What Separation of Church and State?

First I would like to give a very short civics lesson on the particular part of the Constitution of the United Stated that happens to deal with religion. That would be the first 16 words of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights called the establishment clause and the last part called the exercise clause.

What 1st Amendment Actually Says

What the First Amendment actually states is "Congress (the legislative body) shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This simple statement means that the federal government is prohibited from establishing a church, like the Catholic Church in England at the time, or from getting in the way of the established churches of the states. Several states, focusing on that time, already had state supported religions that had already been established.

No Separation of Church and State

Now if you happen to notice, with a focus on clarity, no where in this short statement does it say a wit about the separation of church and state in the First Amendment! This is something that judicial activists on the Supreme Court, ACLU lawyers, the secular culture, and the left wing press have embraced as the separation of church and state according to the Constitution. But when you read it it says nothing of the kind.

James Madison Key Architect

If we go back in time to June 8th, 1789, James Madison, one of the key architects of the Constitution, is putting forth a proposal that will become the religion clause of the First Amendment. The final argument being stated, "He apprehended the meaning of the words to be, that Congress shall not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by law, nor compel men to worship God in any manner contrary to their conscience." This is exactly why the Puritans came to America in the first place was to escape the tyranny of Great Britain's compulsory state religion.

More debate ensued till we finally reached the final version that stated, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Activist Judges

Now that we have seen what went on back in the day do we really believe that our founding fathers wanted to make children into criminals by saying Merry Christmas in a public school setting? That our founding fathers, through activists Supreme Court judges, actually intended to outlaw school prayer in the nation's learning establishments when all of their own congressional sessions to this very day are opened with a daily prayer? Of course not!

Thanksgiving Day Prayer Offered

On Sept. 25th, 1789, Representative Elias Boudinot proposed a resolution asking President George Washington to issue a national thanksgiving Day Proclamation and having been passed two weeks later it was proclaimed by George Washington when he stated, "Now, therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th of November, to be devoted by the people of these United States to the service of that great and glorious being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may all unite to render unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable inter-positions of his providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which he has pleased to confer on us."

These inspiring words go on for yet another paragraph from the father of our country, but no doubt would have been met with a civil suit from the ACLU had that group been around back then.

Looking Closely at What Transpired

So let's take a good look at what was really transpiring in the 18th century, the era of the Revolutionary War, the time of the writing of the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution, when Christianity ruled America completely.

There were days of fasting in the Continental Congress that were designated for prayer, there were other religious observances, also money was appropriated to fund congressional chaplains, and funds were made available to pay Christian missionaries to help convert the many Indian tribes to Christianity.

Six of the original 13 states had churches that were supported by the state including Georgia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. These states collectively stated that they would not approve the new national Constitution unless there was provided a prohibition of federal tinkering with their states ongoing establishments of religion. Other states would not support it unless elected officials were true Christians.

There was in 1977 a time when the Revolutionary War was a threat to the flow of Bibles from England. There was a purchase made by the Congress of 20,000 bibles that were imported from Holland to give away to the states.

Government Heavily Involved

So as you can discern from this articles findings the states were very heavily involved in the church functionality and the church also played a vital role in seeing that there elected officials were Christians and upheld the newly written Constitution and Bill of Rights. There wasn't any undermining of Christian views, or progressive secularist around prodding the ACLU to file disruptive lawsuits to disenfranchise the Christian way of life.

Conclusion

Today the more you object to government intrusion the more investigations are spotlighted on you through IRS audits. If you run a church they will check your records to see if you support a certain politician and try to shut you down if you do. If you stand up for your beliefs they will slander you endlessly with false statements about your character, what you believe, and go after your money with frivolous lawsuits where you still have to pay a lawyer to prove your case. As someone once said back in the day, these are times that try a man's soul. Stand for what you believe, the progressive secularists do.

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Legal Symbols And Word Processors

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

If you are an attorney or a paralegal, you probably know very well how to make your word processing program type and print a § or a ¶ symbol. For the rest of us, the average word processor does not usually make it obvious how to make legal symbols.

¶, •, and §, are never used in conversations, however they are often used on written motions and pleadings; which can be typed by mortals representing themselves.

Legal symbols are used most often by lawyers, when they type up motions and pleadings. Occasionally lawyers use a few other strange symbols such as Ӝ in odd places, to confuse the other side. When representing yourself, you do not need a law degree to make your own motion or pleading.

What do some of the symbols mean? The § symbol means the section, or a section area. The ¶ symbol, called a Pilcrow, means the end of a paragraph. The • symbol is called the bullet, that means a point to take notice of, or an item on a list.

