer jokes, being an attorney is a noble profession. In all professions you have the occasional bad seed even though law schools and Bar associations attempt to weed them out. And many lawyer jokes focus not on the misdeeds of the few but on one of the rules of ethics. The Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.3, Comment in part says, “A lawyer should act with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and with zeal in advocacy upon the client's behalf. “ I...
This is certainly not my area of expertise but I will take a stab at it. First let’s take a look at a couple of historical concepts. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in Congress, which forbade the immigration of Chinese workers for ten years. Section Six of the Geary Act of 1892 required that Chinese obtain a certificate or face arrest or deportation even if there had been no other crimes committed. In the United States Supreme Court case of Fong Yue Ting v. United States it was m...
Patriotically and emotionally if the destruction of an American flag is done in a manner of disrespect, I would think that it should be criminal and I would say give that individual a chance to live in another country! I guess this country is so big on tolerance that about the only thing that I see as intolerant by this country is being disrespectful of minority groups (racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, religious, etc.). For me to be a southern Christian white male, proud of my heritage I...
There are so many things that have affected medical treatment in the last thirty years or more. Technology has come so far and because of it we are living longer and we are paying much more for health care. Living longer means less populous generations than the Baby Boomer generation will have to pay Social Security for that group and Medicare will have to pay longer per person than they did for our grandparents or maybe great grandparents. When my grandfather had a heart attack in the 60’s a...
While states are able to receive Federal funds under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, the State(s) must provide each eligible child with a free appropriate public education and each child under that program must have an individualized education program (IEP). Based on prior case law the education plan for the child must enable the child to make passing marks with appropriate progress and advance from grade to grade. The language was not confined to a single test. Endrew F. is a...
Not to be confused with the South Korean movie “Two Weddings and a Funeral” or the British movie, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, my real life January events had nothing to do with “hooking up” and instead I endured the most grievous and oft dreaded death of a parent, my Mom and only two days after her funeral my oldest son, Matt (not his actual name) returned to Montgomery and married his most precious and beautiful fiancé, Lisa (not her actual name). How often does one experience an emotional...
Article 2, Section 2 of the Unites States Constitution says, “... and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” This has been in the news just prior to the inauguration of Donald Trump as President and it has become common for the outgoing President to issue pardons or commutation of sentences. With the exceptions of Presidents Harrison and Garfield all Presidents have issued pardons and/ or commutations. Har...
Without specifics about yourself I’ll make this answer generic in a personal and in a business sense. I’m presume you looked at your financial estate planning (401k, mutual funds, stocks and bonds, life insurance, etc) and as you do you also think about your legal estate planning. After all you are a year older; you may have gotten married, had a new child, had a child reach the age of majority (19 years), gotten divorced or suffered the death of a spouse or even a child. You may have a chi...
In September I had began to feel pretty rough, so bad that I actually went to the doctor. It was determined that I had a gallstone pancreatitis caused by a gallbladder with stones (of course) and my gallbladder needed to come out. Having had no prior abdominal surgery my surgeon was happy that I had a “virgin belly”, a pretty funny term. I know that my health insurance went up significantly last year and significantly again this year. Thank you President Obama for a real piece of work. Insurance...
Some of you that read this article will still be waiting to vote and see where our future will go or wonder where it will go and there are others that will read this after the election. After the Constitutional convention ended, a Mrs. Powell was able to query Ben Franklin on what form of government had been hammered out, Ben Franklin responded to the question, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Without hesitation, Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it."...
I think that you are doing the hardest thing and the best thing for your husband and yourself by facing this right now. When our loved ones are faced with such devastating diseases it’s easier to not face it and believe they will improve. Being proactive will have you prepared. First I will advise that you visit an attorney that can assist you with estate planning. The three basic documents that your husband will need (and you) are a Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney and an Advance D...
That is a great question and to be honest I think you will receive various answers even among Constitutional attorneys. To begin to try to find that line, it must start with the plain language of the Constitution. While religion is not per se addressed within the body of the main Constitution, religion is addressed within the First Amendment. Many people think about the Constitution’s First Amendment only having to do with free speech but it also includes two sections about religion. The F...
You will be surprised at how low the cost may be for estate planning. If you are pretty wealthy and will potentially require more complicated planning or even if you just have circumstances that require more complicated planning then yes your estate planning can run into the thousands of dollars. For the average adult, estate planning may only be a few hundred dollars. Does that still sound like a lot? Then consider if a Last Will and Testament is improperly done it may require an intestate...
I am as truly horrified as you over the senseless killing of others especially when it involves random attacks on multiple people. However, there are several arguments against tighter gun restrictions, plus being unconstitutional. First lets put it in perspective; murder by gun this year over 5,200. Yep, that’s a lot. This year for alcohol caused deaths it is over 45,000 and drunk driving over 15,500. Is it the alcohol that makes someone pick it up and drink it? There would be over 60,000 p...
There are various issues relative to estate planning and divorce. There are instances where an ex- spouse may continue to be entitled to your assets, times when they are automatically disqualified from assets and/ or disqualified from acting as a fiduciary and then there are changes in the law. Finally, there may be times that you may wish for your ex spouse to inherit from you even though by law that might be successfully challenged. With your Last Will and Testament, upon divorce your former...
I am familiar with two forms of notary and three other forms that I would consider more or less as authentications. The notary public is probably what you are most familiar with. Notaries are appointed and commissioned by the local probate judges and in addition to the application must be bonded for $25,000.00. The notary is reported to the Alabama Secretary of State to include the expiration. If you want to make sure that your notary is authentic, you can look them up on the Alabama Secretary...
