What Is the Potential Civil Liability? Are There Criminal Sanctions? When your loved one dies in a motor vehicle accident caused by someone else's recklessness or carelessness, your life changes forever. Even though nothing can bring them back, you ... [Read more...]
How Long Do You Have to Be Married to Get Alimony?
Does the Length of Your Marriage Affect Your Eligibility for Spousal Support? Though it's less common than it used to be, alimony or spousal support/maintenance may still be available as an element of a divorce decree. The rules governing alimony ... [Read more...]
Understanding Primary Custody—Requirements and Benefits
What Is Primary Custody? How Do You Get Primary Custody? Can You Change Primary Custody? If you are considering or involved in a divorce proceeding, and there are still minor children living in the marital home, one of the key issues to resolve is ... [Read more...]
What Is a Class C Misdemeanor?
What Are Misdemeanor Classifications? What Are the Penalties? As a general rule, most criminal acts are identified as either misdemeanors or felonies (some lesser offenses may be characterized as "infractions"). Misdemeanors are typically further ... [Read more...]
Pleading the 5th – Pros and Cons
What Does It Mean to "Plead the 5th"? When Should You Exercise the Right? If you've watched any movie or television show involving a criminal trial, you've likely heard one of the characters—either a witness, defendant, or attorney—"plead the 5th." ... [Read more...]
The Constitutional Protection Against Self-Incrimination
What Does "Self-Incriminate" Mean? When Can You Exercise Your 5th Amendment Rights? The language of the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution affords a number of rights to every U.S. citizen, including the right not to be "compelled in any ... [Read more...]
Understanding Criminal Negligence
How Does It Differ from Civil Negligence? In the American criminal justice system, a criminal conviction requires the prosecution to show that both a guilty mind (mens rea), and a guilty act (actus reus). In most instances, the frame of mind that ... [Read more...]
Common Causes of a Car Crash
Factors Often Involved in Motor Vehicle Accidents According to data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are more than 6 million car crashes in the United States every year—an average of about one per ... [Read more...]
Things to Know When Considering Divorce – How Alimony Works
What Factors Are Involved? | How the Court Determines the Amount Though it's less common than it was generations ago, alimony (also known as spousal support or spousal maintenance) can still be ordered by a court as part of the divorce process. The ... [Read more...]
The Dos and Don’ts of Winning a Custody Battle
Taking the Right Steps to Get the Outcome You Want in a Custody Dispute Whether you're currently going through the divorce process or your divorce is already final, if there are minor children from the marriage, there's a potential for disagreement ... [Read more...]