Holding the at-fault party responsible might provide financial support for you. Going about receiving compensation depends on the cause of your injury.
Louisana holds at-fault drivers responsible for injuries and damages caused by car collisions. You can file a claim with the at-fault driver’s car insurance if you get injured in an accident. When other drivers do not have enough coverage or never purchased car insurance, you might consider filing a civil lawsuit against the driver to recover lost wages and medical expenses.
When people are negligent, accidents can happen. Two common types of third-party accidents are:
Most third-party claims require proving the responsible parties failed their duty of care.
Numerous products may cause you harm at no fault of your own. If manufacturers design defective items or do not label them with adequate danger warnings, they might be liable if you sustain injuries.
Knowing who is responsible for your injuries allows you to file a lawsuit against the appropriate parties to recover financial compensation.
]]>Depending on when and where you married your partner, you may face legal hurdles if you want a divorce. Continue reading to learn more about the divorcing process in Louisiana for same-sex marriages.
Since the legal right to marry is so recent, many gay couples found ways to marry outside of their home state of Louisiana. Many states preceded the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision and recognized same-sex marriage, even for out-of-state residents. Other Louisianians chose to join a civil union, which does not denote the same legal rights as to marriage. If you want to separate but married out of state or joined a civil partnership before the federal decision, Louisiana may not recognize your previous arrangement as a legal marriage.
If Louisiana does not recognize your marriage as valid, then your property division and other arrangements such as child custody do not fall under the same jurisdiction. Instead of the standard 50/50 arrangement, you need to figure out how to divide your property amongst yourselves. Child custody will most likely default to the biological parent. In certain circumstances, this can work out in your favor. However, same-sex couples who want the same property treatment must first validate their marriage under Louisiana law.
Unfortunately, sometimes the legal system takes time to catch up to the federal policy. In the coming years and decades, same-sex marriages will not face the same red tape and antiquated laws.
]]>Courts treat debts the same way that they treat assets in dividing community property. Here are some important things that individuals seeking a divorce in Louisiana should know about debt and property division.
Indebtedness incurred before marrying customarily stay with individuals and is separate from community property. In normal circumstances, debts that people had before they married and all of the interest that they accrue over the course of a marriage are not assignable to spouses in divorce proceedings.
If one person takes out a personal loan or builds up credit card debt in his or her name, it may be reasonable to assume that the repayment obligation remains separate from community property. However, the obligation to repay personal debts may fall on a spouse.
The fact that people were unaware that their husband or wife was accumulating debt will not automatically relieve them of their share of the obligation. However, if someone went into debt for a purpose that benefited only him or her individually, a court may determine that the liability is separate and not subject to division.
During divorce proceedings, financial transparency about debt is important. Presenting an honest picture of finances helps ensure that the division of both assets and debts is fair and accurate.
]]>How might this law affect your case?
The “No Pay, No Play” law is part of Louisana’s compulsory motor vehicle liability law. This law requires all drivers to maintain minimum coverage amounts for bodily injury and property damage liability:
Drivers who do not maintain this minimum amount of liability coverage can not collect the first $25,000 in property damage and $15,000 in bodily injuries, even if another party is entirely responsible for the accident that caused those damages.
There are a few exceptions to the law:
Additionally, the law doesn’t apply to passengers in your vehicle, unless they are co-owners of the vehicle.
Maintaining the minimum required liability insurance is important for avoiding penalties and protecting your financial interests. In Lousiana, it is also important because failing to comply with the law could result in paying out of pocket for damages caused by another driver in an automobile accident.
]]>What to do? Where to start? Here are four advance planning tips that should make the property division process easier for you to manage.
In preparing for property division, the most time-consuming task is pulling together documentation, so begin as early as possible. The basic documents you will need include:
Perhaps your spouse has handled most of the financial aspects of your marriage, but now is the time to organize your current household income and expenses. Include anything you pay for, such as food, clothing, transportation, childcare, home maintenance and entertainment. This information will also be useful when setting up your post-divorce budget.
Do not run up your credit cards prior to the divorce. Spend conservatively. Your attorney can advise you about using any joint accounts you and your spouse might have. At the same time, refrain from making any big financial decisions, such as changing the beneficiary on your life insurance policy, until the divorce is final.
Divorce is among the most difficult life events, so do not hesitate to ask for help from professionals. In addition to your divorce attorney, your team may include an accountant, a childcare expert and perhaps a certified divorce financial analyst. Knowing when to request information and support will help you face property division with greater confidence.
