Other family support obligations



The traditional common law of family support obligations concerned only husband, wife, and children. According to this law, marriage formed a family unit. Consequently, the husband was no longer legally obligated to support his parents, and his parents no longer had a legal duty to support him. However, this concept is changing.

Most states have enacted laws requiring residents to support their parents. These statutes are applied when a parent or parents are unable to take care of themselves financially or physically. If a parent has been placed in a state welfare institution, the state can institute court proceedings to get a parental support order. This order directs children to pay the cost of maintaining their parents in the institution.

Although the majority of Americans voluntarily contri­bute to their parents’ support of the situation so requires, the laws requiring support are on the books. It is important to be aware of them in the event that an individual is faced with such a problem.

Whenever a family or marital problem is taken to court, tremendous pressure and strain are placed on the individuals involved. Sometimes personal relations are completely severed. When a situation of this nature arises, the concerned parties often find in difficult to act reasonably. This chapter will not solve any specific problems, but it may help the individual to recognize a legal problem if one arises. He can then seek professional advice to learn the possible legal and financial ramifications of the law’s application in his particular case.

Tasks for the text:

1. Read the title of the text and say what the text is about.

2. Divide the text into some parts and name each part.

3. Make up the plan of the text.

4. Find the sentences in each part which contain the main idea.

5. Say what new facts and information you have found out from the text.

6. Give a brief summary of the text.

 

 

Text № 18 You and Your Lawyer

 

In the United States today there are more than 350,000

lawyers, two-thirds of them in private practice. From these we select our personal legal counselors.

It is unfortunate that most people procrastinate in choosing a lawyer until they are in serious trouble and need one in a hurry. Ideally, a lawyer should be consi­dered in the same context as a family doctor or dentist. He should be thoroughly familiar with his client’s history in order to do the best possible job in an emergency. At other times, the client may find that legal consultation will enable him to recognize possible legal difficulties more quickly than before. Being aware that there may be a legal problem enables the layman to know the consequences of signing a document or pursuing a given course of action. A good lawyer prevents hasty, legally unwise action from being taken. In sum, the presence of a family lawyer insures added security for the individual. He can be sure that advice is available and that the giver has a full understanding of his personal situation.

Before a lawyer is hired, his qualifications should be checked. The client should learn as much as he can about the lawyer’s experience and reputation in the community. The lawyer’s character and integrity should rank with those of the most respected men in the community.

In making his selection, an individual should consider his own personality as well as that of his potential lawyer. The ideal, of course, is to develop a professional, confidential relationship in which the client feels free to discuss any personal problem involving the law. Lawyers are bound by the Code of Professional Responsibility to keep in confidence anything a client says during an attorney-client conversation. Therefore, it is important for the client to choose an attorney with impeccable credentials.

In case of special legal problems, such as complex trusts, the layman should seek out a specialist in wills and estates. It stands to reason that one who devotes his time exclusively to wills and estates will be able to solve the client’s problems more quickly and competently than one who devotes only about a quarter for his time to that particular area. Complex and intricate tax questions, particularly if they concern small businesses and corpora­tions, need the special expertise of a knowledgeable tax lawyer. And while legal advice can be very costly, in many instances a good lawyer can save his client money. It is best, of course, to discuss fees before any work is done.

A high-quality lawyer’s reputation is built on sound legal work. Satisfied clients usually will recommend their attorneys. Another reliable source of referrals is the bank. An officer of a bank may hesitate to make only one re­commendation; but, more than likely, he would be quite happy to suggest four of five qualified people and let you, as the potential client, make the final decision. Many commu­nities also provide some guidance in locating legal services. For little or no fee, a client can be referred to a lawyer who is equipped to handle his special problem. Finally, if a client is moving to a new community, he might ask his present lawyer to recommend a competent attorney there.

Should a client feel that his lawyer has been incompetent or dishonest in the handling of his case, he can file a complaint with the local bar or bar association.

Many times, people simply cannot afford legal advice. An increasing number of communities have established neighborhood legal aid services to handle cases without a fee. Potential clients are first interviewed to determine whether their inability to pay fits within national guide­lines. If so, their legal problems are handled without charge. If the interview determines that the individual can afford his own attorney, he is given the names of several law­yers who might handle the case for a small fee. Of course, in all but minor criminal cases, the individual is always entitled to a free lawyer. Sometimes this will be provided by a public defender’s office. In other areas free legal help is dispensed through court-appointed lawyers. The judge usually has a list of local attorneys and makes his appointments on a rotation basis.