Here is what I learned from other judgment enforcers, and from experimentation, on some shortcuts to make legal symbols.

What keys to press, to produce a specific special character, depends on the unique combination of what kind of computer you have, what brand of word processor you use, and what version it is. This article lists some ways to produce legal symbols, however your mileage will vary.

In Microsoft Word 2010 and possibly other versions, click on Insert, then click on Symbol, and then select the desired symbol, among them should be ¶ and §. In Word 2007, you must do one more step, and click on Special Characters.

If you have a Macintosh, with almost any kind of word processor including BBEdit, TextWrangler, OpenOffice, and TextEdit; pressing ALT/Option 6 makes a §, and Alt/Option 7 makes a ¶.

In most PC programs, if you have a number pad, you can usually hold down the ALT key and then type 0167 on the number key pad, and release the ALT key, to get a §. You can usually hold down the ALT key and type 0149 to get a •, and ALT 0182 to get a ¶.

Even if it takes awhile to figure out how to make the special characters you want on your PC, most programs remember the last few special characters you used. The next time you want to use one, it should be at the top of the list.

Another solution is to install a software shortcut or "hotkey", to (e.g.) map Control-S to § and Control-P to ¶.

There are many keyboard combinations to produce special characters on PCs, by holding down the ALT key. A handy list for PC-users is at: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codealt.html

Finally, most courts have eliminated the "blue backs" on pleading and motions, however be aware some Federal District courts still require them.

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Assignment Order Wording

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment and Collections Broker. This article is my opinion, based on my experience in California, and laws vary in each state. If you ever need legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

This article is one of my series of assignment order articles. This one includes a simple example of a template for an assignment order combined with a civil restraining order.

An assignment order can intercept income streams going to your judgment debtor. It requires a new court hearing, and must be served on all other parties.

One problem can be, as soon as the judgment debtor, or those paying your judgment debtor, are served with an assignment order, one of them might suspend or divert payments, to thwart the creditor.

For this reason, it is sometimes a good idea to include restraining order wordings in assignment orders. At the end of this article is a template for a simple assignment order that includes a civil restraining order.

My articles and templates are in no way a replacement for proper legal advice. Always consult with a lawyer on your first assignment order.

Assignment orders require a lot of paperwork, that must be served. In addition to an order, as discussed in this article, a Memorandum of Points and Authorities, a Motion, a Notice of Motion (or Entry of Order), and Proofs Of Service are also all usually required.

Often, proposed orders are submitted to the court, and the judge may tell you to modify the order, and then resubmit the proposed order to the court clerk later, for the judge's signature.

This is a simple example of an assignment order, with a restraining order I have used:

Your Name (your capacity - assignee of record or judgment creditor) Your Address Your City, State, and Zip Your Email address and Phone Number

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE (YOUR STATE) OF YOUR STATE COUNTY OF (YOUR COUNTY), YOUR DIVISION (civil, small claims, etc.)

Case # 123456789

Pat Plaintiff vs. Dave Defendant

ASSIGNMENT AND RESTRAINING ORDER Date: June 17, 2010 Time: 1:00 P.M. Dept: 14

This motion, was brought before this court by Mark D. Shapiro, the assignee of record for this judgment, that was rendered by this court on 07/07/2007.

The assignee of record was heard on June 17, 2010, before Hon. John Justice, Judge Presiding, in Department 14 of the above entitled court.

Judgment Debtor Dave Defendant, having been duly served with notice of this motion, (either appeared, or failed to appear and did not oppose the motion).

The Court, having considered the motion and with good cause appearing:

IT IS ORDERED that assignee of record's motion be hereby granted as follows:

All payments due, or to become due to Judgment Debtor Dave Defendant from Joe's Garage, are hereby assigned to assignee of record Mark D. Shapiro, to the extent necessary to pay this judgment with accrued interest and costs in full through the date of final payment.

Both Joe's Garage and Judgment Debtor Dave Defendant, and any servant, agent, employee, attorney, and any person(s) in active concert and participating with the Judgment Debtor Dave Defendant or Joe's Garage are hereby restrained from encumbering, assigning, disposing, lending, or spending commission fees, bonuses, regular payments, and all other payments for services performed by Judgment Debtor Dave Defendant, or paid to Dave Defendant from or by Joe's Garage, to the extent necessary to pay assignee of record Mark D. Shapiro to satisfy the judgment herein.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT FAILURE BY THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR DAVE DEFENDANT OR JOE's GARAGE, TO COMPLY WITH THIS ORDER MAY SUBJECT THEM TO BEING HELD IN CONTEMPT OF COURT.

