If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers. -Charles Dickens
(Guest post from a US author regarding reasons to hire a lawyer) Many people believe they are self reliant, and can resolve most personal problems themselves. However this isn’t always the best course of action. There are many situations in life where if a lawyer was consulted, it would have made the problem less severe. It’s understood to consult a lawyer if you are being sued, or want to sue someone yourself. But do you know of the various situations where a lawyer can help you in other regards besides those ending in a lawsuit? To help shed a little light on this, here is a list of 20 less known reasons a lawyer should be consulted for everyday life.
#1. A Personal Will: No one likes to think of dying, but if you are not prepared for this eventuality, you can leave your family with a heap of problems to deal with. Whether that’s creating your first will, updating an existing one, understanding the difference between a trust and a will, or when family members challenge a parents will, a lawyer can help ensure your family doesn’t have to bicker and fight by creating a proper will.
#2. Family Member Dies and You Are The Executor Of Their Estate: It’s hard enough to deal with the loss of a family member, but what to do with their house, cars, other possessions and bills owed? This is especially a problem if an improper will was written leaving things vague and uncertain.
#3. An Audit By The IRS: This can be an absolute nightmare for many people, and can potentially ruin a person. Garnished wages, back taxes owed, seizure of property, and other headaches arise when the hammer of the IRS comes down on you. A lawyer will help to ensure the outcome is less severe.
#4. An Excessive Speeding Ticket: There are ranges for the amount a speeding ticket can be, and sometimes in some areas, that limit is very high. If an officer is feeling particularly wicked one day, or believes you should be fined the max amount to teach you a lesson, and you feel it was unjust and excessive, a lawyer can help to reduce either the points lost or fines imposed.
#5. Buying Or Selling A Home: Contracts can be a tricky course to navigate if you aren’t cautious of the wording used. Allow a lawyer to help review the documents for buying or selling a house to make sure nothing is being left out or unnoticed.
#6. A Violation Of A Verbal Agreement: Verbal agreements can be enforced, and the ability to do so is dependent upon the laws of each state. Sometimes there either needs to be a witness or some other criteria for it to stick. Allow a lawyer to explain how your state works and to know whether any courses of action are available if you’re verbal agreement has been broken.
#7. You Want To Change Your Name: If you despise being named Gaylord or Bertha even though your great grandparents carried the same name, you don’t have to always be known as that. You can choose any name you desire; you just need a lawyer to help you with it.
#8. The Adoption Of A Child: Adopting a child is no easy task, and you want to make sure that all the paperwork is property taken care of. Leaving nothing to chance in this regard is very important which is why consulting a lawyer is recommended.
#9. Someone Is Injured On Your Property: Personal injury claims can have terrible consequences, especially if someone is injured on your property due to neglect. However, there are certain guidelines that fall under what constitute neglect and by speaking with a lawyer, you can figure out if you are liable for the injuries sustained.
#10. You Are Subpoenaed: So someone is taking you to court, and you’ve been subpoenaed. Rather than thinking you can handle it yourself, be sure to find a legal consultant. You never know exactly how serious any subpoena can be.
#11. You Are Called For Jury Duty: Sometimes people don’t have the time to do their civic duty, or more pressing matters are at hand. In order to get out of jury duty if you’ve been chosen means you should contact a lawyer to tell the courts. When dealing with the law you should use the law, otherwise you don’t want to be fined or summoned yourself.
#12. You Are Sold Defective Merchandise: False advertisement is illegal, and when you pay for something, you have certain expectations of how it will perform and hold up. So long as those expectations are reasonable, if they are not met, and the merchandise is considered faulty or defective, consulting a lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve.
#13. Credit Card Companies Are Harassing You: When credit card companies harass and threaten you when you owe them money, this is illegal. First of all, it is not law to repay a credit card bill, and they are not allowed to garnish wages or touch your personal property. The only real course of action they can take is to ding your credit score to ensure you can’t get loans in the future. To help halt the harassment, consult a lawyer.
#14. A Neighbors Dog Incessantly Barks For Hours: Noise pollution that unfairly reduces a person’s quality of life is illegal. That goes for Fido in the backyard as well. Not only could the owner of the animal be charged for noise pollution, but for neglect as well as the dog is barking for some reason, either its cold, hot hungry, thirsty, or some other reason.
#15. Your Property Has Been Damaged While In Storage: You have expectations when you put your boat, automobile, or property into storage. One of those expectations is that they won’t be damaged, which is why you are storing them to begin. If a storage company has damaged your property and claims they don’t have to repay you, consult a lawyer to go over the contract agreement. It would probably be best to do this before storing your property anywhere to prevent there ever being a problem.
#16. A Patent For An Invention: You should own your creative property; thus, receiving a patent for your invention should be done to ensure no one else takes advantage of your creations. A lawyer will help to determine the course of action needed in this regard.
#17. You Are Fired From Your Job: It’s bad enough to lose your job, but if you lost your job unfairly or for no reason, or for malicious reason, many times this can be considered illegal. Unemployment may be the only thing you can receive often times. But on occasion, if it can be shown you were fired for illegal reasons, you can be compensated for that.
#18. You Made A Sizeable Donation To Charity: It’s great to be charitable and to come up philanthropic aspirations. The government is happy when you do this as well as they have provided various tax incentives for those who make donations. Knowing your tax bracket and the amount needed to donate to receive these incentives is paramount, and consulting a lawyer will make that clear.
#19. Someone Has Made Slanderous Remarks About You: Libelous and slanderous remarks don’t have to be heard or dealt with. You can sue someone for making up and sharing venomous lies, but you can also be sued as well. Knowing the law in this regard is important, especially in this online era.
#20. You Are Charged More Than A Given Estimate: When you hire someone to do work for you based on the estimate they provided, and the work is done, only to find that they are charging you a different amount, this can be fought in court. Especially if no other words were spoken in regards to the different pricing, and the work continued. Consulting a lawyer can help greatly in this regard.
Featured images:
- License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/140579
The author of this article is Damien S. Wilhelmi. If you enjoyed this piece, you can follow me on Twitter @FacePalmLaw. If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck accident, it is highly advised that you seek out a Colorado truck Accident Lawyer immediately.
