Posted on February 17, 2020 in Personal Injury

With weather that fluctuates daily in Ohio and surrounding states, it can be difficult to become accustomed to driving on icy roads. As a result, car accidents with minor to serious injuries can occur frequently. Winter may come around every year, but that does not mean that everyone on the road is prepared to battle the weather while behind the wheel. Sometimes, the “problem driver” is not you, but the negligent motorist next to you on the road. While you cannot control the weather or everyone else around you, it is important to be aware of how the reckless actions of drivers around you can cause an accident. These may include:

Failure to Perform Required Maintenance

Before the winter season begins, drivers are responsible for making sure their cars are prepared for the winter weather. Testing a car's battery is an important step to take, since battery power decreases as the temperature drops, making it fairly common to have a dead battery in the middle of winter. Tire pressure also drops in low temperatures, and checking tires regularly can keep motorists from experiencing a blown-out tire or sliding on the streets. Not using wiper fluid that is rated for 30 degrees below zero to avoid frozen liquid on the windshield can impair a driver’s ability to see clearly.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 28, 2020 in Family Law

When a woman gives birth to a child, she is obviously the biological mother of that child. She does not need to take any additional steps to become the child's legal parent. When a married couple has a child, the husband is automatically assumed to be the father. However, when an unmarried couple has a child, the father will need to take certain steps to declare himself as the child’s legal parent. There are several ways you can establish paternity in Ohio. Read on to learn more and the benefits it can provide for both the father and his child.

The Importance of Establishing Parentage of a Baby

In the state of Ohio, there are several individuals who can bring an action to establish paternity. The child’s mother or father can establish paternity, or the Child Support Enforcement Agency or a representative of the child can do so. Once paternity has been formally established, the mother will be able to start collecting child support. Establishing paternity is also necessary for the child to receive health insurance coverage, social security or veteran’s benefits, or an inheritance from the father. Most importantly, establishing the legal relationship between a father and his child can encourage the father to become more involved in his child’s upbringing.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 12, 2019 in Divorce

Dividing marital property and assets can be one of the most contentious parts of divorce proceedings. Some divorcing couples can agree on how to divide their assets, while others argue over every decision made during the property division process. Seeing the life that you built with your former spouse be split up between the two of you can be difficult. Deciding who gets to keep the marital home can be a tough task, both emotionally and financially. It is often assumed that one spouse will take the house while the other party finds another place to live. This may be one of the most common arrangements, but there are various ways that an experienced divorce attorney can work with both spouses to find a solution that benefits everyone.

What Are My Options?

There are three basic ways that the marital home can be evenly “divided” between spouses in an Ohio divorce. These decisions can vary depending on the spouses’ emotional connection to the home, their financial investment in the house, and whether or not they wish to raise their children there. The means by which the house will be divided can be determined by the divorcing couple, with the help of their attorneys, to ensure that the arrangement is fair for both sides. The arrangements may include:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 26, 2019 in Criminal Defense

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is illegal in every state. If a motorist chooses to get behind the wheel after consuming a few drinks, he or she endangers the lives of everyone on the road. In Ohio, this offense is referred to as operating a vehicle impaired (OVI). If you are over 21 years of age, and your blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 percent or higher, you are considered to be impaired. The penalties for this offense can vary from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the circumstances. It is imperative to know the consequences and your rights regarding such charges if you ever find yourself arrested for OVI.  

Ohio OVI Laws

Ohio law removed the requirement that a vehicle must be “motorized” in order for the operator to be charged with OVI. It is now a crime in Ohio to operate almost any type of vehicle while impaired. This includes not only motor vehicles such as cars, trucks, or motorcycles, but also bicycles, scooters, and even horse-drawn carriages. In addition, under Ohio law, it is a criminal offense to refuse to submit to field sobriety testing once arrested for OVI.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on October 11, 2019 in Divorce

You may be surprised to learn that the Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory considers divorce the second-most stressful life event that a person can experience. Disagreements regarding property division, child custody, child support, and spousal support can be especially burdensome. If you are planning to divorce, you should know that there are ways you can mitigate the stress and complication of ending your marriage. Avoiding the following mistakes is one of the easiest ways to do so.

Financial Short-Sightedness

Understandably, many people getting divorced are more focused on the personal effects of the split rather than the financial implications. However, divorce will have a major impact on your finances, making it crucial to be educated about your options. Avoid the mistake of only considering the short-term consequences of your financial decisions during divorce. For example, many people wish to retain the family home because of its personal significance to them. However, keeping a home which has an expensive mortgage or requires high maintenance costs may be too much for a recently-divorced person to manage on their own.  

