The Accident Victim and the Un-Cashable $50,000 Check

After I had opened the doors of my law practice, one of my first clients came to see me, just a little too late. Her problem was this. She had settled her accident case on her own, without consulting me, or any other attorney. She hadn’t done that badly either. She was holding in her hand a check for $50,000. The only problem was the check didn’t have just her name on it. It also was endorsed to Blue Cross Blue Shield, her health insurance company. And the bank would not let her cash it, unless she got someone from Blue Cross Blue Shield to sign it too. And she couldn’t get that done.

What had happened? What do you do?

Listen to the Health Insurance and Car Accidents podcast to find out more!

 

 

What does a Power of Attorney or Guardianship Have to do with Caring for My Elderly Parents?

Caring for your elderly parents can be hard; but it can be even harder without a good plan.

Part of any plan for helping your aging parents includes a having an experienced lawyer draft a power of attorney, so that your Mom or Dad knows who will direct their affairs, should he or she become incapacitated, by dementia or Alzheimer’s disease or other malady.

Click here to hear our podcast about powers of attorney and guardianships!

The point of a “power of attorney” is to avoid court involvement upon incapacity — whether that incapacity occurs because of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or some other reason. It ensures that there is sufficient authority for someone to make financial or health decisions for someone who is — or has become — incapacitated. If you do not have a power of attorney in place for your elderly parents, the next step is to go through a court proceeding called a “guardianship,” where, upon the petition of the would-be guardian, the court appoints someone (the guardian) to make financial or health decisions for the incapacitated person (the alleged disabled person).  A guardianship is more time-consuming and expensive; although, there is the added benefit of court-supervision and involvement to protect the rights of the incapacitated person.

 

Who pays your medical bills after an accident — your health insurance, or the car insurance of the guy who hit you?

Click to listen to the “Accidents and Health Insurance” podcast!

 

If you or a family member ever get caught in the criminal justice system, it can be extraordinarily stressful — to say the least! This episode of Everyday Law focuses on criminal defense, by walking a drug felony through the procedural steps of a criminal case : from the investigation, to the arrest, to the bail hearing, to the grand jury indictment, to the arraignment, to the pre-trial motions, and finally, to the trial itself!

Click here to listen to Basic Criminal Law!

My special guest to discuss Basic Criminal Law was Kevin P. Malia.  He is an expert criminal defense attorney with a practice — Malia & Rinehart — located in Waukegan, Illinois. He can be reached at (847) 249-2424 and at www.maliarinehart.com. Kevin’s practice exclusively deals with criminal law from traffic matters to serious felonies.

 

How can you protect yourself and your family if you are involved in an auto accident? The best protection is to buy good auto insurance. However, most people do not know what is included in their auto insurance policy or how it protects them in the case of an accident. Everyday Law explores the menu of options in auto insurance policies.

Click here to listen to Auto Accident Insurance Basics!

 

Judge Mitchell Hoffman is a Lake County Circuit Judge, presently serving in the Chancery Court. One of the areas of law that he deals with in Chancery Court is mortgage foreclosures, which has been a matter of concern since the Great Recession. As the mortgage foreclosure crisis grew, it became apparent that additional resources would be needed to assist the growing number of homeowners facing a foreclosure. Two programs that were developed to help these litigants were the Mortgage Foreclosure Help Desk and the Foreclosure Mediation Program.

Click here to listen to Foreclosure in the Courts!

 

Judy Maldonado is an expert real estate lawyer in Gurnee, Illinois and discussed the many pitfalls that can occur in the process of buying or selling a home.

Click here to listen to the entire podcast of Buying or Selling Your Home!

 

How can homeowners protect themselves from unscrupulous home repair/remodeling contractors? Expert litigator Mark Van Donselaar outlines what homeowners can do before, during and after a home repair or remodeling to ensure that they are protected against home repairs gone awry. Van Donselaar has handled many home repair cases as an attorney with the Grayslake firm of Churchill, Quinn, Richtman & Hamilton (phone 847- 223-1500).

Click Here for the Podcast!

 

In our podcast, Maria and I discussed rear-end accidents, using Maria’s recent accident as our point of departure. While fault is generally clear in these cases, due to the failure to follow the “assured clear distance ahead rule,” the defense generally attempts to show that the injured party is not that badly injured, and that the whiplash that occurred is not a serious injury.

 

Click here for Bankruptcy Podcast!

Sharanya Gururajan has practiced in the area of bankruptcy for 10 years and is an attorney with Ralph, Schwab & Schiever, Chartered ( www.rss-chtd.com). Her interest in this area of the law started with a summer job as a law student with a bankruptcy firm. She loves her work in bankruptcy which involves a great deal of client contact and courtroom work. Though many bankruptcy clients generally feel a lot of embarrassment, fear and regret regarding their situation, Gururajan enjoys the challenge of assisting and reassuring her clients and determining the best course of action for them. Her success in helping her clients is based on disclosure; clients must feel comfortable with their attorney so that they disclose all relevant information needed for the bankruptcy process.