When you need legal advice, you should get it only from a qualified licensed attorney. Seriously, there’s no substitute. To help you learn a little more about legal issues that affect you and to find a qualified attorney in your area, definitely visit FindLaw.Com, an excellent resource on legal matters.

In some instances, however, you’ve already made the important legal decision (about starting a business, protecting your intellectual property, filing for bankruptcy, writing a will), and you just need a little help on procedures. NOLO.com can guide you to the right procedures and the right forms, even simplified divorces (no children and little property). NOLO is an excellent resource for forms and procedures, how-to articles, tips. As one attorney said, if you feel insecure or are in a specific or complex situation, seek counsel. Another approach is to review the NOLO resources with the confidence that you can figure it out, and if you can’t, see a lawyer. Excellent advice!

In addition to forms and procedures, NOLO.Com provides a helpful newsletter and frequent podcasts by attorneys on a number of legal issues. Take a listen to NOLO’s recent estate planning podcast: Do You Need a Will or a Trust? by Attorney Denis Clifford, author of Plan Your Estate. Living Trust is an issue I’ve been exploring now for some time. I may not have much to leave behind, but the possibility of helping my family avoid the costs and complexities of probate is really appealing to me. As for estate taxes, learn from Attorney Clifford that most of us won’t be liable for estate taxes . . . unless we’re millionaires. Really, only about 1% of the U.S. population will have to pay estate taxes (erroneously referred to as “the death tax.”)

Even if you ultimately go to an attorney, it’s best to be as informed as possible so that you know what questions to ask, what forms you might need, and what directions you want to explore with your counsel. It could make a lot difference in your bottom line when you get your attorney’s by-the-hour billing statement. Being informed is not only cost-effective, but improves your ability to effectively communicate with your attorney. That’s always a good thing.

If you have serious legal issues and no money, your area may also provide free legal aid. In South Florida, for example, and in particular in Broward or Collier counties, definitely visit LegalAid.Org, an excellent organization that provides help to indigent people in domestic violence issues, restraining orders, AIDS/HIV programs, tenant actions, certain immigration issues and more. If you’re outside Broward and Collier, just do a search for “legal aid” and your city, county or state, or visit Legal Services Corporation’s web site. For free legal aid matters, look especially for a web site name (domain) that ends in “.us,” “.gov,” or “.org” which are more frequently used for U.S. government resource sites and non-profit organizations, respectively.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 26th, 2007 at 11:44 am and is filed under Hot Sites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.