Dated: __________________

Signed: __________________

Honorable John Justice, Judge of the Superior Court

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Judgment Quotes

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

Usually, when you have a judgment, your judgment debtor will not pay you voluntarily. Most people do not want to read or think a lot about their judgment. Most people just want an instant quote from someone who will buy their judgment immediately.

The problem is, that is not how getting a quote for a judgment really works, unless you sell your judgment for less than one cent on the dollar. Anyone that buys a judgment must spend time and money, and take some financial risks, to try to recover money from it.

In this article, "buyer" means an expert qualified to estimate and quote a judgment's approximate value, which could be a judgment buyer, investor, recovery specialist, collection lawyer, or a collection agency.

Only a qualified judgment buyer can estimate and quote a judgment's real value, which is mostly an estimate of both the risks, and what might be available to levy from what the judgment debtor owns, to satisfy the judgment.

To get a price quote for a cash up-front purchase of a judgment, you need a copy of the judgment, and what you know about the judgment debtor and their assets. While the judgment debtor is unknown and/or has no assets, the value of a judgment is approximately zero.

An example of an unfindable debtor would be one having a name of (e.g.) Bill Smith, who was served with a lawsuit at a some transitory location, that could not be tied to anyone named Bill Smith. An example of a judgment debtor without assets would be one that has successfully filed for bankruptcy protection, or that has no attachable income or assets.

Presuming your debtor is known and has some assets, your judgment has some value. On a cash up-front sale, the buyer takes all the risks, so the price offered is always a small fraction of the face value of the judgment.

When you sell a judgment, there is always paperwork that usually must be notarized. Their paperwork includes both a contract and either an assignment of judgment form, or a lawyer's or an agency's retainer form. Before the buyer's paperwork is sent to you, they must calculate the approximate value of your judgment, factoring in all known and some unknown risks.

Most judgments have value, however their value is not insurable, is not guaranteed, and is unknown, except for a short time after an estimate by a qualified buyer.

Even if judgments were guaranteed, they could never be sold cash up-front for anything close to their face value because of the time value of money. $100 now is infinitely more valuable than $100 ten years from now. Getting a tooth pulled 20 years from now is more appealing than getting a tooth pulled today. A judgment pays over time, if it pays at all.

About 85% of a judgment's value is mostly an estimate of what the debtor can be made to pay from their available assets now, and 15% on what the debtor might be able to pay in the future. In today's economy, the value of a judgment depends 85% on "now". Now lasts a very short time, and many futures can change quickly.

The prices quoted for a judgment somewhat depends on the location of the debtor, because that effects how the judgment might be recovered.

The value of a judgment does not depend on you or your buyer, so shopping a judgment is not important, or at least not as important as shopping for anything else. Shopping your judgment is usually like shopping a $100 bill. The price stays near $100, no matter which buyer you show your $100 bill to.

One option is to send your judgment to one to five judgment buyers. Another option is to send your judgment to just one judgment broker. Sending your judgment to more than five buyers is a waste of their time and yours.

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Notary Public and Notary Stamps: Important to Certify Legal Papers

Notary Public and Notary Stamp are quite familiar words while we are thinking about attesting any legal documents (applying for passports, reissuing passport, while women are changing name after marriage, paper of adoption of a child, making will, diplomas, employment letters, police clearances, powers of attorney, transcripts etc.) in any legal way, taking help from those people or officials who are authorized by the Government to certify these legal papers.

A Notary Public means any state official who is appointed by that state government to sign important documents, to administer oaths and affirmations, certify legal documents, and in some states to write affidavits, depositions, and protests as a witness. The origin of notary public is traced so many years before in ancient Rome. During that time a small number of people knew about how to serve people in legal way. But now-a- days in modern times, a small fee is charged for these services.

Notary Stamp is a public official that is used to minimize fraud in legal documents while administering oaths and attesting to signatures are taking place by officials to serve people. Here a stamp is a distinctive mark or impression that made upon an object, a device used to make stamp, or a distinctive sticker applied to an object. Generally, notary stamp and notary seal is same thing and people used to notary seal as a reference to an embossing or raised seal.

The notarizing process is pretty simple. The person who wants his or her signature notarized must have to present sufficient evidence to prove his or her identity, and then have to sign the necessary document with the notary as a witness. The notary completes its process by stamping or sealing, dating, and signing the document. This face-to-face procedure is more authentic because it helps to ensure the authenticity of the signature.

