Attorney O's Midnight Musings: Connecticut Law

Why Lawyers Choose Specific Practice Areas

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:33:26 +0000

I receive numerous calls every day from people with legal issues who are looking for a lawyer to advise them and possibly represent them in court. There’s nothing unusual about that. This is a law office, after all.

Sometimes, callers have a difficult time understanding (and accepting) that I don’t practice in every area of law that exists. Sometimes, they get downright angry at me (or my assistant).

Lawyers choose specific practice areas to work in for a reason. There are simply too many areas of the law for any one lawyer to be a master at every one of them. Clients are best served when a lawyer focuses his or her time on a few specific areas of the law and becomes proficient in those areas.

It’s a lot like the practice of medicine. There are some general practice physicians who will refer you to a doctor practicing in a specific area of medicine if the situation warrants it. You wouldn’t go to a podiatrist to diagnose your cardiac problem, you’d go to a cardiologist.

It’s the same with law. If you want a divorce, you call a family law attorney, not an employment law attorney. If you have a criminal matter, you certainly wouldn’t call a divorce lawyer to handle it.

If you call an attorney who has worked with you before on a legal matter, he or she will either be able to accept your new case or he/she will refer you to another attorney if it is in an area of law which they do not practice.

I may represent someone in a divorce and then draft a Will for them at another time. If they call me a year or so later wanting to file a lawsuit against their employer, I explain that I don’t practice employment law and advise them to speak with a lawyer that handles that area of law specifically.

I’ve been accused of not wanting to help someone when I’ve explained that I don’t handle the category of law their case fits under. That is simply untrue. If I don’t practice in a specific area of law, I would not be helping the client if I accepted their case and pretended to know what I was doing. I am properly helping them by advising them to seek an attorney who does practice in the required area of law.

If you call a lawyer’s office because you are looking for legal advice or representation, please be sure you have taken a moment beforehand to determine what areas of law that lawyer and or law firm actually practice. It’s in your best interest.

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Disclaimer: The information, comments and links posted on the blog do not constitute legal advice. I will not respond to any specific legal questions in the comments section of this blog. Read my entire disclaimer.

3 Divorce Options in Connecticut

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:23:05 +0000

If you are seeking divorce in the State of Connecticut, you have 3 options available to you: litigation, collaborative divorce or mediation. These are the procedures by which your divorce will be filed with the Superior Court and brought to final judgment.

Under the traditional litigation model, the action is filed in court and all motions are heard by a judge. When the parties can’t agree upon something, they go to court to let a judge decide the outcome. In a contentious divorce, the couple can spend a lot of time in court. The parties speak to their lawyers who then negotiate a final agreement with the other party’s lawyer, unless the couple chooses not to have legal representation. Litigation is an adversarial process.

Collaborative Divorce is different in that both parties are counseled by their own separate collaboratively-trained lawyers but the details of the divorce agreement are worked out in a neutral setting, outside of a courtroom. Where necessary, neutral coaches and financial professionals assist the parties in making appropriate decisions concerning the division of assets, custody and visitation (if the couple has children) and other important issues. When a final agreement has been reached and signed, the couple goes before a judge to obtain the final judgment. The process is meant to be civil rather than adversarial. It is often less expensive and less time consuming.

In mediation, the divorcing couple sit with a neutral mediator who is not there to advise either of them on legal issues — rather he or she is there to fashion a final agreement. The mediator tries to guide the couple based upon the expectations of the courts but is not allowed to tell either party if what they are agreeing upon is a good or bad idea. That is why mediators advise the couple to each seek separate counsel from a lawyer of their choosing to review the agreement before it is signed and made an order of the court. Mediation works well if the parties can be objective and fair. It does not work well when the balance of power between the couple is uneven.

Before filing for divorce, you should speak with a licensed divorce attorney to determine which option is best for you.

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President Barack Obama’s 2013 Inaugural Address

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:24:35 +0000

Barack Obama was sworn in today for his second term as President of the United States. For those who missed his inaugural address, here’s the video. The full text follows.

THE PRESIDENT: Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Each time we gather to inaugurate a President we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional — what makes us American — is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they’ve never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. (Applause.) The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

And for more than two hundred years, we have.

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise, our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation and one people. (Applause.)

This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. (Applause.) An economic recovery has begun. (Applause.) America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it — so long as we seize it together. (Applause.)

For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. (Applause.) We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own. (Applause.)

We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. So we must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. (Applause.) For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.

We do not believe that in this country freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us at any time may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us. (Applause.) They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great. (Applause.)

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. (Applause.) Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.

The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure — our forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.

We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. (Applause.) Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. (Applause.) Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war; who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends — and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.

We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully –- not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. (Applause.)America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe. And we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice –- not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity, human dignity and justice.

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths –- that all of us are created equal –- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth. (Applause.)

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. (Applause.) Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law –- (applause) — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. (Applause.) Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. (Applause.) Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity — (applause) — until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. (Applause.) Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.

