My ex-wife changed her name back to her maiden name roughly two years after our divorce and I had made payments through NYS child support collection unit
Posts Tagged ‘change’
MY NEW PLATFORM
31
May
My web hosts for this site offered me the chance to migrate to a new platform, from Movable Type to WordPress. I said yes, go ahead. The result is what you see now, a big improvement, I think. The layout and design is so much more versatile. It explains why I have been absent for a while. Another change, which I welcome, is that I now invite my readers to make comments, and interact with me.
There has been a problem which is to do with what is called SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I don’t want to lose the positions in Google, for example, which have been in prominent places for a long time now. But one also needs to avoid any “404s” showing up, in other words a dead link. This has meant the arduous task of tagging old entries with the “301″ tag, which means that the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is redirected to a different permanent address on a different server.
As well, there has been a problem getting the old internal and external links to work, especially the pictures. Pictures and videos are all important these days. Readers/subscribers have become more sophisticated, and expect all the bells and whistles to be available. So we’re working on it.
Bear with me. I’m no expert, and this is all a learning experience for me too. But I want to get my story out in the best way possible.
The next stop will be an E-Book. Stay tuned.
How Much is Legal Advice Worth?
25
May
One of the winners of TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon is a new, yet to be launched, legal document web site called, Docracy, The idea is that members will contribute their legal documents to an open source site so that there would be a basis for comparison between "open source" documents and the document that the member needs for their business. The theory is that by comparing documents, with the document that the member has on hand, there would be a basis for comparison, resulting in an informed decision, without the cost or benefit of legal advice.
In this model, legal advice from an attorney is worth zero. The model is designed to eliminate the attorney from the transaction.
The idea was developed by mobile app developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson ,from Larva Labs, who were faced with signing an NDA with a client and were unsure of some of the terms and concluded that the cost of legal advice was either unnecessary or prohibitive.
This is another example of the resentment that the average consumer and small business person has towards the legal profession resulting in the rise of non-lawyer legal form web sites such as LegalZoom.
Another example of an open source legal document repository is Docstoc which we have used as a research source. It is useful for us, because as lawyers we understand what we are reading. I think simply accessing raw documents as a consumer would be a daunting exercise, although I am sure that many consumers and small business use the site.
The problem with any legal document web site as a source for creating binding legal documents is that the use of a particular clause may be rooted in case law in a particular jurisdiction.
Without understanding all of the implications of using particular language in an agreement, the "non-lawyer" moves into a danger zone, because he or she has no idea what they are signing.
A better alternative is a "self-help" book from Nolo that contains both legal forms and explanations of the implications of each clause, but that often involves reading and understanding a 300 page book, which is beyond the attention span of most consumers.
Another solution is an automated document with extensive help screens that explain the implications of choosing one clause over the other.
A third alternative, is to purchase "unbundled and limited legal services" from an on-line law firm for a fixed price with legal advice bundled into the transaction. In that case you get a certain level of accountability and guarantee that the legal advice is correct for the user’s individual situation.
See for example the firms listed at DirectLaw’s legal document portal , where you can access legal forms for free, or forms bundled with legal advice for a fixed fee.
You don’t get legal advice from a legal forms web site or a LegalZoom for that matter, which can be a major limitation depending on the complexity of the document or the transaction. Without annotations that explain the significance of particular language in an agreement, the non-lawyer is stumbling around in the dark.
Nevertheless, I don’t doubt that consumers and small business will find this a popular site, despite its limitations. Caveat emptor!
LawPivot: Another Legal Advice Web Site
29
Jan
Another interesting start-up has emerged out of Silicon Valley to provide crowdsourced legal advice to other start-ups for free.
Vertical Q&A web sites seems to be the next new thing among venture capital investors. Even Facebook rolled out this year a crowd-sourced Q&A service.
LawPivot, a legal Q&A web site founded in 2009, hopes to fill a niche by providing legal advice to the founders of start-up and early stage high-tech companies based in California at a legal fee they can afford — FREE. Legal advice is provided by an experienced network of high-priced business law attorneys, recruited from the top 200 hundred or so law firms, who hope to pick up new clients by entering into discussions by providing free legal advice services to start-up companies.
Free legal advice or the “free consult” has been employed by lawyers for years, pre-Internet, as a tried and true marketing strategy for acquiring new clients. Now many lawyers are beginning to offer free legal advice online from their web sites directly. See for example, VirtualEsq.Com . By next year there will be hundreds of these free legal advice services offered directly by lawyers from their web sites as the virtual law firm movement begins to scale.
However, free legal advice from an individual law firm’s web site, is not the same thing as a vertical web site that aggregates answers from many lawyers, giving consumers a wider variety of responses to their particular situation.
Free legal advice online is not a completely new idea. FreeAdvice has been doing it for years, and consumers can get answers to their basic legal questions from sites such as AVVO, RocketLawyer, and JustAnswer. What is new, is that LawPivot provides through its network of lawyers “real” legal advice that applies to the client’s particular situation, as distinguished from merely legal information. And this advice is reputedly to be "high quality" given the stature of the lawyers recruited to the LawPivot network.
However, genuine legal advice, [as distinguished from “legal advice” that is characterized as “legal information” ], like any legal service, has to be delivered in an ethically compliant way requiring that the client’s information be kept confidential, that an attorney/client relationship be established, and that the attorney providing the legal advice be a member of the bar within the jurisdiction where the client is located. Presumably LawPivot is addressing these issues. The LawPivot service is presently limited to California, but the company, according to its representations, plans to expand nationwide.