In U.S. states, a notary official can only affix their stamp or seal next to their signature in a notarial certificate for acknowledgment. Notary officials cannot sign and stamp without provided appropriate documents. The signature here indicates that the notary official performed a notarial act either an oath or an acknowledgment. The stamp doesn't provide any notarial act rather it provides proof that the parson is a notary.

A notary official has two main responsibilities: one is properly attesting documents to minimize fraud; and second is this signature attestation must be done in a face-to-face setting.Signer must personally come to the notary public but in some states another person can come, swear as a third party signed the document, I found some benefit here if anyone is really busy and cannot come to face-to-face sitting.

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Focus on This ONE Thing to Improve Your Practice

The immediate deadline. The call that needs to be made or returned before lunch. The pre-bills that have to be checked this afternoon. The case law that needs to be scoured so the motion can be finished up tonight. The filing that's due in the morning. The mediation tomorrow afternoon...

The overwhelming majority of your time during the day is spent attending to a pressing task at hand. Once you've handled it, you check it off the list and move right to the next discrete, time- or pressure-sensitive task. Your day passes with your head down, attending to each thing right in front of you, and then it's time to leave the office.

Now, if you're really productive, this task-to-task movement can be satisfying - at least for a while. But it usually keeps you from spending time on activities that Stephen Covey famously described as "important but not urgent."

These kinds of activities - such as finally resolving an inconsistent policy, or updating your contacts list, or teaching your assistant how to optimize a frequently used procedure - are far more valuable to you because they build future capacity. Once executed, they save you time every day and help you (and your team) to be more consistently effective.

In our law firm consulting work around time management and productivity, we hear it over and over: the standard rationale for not engaging in these kinds of high-payoff, capacity-building activities is, of course, that you don't have time for them. But you know that's ultimately just an excuse. The most successful professionals do not indulge the "don't have time" excuse. They consciously cultivate such activities on a regular basis, and you can too.

Start by identifying one capacity-building activity that, once executed or routinized, would improve your performance on a regular basis. Then, identify the first specific action to take to begin implementing that activity. It may be as simple as coming in on Saturday morning with a few trash bags to finally dump the mounds of unneeded paper. It might be scheduling a 45-minute block of time with your assistant to finally document the correct checklist of pretrial file preparation.

Set a goal for yourself to concretely improve how you practice during the first half of the year by focusing on one important-but-not urgent activity that will help you build your capacity to function more effectively from now on.

Follow these steps to be more productive and get more done in your law practice.

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How to Fight a Credit Card Lawsuit: Answer Your Request for Admissions

If you are facing a possible lawsuit from unpaid credit card debt account, it is important to learn how to fight a credit card lawsuit. You'd be surprised at how easy it is. Of course, you need to remember two things when learning how to fight a credit card lawsuit, first, you need to gather as much information as you can about the subject and two, check your local court rules to learn what types of motions you can file if your creditor made errors with the complaints and the summons.

Many debtors who are facing possible lawsuits from their creditors tend to ignore the importance of creating an Answer to Request for Admissions, which is given to you by the plaintiff. So should you? The answer is a resounding yes.

Always check your local court rules under Discovery or the local court rules for Admissions, Interrogatories, and Production of Documents, all of which are labeled separately. Your local court rules will provide information on how to fight a credit card lawsuit properly. In some states, every single Request for Admission is DEEMED ADMITTED unless the defendant creates an Answer to these allegations by filing a Written Answer or Objection to the court.

The lawyer who sent you the Admissions should tell you how many days you have before you send the necessary documents but some will conveniently leave out this fact so better do your own research or you might miss this chance to answer all allegations against, you.

On the other hand, if you ignore the Request for Admissions and failed to provide an answer to the opposing attorney, he or she will file a Motion to have these Admissions deemed admitted per your local Court rule. Essentially, the court and the plaintiff will take it that you admit to owing them money, you admit that you own the credit card and you admit that you did not pay your debt.

Simply put, failure to file an Answer means you are letting your creditor win their case! If the plaintiff files a motion to that Admissions Deemed Admitted, you will lose the case and pay the debt in question, plus interest, penalty charges and your creditor's legal fees!

Avoid crippling financial problems by learning how to fight a credit card lawsuit! Remember, losing the case means you will not only pay the debt, you will also get bad marks on your credit scores for several years. Learn what steps you need to take and learn how to fight a credit card lawsuit correctly.

