Planning

Unfortunately, after a parent dies, sibling disputes can sometimes erupt when it’s time to divide up the estate’s assets. Arguments can also occur between other family members who might feel entitled to the deceased’s assets. If these conflicts aren’t resolved quickly, they can result in drawn-out and expensive legal actions. 

Therefore, there are some important things you should consider before suing a family member over estate disputes that may help you avoid taking the matter unnecessarily into legal action. We have put together a basic guide to help you navigate this complicated time and to help you decide on what would be best for you and your family.

What Exactly is An Estate?

According to Wikipedia, an estate is defined as “the sum of a person’s assets – legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind – less all liabilities at that time.” 

It’s an unfortunate fact, but nursing abuse happens and causes senior Americans devastating harm and suffering every year. According to the Government Accountability office, there are a staggeringly high amount of nursing home abuse cases throughout the U.S. Choosing to place your loved one in a nursing home is an emotionally difficult and challenging decision, and you expect that your loved one will be provided with the proper care and treatment he or she deserves. However, this is not always the case, and your loved one could become a victim of nursing home abuse due to a variety of factors. 

If your loved one was the victim of nursing home abuse, you and your loved one may be eligible to receive compensation for the damages and suffering your loved one was subject to. You may be wondering where you stand in the situation, and not sure exactly who should be sued for the damages your loved one endured. 

In this article we will cover what nursing home neglect is, the different forms it can show up as, why it can happen, as well as how to navigate bringing an action against the right individuals or people to help you gain the compensation you or your loved one may deserve. 

When a friend, colleague, or family member passes away, it is only natural that you would want to express your condolences and pay your respects. There are different kinds of formal gatherings or ceremonies that are held to honor the deceased. Besides a funeral service, some families choose to hold a wake or viewing as well.

To pay tribute to the deceased, you may feel that you should attend at least one of these services, but not sure which of them you should necessarily attend. You may also be wondering what you should expect at each of these kinds of ceremonies, and what they each entail.

We will break down the differences between a wake, viewing and a funeral to help you prepare for each of these ceremonies, offer insight into the role each plays in honoring the deceased, as well as help you decide which of them you should attend.

Coping with the loss of a loved one is always difficult. When the loss occurred as a result of negligence or a wrongful act by someone else, the pain can be that much more devastating as well as lead to grievous losses incurred by the surviving family members. If your loved one was the victim of a harmful act on behalf of the negligence of someone else that led to his or her death, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages.

In this article we will discuss what a wrongful death lawsuit is and entails to help you determine if you and your deceased loved one qualify for a wrongful death lawsuit. 

What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit? 

A wrongful death lawsuit is a lawsuit that is brought on the behalf of an individual who died as a result of the wrongful act of another. The lawsuit is brought to action as a means of recovery to gain compensation for the decedent’s surviving loved ones who incurred damages and losses due to his or her death. The kinds of circumstances that may lead to the wrongful death of another in wrongful death claims are cases that involve medical malpractice, product liability cases or even car accidents. 

When a loved one passes away, one of the most common questions that comes up is when is the best time to hold funeral services for them. The answer will of course depend on a variety of different factors depending on the family’s religious affiliations, the wishes of the decedent, the availability of your funeral director as well as other family circumstances.

According to sources, the average duration of time between death and funeral is from under 10 days to over three weeks. However, funeral services can even take place as quickly as the same day of death or next day. It is important that you and your family choose the best time to arrange a funeral service for your loved one that best aligns with you and your family’s needs to enable you to create a meaningful memorialization experience that honors the memory and life of your loved one. We understand this is a sensitive topic so we wanted to address this question to help families navigate this delicate and difficult time.

Religious Considerations

Certain religions abide by specific guidelines in regards to holding funeral services for their deceased loved ones. For instance in the Jewish religion, it is believed that the deceased should be buried within 1 day of their death. Muslims also believe that burial should be done quickly and for this reason, they do not embalm the deceased. If the family of the deceased observes a specific religion, they may take that into consideration when planning the funeral service to be in accordance with their beliefs surrounding death, burial, funerals and memorialization services.

If you have been the victim of an accident or other personal injury due to no fault of your own, you may be seeking a personal injury lawyer to fight on your behalf to help you get compensation you may deserve. You probably have seen commercials on tv of personal injury lawyers advertising their services and have an impression of what they do and how they work on behalf of their clients. However, personal injury lawyers are not created equal and while personal injury is a particular field of law, within that field there is a wide scope of specialties they may focus on and practice.

