The process of filing an auto accident claim isn’t always as straightforward as it might appear. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to make a simple mistake that can compromise your ability to obtain just compensation for your losses. It’s best to contact a personal injury lawyer near Tracy or Manteca as quickly as possible. Your personal injury lawyer will offer invaluable legal guidance and help you get the funds you need to get your life back on track.

Do Make Some Prompt Phone Calls

After a car crash, your first phone call should be to a 911 dispatcher. After the police clear you to leave the scene, you should go to the nearest medical center. Once you’ve been evaluated by a doctor, it’s time to call a personal injury lawyer. It’s advisable to speak with an injury lawyer before you contact the insurance company because your lawyer can guide you through the process of speaking with the claims representative without inadvertently saying something that might lead to negative consequences.

Don’t Forget Documentation

Even in simple accident cases, the insurance carrier may try to shift some of the blame to the victim to lower the amount of the settlement. Physical evidence and eyewitness testimony will help prove your case. Bring all relevant documents to your meeting with your personal injury attorney, such as a copy of the police report, your medical records, and car insurance policy. Your lawyer will need information about the other driver and a list of witnesses, such as passengers or passersby. It’s always a good idea to take photographs of the crash site, the damage to the vehicles, and any other relevant details. Your lawyer will use all of this evidence when he or she negotiates with the insurance carrier on your behalf.

Don’t Sign a Waiver

When you speak with the claims representative, it’s important that you avoid giving any recorded statements. Do not provide the insurance company with any written statements, or sign any waivers or releases until you speak with your attorney about these matters.

Personal injury lawyers in Tracy and Manteca can assist you in securing compensation after a car accident . Unfortunately, many car crash victims inadvertently compromise the influence of their personal injury lawyer by saying the wrong things to the other driver. Since your personal injury lawyer won’t be on the scene to guide you, it’s important to know the ins and outs of conversing with the other driver after a crash.

Although you’ll need to gather certain information from the other driver such as the driver’s license number and contact information, you should refrain from discussing anything else with him or her. In particular, injury lawyers strongly recommend not discussing the specifics of the crash, such as which party made which mistakes. Never apologize for the crash because this can be misinterpreted as an admission of fault. The insurance carrier will attempt to pin the blame on you, even if you truly weren’t at fault, and apologizing to the other driver will only serve to substantiate the case against you.

One of the many reasons why it’s so important to consult an estate planning attorney is that if you die without a will in Tracy or Livermore, the state rules of intestate succession will determine what happens to your assets. If you have a close relative who died intestate, or without a will, you can consult a lawyer regarding the rules of intestate succession.

Exempt Assets

Not all assets are distributed via wills. These assets are exempt from the rules of intestate succession. These assets include life insurance benefits, retirement account funds, and all assets that have been transferred to a living trust. Payable-on-death bank accounts, transfer-on-death securities accounts, and transfer-on-death vehicles are all exempt. Additionally, jointly owned property such as the family home is not distributed via a will; the co-owner will automatically assume full ownership.

Spousal Inheritance

Assets that are subject to the rules of intestate succession are distributed according to which relatives are still living. Surviving spouses often receive most of the property. If a decedent has no living children, siblings, or parents, then the spouse inherits everything. If the decedent has a living spouse and children, then the spouse will inherit all of the community property and either one-half or one-third of the separate property. When a decedent leaves behind a spouse and parents, then the spouse inherits all of the community property and one-half of the separate property. If no parents survive, but the spouse and siblings do, then the spouse inherits all community property and one-half of the separate property. The siblings inherit the rest of the separate property.

Children’s Inheritance

If the decedent’s only survivors are his or her children, then the children will inherit everything in the estate. If the children and the spouse survive, then the children will only inherit one-half to two-thirds of the separate property, but none of the community property. These guidelines are applicable to adopted children, who are legally treated the same as biological children. Biological children who were placed for adoption will not receive a share of the inheritance, unless they were adopted by the decedent’s spouse.

After sustaining injuries in an accident, many people are hesitant to contact a personal injury lawyer because they worry about not being able to afford their legal fees. But this should not be a deterrent to seeking legal justice. Instead, simply look for a personal injury lawyer near Tracy and Livermore who will take your case on a contingency basis . A contingency arrangement offers zero risk to you because, in the event that you do not recover a jury award or settlement, you won’t owe any legal fees.

With a contingency arrangement, the personal injury lawyer agrees to handle your case and charge nothing, with the possible exception of copying fees or payments to expert witnesses. If you do obtain a favorable jury verdict or settlement deal, then the injury lawyer will take a percentage of the compensation in exchange for handling the case. Personal injury lawyers litigate many types of cases on a contingency basis, including auto accidents, slip and fall injuries, and dog bite cases.

Trust administration is a complicated and lengthy process. If you have been named the administrator of a trust near Tracy or Manteca , it’s in your best interests to connect with a lawyer who handles estate planning cases. Your lawyer can work one-on-one with you to help you understand your duties and legal obligations. By working with an attorney, you can rest assured that you won’t neglect any important details of trust administration.

Death Certificates

If you were close to the decedent, it’s only natural that you would need some time to grieve before working on estate matters. Fortunately, the first task you’ll need to perform is usually the easiest. The funeral home will order death certificates on your behalf; ask the funeral director for eight to 12 copies. You’ll need them for many of your upcoming tasks.