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Why Get a Bail Bondsman to Help When Bailing Someone Out Of Jail

What are the benefits of getting the services of bail bondsmen? Why are they better than actually bailing someone out of jail by yourself? If you happen to find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to bail someone out of jail, bail bondsmen can be your best friend. Here are the reasons why:

1. They can help protect the defendant from harm. Correctional facilities are not the safest of places, if you or someone you know was wrongfully accused of a crime then you would not want to suffer the consequences for it. With the help of bail bondsmen agencies, you can bail someone out of jail and spare them from all the unnecessary suffering.

2. It will be easier for the defendants to work out their case when they are not behind bars. It is found out that there is more than a 50 percent chance for the defendant to lower the charges filed against him, sometimes even getting them dropped altogether. So if you bail someone out of jail you can actually help them clear their name.

3. It saves time and money when you get the help of bail bondsmen. You can actually transact with the agency over the phone about how much money you need to bail someone out of jail over the phone; they will just fax over some documents that will need your signature and they will take care of everything on your behalf.

4. You get to choose the conditions of release. Bail bondsmen not only help to bail someone out jail, they can even help people change their lives for the better. If the defendant is faced with drugs or alcohol charges, you can choose to require him to first complete a rehab program before bail gets posted.

5. They have agents that will make sure that the defendant shows up for his scheduled day in court. You are no longer faced with the responsibility of making sure the defendant does not jump bail and leave you accountable for him. A lot of people forget that when you bail someone out of jail, you are responsible for the defendant, if he runs then you can kiss the bail money goodbye.

6. Bail bondsmen save the state a lot of money. Taxpayers pay for the housing and feeding of inmates of federal prisons, whether they are guilty or not. If you bail someone out of jail, you are doing your own small part in alleviating the financial burden of the Taxpayer.

7. Bail bondsmen know all of the ins and outs of bailing someone out of jail. It can be quite frustrating when you bail someone out of jail; you need to go and jump through a lot of hoops to get the person out. Using a bail bondsman you no longer have to worry about doing all of those things, they'll take care of everything for you.

So the next time you need to bail someone out of jail, consider getting help from a certified bail bonds agency.

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How to Become a SAN

''SAN'' stands for Senior Advocate of Nigeria. It's a rank given to a Nigerian lawyer as a mark of professional distinction in the practice of law. It's the peak that any practicing lawyer can attain in Nigeria. The award of SANship started in 1975. But before then, Nigeria had adopted the British equivalent called the Queen's Counsel. Chief F.R.A Williams and Chief H.O. Davies were the first two Nigerians to be Queen's Counsel in 1958. In 1964, the rank was abolished in Nigeria and had no replacement until 1975.

So there was no ranking system for the Nigerian Lawyers between 1964-1975. As a matter of fact, all the lawyers were equal then. But on 3rd April, 1975, Chief F.R.A Williams and Dr. Nabo Graham-Douglas became the first two to be so appointed. This marked the beginning of a new phase in the history of legal profession in the country. Nigeria now has over 60,000 lawyers but only 349 of them have been made Senior Advocates of Nigeria so far.

How to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria is governed by a set of guidelines. It's the guidelines that tell who becomes a SAN. So what are these guidelines?

Guidelines for Being Appointed a SAN

There is a committee set up by law to ensure that the guidelines are strictly observed. The Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee is the committee in question. The award of SANship is a yearly event. It is the responsibility of any interested lawyer in the rank to apply to the Committee. The guidelines which the Committee will consider in order to determine who deserves the award or not are these:

1. An applicant must be a Nigerian citizen.

2. He must have been practicing in Nigeria for 10years before he can apply.

3. He must be in full legal practice.

4. He must have distinguished himself as an advocate.

5. He must be a man of good character.

6. He must have made significant contribution to the development of the legal profession in Nigeria.

7. At the point of obtaining the application form, he must pay a non-refundable sum of N200,000. This amount may be reviewed at anytime by the Committee.

8. He must submit to the Committee a list of at least 10 judges of superior courts before whom he had appeared in contested cases of importance. The Committee may select any 3 of them to give a detailed confidential reference of the applicant.

9. He must also submit a list of co- legal practitioners with whom he has handled cases. Three of them may be selected by the Committee to give a confidential reference of the applicant.

10. He must submit the particulars of contested cases which he personally handled in this order:

8 judgements of the High Court, 6 judgements of the Court of Appeal, 3 judgements of the Supreme Court.

11. He must have been paying his practicing fees consistently and membership due to his local branch of the Nigeria Bar Association in the last 10years preceding the application.

