Splitting the Property in Two

When it comes time to divvy up the property in a divorce, it isn't always an easy thing to accomplish. However, it's best to make the effort to do it without the court stepping in later.

Divorces are not much of a picnic and in fact have been likened to root canals by most people who go through them. No matter how strong and tough a person is, a divorce hits people hard – mentally, emotionally and in some instances, physically. Many people aren't aware that before they get to the actual legal, final divorce, they are many things that need to be done.

Usually the major thing that has to be taken care of is the division of property. When it comes to who gets what, emotions usually tend to run quite high and financial factors may figure into the acrimonious division process. A divorce lawyer will advise that a list of all property jointly and separately owned needs to be drafted.

Even if one party paid for a certain item, that item must be listed if it was acquired after the date of the marriage. Most of the items on a list such as this are considered large ticket items that both people own – separately or by virtue of being married. Things may be left off the main list, but only if both parties to that decision agree.

Listing the property is just the start of the process. The next step is valuating what each item is worth. Don't skip this part of the proceedings, as it will come up in court when the judge wants to ask questions. The value of the property is a major factor in how things are split by the court. If this is part of the divorce process that parties would rather avoid for fear of not ultimately getting what they really want in the property split, then agree to split things before going to a hearing. This may not be possible if neither party is on speaking terms with the other one, but it may save a lot of angst, anger and frustration later on if a mutual agreement is reached first.

If faced with making decisions in a messy property split, hire a skilled divorce attorney who will advise on the best way to handle situations such as these and make sure the proceedings go as smoothly as possible.

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The Issue of Child Visitation

If anyone had to pick a really contentious issue that tends to come up during a divorce, that would, hands down, be child visitation rights.

Child visitation is an issue that won't go away; even if the parents are divorced, they still play a role in the child's life. Nothing in this area of law is crystal clear and in fact, it could even be said there are far too many shades of gray to be intelligible. This is such a loaded area of the law for a variety of reasons, mostly having to do with the need for both parents to be flexible when their circumstances change and whether or not they feel the need to be accommodating about it. The fact of the matter is that visitation rights are often the last bit of leverage one parent has over the other.

For this, and other reasons, sitting down with a skilled lawyer to work out a detailed visitation agreement may save years of stress and actually wind up being beneficial to the parties and the children – the people who really count in visitation disputes. Most courts advocate for agreements that are in the best interests of the child, which often means that both parents will have significant access to the child. If the parties are able to work this out on their own, it is often better than being handed a court-imposed solution. If the courts do need to step in, the parties may find they don't like the options in the visitation agreement.

Using a little common sense and remembering who is the most important party to the visitation agreement provisions – the child(ren) – should bring a bit more clarity and reason to the process of trying to work out a visitation schedule. It's usually best if the parents work things out on their own and come to terms that are equitable and as fair as they can be under the circumstances.

If the courts need to step in they will have an eye to balancing and weighing several factors to arrive at a fair visitation agreement. Those factors would include the location of both parents, what school requirements need to be met, the age of the children and their health and other social concerns. While these things may change over time, the courts realize there has to be at least a starting point.

If faced with a child visitation agreement dispute, it's best to discuss the various options with a well-qualified attorney and have them guide the participants towards a workable solution rather than have to put out more money to take the matter to court.

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Hazardous Slip and Falls

At some point in time you may find yourself in the sticky situation where you slip, trip and fall on someone's property, and in the process, injure yourself. This may have happened due to hazardous conditions on the property.

If you think you tripped and fell on someone's property because of dangerous conditions, then it's time to talk to an attorney who has experience in this area of the law. Accidents like this are wont to happen just about anywhere and only a good attorney will be able to advise you whether or not you happen to have a decent case, or - in the spirit of a good legal joke – have a leg to stand on.

If you're talking about dangerous conditions where you were walking, in most instances you are referring to a failure on the part of the person who owns the land in question (or the proprietor) to offer safe passage on their property. For instance, the site of the accident clearly shows poor maintenance and/or neglect such as broken stair railings, cracked floors, poor lighting, etc. To put this another way, the condition of area where you had your accident was shoddy, and management didn't immediately fix things, thereby creating an accident looking for a place to happen.

In circumstances such as this the landowner or proprietor may be held accountable for any injuries if it is proven in a court of law that the cause of the accident was negligence. And negligence is what? Negligence is proven when a plaintiff demonstrates that a defendant failed to abide by certain safety rules and that this caused the plaintiff's injury. Now this might sound fairly simple on the surface, but it rarely is, as the defendant has the right to say whether or not the plaintiff is a trespasser, a licensee or an invitee.

Why would it make a difference what the plaintiff was doing on the property? It makes a difference because it outlines the extent of the defendant's liability. So, an invitee is there because they were asked to be there and the landowner knew the person was coming. By the same token if a person is invited, that means the property must be safe from all hazards. Invitees might be diners in a restaurant or supermarket customers.

A licensee is a person who is on the landowner's property for his or her own reasons/purposes, but with the permission of the owner. The only duty due here is that the landowner must warn the licensee about any known hazards that someone there for the first time would not know. The owner isn't required to fix anything, just warn about the hazards, if there are any.

Logically then a trespasser is there without permission and is not welcome on the property. In this instance the owner isn't responsible for any accidents, as the owner would not be aware a trespasser was on his or her property.

If you've been involved in a slip or trip and fall case, contact a lawyer to find out your eligibility to file a claim.

Bradley J. Hofland is with Las Vegas Divorce law firm, Hofland, Beasley & Galliher. The law firm focuses on Las Vegas family law, custody, and Las Vegas personal injury. To learn more about
Las Vegas divorce, Las Vegas personal injury, Las Vegas divorce lawyer, Las Vegas family law, Las Vegas family law attorneys, Las Vegas personal injury lawyer, visit Hoflandlaw.com.

Endangering Patients Lives

Medical malpractice is usually the end result of medical professionals not following a standard set of operating procedures while working. These kinds of mistakes may cause severe consequences or even death.
If you have been treated by a doctor, surgeon or other medical professional and have come away from the experience with injuries, or you are worse than before you went for treatment or surgery, then you may have been a victim of medical malpractice and have a valid injury claim. These are things that need to be discussed with a med mal lawyer with extensive experience and knowledge.
These types of cases are not easy to litigate, as they are not always that easy to prove. There are always expert medical witnesses for each side that insist their interpretation of the facts is the right version. There are hundreds of hours of testimony, scads of medical records, test results, x-rays, cat scans, and you name it. Med mal litigation is a bit like a kitchen sink defense in that in order to mount a good case, all the details have to be thoroughly covered to do the client justice.

Med mal cases are not about simply asking the medical institution or the physician to fork over the cash to pay for negligence and injuries. It involves far more than that and will definitely include insurance companies bound and determined to state their client was merely doing what they were supposed to do, according to accepted medical practice. This of course may turn into a three-ring circus in the process, as gross negligence cases usually wind up being settled to avoid the bad publicity that would accompany them.

While you may think you have a good case, and even be aware of what may be required to launch a personal injury med mal case, you will need a good med mal attorney to deal with the infighting between the insurance companies, sort out what damages you may be able to collect and make heads or tails of all the confusing paperwork that tends to go with cases of this nature.

Bradley J. Hofland is with Las Vegas Divorce law firm, Hofland, Beasley & Galliher. The law firm focuses on Las Vegas family law, custody, and Las Vegas personal injury. To learn more about
Las Vegas divorce, Las Vegas personal injury, Las Vegas divorce lawyer, Las Vegas family law, Las Vegas family law attorneys, Las Vegas personal injury lawyer, visit Hoflandlaw.com.