Court Records Blog

Nobody wants to think about worst case scenarios. We all hope that should we die or become incapacitated, our family and friends would make decisions for us that are in line with our wishes. However, the only way to truly ensure that our wishes are carried out (and the only way to remove as much of the stress of such decision-making from family and friends as possible), is to cement those decisions into a legal document in advance.

Some of the most important documents to have drawn up in advance are a living will or “advance directive,” a health care power of attorney and a will. All of these documents can be prepared on your own, but many people choose to hire an attorney to prepare the documents so they have the best chance of standing up in court.

A living will is a legal document that goes into effect if you have become unable to make decisions due to illness or injury. The living will should make clear your wishes regarding life-prolonging medical interventions. We’ve all seen cases in the news such as that of Terri Schiavo where unfortunately a family is divided with regard to what types of medical treatments should be provided, and whether a person should be allowed to pass away without further medical support. If you have a living will you will potentially save your family the pain of having to guess what your wishes would be and then convince other family members of the same. Requirements for a living will vary by state, so again, the safest option to to hire an estate planning attorney to prepare the document for you.

The second important document to have in your possession is the health care power of attorney. This document designates a friend or family member to make medical decisions for you in the event that you are unable to do so. The difference between the power of attorney and the living will is that the living will applies only to the withdrawal of life-prolonging treatments while the medical power of attorney authorizes a specific person to make all medical decisions on your behalf. It is also important to note that a regular durable power of attorney generally only covers financial decisions; a medical power of attorney covers medical decisions.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly is a will. A will is a written document that designates who will inherit your money and/or property after your death, how and when that money will be distributed and who will care for any minor children. It is obvious why such a document is hugely important, especially where minor children are involved. Once a person passes away the will generally must go through a probate process, discussed in detail in a previous Court Reference Blog entry.

Although end-of-life decisions can be difficult to face, it is important to cement certain decisions into a legal document in advance (and re-visit them periodically as your wishes change) to guarantee that your desires will be carried out. As discussed, the safest option for ensuring that such documents are drawn up correctly is to hire an attorney who specializes in estate planning. A great source for finding an attorney to meet your needs is the Court Reference website. Simply choose your state and then select “legal aid, lawyer referral” from the drop-down menu to find local attorneys. Also available for each state are various self-help resources and links to local probate courts.

When shopping for services, the best way to find a good provider is to ask friends and acquaintances for recommendations. “Say, Bob, do you know a good plumber?” works well for services that many people use. But what do you do when you need a service that many of your friends and acquaintances haven’t used? For example, a lawyer.

If no one you know can recommend a lawyer – or recommend one for your particular legal issue – you’ll need to find one on your own. Fortunately, there is an organization that can help you choose: your local bar association. That’s not a meeting of the town drunks; it’s an organization of lawyers. Not drunken lawyers; lawyers are considered members of “the bar” thanks to early English courts in which the lawyers and judges were separated from the rest of the courtroom by a bar or railing. You may still see such a railing in U.S. courtrooms today. Lawyers take a bar examination to get their license to practice “before the bar” – and then they join the bar association.

Most state and local bar associations have a lawyer referral service of some kind. In sparsely populated areas with few lawyers, it may simply mean finding the number of the bar association in the phone book and calling. Where there are more lawyers – and more people in need of a lawyer – the bar association is likely to have a website with detailed contact information, legal reference information, a list of its members, and details about its referral service. It may even have an online referral request form.

Let’s look at a few examples: The North Carolina State Bar is a government agency that regulates the legal profession, and all licensed lawyers in North Carolina are members. Its Find a Lawyer web page offers advice for choosing a lawyer and a directory of certified specialists in several practice areas. The North Carolina Bar Association is a voluntary non-profit association of lawyers, and it has a statewide referral systemby phone or internet that will refer you to a lawyer in your area.

Also in North Carolina, the Mecklenburg County Bar Association has its own local referral service, also by phone or internet. You supply both your location and the type of issue that prompted you to look for a lawyer. The service will then refer you to a local lawyer who handles your type of case.

Most referrals are free – until you actually talk to the lawyer – although many referrals include an initial consultation at a reduced fee. That helps you to get a handle on your case and decide whether you need a lawyer, and if you want to hire this particular lawyer, without spending a bundle. A few referral services, such as San Diego’s North County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service, include the initial consultation at no cost.

Some referrals charge a fee up front, for which you get a free consultation after you’re referred. A good example of this arrangement is the Santa Barbara County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service, also in California.

If your state or local bar association has an website with contact information or links to its referral service, you can find it at CourtReference – without even cracking the phone book.

What’s in a name? Quite a bit, considering the number of people who legally change their names in the United States each year. Many choose to change their names after a marriage or divorce; still others decide to do so because they simply do not like the name their parents gave them at birth.

Once the decision to change their name is made many people are at a loss for how to get started. Although details of the requirements for a legal name change vary by state, in general the procedure is much the same. In fact, the common law rule technically allows a person legally to change names by usage alone. If the change is for any reason other than divorce or marriage, however, a court order may be required for banks or other institutions to officially accept the new identity.

Name Change After Marriage

A new marriage is perhaps the easiest situation in which to change names. Often all that is needed is the official marriage license (with a raised seal). Usually a person wishing to change names after marriage will take the official marriage license to social security and the DMV and have his or her name changed there first, then use the new ID and a copy of the marriage license to change names everywhere else.

Name Change After Divorce

If a person took his or her spouse’s name at the time of marriage and wants to revert back to his or her former name after a divorce, most often the judge can make this order as part of the divorce proceedings. If the judge does this, the divorce decree is all the paperwork needed in order to change names with social security, the DMV, employers, credit cards, etc. If the judge does not make such an order, some states (California, for example) will allow either spouse to petition the judge once the divorce is final to modify the decree and include the name change. In California for instance, the form necessary for such a petition can be found here. If the form is not available online, the local court clerk is a good resource.

Name Change for Other Reasons

Again, if a person wants to change his or her name and has no fraudulent intent in doing so, technically he may simply start using the new name without a court order. However, in today’s world it may prove difficult to get the government and other official agencies to begin using the new name without a court order. For this reason, it is generally easier to obtain a court-ordered name change. Once the order granting the request is obtained, it will be easy to change names on social security cards, driver’s licenses, etc.

Generally, a person wishing to change his or her name must draft a petition to the court outlining the reasons for wishing to change names and stating that there is no fraudulent intent – such as to evade debts. Many courts provide help with such petitions through Self Help Centers. Once the petition is filed, the judge may grant the petition right away or the petitioner may be required to go to court and state his or her reasons for desiring a name change to the judge. After the order is granted the petitioner may use it to request a new birth certificate and to change names on all other official documents as well.

Whatever the reason for a name change, Court Reference can help point a person in the right direction with links to various name change resources and contact information for local court clerks.