12. He must submit evidence of income tax payment for 3 years preceding the application.

13. The Committee has a duty to carryout a physical inspection of the applicant's chambers to assess the following:

the size and quality of the library, space and other facilities available, number and quality of support staff, maintenance of proper books of accounts, number of junior lawyers which should not be less than 5.

Where an applicant is an academic, he has to provide the Committee with 20 copies of his published works in addition to some of the relevant considerations above.

The award of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria is primarily for the advocates. The extension of the award to non-court going legal practitioners like the academics is the only exception.

Functions and Benefits of Being a SAN

Being a SAN brings the followings benefits:

1. Order of Precedence- A Senior Advocate of Nigeria sits in the inner bar by occupying the front row of the seats available for legal practitioners in courts. This also extends to the right of a SAN to mention his cases ahead of other lawyers no matter their age of professional qualification.

2. Appearance in Court- A SAN must always appear in court with a junior lawyer. Appearing with a junior lawyer may, however, be waived where the matter is a criminal one.

3. The Appeal-The dress of a SAN is different from that of other lawyers. He wears gown sown more stylishly and made of silk materials which makes the appearance also more elegant. SANs are also called "the silk" because of the clothing materials they use.

4. Professional Fees- A SAN also enjoys a privilege to charge a fee higher than what other lawyers could charge.

Above all the benefits of being a SAN, the sense of psychological fulfillment which comes with attaining the peak of one's profession is incomparable. This explains why the contest for the rank is always intense and keen. Year in year out, hundreds if not thousands of legal practitioners apply but only a handful is chosen.

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Types of Benefits For Most People Injured in a Car Accident

Injuries caused by a car accident can have a tremendous affect on a person's life, beyond the physical injuries. For some people, receiving needed medical care becomes a challenge, especially with limited personal medical insurance coverage. Others who might be able to afford medical care have to miss time from work for treatments and doctor's appointments.

Fortunately, there are car insurance companies that provide accident benefits to victims. The actual amount of coverage may vary among insurance companies; however, many offer the same types of benefits to an injured person. State and local requirements might also affect the type and amount of benefit coverage available to accident victims.

Insurance benefits are also available for family members whose loved one dies after an auto accident. A common insurance term for this benefit is death and dismemberment coverage. Often, family members might file a third party claim. This claim is usually filed in court where a ruling against the at-fault driver results in financial compensation.

The common auto accident benefits include reimbursement for lost wages; medical expense payments and replacement services.

Lost Wages

Depending on the policy provisions, an injured person could receive 85 percent of his or her employment salary. Some insurance policies allow collection of these benefits for up to three years. To receive this benefit, the attending physician must authorize that because of injuries sustained in the accident, the person is unable to work.

Most state laws incorporate a limit on how much an accident victim may collect in lost wage payments. Some laws include an exception to receiving benefits beyond the maximum period or amount. If the job is no longer available - unless it is because of an economic turndown - the injured person could receive additional benefits.

Another reason for receiving the lost wage benefit is when injuries disable the person further.

Medical Expenses

Medical expense benefits cover the treatment and care a person needs to recover from injuries. This is another benefit coverage that varies among insurance companies, but typically includes two types. One type is commonly called coordinated benefits. This type covers any medical expense not included in the personal health insurance plan.

The second type is full medical expense benefits. With this type of coverage, the insurance company pays for all medical expenses. This benefit is paid even if the personal health insurance pays the expenses.

Replacement Services

As with the previously discussed auto accident benefits, replacement services could also vary. This is commonly based on state provisions. Most benefits pay the injured person a specific dollar amount per day. This payment is for any type of household service the person can no longer perform due to physical injuries.

Some benefit plans will pay $20 per day or more for various services. Most plans provide payments for three years after the car accident. This additional income can alleviate financial concerns most people have after an accident.

The provision for replacement services could include household chores, transportation for family members, vehicle or lawn maintenance, babysitting services and food preparation. Of course, the need for these services will vary based on individual needs.

Important Things to Remember

Receiving some or all of these auto accident benefits are often contingent upon following essential steps soon after an injury.

Most states and insurance companies set time limits for filing an insurance claim to receive benefits. Failing to file within the allotted time period could result in a loss of benefits.

Insurance companies must also adhere to certain conditions. Once a claim is filed, the insurance company is required to reimburse the injured person within one year. This timeframe could be sooner in some states. If the injured person does not receive a reimbursement, he or she could have the right to file a lawsuit against the insurance company.

