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The Florida Registered Paralegal Program was unveiled and goes into effect today. Before the program was even available, we received 300 requests for applications. Since the program is now available, we project hundreds more to apply today by downloading the application off of the Florida Bar’s web site.

Applicants also need to pay a $150 application fee. About two weeks after an applicant’s approval, they will be mailed their certificates and information packets. For paralegals the program has a two-tier system where it adopts a disciplinary system, a Code of Ethics and Responsibility.

Level one is for paralegals with prior education or experience, and who perform specific tasks assigned by and under the guidance of lawyers who are responsible for the work.

So that a tier two paralegal can become certified by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) or the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) it is necessary that they satisfy the requirements in their educational and work backgrounds.

Also, for the next three years it is possible for any paralegal that has not earned an education but can still demonstrate that they have worked extensively in the field will still be permitted to take be titled as a Florida Registered Paralegal as they will be grandfathered into the system.

The Florida Bar Web site will list those who receive the designation.

It is necessary that all Florida Registered Paralegals accomplish a completion of 30 additional hours of continuing education courses in three year intervals (five credits are to be professionalism or ethics courses).

Currently, the main purpose of the paralegal is to aid the attorney in their responsibilities when they receive employment and supervision from the attorneys. This is true to all states, not just Florida.

What do you think about this message?

“Dear Mr. Craig,

I’ve got this phone call from a Trust Consulting Company and they’ve told me, if my husband or I die, the government will take up to 50% from the estate. I’ve never heard about Trusts or paying taxes if somebody dies. We came from oversees ten years ago and are planning to stay in this country. Is this true what the Consulting Company told me? If yes, will it apply in our case?”

Wow, this is exactly the type of conduct that is being targeted by a class action lawsuit recently filed in California by California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) and the Institute on Aging (IOA).

What they have found are companies that are using scare tactics against seniors and offering free consultations or free living trust seminars to gain information about the senior’s finances in order to sell them inappropriate financial, annuity or life insurance products.

Most of you know my thoughts concerning your revocable living trust and your estate plan.

Having a good estate planning lawyer is like having a good family doctor. Someone you can trust and confide in. Someone you feel comfortable disclosing your intimate financial and family details to and feel confident that they will maintain your confidence.

Why in the world would you trust your affairs to an unlicensed and unregulated “consultant?” How do you know their qualifications or training? Do they carry malpractice insurance?

I was once asked to review an estate plan and revocable living trust prepared by a “consultant” (who has since then been closed down by the state). This person was so incompetent, he had prepared a document that purported to be a revocable living trust, a durable general power of attorney for health care, a durable general power of attorney for financial decisions, and a pour-over will, all in one document. It was so bad, it was laughable. Except by the person who had given this consultant over a thousand dollars for the piece of trash.

Watch out. There are a lot of sharks out there.

Good luck and until next time,

Phil Craig

P.S. Feel free to forward this on to any friends.

Phil Craig is a licensed attorney and entreprenuer.
He started practicing law at age 25 in 1979.
He does not take on any more clients, but is
advisor to some of the biggest names in the internet
world. He shares his knowledge gained over the
last 25 years at his Living Trust Secrets newsletter site:
click here=========>http://www.LivingTrustSecrets.com

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The first thing that must be done before jumping into a personal injury claim is to have a good understanding of what is meant by a personal injury and on what grounds one might claim compensations for the wrongdoing. Personal injury can result from the use of dangerous or defective products. “Products liability” law refers to the rules governing a manufacturer or other provider’s liability for products that harm consumers and workers.

First, you must have suffered an injury to your person or property. Second, you should consider whether your injury was the result of someone else’s fault. It is not always necessary to have a physical injury to bring a personal injury lawsuit. Personal injury claims are often based on a variety of non-physical losses and harms. In the case of an assault for example, you do not need to show that a person’s action caused you actual physical harm. However, you must show that you expected some harm to come to you. You also may have a case if someone has attacked your reputation, invaded your privacy or inflicted emotional distress upon you.

Injury claims are important enough to get the monitory support to heal and cure one’s injury. Usually, it is claimed as a compensation for the misdeed one has practiced over the victim. Florida personal injury attorneys are the right people with their experiences and knowledge to get you your dues for a personal injury. Your protection is important and an experienced attorney can just do that for you. He or she can get claims you never thought of claiming. All you need to do is to select the right personal injury attorney if you happen to injure yourself in Florida. They take care of the rest.

Florida Personal Injury Lawyers provides detailed information about florida personal injury lawyers, florida personal injury lawsuit funding, florida personal injury law firms, florida personal injury laws and more. Florida Personal Injury Lawyers is the sister site of Michigan Personal Injury Lawyers Info.

An incidence of medical malpractice can be a difficult matter to prove. Recent statistics indicate that almost two-thirds of all cases result in victory for the defendant. The attorney is required to prove both negligence on the part of the caregiver, and damage or loss as a result of this negligence. Despite the difficulty this often presents, the prevalence of large malpractice insurance policies demonstrates that doctors and large healthcare providers are not too eager to take any risks.

The most common situation that could result in a medical malpractice case is that of risky procedures or treatments given to a patient during a hospital stay. Hospitals are generally liable for any actions undertaken by any of its employees, obviously including any negligence on the part of a doctor or care provider.

The risks of incurring a malpractice case become even greater when one considers that malpractice is not always based on what a doctor might have done, but also what he or she did not do. For example, take the Polk County Florida case in which the family of a thirty-one year old wife and mother was awarded $1.75 million due to an undiagnosed, and subsequently fatal heart disease. In this case, the court did not find a direct cause-and-effect relationship in which the doctor in question misdiagnosed, made an error in surgery or otherwise injured the patient. He or she simply failed to make the diagnosis of a heart condition that would result in the woman’s death. After it was determined that that doctor displayed negligence in omitting this diagnosis, that a reasonable person could assume that the proper diagnosis both should have been made, and that this would have avoided the patient’s death, the case was ruled in favor of the plaintiff.

Despite the above example -and the many like it that occur each year in hospitals in Florida and across the country - courts usually find medical malpractice cases in favor of the defendant (the doctor or hospital, etc.). Nevertheless, with damages often reaching into the millions with each finding of medical malpractice, doctors and healthcare providers approach medical malpractice cases with the utmost concern - and a hefty insurance policy.

Medical Malpractice Info provides detailed information about medical malpractice attorneys, laws, cases, insurance, statutes of limitation, and more. Medical Malpractice Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.