That is our generation’s task — to make these words, these rights, these values of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life. It does not mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time, but it does require us to act in our time. (Applause.)

For now decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. (Applause.) We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction. And we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.

They are the words of citizens and they represent our greatest hope. You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time — not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals. (Applause.)

Let us, each of us, now embrace with solemn duty and awesome joy what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.

Thank you. God bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America. (Applause.)

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Fast Friday Round-Up 1/18/13

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 11:00:07 +0000

In the weekly Fast Friday feature post, I present links to news items I’ve collected throughout the week. Most are current, others are tidbits I come across in my surfing moments that I think might be of interest.

How to Protect Yourself From Credit Card Fraud

This is really sad (not to mention unfortunate) … Male Jurors More Likely To Find Fat Women Guilty, Study Says

Background check system for guns deeply flawed

Obtain Your Social Security Benefit Verification Statement Online

Red Bull delivers no more energy than coffee, lawsuit alleges

For those who either don’t have a Facebook account or haven’t been keeping up with my Attorney O’s Midnight Musings page on Facebook, here are links to a few of the articles I posted there this week:

Missouri Lawmaker Wants Tax on Violent Video Games

NYPD looks to GPS bottles to combat pill bandits

401(k) breaches undermining retirement security for millions

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3 Reasons to Have Your Lawyer Draft a Will

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:29:17 +0000

Ben Franklin got it right when he said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I’ll ignore the latter for now. It’s the inevitable death that I want to address in this post.

We’re all going to die. Unfortunate, yes — but true. The only uncertainty of death is the timing. Sorry to be a downer but reality is reality.

People put off having their lawyer draft a Last Will and Testament for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that they are too young to worry about it. Let’s put the absurdity of that excuse aside for a moment.

Here are 3 reasons you should absolutely have your lawyer draft a Will for you:

1) When you die, you want to have a say in what happens to your hard earned assets. You don’t want to leave it to chance (or the laws of intestacy). If you want your sister to receive the family heirloom ring that was handed down to you by your grandmother, don’t just hope someone remembers to give to it her — it should be a definitive direction in your Will (known as a bequest).

2) If you want your Will to be valid, a lawyer is trained to draft it properly according to the laws of your state. Don’t make the unfortunate mistake of thinking you’ve prepared for your demise by purchasing some generic Will online or using a software program to write the thing yourself. Chances are relatively good that there will be problems that render the Will invalid and therefore inadmissible in Probate Court. I can’t tell you how many times I have received calls from the family of a deceased person who thought he or she was doing the right thing by choosing a do-it-yourself Will that failed miserably. The rationale for doing so was almost always that it saved them money! Sure, you save the small fee a lawyer will charge you to properly draft a Will but it may all be for naught. It can create one heck of a mess for the survivors you intended to protect. Writing your intentions on a piece of paper and signing them as your Will does not hold up in Connecticut. Generic Wills from software programs and online services don’t address the specifics that might be important given your unique circumstances. If leaving the distribution of your estate to chance is not your intent, call your lawyer.

3) Depending on the complexity of your estate and your intentions for the distribution of your assets on death, there are a variety of options your lawyer will discuss in order to fulfill your wishes. One option might be the creation of a Testamentary Trust to assure that your minor children are taken care of if you have the misfortune of dying before they reach the legal age of majority. Read my previous post on Testamentary Trusts. No matter what the issue, your lawyer’s advice will be valuable in choosing what options are right for you.

It’s a new year, folks. Don’t put off ’til tomorrow what you can do today. (Or something like that). Call your lawyer and make plans to have your Will properly drafted.

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2 Reasons to Consult with a Lawyer Before You File for Divorce

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:31:36 +0000

In my experience as a divorce lawyer, I’ve found that people make two serious mistakes when they are preparing to file for divorce: 1) they make all sorts of promises and agreements with their spouse about what they will give to them in a divorce settlement and 2) they fail to consult a divorce lawyer before doing so.

Let’s just say that until you understand what you may be legally obligated to give your spouse (or receive from your spouse) in a divorce, it’s unwise to start making promises. What almost always happens is that when you do find out what those obligations will be, you realize that you can’t make good on the promises your spouse is already expecting you to keep. Even though your promises have not been reduced to a legal agreement that will become an order of the court when the divorce is final, your spouse isn’t likely to forget them any time soon. This will come back to bite you when you are trying to negotiate a settlement in earnest. Trust me on that. I’ve seen it enough times to cringe when someone finally does come in to speak with me and tells me about all the promises already made.

It’s never prudent to undertake anything without arming yourself with proper information. That includes divorce. I have a serious issue with people being able to file a divorce without legal representation. NOT because I’m a lawyer and want them to hire me but because I know that I will ultimately get a phone call begging me to fix the mess they’ve already made. Again, trust me when I say it’s worse to clean up a mess than to avoid the mess in the first place. It will almost always cost you more to do it that way, too.

Consulting with a lawyer is rational. You should be aware of your rights and potential obligations before undertaking negotiations that directly affect your future. Division of assets and debts is serious business. The payment (or receipt) of alimony, child support and retirement income is equally important.