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Why Bank Levies Fail

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

What if you know for sure where a Judgment Debtor (JD) banks, then pay a Sheriff to levy their bank account, and the bank responds with "no funds" or "account closed"?

In some places, bank levies are expensive, with the cost of finding the bank account, paying the court, the Sheriff, and a process server.

Getting a "no funds" or "account closed" letter can be frustrating. There are usually six reasons for this result, in order of probability:

1) The JD is poor, or closed their bank account.

2) The Sheriff, you, or someone else, made an error or a typographical error that caused the levy to fail.

3) Either you, or your information source was wrong, and the judgment debtor never had a bank account at that bank, or at that branch.

4) The debtor uses an AKA, or is only an authorized signer on the bank account, and has no ownership of the money.

5) The bank made a mistake.

6) The bank is lying or is protecting the judgment debtor.

The most common reasons are the judgment debtor either never had an account, closed their account, is only a signer on the account, or uses an AKA name.

When your judgment debtor is poor, bank levy results will rarely cover the money you spent.

At judgment debtor examinations, when you ask judgment debtors where they bank, many will lie. Even when you know for sure where a judgment debtor banks, some judgment debtors change banks accounts as often as most people change their socks.

There are many laws that protect everyone's private banking information, including JDs. Very few methods of locating a bank account are perfect. Many bank location services use historical records, that are not completely current or accurate, especially with poor or clever JDs.

If the JD uses an AKA, you might need to get an affidavit of identity approved by the court, with proof that links the judgment debtor with the names they actively use.

When the JD owns a DBA business, to get an affidavit of identity approved by the court, you will need a certified copy of their fictitious name statement filing.

Bank accounts have owner(s). There may also be authorized signers, or benefactors that inherit the funds upon death of the owner(s).

Sometimes "no funds" means the judgment debtor is only an authorized signer on the bank account. That means the judgment debtor is only linked to the account, and has no ownership of the money that could be reached by a levy.

Some people open bank accounts for their children, under The Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. Some use their child's account as their personal checking account that is off-limits to creditors, because they do not own the account.

Some people get ripped off, after they add a new authorized signer to their bank account. Laws can punish people who make mistakes as much as the crook who defrauded them.

For example, a man meets a new girlfriend that moves in with him. Later, he adds her as an authorized signer on his checking account. She then deposits $15,000 in forged checks, and when the 3-day hold is over, she withdraws all the money, and absconds to an unknown location.

Within a few weeks, the checks are returned as forgeries, and are charged back to the owner's account. Surprisingly, the owner of the account is now responsible for repaying the bounced checks.

The criminal that bounced checks and stole money is not going to be charged and made to repay, unless they can be found, and the charges are proven in court, and if they have assets that might eventually be recovered.

Sometimes banks made mistakes. More than once a bank has lied, tipped off, or in some other way protected the funds of a judgment debtor.

If you are confident you know the right bank for the judgment debtor, and that money was in the account at the time of the levy; you might schedule, subpoena, and serve a judgment debtor for an examination at the court.

A subpoenaed request for the production of documents is known in some courts as a Subpoena Duces Tecum (SDT). SDTs served on banks should be worded to include any and all accounts associated with the judgment debtor.

You can subpoena a request for the production of documents, from both the judgment debtor and their bank as a third-party. From the bank, you can request a copy of the documentation served by the Sheriff.

One goal can be to get both the bank and the judgment debtor in court at the same time to answer questions and produce documents. It is difficult for two parties to lie exactly the same.

You could request a year's worth of records. You might find records for an account that "did not exist". In California, and probably other states, if the debtor is a person, one needs to first serve them a "notice to the consumer".

If the judgment debtor does not show up, you can keep trying to recover the judgment. If the bank does not show up, you might be able to sue them, when local laws (in California, CCP 1992) allow.

If you can prove the bank had funds in the name of the judgment debtor at the time your levy was served, you could start by writing a demand letter to the bank, politely demanding the balance in the account on the levy date, up to the amount required to satisfy the judgment. Include the proof you knew the bank account existed, the Sheriff's documentation, and the bank's memorandum of garnishee, that shows their previous statement of "no accounts".

Some banks pay after getting a polite demand letter, other banks you will have to sue. In these kinds of circumstances, many times the bank or credit union will settle a lawsuit before the trial.

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Missing Creditors

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. This article is my opinion, and not legal advice, based on my experience in California, and laws vary in each state. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

Many times, it takes years or longer (sometimes never) to recover a judgment or debt. What should you do when you are a judgment enforcer, contingency attorney, or a collection agency, and you recover some money, and then cannot locate the Original Judgment or debt Owner (OJC) to pay them their share of a recovery?

