Estate planning requires you to be careful and meticulous while hiring an estate planning lawyer. After all, your property and estate are at stake. A good estate planning lawyer will ensure that there is a smooth transition in your will without any hassles caused to your family. To ensure this, you need to keep a few factors in mind. Here are a few useful tips to hire an estate planning lawyer.
The lawyer should have a legal malpractice insurance
A legal malpractice insurance indicates accountability. Having a legal malpractice insurance or a professional liability insurance is not mandatory across all states. However, if your estate planning lawyer has this insurance, you will be protected against any mistakes made by the lawyer or his associates working on your case. When you hire an estate planning lawyer who has a malpractice insurance, you and your heir will not be at the risk of losing anything.
The lawyer should have certifications and degrees from known law schools
The best lawyers come out from the best law schools. Law schools across the country are ranked according to a four-tier ranking system. When you are looking for estate planning lawyers, ask them from which law school did they get their law degree. Also, ask whether they have a specialization in wills and probate or trusts and estates.
The lawyer should be a member of a professional association
Ask whether your estate planning lawyer is a member of any professional associations, such as the National Association of Estate Planning Councils’ WealthCounsel. When your lawyer is a part of such an association, he is aware of all the latest developments and updates of estate planning. You will be assured that your lawyer has an extensive network that will be useful for your case.
The lawyer should give a clear disclosure of fees charged for services provided
Usually, lawyers do not clearly state the fees they will charge before they get to know the specifics of your case. However, you can ask them about an estimation of the fees they will charge. On the other hand, there are lawyers who straight out state a fixed fee, irrespective of the kind of case they have. Mostly, known as trust-mill law firms, be wary of such lawyers who may not be able to meet your or your family’s specific estate planning needs.
We often stumble across the word “bail” in news or our favorite courtroom dramas. But what does this word actually mean?
In simple terms, bail is an amount that a defendant has to deposit to be released from jail. This money is imposed to ensure that the defendant will return to the court for further proceedings. The bail amount differs across cases and is decided by the judge. The money is returned to the defendant after the case is over.
There are two types of bails, namely, cash and bonds. As the name suggests, cash bails are where one needs to pay the bail amount in cash. At times, these can be comparatively heavy on the wallet than bonds, as they have to be paid entirely in cash. On the other hand, bail bonds or surety bonds are contractual agreements where the bail amount is funded through a third-party or bondsmen as the bail amount charged is expensive, generally, for severe crimes.
How to do bail bonds work?
Like mentioned before, when the bail involves a big figure, defendants can approach a third-party or a bondsman to help them. Such businesses will charge 10% of the bail amount as a fee while they cover the remaining balance amount. The bail bondsmen draft an agreement to make sure that the defendant turns up in the court. In this contract, the bail bondsmen require the defendant to use a collateral in exchange of bail.
Every bail bond agency is different, therefore, what would deem as a collateral will vary accordingly. Typically, an asset of significant value is accepted as a surety. The following are some examples of what can be used as a collateral:
Both, the court and the bail bond agency, establish some conditions for the defendant’s release. The first being that the defendant has to appear in the court for future trials and hearings. Likewise, the defendant isn’t permitted to break any laws before the final verdict. If any of these terms are violated then an arrest warrant will be issued.
The bail bond agency, on the other hand, will ask the defendant to surrender their collateral temporarily. If the defendant doesn’t show up for court proceedings, the agency will have all the rights to track them down. Moreover, if the defendant is nowhere to be found in the next six months, then they will be liable to pay the entire bail amount.
It can be a difficult process for one to get themselves out of custody. The bail system acts as a savior and helps one to get their loved ones out of custody fast. There are a variety of bonds that can secure one’s release from jail. Below are the different types of bail bonds that everyone must know about to help get custody fast.
Cash bond
As the name suggests, cash bonds are cash payments that allow one to get out of jail. In most instances, only cash is accepted by the corrections department. However, in some cases, cashier’s checks or credit cards can also be used to cover cash bails. Most people don’t tend to have large sums of money readily available to give to the correction department as in some cases thousands of dollars in cash are needed to cover bail fast. In such cases, one may have to seek the advice of a bail bondsman for the help they need.
Property bond
Property bonds may not be accepted in all states. However, in states like California, they are used occasionally. Different types of properties can be used, but real estate happens to be the one that is most commonly used. These bonds tend to be quite useful, especially, when one does not have cash available in hand to secure bail. The only drawback of property bond is that it takes time to obtain the same. One can be released from jail within a couple hours with the help of cash bonds. Whereas a property bond is handled directly by the court, there is an assessment of property value that is needed along with court hearing in order to receive the confirmation of the bond agreement. Hence, the whole process takes a span of a few weeks.
Federal bail bond
If one has been jailed under a federal crime, to secure the release, a federal bail bond is needed. Both cash, as well as property, can be used to obtaining federal bonds and they don’t require a bail bondsman. Similar to the property bonds, federal bail bonds are handled by the court directly.