We have put together a guide exploring the things you should know and take into consideration when choosing a personal injury lawyer to help you make an informed decision to find the best one for your needs. 

First, What is a Personal Injury Lawyer? 

A personal injury lawyer is a type of attorney that works on behalf of individuals who have suffered from an injury or an illness due to an accident or at the hands of negligence and are now seeking compensation for their injuries. 

If you are in the process of choosing a headstone for a loved one, you may feel overwhelmed about this decision during an already emotionally challenging time. After all, the headstone will be your loved one’s final resting place, and you want to choose wisely and carefully to pay respect to your loved one and honor their life and legacy.

Understanding how to navigate this process will help you pay tribute to your loved one as well as offer you peace and closure during this time. We have compiled a guide with everything you need to purchase the right headstone for your loved one.

It is a sad reality of life. At some point or another you may find yourself having to make funeral arrangements for a loved one. While it is of course an emotionally difficult time, knowing how to shop for the right funeral home to honor your loved one’s life and legacy can help make the process a little easier and less stressful. 

It is smart to try to plan ahead if you can. If you can’t, you may fall into the trap that many unfortunately do of rushing into shopping for a funeral home, and choosing the first one that is convenient or one that has been used by their family before, which can lead to overpaying for goods and services.

While the idea of comparison shopping for a funeral home may seem a little odd, it can be invaluable in helping potentially save you some money and heartache, and ultimately find the best final place to pay homage to your loved one.

The untimely death of a loved one is among the most devastating events that an individual or a family can endure.  Often, the pain caused by the unexpected (and in some cases, preventable) death of an individual is exacerbated by the resentment that can build amongst family members, relatives, and close friends when they feel that the actions of another individual or entity are to blame, which has yet to be held accountable.  The phrase wrongful death refers to a set of circumstances when the negligent actions of an individual or an entity are responsible for the untimely death of another individual (the victim) which may have otherwise been avoidable.

The number of circumstances and scenarios which can be classified as wrongful death are innumerable; however, virtually every case involves some degree of negligence on the part of the surviving participant(s) to the event.  Jason Melton is a leading wrongful death litigation attorney, victim’s right’s advocate and Managing Partner at Whittel & Melton, LLC, a Florida-based law firm specializing in wrongful death litigation.  His Firm has been recognized by its peers for being among the preeminent Plaintiff’s Right’s law firms in country due to its extensive track record and continued involvement in marquis tort litigation that sets legal precedent and impacts case law for years to come.

We sat down with Jason to discuss how the average person can learn to identify the top-5 most common wrongful death scenarios.  Jason starts “The determining factor in identifying wrongful death is the degree of negligence or harm that was inflicted by an individual or company [defendant] upon the decedent [complainant] or its surviving family due to the oversight, disregard or careless action of those involved in the situation of death or those entrusted with his/her care, employment, or safe travel.  If a family member or loved one has passed away under circumstances like those mentioned, you may want to explore wrongful death representation by a reputable law firm.”  Jason continues, “Often, identifying wrongful death can be a difficult task and one that is made more painful due to the degree of diligence that is required to examine the context in which a loved one passed away.” Scenarios of wrongful death can include:

While the passing of a loved one is one of the most emotionally difficult things you can deal with, choosing the right funeral home to celebrate and honor their legacy will help bring peace and closure. And while you are grieving, it can be challenging to navigate the process of finding a funeral home to prepare end-of-life arrangements for your loved one. Whether you are mourning the death of a loved one right now, or pre-planning, we have created a handy guide below, offering tips and advice to help you find a local funeral home that will be right for you.

What Should You Look for in a Funeral Home?

1)  Convenient Location

It is important that the location of the funeral home is close enough for you and your family to comfortably commute to, as you will be making several visits there. You may also want to consider the location that your loved one would have preferred to have their service performed at and factor that into the decision. If you will be arranging a burial service after the funeral proceedings, you should also consider the funeral home’s proximity to the cemetery or burial site and find out if the funeral home will offer transportation services for you and your family, as well.

2)  Clear and Transparent Pricing

This is an emotionally trying time, and the last thing you want is to feel guilted into purchasing a package of unnecessary things that can potentially hike up the price of the service. The funeral home you choose should be upfront, honest and transparent in their pricing, as well as abide by the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule (you can find out more about your rights according to the stipulations of the law, at the link here) It is a delicate balance, finding a funeral home that will work within with your budget, while paying tribute to your loved one in a meaningful way.