The more money owed to the OJC, the more important this issue becomes. Anyone that recovers a debt or judgment on a contingency basis, after money is recovered, has a fiduciary responsibility to the OJC for their share of what is recovered. The OJC's share is defined by the purchase agreement.

Can one keep the OJC's share of recovered money after some certain time period? There are two answers, the first answer is no, it is never your money. The other answer is, you can think of the money as a temporary loan that will very likely have to be repaid one day.

When the OJC's money has been retained for years, yet the OJC cannot be found, some experts would recommend that the OJC's money be sent to the State as unclaimed funds. That way, no skeletons could ever come out of the closet.

Before you spend any of the OJC's money, consider these five points:

1) Email, mail, and call or leave voice mail, for all the contacts you have for the OJC. Whatever that does not bounce, send again one more time, in 30 days.

2) Remember, this is really not your money. The money is a deferred obligation to repay. There is a chance you will never be told to repay it. However, always remember that probably one day, you will have to return it.

3) Use the same data services and search systems you would use with a debtor, for your OJC. My opinion is that you have a permissible purpose because you are working on a judgment or debt, for the benefit of a consumer. (The government and data services seem to consider everyone a consumer.)

I cannot imagine anyone getting upset when you skip trace someone having for the sole purpose of sending them a check.

4) Document with both a paper file, and on your computer, when the money was recovered, and how much the OJC is owed. Because you might have to pay money to the OJC one day, never delete or destroy any case file information. Be sure to document how you diligently and repeatedly tried to locate the OJC.

Keep the goal of trying to return the OJC's money. If you cannot find the OJC, repeat a simple search for them every year. If anyone suspects you are purposely being evasive, they might try to sue you.

5) Be very willing to quickly return all the money, if the OJC, or someone from their estate, contacts you. I do not think you will owe the OJC any additional interest, unless your purchase contract specified that.

The bottom line is, the OJC's money is never really yours. However, this is similar to an interest-free loan with a small chance of never needing to be repaid.

Sometimes, the way life works is, when you spend someone else's money, you will likely have to pay it back, usually at a most inconvenient time.

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Which Judgments Should You Take?

I am not a lawyer, I am a judgment broker. This article is my opinion, and not legal advice, based on my experience in California. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

When one is new to the judgment recovery business, they tend to take every judgment showed to them. A common belief held by some new to the business, is that even if they do not currently have the resources, or know how to, enforce a judgment, they take it anyway. That way, they can work on it whenever they are ready someday, and perhaps also so that no one else can get it.

Once one has had some experiences, spending some days answering calls and emails from Original Judgment Creditors (OJCs) asking "what's going on with my judgment?", one becomes more selective about which judgments they will take. Some enforcers have become cash up-front judgment buyers, primarily to avoid OJCs who contact them excessively.

Ideally, one should only take judgments when there is some confidence that it can be recovered within one year. That is sometimes six months to find and have the judgment debtor assets levied, then waiting up to six more months for the Sheriff to mail you a check.

When you are assigned a judgment, and you have no clear-cut path to recovering it, you should let the OJC know the reasons, and that this is a judgment you will check every six months. If they complain strongly, consider returning it.

In my opinion, there is not much current or future value in owning judgments that you cannot enforce. Here are some guidelines as to whether you should take on or keep a judgment:

1) Is the OJC reasonable? Do they object to your rates, do they want to make unreasonable modifications to your paperwork? Are they strongly hinting they will be annoying in the future? Then do not take their judgment.

2) Is the debtor far away from you? It is usually best not to take judgments when the debtor or the court that rendered the judgment, is farther away than you can conveniently drive or fly to.

3) Does the debtor have any available assets showing? If not, remember that it is difficult to recover what is not there.

4) Do you have enough resources (experience, contacts, time, and cash) to do and pay for what is required to recover the judgment?

5) Does the judgment debtor have an OK credit score? Some judgment enforcers get judgments assigned to them (which makes them the legal owner of the judgment), and then run credit reports on the judgment debtors, before filing the assignments at the court. If the judgment debtor's credit report is bad, they do not file the assignment with the court, and return the judgment back to the OJC.

When you decide not to take a judgment, clearly explain the reasons to the OJC. Tell the OJC the truth, to reduce the chances of them wasting people's time by bouncing their judgment off many other enforcers. Better yet, earn income and help OJCs, by referring them to a judgment broker.

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