Insurance Claim1

Have you ever had one of those days that you are just happy?  I mean, uncontrollable, dancing like no one is watching happy? So picture it.  This guy comes into the library with a smile from ear to ear.  Seems he's been paying child support for like forever.  I mean, it's been killing him.  Ex is a hag and she has kept nagging him and demanding a raise every year for the last 5 years.  While the ex wear furs, he wears Kohls. Guy is feeling down in the dumps....until....guy finds out that his 16 year old kid had file for and was granted emancipation from his mom (Guy's ex).   Guy is SOOOOOOO happy.  Why, might you ask?  Well, it's seems that when a kid is emancipated, the parent doesn't have to pay child support, anymore.  At least, that's what Guy is hoping is going to happen.  Ex-wife, on the other hand, is sweating bullets. So, standing in front of me, Guy is looking for anything that can help him break free of his support obligations.  So, turning

Have you ever considered the consequences of what you are doing now and how they may affect your life years from now? Enjoy chain smoking?  According to the CDC , life expectancy for smokers is at least 10 years shorter than for nonsmokers. Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%.  So, for all those teenagers who smoked like stacks in high school, you might be wanting to crank out a will some time soon. How about alcohol consumption?  In a study involving 599,592 drinkers , the study found that persons who consume 100 grams to 200 grams of alcohol weekly have an estimated life expectancy at age 40 that’s about six months shorter. One more?  How about persons who are addicted to something worth being addicted to?  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse , Drug use can have a wide range of short- and long-term, direct and indirect effects. Short-term effects can range from changes in appetite, wakefu

Ah, spring.  A time of renewal.  A time to think about new possibilities and resolve old conflicts and that, as it turns out, is why a number of people come to our law library - to resolve conflicts (real or imagined). Take, for example the couple that came in the other day.  Seems they were parents of a resourceful child of 12 years of age.  Seems Child had designed, developed, marketed, and was now selling a device to businesses in the area.   No joke.  The device (parents would not elaborate on what it was or what it did - other than the fact that Child was making a killing) was very profitable and was making Child (and, by extension, Child's parents) very wealthy. The duduk perkara was that Child realized that he did not need parents anymore and was seeking to be classified as an Emancipated Minor.  What is an Emancipated Minor , you ask?  Well, according to Black's Law Dictionary , an Emancipated Minor is: A minor who is self-supporting and independent of parent

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?  I'll bet that nosey neighbor across the street does.  Dang but don't you hate nosey neighbors?  They've got that holier than thou attitude; that I'm going to tattle on you and spoil your fun arrogance that roils everyone. I know just the type.  A buddy of mine lived in a neighborhood with a spinster of a nosey neighbor.  She recorded when people came and went; what car they drove; what they wore; who they talked to.  Really, over the top.  Everyone hated her.  At least, everyone did hate her until that one time her nosy-ness actually paid off for everyone. So, as the story goes, a new couple moved into the neighborhood.  Guy was in his mid-30's and lady was about the same age.  Nice looking couple.  People you'd want living next to you.  Because they never talked to nosey neightbor, she immediately got suspicious and started recording everything the did.   See, I knew what she was doing because, unlike he

I know you're out there. Those who walk into law libraries with a huge chip on your shoulder complaining that no one will help you and that the whole world is out to get you.   So mad as hornets, you come up to the reference law librarian after being rejected by the court clerk, every administrative agency, the DA and PD , the Family Law Facilitator , the self-help coordinator and then, when you're standing in front of the the law librarian, who is trying to help you and is spewing forth words of wisdom, you stand there with mouth open and brain closed. Such was the case the other day.   Guy comes in all flustered and flummoxed claiming that no one will help him.  Seems that he had been renting a stall for his horse.  Seems, he sub-leased the stall to someone who had been paying the rent on the stall.  Seems, suddenly, that landowner decided he wanted the stall back and prevented Guy from stepping onto the land (on which the stall was located).  So, technically, guy

I am horrible at math.  Just really suck at it.  And word problems?  Forget about it.  Yeah, I can do simple math but division and fractions have me stumped.  My dad was Mr. Awesome at all things math and he could never figure out why I sucked at it.  Heck, it took me three years just to get through high school algebra with something better than a "D." Is it any wonder, then, that I picked a profession that does not require math?  While I may see applications for algebra and calculus all around me, I do what I can to avoid having to do it because, well, I suck at math. I suspect it's that way for many people when it comes to legal research.  Yeah, there are some out there who think Librarians are outmoded dinosaurs who just push big, dusty books around (yeah, I'm looking at you Mr. know-more-than-a-Librarian). Fact is, when I started teaching people the how of legal research, I had to do some major soul searching to derive how I learned so that I could unde