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Law for Dummies (Dummies Series) »

Authors: John Ventura
ISBN-13: 9780764558306, ISBN-10: 0764558307
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
Date Published: February 2005
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: John Ventura

John Ventura, JD, is a board-certified bankruptcy attorney and an authority on consumer and small business legal issues. His books include The Credit Repair Kit and The Bankruptcy Kit.

Book Synopsis

Get answers to your legal questions — in plain English!

Find out how to protect your family, your money, your job, and your rights

If you're like most people, you probably don't know much about your legal rights and responsibilities — until you run smack-dab into a messy legal problem. Now revised and updated, this friendly guide helps you get a handle on a wide range of everyday legal issues, decipher legal mumbo-jumbo — and come out on top.

Discover how to:

Protect your child support rights

Arm yourself against identity theft

Clean up your credit and improve your credit score

Hire the right attorney for your needs

Draw up wills and living wills

	Introduction	1
	About This Book	2
	Conventions Used in This Book	3
	How Is This Book Organized	3
	Icons Used in This Book	5
	Where to Go from Here	6
Part I	Basic Legal Stuff	7
Chapter 1	All About Our Legal System	9
	What Are Laws and Where Do They Come From?	9
	Civil Law versus Criminal Law	12
	Our Court Systems	12
	All about Contracts	15
	What to Expect If You're Involved in a Lawsuit	21
Chapter 2	Do It Yourself: Solving Your Own Legal Problems	25
	Easy Ways to Solve Legal Problems	25
	Dispute Resolution: Burying the Hatchet	27
	The People's Court	31
Chapter 3	Solving Legal Problems with an Attorney	35
	When You Need an Attorney	36
	Why You Need an Attorney	36
	What to Look For in an Attorney	37
	Where to Find an Attorney	39
	Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You	40
	Talking Dollars and Cents	41
	The Attorney-Client Relationship	43
	If You're Unhappy with Your Attorney	45
	Why Didn't I Think of That First?	46
	Can't I Act as My Own Attorney?	46
Part II	Laws That Affect Your Daily Life	47
Chapter 4	Relationships, Marriage, and Divorce	49
	Getting Married	54
	Breaking Up Can Be Hard to Do	57
	Deadbeat Dads ... and Moms	68
	Unmarried Women and Child Support	71
Chapter 5	Parenting and Child Care	73
	To Be or Not to Be a Parent	73
	Being a Parent Is Serious Stuff	74
	Defining the Roles of Legal Guardians and Foster Parents	77
	Protecting Against Abuse and Neglect	78
	The Ins and Outs of Adoption	79
	Using a Surrogate	82
	Child Care	84
Chapter 6	The Law and Your Job	87
	Applying for a Job	87
	Dealing with Job Offers That Come with Conditions	90
	Legal Issues on the Job	91
	Dealing with Employment-Related Discrimination	98
	Sexual Harassment	100
	Safety on the Job	102
	What Your Employer Has the Right to Know about You	103
	Calling It Quits	106
Chapter 7	Driving and the Law	109
	Getting Your Driver's License	109
	The Rules of the Road	110
	Uh Oh! Stopped by the Cops	111
	Getting Tickets	112
	Accidents Happen	113
	Drinking and Driving	114
	The Responsibilities of Owning a Vehicle	115
Chapter 8	Privacy: Do You Really Have Any?	117
	Who Knows What About Me?	118
	The Federal Privacy Act	119
	The Right to Financial Privacy Act	122
	The Federal Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act	126
	The Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act	138
	Post-9/11 Inroads into Your Privacy: The Patriot Act	141
Part III	The Law and Your Money	145
Chapter 9	So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur!	147
	Getting Off to the Right Start	148
	Working out of Your Home	156
	Making Nice with the IRS	157