Sure, you can go online to some divorce website that purports to tell you everything you need to know about divorce. I used the term “purports” because so many of those sites contain false and misleading information that it is frightening. You can speak with your friends and co-workers about divorce. That’s equally unhelpful because just as no two snowflakes are alike, no two divorces are alike.

I shake my head when someone tells me, “my friend says no judge will ever make me pay half of my paycheck to my ex as alimony.” Sorry to break it to you but it is a possibility, depending on the totality of the circumstances in your unique divorce.

I’ve had clients promise to give their spouse the house, free and clear — and to keep them on their medical insurance after the divorce. There may be all sorts of problems with promising the house and the insurance issue just isn’t possible because the insurance company won’t allow it. Your spouse is only entitled to remain on the insurance if he/she elects COBRA coverage. That is a time-limited option. It’s expensive. End of story.

In summary, there are 2 reasons to consult with a lawyer before you file for divorce:

1) To gain an understanding of your rights and obligations under the law and;

2) To avoid making promises or agreements that you won’t be able to keep in the end (and which may ultimately turn your divorce into a long nightmare that will seemingly never end).

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Beware of Bogus Websites and Internet Scams

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:17:36 +0000

I have a friend who recently tried to obtain technical support for her iPhone. She searched the internet for the appropriate telephone number and ended up on a website that looked a whole lot like Apple’s website. When she called the number, she was asked for her credit card information and was required to pay a fee of $69 for support. The support person spoke barely understandable English and kept putting her on hold. After 45 minutes of struggling through a call she could not understand, she asked to cancel the transaction and void the credit card payment. After nearly an hour on hold, she gave up and called her credit card company to block the charge. She was told she could not dispute the charge until it had actually posted. The outcome is still up in the air.

I’ve had clients who have been looking for information on Social Security benefits and information on federal income taxes. Again, there are websites that come up in a web search that are NOT the official websites for those federal agencies. They ask for your Social Security number and other personally identifying information.

When looking for the free credit report you are entitled to receive every year from each of the three major credit bureaus, be sure you are on the correct site — not a site that comes up in the search and then proceeds to charge you all sorts of fees.

When you perform a search on the internet, you will usually see a list of paid sponsored websites. If you type free credit report, for example, 3 such websites come up. Then there are several others listed, none of which is the correct one. It’s always best to check with the official government website to be sure you are being directed to the proper site.

I can’t underscore this enough. Scams abound on the internet and you don’t want to be giving your personal information to just anyone. You’re likely to have your identity stolen and fixing that mess can take years!

If you are looking for the IRS, type in www.irs.gov. Anything else is bogus. For the Social Security Administration, the URL is ssa.gov. The free credit report site is https://www.annualcreditreport.com.

Be vigilant and you won’t regret it.

As for Apple technical support, anything that doesn’t stem from http://www.apple.com/ is NOT Apple!

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Why A Financial Affidavit Is Required in All Divorce Cases in Connecticut

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:59:37 +0000

I was recently asked why a financial affidavit is required to be submitted in an uncontested divorce case. The simple answer is that a financial affidavit is required to be submitted in ALL divorce cases in Connecticut, whether uncontested or not. The longer answer is that a judge has the duty to be sure that any agreements made by the parties is fair and equitable to both people. The financial affidavit is a way for the judge to evaluate the income, assets and debts of each person to be sure the division of marital property has been done fairly.

For example, if a judge sees that one party earns $1,800 per week while the other party only earns $300 per week, the judge will inquire as to why alimony was not part of the separation agreement when there is such a clear disparity in income between the two divorcing spouses. If the agreement provides for something else that offsets what the weekly alimony should be, such as a lump sum payment or the exchange of another asset with approximately the same value as the alimony would be for the term it should be paid, the judge would likely approve the agreement without a weekly alimony order. But he or she needs the income information in order to properly evaluate what would be fair and equitable under the circumstances.

There are plenty of cases where one spouse dominates the other and all but coerces the subordinate spouse to sign an agreement that is not fair or equitable. The judge’s job is to be sure such agreements are not accepted blindly. The financial affidavit alerts the judge to assets that may not have been properly divided in the separation agreement.

Basically, the financial affidavit provides both the courts and the divorcing spouses with a checks and balances system. When asked to provide a financial affidavit, remember that doing so might actually be in your best interest — that is, unless you are trying to hide something.

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Tell your senators: Support a Ban on Assault Weapons

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:32:20 +0000

In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, talk of banning assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines has been in the news. It is the topic of many a conversation. It’s a serious issue and one surrounded by plenty of controversy.

Two bills to be introduced in the Senate could ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) plans to introduce a new assault weapons bill, while Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has pledged to re-introduce his bill to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines.

If you’re a believer that the general public has no legitimate reason to won assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, it’s time to tell your senators.

Sign the petition here.

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Join Us On Pinterest

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:55:06 +0000

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http://pinterest.com/ireneolszewski/

Be sure to FOLLOW us!

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