]]>Review the factors that affect grandparent visitation and custody in the state before moving forward with this process.
You can petition the Louisiana county where your grandchild lives for legal visitation if:
In addition to proving one of these factors, you must show the court that a relationship with you serves the child’s best interests.
You can petition the court for custody of your grandchild during a divorce proceeding if you believe the child would come to harm in the custody of his or her parents. Typically, this occurs only in cases involving abuse or neglect.
If the state removes your grandchild from parental custody, you can ask the court for placement. Louisiana usually places children with relatives rather than in the foster care system if possible.
In other cases, your grandchild may already live with you. In this situation, asking the parents to sign a Voluntary Transfer of Custody will give you legal custody. They can also agree to sign the Provisional Custody by Mandate, which allows you to enroll the child in school and seek medical care for him or her.
]]>Lost wages requests in an MVA claim are typically calculated using the per diem method. Injured victims are assessed for what their earnings would have been per day had they not been injured, and then submitted based on a daily rate of pay and the number of days unable to work due to the claimed injury. Long-term injuries can generate a significant amount, often maximizing insurance policy coverage with permanent or long-term injury.
Certain injured claimants will have some difficulty providing documentation supporting their financial damages. Those who are self-employed and who only work when work is available must prove lost income just as those working regularly with a verified third-party employer. Damages are supported by income statements prior to the injury and are used as a basis for pay scale throughout the period of injury recovery. An experienced MVA personal injury attorney is invaluable with this process because they can compile all necessary pay documentation and present it within the claim.
Financial recovery for lost wages is a primary example of damages that can be recovered in any MVA injury claim with an aggressive personal injury attorney representing the claim. While everyone cannot claim this item, those who are regularly employed can and should include it in the claim. Studies have shown that injured victims can obtain up to three times as much compensation with an attorney as those who attempt handling their own claims.
]]>A grandparent may be given access to a child who is being abused or neglected. As a general rule, a minor might be placed in a grandparent’s care if he or she is being physically, sexually or emotionally abused. A minor might also be placed in the care of an extended family member after being abandoned by that person’s biological parents.
It’s important to note that financial difficulties are generally not sufficient grounds to remove a child from a parent’s care. If you are concerned about the well-being of your grandchild, you might want to speak with an attorney who has worked on grandparents’ rights issues.
Courts prefer that a minor remain in the custody of a biological parent whenever possible. However, people can voluntarily relinquish their rights to a son or daughter. In such a scenario, a judge may order the child to be placed in a grandparent’s care. A parent may also temporarily relinquish custody of a minor to attend a rehab program, complete a jail sentence or for other reasons.
An attorney may take steps to help you obtain visitation, custody or other rights to a minor child. For instance, the attorney may ask a judge to terminate the biological parent’s rights on the grounds that the child has been subject to abuse or neglect.
]]>Review the factors that influence custody of minor children in a Louisiana divorce.
Louisiana gives all parents the right to “access and visitation” with children unless they have a history of physical or sexual abuse. When a parent cannot safely care for the child independently, the court may order supervised visitation.
The state recognizes both physical and legal custody. Legal custody describes decision-making responsibilities for the child for important issues such as education, religion and health care. Physical custody refers to where the child lives.
When parents cannot reach a custody agreement outside of court, they can ask the state to decide. Louisiana judges strive to make an arrangement that serves the child’s best interest based on factors such as:
Once the court approves a custody agreement, same-sex parents must legally abide by its provisions. To modify the terms of custody, a parent must return to court and request a modification because of significantly changed circumstances.
]]>After looking into these factors, a judge may choose to award joint or shared custody. While the terms sound similar, they are actually different.
Legal custody refers to the ability to make decisions on behalf of a child, while physical custody refers to where the child will reside the majority of the time. In joint custody decisions, the court awards equal legal custody to both parents, meaning that they are both able to make decisions regarding their children. However, the physical custody awarded in a joint custody arrangement typically gives a larger share of time to one parent instead of a 50-50 setup.
Similar to joint custody, shared custody splits legal authority equally between both parents. The big difference between joint and shared custody is that there is an equal division of physical custody in shared arrangements. In these cases, the divorced parents must be able to co-parent well and live relatively close to one another to promote equal time spent at each residence.
Whether or not you get shared or joint custody of your children will depend upon if you and your ex can work out an agreement amicably or upon the decision of the courts and the best interest of your children.
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