	Knowing Your Employees	159
	Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights	160
	When Good Businesses Go Bad: Bankruptcy	164
Chapter 10	Credit: Getting It, Using It, Losing It, Rebuilding It	167
	Getting Credit	168
	Using Credit and Protecting Your Credit Record	170
	When You Can't Pay Your Bills	179
	The Credit Repair Organizations Act	187
Chapter 11	Smart Spending	189
	Shopping by Mail or on the Internet	190
	Knock Knock: Buying from a Door-to-Door Salesperson	190
	Avoiding Scams: Do I Have a Deal for You!	191
	Buying a Product on Warranty	198
Chapter 12	Buying and Selling a Home	201
	Finding a Home to Buy	201
	Working with an Agent or Broker	202
	If You're the Seller	203
	If You're the Buyer	208
	Finding a Mortgage	211
	Closing the Deal as the Buyer	215
	Closing and the Seller	216
	Buying or Building a New Home	217
Part IV	Tough Stuff: Being Sick, Getting Older, Dying	219
Chapter 13	Your Health Care Rights	221
	Power to Patients!	222
	Your Rights If You're HIV-Positive or Have AIDS	229
	Fighting Medical Malpractice	231
	Paying for Your Medical Expenses	232
Chapter 14	Getting Older: We All Do It	241
	Financing Your Retirement	242
	Managing Medicare	251
	Nursing Home Care	262
	Home Health Care	269
Chapter 15	Estate Planning	273
	What Does Estate Planning Involve and How Do I Do It?	274
	The Importance of an Estate Planning Attorney	274
	Starting with a Will	276
	Alternatives to a Will	283
	Taxes (Of Course)	289
	Planning for Your Incapacitation	289
Chapter 16	Death and Dying: Doing It Gracefully	291
	Laying It Out in a Living Will	291
	Giving Someone a Durable Power of Attorney for Your Health Care	293
	If You Don't Have a Living Will or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care	294
	Planning Your Funeral Without Getting Ripped Off	296
	Euthanasia, Doctor-Assisted Suicide, and Your Right to Die	303
Part V	Crime and Punishment	305
Chapter 17	Do the Crime, Do the Time	307
	What Is a Crime?	307
	Types of Crimes	308
	Getting Arrested	309
	The Trial	320
	Your Rights as a Prisoner	327
	If You're the Victim of a Crime	327
Chapter 18	Juvenile Law: The Times Are Changing	329
	Juveniles and the Law	329
	If Your Child Gets Arrested	330
	Harsher Treatment for Some Juveniles	334
	Parents Beware: The Laws May Hold You Accountable!	335
Part VI	The Part of Tens	337
Chapter 19	More Than Ten Ways to Avoid Legal Problems	339
	Increase Your Legal IQ	339
	Think Before You Act	339
	Use Common Sense	340
	Commit Important Agreements to Writing	340
	Purchase Adequate Insurance	341
	Keep Your Debt to a Minimum and Save Regularly	341
	Be Forgiving in Your Dealings with Others	342
	Don't Argue with Law Enforcement Officials	342
	Don't Thumb Your Nose at the IRS	342
	Don't Mix Flirtation with Business	342
	Meet Your Child Support Obligations	343
	Don't Set Up Your Business as a Partnership	343
	Plan Your Estate	344
Chapter 20	Ten Common Mistakes Consumers Make When Hiring an Attorney	345
	Not Asking an Attorney to Come Down in Price	345
	Thinking That Lawyers Who Advertise Should Be Avoided	346
	Hiring an Attorney You Don't Feel Comfortable With	346
	Not Avoiding Attorneys Who Win by Intimidation	347
	Hiring an Attorney Because You're Angry and Want to Get Even	347
	Not Telling Your Attorney Everything about Your Case	348
	Hiring Someone You Know to Represent You	348
	Not Checking Your Attorney's Courtroom Track Record	349
	Not Getting a Written Contract or Agreement of Representation	349
	Not Making Certain That Your Attorney Doesn't Have a Conflict of Interest	349
	Not Interviewing More Than One Attorney	350
	Index	351

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Author Biography: John Ventura

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