Family Law Tip of the Week: When to File for Child Support

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Welcome to Family Law Tip of the Week, a regular series on our blog where we offer tips on how to go through divorce and custody disputes in an amicable way. Divorce should always be a last case resort but if you are going through it, we want to provide some tips on how to survive it.

When should I file for Child Support?

Today’s tip: when should you file for child support? Filing for child support begins the process of asking a court to set the amount that a child’s parent has to pay to support the custodial parent’s work in raising the child. The state has provided guidelines to help determine the set amount. The general range of appropriate child support can be figured out ahead of time. Parents who are splitting up begin discussions on how to do child support and the question arises: Should I file for child support anyway?

It’s always best to work things out away from the Court, but if negotiations are lagging, it is important to go ahead and file in court. You can always reach an agreement with the other parent later and inform the court that a hearing is no longer needed. But because hearings can take 45 to 60 days to have scheduled, it is important to get the clock started quickly.

Another reason that it is important to file for child support is that the date of your filing is when the obligation to pay arises. In other words, if you’re negotiating throughout February of a given year and you file on March 1st because you’re not reaching an agreement and the other party refuses to pay, the court will only award child support back to the filing date of March 1st, not for the month of February, for which you were negotiating. For this reason, there is almost no reason to not go ahead with filing for a child support claim, unless you are sure that you are going to work it out with the other person very quickly and you trust them to make payments.

Finally, once you have worked it out with the other side, it’s important to reduce it all to a written contract that can be provided to the Court later, for proof of nonpayment. Relying on text messages or oral agreements is a recipe for confusion and for a judge to say they won’t enforce a previous agreement or create a new one going forward.

All of these are just an overview of some of the things to think about with child support. If you have a question about your specific situation, call Cornerstone Law Firm to talk to one of our Family Law attorneys.

Copyright Clearance in Self-Publishing

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Self-publishing is a growing industry and an incredible opportunity for authors to get their message out without the interference of a publisher or publishing house. But self-publishing also comes with a number of legal dangers, including copyright infringement. If you are using images that you yourself did not create, whether photos or drawings, then this article is for you. Here are a couple tips on how to avoid copyright issues when publishing a book.

1. Fair use does not mean what you think it means.

A common response to these copyright concerns is to say that fair use will protect you in your use of images. If your book is educational in nature, fair use is especially tempting. But there are a few things you should keep in mind. The first is that fair use does not just mean what you think is fair. It is a complex legal doctrine that relies on four factors, and the way these factors are analyzed by courts is not always the way you might expect them to be. For example, the “educational” nature of a work is more complex than simply saying it teaches something. And even if you don’t expect your book to sell many copies, its commercial nature already puts judges in a skeptical position on a fair use claim.

A second thing to keep in mind is that fair use is a defense. That means it is only implicated when you are being sued. For most individuals being sued means you have already lost. The costs and stress of a lawsuit are enough to overwhelm most people and persuade them not to move forward. Such parties often settle or pay out the demands from someone who claims they were aggrieved in the copyright process. In short, do not simply rely on your understanding of the factors that you look up online in considering fair use. It is important to have a legal opinion before you rely on it in publishing photos.

2. There are more sources than ever for photos you can use.

Just as self-publishing has lowered the barrier to entry on publishing documents, there are more places than ever to obtain legitimate free photos to use without paying royalties or without fear of a lawsuit. Please note that Google is not one of these places. Rather, it is important to go through legitimate vendors who secure the rights to photos and can provide print licenses for their use. Of course, you can also obtain photos through other sources, such as through local artists or designers who can create work for you.

Conclusion

Publishing a book is an exciting opportunity, but it can come with legal dangers. Be sure to consult an intellectual property lawyer for sound opinions on what photos you can use and what ways to avoid potential legal trouble. At Cornerstone Law Firm our copyright attorneys can view manuscripts for you and give advice on civic photos and whether you can use them. Contact us today to set up a consultation.

Giving Notice to Estate Beneficiaries

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Beneficiaries of an estate are entitled to notice when the estate is being probated, and it’s the executor’s job to send the notice. Today, we’ll give a brief overview on how to fulfill this part of the estate process.

Giving notice to the beneficiaries is required by statute and should typically be done at the outset of the estate. Giving notice is usually done by mail on the standard form provided by the Register of Wills of your county. When you send this out, you should also keep a certificate of service to prove that you sent it. The executor or administrator will need to file a statement with the Register of Wills that notice was sent. Ordinarily, however, you will not file the actual statements that were sent.

Giving notice to the beneficiaries is not only required by statute. It also has several positive purposes. First, it lets the beneficiaries know who’s handling the estate and who they’ll need to communicate with as the process goes forward. Because many beneficiaries do not realize that estates can take several months to settle, they can often be antsy about when they’ll receive their money or other property after someone has passed away. Second, it ensures that none of the beneficiaries come forward trying to claim that the estate is being mismanaged or that no estate was opened, causing a conflict before the court as to who the proper executor or administrator should be. Third, the process of identifying all the beneficiaries helps the executor/administrator to keep clear in their own mind who will receive what or what percentage each is entitled to at the end of the probate process.

If you’ve been named executor/administrator of an estate, and you have questions about probate, contact Cornerstone Law Firm. Our estate attorneys can help you in reconciling your loved one’s estate, ensuring that it is handled correctly and that there are no claims against you in the process.

When a Contractor Doesn’t Finish the Job

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Cornerstone Law Firm offered a legal tip to Redfin on how to handle things when a contractor doesn’t finish a home renovation project.

“If you find yourself in a situation where a contractor has not performed as agreed upon, you have legal remedies. You can first reach out to your state’s Attorney General’s office and file a complaint. The office will investigate the claim and encourage the contractor to remedy the issue if your complaint has merit. If this doesn’t work, you can file a complaint at a local District Court, which can handle judgments up to $12,000 and is designed to be accessible to the public. You can also research other options to take against licensed contractors who don’t honor their contracts. For example, Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act provides strong statutory language against contractors who fail to abide by the requisite legal requirements in entering into and completing home improvement contracts.”

For an extensive overview of ways to deal with unfinished renovations, read the full article here on Redfin’s blog.