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 09, 2019 in Uncategorized

When an injury-causing accident happens, there is often more than one reason the accident occurred. For example, a car accident may be caused by a combination of poor weather, intoxicated driving, and a traffic violation like speeding. 

When an injured person brings a personal injury lawsuit against another party, the court must consider all of the factors that led up to the accident, and many personal injury cases involve more than one party who acted negligently. In some cases, the person bringing the personal injury claim was in some way partly to blame for the accident. In situations like these, comparative negligence laws dictate the amount of damages a partially at-fault claimant can pursue.

Ohio Comparative Negligence Laws

Comparative negligence, sometimes called comparative fault, is a legal concept that dictates how damages are reduced when a claimant’s negligence contributed to their accident. Different states have different laws regarding comparative negligence. In some states, a claimant cannot pursue any damages through a personal injury lawsuit if he or she was even slightly at fault for the injury-causing accident. Fortunately, Ohio courts follow a shared negligence model called “modified comparative fault.” In Ohio, a claimant is still allowed to pursue compensation for their damages as long as they are less than 51 percent at fault for the accident. Put another way, the claimant can still bring a personal injury lawsuit as long as they were not more at fault than the defendant.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 01, 2019 in Divorce

The decision to end a marriage is not easy, especially if the couple was married for a long time. One of the factors that concerns many people about getting a divorce is the financial aspect. The thought of how to divide assets or the loss of one whole income can be daunting. In some cases, one spouse may have earned significantly less than the other spouse did or even gave up his or her career to raise a child. In many states, such as Ohio, an award of “alimony” or now called “spousal support” may allow the spouse with the lower income to maintain his or her standard of living after the divorce. But, what happens to those support payments if one of the ex-spouses remarries?  

Determining Spousal Support in Ohio

In the state of Ohio, the court may order temporary spousal support during the divorce proceedings since some divorces can take a long time. Permanent spousal support payments may then be ordered once the divorce is final. While some states have guidelines for calculating the amount and duration of spousal support payments, Ohio divorce law leaves these decisions up to the court’s discretion. A judge must consider several factors when deciding whether or not to award spousal support payments.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 16, 2019 in Estate Planning

It can be easy for the elderly or disabled to be exploited by people who take advantage of them through undue influence, secret transactions, or identity theft. A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that grants permission for one person, the “agent,” to represent another person, the “principal,” in different types of financial and medical matters.

Creating a power of attorney can be helpful if a person cannot be present to sign legal documents. It can also be a necessity, such as if someone becomes incapacitated. The POA allows for the agent (family member or friend) to take care of the principal’s finances or make decisions regarding medical treatment. 

Comprehensive Durable Power of Attorney

All states have adopted a “durability” statute, which allows the principal to include in his or her POA a directive that no power granted by the principal will become invalid if said principal becomes mentally incapacitated. This is referred to as a “durable power of attorney,” and the document continues to be valid until a specified termination date or when the principal dies. Some of the advantages of having a comprehensive durable POA include:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on June 07, 2019 in Criminal Defense

Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs in any state is illegal. This violation is commonly known as a DUI in many of states. In Ohio, the term is Operating a Vehicle under the Influence, or OVI. Alcohol or drugs can significantly impair a person’s ability to drive safely. If someone is arrested for an OVI for the first time, and his or her BAC or urine test exceeds the lawful limits, the officer on scene will confiscate his or her driver’s license. This is also true for a refusal of testing. In addition, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) can suspend a motorist’s license. A driver can challenge the suspension after a period of 30 days from his or her arraignment. Ohio’s OVI laws can be complex, so it is important to understand the legal consequences if you are charged with an OVI and your options for defense.

Penalties for OVI

If you are lawfully arrested for an OVI in Ohio, there can be serious consequences, such as license suspension and fees, even if you are not convicted of an OVI in criminal court. The penalties for a first OVI offense depend on your intoxication level, or blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of the arrest.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on May 17, 2019 in Personal Injury

The dangers drivers face each day on our roadways are undeniable. There are around six million car accidents each year in the United States, with more than three million annual injuries, and two million that lead to permanent physical effects. Also, an average of 90 Americans lose their lives every day in auto accidents.

Driver negligence is the primary contributing factor in most car wrecks, and it comes in many forms. If you were injured in a car crash caused by the negligent actions of another driver, you may be entitled to full compensation for medical costs, lost work, and pain and suffering.

Here are some of the most common causes of car accidents:

Distracted Driving

More than 1,000 individuals are hurt every day in the U.S. in accidents caused by distracted drivers, including an average of nine deaths per day. Texting while driving increases a person’s odds of getting into a car accident by 2,300%. Checking email, browsing social media, and talking on non-hands-free devices all contribute to these tragic stats.

Continue Reading ››