Although the company recently raised $600,000 from Google Ventures, the venture capital arm of Google, after a $400,0000 round from from a group of angel investors, it will be interesting to see how or whether it survives. At this point, neither the clients are charged for legal advice, nor are the participating attorneys charged an advertising fee. So there is no revenue, and apparently no business model. However, I doubt that the investors thought they were making charitable contributions, so there must be a business model lurking in the background somewhere?
Unfortunately, the only business model that is ethically compliant in the US, is one where the participating lawyers pay an advertising fee to play (get listed) and get exposure. Splitting legal advice fees between a law firm and a non-law firm , is a big “No, No” and an ethical prohibition that exposes the participating attorneys to bar sanctions which could lead to disbarment. Perhaps because Google is now involved as a major backer of LawPivot , and the company is planning to move to the GooglePlex campus start-up incubator, "they can do no wrong.!"
Many other Western common law jurisdictions, like the United Kingdom, have abolished the division of fees, but the rules against splitting fees with non-lawyers remains sacrosanct in the US, on the theory that splitting fees would compromise the independent judgment of the attorney. However, in the UK, lawyers are permitted to work for a profit-making company and provide legal advice directly to consumers, and no one seems to be complaining about compromised judgment. [ See: FirstAssist in the UK for an example ].
Charging clients an administrative fee to “use” the web site, as an alternative revenue source, has been tried before in an earlier Internet era, and it failed then. [ e.g. AmeriCounsel ]. I doubt that this model will work today when consumers are expecting everything on the web to be for free.
I think it is a good sign that innovation is happening in the legal industry, and that private capital is finally looking for a way to get a return by investing in the delivery of legal services. [See: Total Attorneys Receives Multi-Million Dollar Investment ].
I would like to see companies like LawPivot thrive, but at this point I don’t see the juice. Are advertising revenues sufficient to make this venture sustainable, or has LawPivot figured out another legitimate source of revenue that doesn’t violate US ethical prohibitions? Only time will tell.
Modifying Your Child Support Order
15
Jan
Often, I get questions from people who feel their child support order needs to be adjusted. Usually, it is the non-custodial parent who feels they are paying too much. Occasionally, it is the custodial parent who feels the non-custodial parent isn’t paying his/her share.
In Ohio, support modifications may be requested either through the court (Domestic Relations or Juvenile) that made the order or the Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) in the county enforcing the order. Under most circumstances, you should start with the CSEA. It is usually faster and more conducive to self representation. Furthermore, courts often get peeved when you come to them without first exhausting your administrative remedies. You can take your matter up with the court if you disagree with the agency’s ruling.
For the court or CSEA to modify your support order, they must find that there has been a “change in circumstance” to justify it. To request a modification, at least one of the following must apply (see Ohio Administrative Code § 5101:12-60-05.1):
- At least 36 months has past since the order was issued or last modified; or if 36 months have not passed, any of the following…
- A minimum support order ($50/mo.) can be reviewed at any time;
- One or both parents has become unemployed through no fault of his/her own (this means you can’t quit your job and expect your order to be modified) for at least 30 consecutive days;
- One or both parents has become unemployed due to mass layoff or plant closing;
- One or both parents has become permanently disabled (be sure to have medical proof and social security information);
- Institutionalization or incarceration (see caveat * below);
- One party has experienced a 30% decrease in income through no fault of his/her own or a 30% increase in income;
- The child subject of the order has been emancipated (support remains in effect until child turns 18, or up to the 19th birthday if the child is still in school-you are still responsible for back child support).
If any of these apply, calculate the new amount of support. Here is a free resource that should give you a good idea of what the amount will be (assuming your figures are accurate of course). If the change is to your benefit, file the modification application. Contact the CSEA or visit their website to obtain the application.
When filing an application to modify support, always do it ASAP. Support modifications are not issued retroactively. That means the modification will only be effective as of the date of the application and not a day before.
* Note: some jurisdictions will not modify due to incarceration. These jurisdictions reason that it was your own fault for committing the crime. Therefore, it is a voluntary loss of income.
Please share your experiences with child support modifications.
Recovering from a detached retina – a long trip
16
Oct
I had surgery for a detached retina a week and a half ago and I am 12 days into a 21 day recovery where I have to lie face down for 20 of 24 hours. After which I will not be able to read for 8 weeks. This is a part of the recovery process.. I can watch video, but can’t read email. For someone who writes, reads, blogs, tweets, constantly, this is an enforced sabbatical. So for a while I am off the grid.
PRESIDENTS AND WORLD PEACE?
January 16, 2011
One senses that things are looking up today mainly, I think, because of upcoming changes in world leadership all around.
Chinese president Hu Jintao pays us a State Visit on Tuesday, bearing signs of flexibility. Our own president Barack Obama promised change as part of his election platform, and is just the guy to be welcoming him to the White House.
In North Korea we have peace-making signs from president Kim Jong-il, possibly because he is turning over the reins to his son Kim Jong-un, who no doubt has some ideas of his own. And of course they want a piece of the South’s action.
Then we have president Fidel Castro, mellowing with age, who has already handed the reins over to his younger brother, now president Raul Castro.
Wouldn’t it be surprising if we find that this country stops marginalizing itself with its self-imposed title of Leader of the World, stops falling back on waving its superior weaponry like some schoolyard bully, and sits down as equals and partners with communists and socialists and liberals and conservatives? Then we can do what we all do best and want most, which is to embrace and improve our families, our children, our grandchildren, our health, and our homes. That, we all have in common. And freedom to travel anywhere and everywhere will be restored after nearly a century of restrictions.
Thank you internet!
Posted in COMMENTARY