Once a lawyer has been selected, the layman should attempt to do his part to maintain a good lawyer-client relationship. A good association will achieve better results and will mean more efficiency for the attorney and more legal advice at less cost to the client.

The first prerequisite for a good relationship is that the client be open, honest, and thorough in describing his situation. Too often a client leaves out little, but important, facts because he wants to convince his lawyer that he was «in the right». Later, the lawyer will discover the true facts. The result: at best, needless work will be expended; at worst, an amicable solution may be jeopardized because the parties and attorneys were acting under a misapprehension of the true facts. A lawyer must have all the available facts at his disposal in order to give the best possible advice.

A second suggestion is to refrain from telling the attorney how to proceed. Certainly, the client must make any final decisions about whether to sue, whether to accept a proposed settlement, or whether to sign a contract. But he should make an effort not to interfere with his lawyer’s handling of the case. In addition to wasting time, it might jeopardize the attorney-client relationship. The methods of legal procedures are the tools of the lawyer’s trade which he acquired through long hours of study and practice. Permitting him to proceed with no interference will enable him to gaunter the best possible information and consult the best resources in order to advise the client of the relative merits of possible courses of action. Based upon his attorney’s information, the client can make his final decision on the matter.

Another point is to use the advice you purchased. A frequent complaint of lawyers is that if they tell the client what he wants to hear, the client is happy and follows his preconceived course. However, when a re­commendation is contrary to what he wants to do, the client may ignore the advice of his attorney.

Many clients are curious about how a lawyer arrives at the fee he charges. There is no simple answer. A lawyer’s professional knowledge and ability come as the result of an expensive education and continuing study and work throughout his professional lifetime.

Setting a fee is more a matter of judgment than of formula. Too many subjective factors enter into the fee-setting process for it to be susceptible to precise ana­lysis. The Code of Professional Responsibility lists several factors as proper for consideration in fee-setting. These include:

• Time, labor, and skill involved in a particular case. Time is simply the number of hours a lawyer spent working on a case. Labor and skill are closely related
to each other, and the lawyer’s fee will reflect the amount f each required of him by the particular case. And, of course, an attorney with thirty years’ experience and a national reputation will charge more than a young lawyer six months out of law school.

• The sum of money involved and the benefit to the client. If a lawyer spent ten hours of office time and one day in court to save his client $30,000, he will charge more than if he had spent the same amount of time to save his client $3,000.

• Customary charges of the bar. This element is particularly important in the more «routine» types of cases, such as drafting an uncomplicated will, or handling an uncontested divorce, a no asset bankruptcy, or an adoption. If the case is more complicated, the lawyer may use the customary fee as a minimum and charge an additional amount for the extra time and skill required of him.

• The contingency or certainty of the compensation. Generally, if a lawyer is plaintiff’s counsel in a negligence suit, he gets paid only if he wins. Naturally, he will charge more in such a case than if he got paid win or lose.

• The regularity of the employment. Like many shop owners, a lawyer may give a better deal to a steady customer.

Another factor which contributes to the size of lawyer’s fee is his overhead. One estimate holds that operating expenses account for about 40 percent of a lawyer’s gross income. To achieve a before-taxes income of $24,000 a year, a lawyer would have to make a gross of about $40,000 an­nually. Since lawyers average about 1,300 fee-earning hours (hours of work chargeable to a client) per year, a lawyer would have to charge his clients about $30 an hour to net $24,000 in a year. Most successful lawyers, especially in large cities, have a net annual income greater than $24,000.

Lawyers usually do not come cheaply, although the cost must be considered in light of the benefits rendered by the lawyer’s services. In any case, the client should be sure to discuss the matter of fees with his lawyer before any legal advice is given. A full and honest discussion about fees beforehand will prevent needles disagreements and hard feelings later.

 

 

Tasks for the text:

1. Read the title of the text and say what the text is about.

2. Divide the text into some parts and name each part.

3. Make up the plan of the text.

4. Find the sentences in each part which contain the main idea.

5. Say what new facts and information you have found out from the text.

6. Give a brief summary of the text.

 


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