Last Will and Testament

Next, you’ll need to file the original will, death certificate, and a request for probate with the court for the county in which the decedent had been residing at the time of his or her death.

Notifications

You’ll have lots of notifications to make. Consider asking your lawyer for a checklist of notifications to ensure that you don’t forget any of them. First, call the Social Security Administration (SSA) to notify the agency of the death. Regardless of exactly when the death occurred during the month, the Social Security payment for that month must be returned. You’ll also need to notify the state department of health of the death. Within 60 days of the death, you must identify and notify the beneficiaries and heirs. These notifications must be made in writing by mail and they must include certain information such as the identity of the decedent, date of execution of the trust instrument, and the name, mailing address, and phone number of each trustee.

Trust Assets

Next, your lawyer will walk you through the process of making an inventory of all trust assets. You’ll obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS. This allows you to report the trust’s gains and losses before you distribute the assets. Then, you’ll transfer the property into your name (as trustee). Additionally, you may need to hire appraisers to determine the correct value of assets. Once these steps are complete, you can satisfy the decedent’s debts and tax liabilities, and begin distributing the trust property to the beneficiaries.

In regard to wills, it is commonly thought that simply leaving an heir out of a will automatically disinherits that person. However, this isn’t necessarily applicable in all cases, as you’ll learn when you watch this video or consult a will lawyer near Tracy or Manteca. Spouses and children are direct heirs and California estate law presumes that wills are to include them.

This means that if a direct heir is left out of the will, the will may be contested in court and possibly declared invalid. To definitively prevent someone from inheriting part of the estate, it’s necessary to have an estate planning lawyer include a disinheritance clause in the will. There is no need to include a reason for the disinheritance.

Once you go through the process of estate planning in Tracy and complete your will, you then have to decide how to store it. Many people overlook this part of preparing a will, but it is crucial. Without proper storage, your will runs the risk of being damaged, lost, stolen or even unfound by your beneficiaries. Here are some of the storage options you can consider for your will.

Fireproof Safe

If you decide to store your will at home, then find some place with more protection than a standard file cabinet. A safe that is fireproof will protect your document in case of an incident in your home. A safe that is both fireproof and waterproof offers even more protection. Keep in mind that if you buy a standalone safe or even a fireproof lockbox that it could be easily stolen from your home. Having a safe that is built into your wall offers the best protection for storing your will at home. If you decide to keep your will at home, make sure your executor knows where to locate it in the event of your death.

Attorney’s Office

Some people choose to ask their attorneys to keep their original will documents. This solution is ideal if you know you will maintain a relationship with that attorney. Be sure your executor or your beneficiaries know which attorney is holding your will, particularly if you believe there is a chance you will not continue contact with the lawyer after your will is prepared. If you decide not to have your attorney keep the original draft of your will, ask that he or she keeps some copies, so that these are available should your original be lost.

Safety Deposit Box

Many people opt to keep their wills in safety deposit boxes, which are considered to be one of the most secure locations. Be sure to review the laws in your state for opening safety deposit boxes with your attorney. Most states require very specific documentation to open a box after someone’s death, so be sure your beneficiaries or executor will have the appropriate information to obtain the will.

If you are injured in an auto accident that wasn’t your fault, there are several different kinds of damages you may be eligible to receive. Your personal injury attorney in Tracy will examine the nature of your claim in detail to decide what kinds of damages are appropriate for your situation. Here are some of the different types of damages your attorney will consider when preparing your auto injury case.

Medical Expenses

When you have medical bills that are the result of your accident, you may be awarded damages that compensate you for your expenses. These expenses include both acute and long-term care you may need, including ambulance fees, surgery, physical therapy, and healing accessories such as crutches. You may also be awarded compensation to pay for in-home care, cognitive therapy, and other types of medical care that persist long after the accident. For instance, if a judge determines that you will need in-home care for the rest of your life after an accident, you could be awarded compensation to cover these future costs.

Pain and Suffering

If your attorney can prove that you suffered emotional or physical pain as a result of your accident, you may receive damages to compensate you for your discomfort. To award pain and suffering damages, the court will consider the extent of your injuries, including if you were left with a permanent disability or scarring, and the impact the accident has had on your life, such as the inability to return to your previous occupation because of your injury.

Lost Wages

Lost wages are awarded as damages when you are unable to work for a period of time due to the injuries sustained in the accident. When awarding lost wages, the court may also consider your inability to do the same kind of work, resulting in receiving a lower wage, and the time you have to take off from work for physical therapy or other treatments related to the injuries from your accident.

Dog bite cases fall into the category of personal injury cases. If you were injured by a dog bite, your personal injury lawyer in Tracy will help you determine the right party to pursue for damages. Generally, this is the dog’s owner.

Proving who should be held liable for a dog bite injury depends partly on state law. Some states hold owners responsible any time any animal bites someone, while other states only hold the owner accountable if he or she was aware that the animal was dangerous. In addition to the dog owner, animal keepers, landlords, property owners, and parents of minors who were in control of the dog during the bite incident can also be held responsible. In deciding whom to sue for damages, your lawyer must also plan a strategy that shows that you did not contribute to the incident with your behavior, such as ignoring a warning sign about the dog or acting aggressively towards the animal. If the other party can prove that you are at least partially liable for the bite, then your ability to receive damages may be compromised.