In our lives, the need for legal services will arise at some point. Whether you’re seeking compensation for injuries suffered in an accident, going through a divorce, or facing criminal charges, it makes sense to seek legal help. Before settling on an attorney in Florida, it’s crucial to appreciate that there are generalist lawyers who practice broadly across different legal areas and specialists. Specialists are lawyers who have been board certified as having the competence and experience necessary for a specific legal area. The specialists invest in continuous education and get certified every five years. When faced with any of the legal challenges below, you’re best off contacting a specialist.
DUI Attorneys
In Florida, and all of the states in the U.S., DUI is one of the most dreaded convictions. The consequences of DUI convictions are far-reaching and will ultimately do great harm to the convicted. Whenever you’re faced with DUI charges, the consequences could vary from a mild conviction such as the suspension of your driver’s license or to extreme convictions such as getting sent to jail. A DUI conviction could also lead to a fine. Unlike other fines, however, DUI fines are extremely high and you might be unable to afford them.
Whatever the conviction, DUI charges are likely to affect your life forever. If, for instance, you’re forced to do time as a result of the conviction, you could lose your job. Even when you get a light fine, your reputation is ruined and you might lose friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who don’t want to be associated with a person who drives under the influence. In situations where an accident has led to death, a lot of people charged with DUI think they have no way of contesting charges.
While DUI charges are severe, they can always be contested when you contract specialist DUI lawyers. Unbeknown to many people, there are usually many valid and completely legal grounds for fighting off such charges. The accused, for instance, could be innocent. Moreover, arresting officers could have used poorly calibrated instruments to take breathalyzer tests and might also have tampered with evidence. To protect yourself against unfair and emotive DUI convictions, you need to contact a lawyer who specializes in this legal field as this is the only guarantee you have that all your rights will be protected.
Probate Attorneys
The period following the death of a loved one could prove very stressful for most people. When mourning the deceased, many people are too stressed to clearly think about the process of administering the estate left by the deceased. While you could go through the process without the help of a lawyer, some situations are too complicated to handle unless you sought the services of specialists.
Estate administration and division of inheritance can get complicated in situations where there is no will. Even when a will exists, the services of a probate lawyer might prove indispensable in various situations.
First, there might be life insurance proceeds that might need to be collected. Secondly, you need assurance that all assets have been identified. Thirdly, there are estate, inheritance, and income taxes to be paid and you might need to prepare tax returns. Additionally, there could be bills that need to be settled right away. In situations where the deceased had established a trust, you need to devise ways to administer it.
One issue that most people have a problem agreeing on is the distribution of the estate among the beneficiaries. Where a person has died intestate, arguments about the distribution are common and acrimonious. Rather than take the matters to court and engage in what might prove to be a lengthy and expensive process, probate lawyers can offer beneficiaries support and advice on the best course of action.
While you could engage any attorney to handle your case, it helps to work with a specialist in estate law. Non-specialists will usually take much longer to resolve issues leading to higher costs. Moreover, legal specialists already know the preferences of judges as they have handled similar cases in the past.
Working with a probate lawyer could be the best option during the difficult time after the death of a loved one. A specialist will ensure that the entire proceeds smoothly and at minimum expense.
Criminal Lawyers
A criminal conviction in Florida could lead to traumatizing consequences. As a result of the conviction, you could lose your source of livelihood as your professional licenses could be suspended. You might also be disqualified from holding certain offices and future employers might treat you suspiciously.
Whenever faced with criminal charges in Florida, it’s in your best interest to contact criminal law attorneys. While the law allows you to seek legal representation, some people opt to go through the process alone and this might prove ill-advised for several reasons.
First, criminal lawyers have an in-depth understanding of the law and will help you clearly understand the charges brought against you, the possible penalties, and the best defenses. The Florida criminal legal process is long. Without proper representation, the accused could get fatigued and make mistakes.
When you engage specialists in criminal law offices, you’re assured that everything will be done as quickly as possible. Your lawyer will ensure that you get the education you need to help you make informed decisions. As your confidant, your legal representative will also ensure that all communication is treated with the utmost discretion.
While criminal law attorneys might not help you escape jail, you can count on them to argue your case so that you get the most lenient sentence possible. When facing criminal charges, the possibility of acquittal or a minimum sentence increases with the integrity and experience of the lawyer you choose.
Estate Planning Attorneys
For all of us, death is inevitable. Even when we are alive, debilitating conditions could make us incapable of making critical decisions such as the healthcare we desire and other financial decisions. This is where estate planning legal specialists come in. Estate planning attorneys help during the difficult and emotional moments when you are neither there to make decisions about your estate or you’re incapacitated to do so.
In the event of death, how do you plan to distribute your properties? Have you drafted trusts and wills or would you like assistance to do so? Who are your beneficiaries and how do you wish to split your estate among them? These, among others, are the issues that estate planning lawyer services help you solve.
In addition to giving you peace of mind, using the services of estate planning legal specialists could save you money. While there’s no inheritance tax in Florida, using an estate planning lawyer could help you avoid taking matters to a probate court. Settling issues through probate courts is both expensive and time-consuming.
Medicaid Attorneys
Many people worry about how to take care of the spiraling medical care bills that are inevitable in old age. In Florida, like in most of the U.S., long-term care is exorbitant and many people could easily find all their savings wiped out by healthcare bills. Medicaid lawyers could help you avoid such a sad scenario.
While wealthy people can afford the high medical costs that come with advanced age, a lot of middle-class and lower-income earners can hardly cope. The Medicaid program is supposed to level the playing ground for all people in need but, unfortunately, many people who qualify are sometimes left out and can never get fair treatment without consulting legal specialists.
You might fail to enjoy Medicaid benefits because you forgot to apply. Even when you make an application, you could do it wrong because of the vast documentation involved. Some Medicaid applicants could also be denied coverage because of failure to meet financial eligibility requirements.
Sometimes, however, eligible people fail to get coverage and the only way such people could obtain what they need is by appealing through legal specialists. Apart from outright denial of coverage, other problems common with the Medicaid program include delays and mistakes, and can only be handled using the services of Medicaid specialists.
Foreclosure Defense Attorneys
Your home could be your priciest possession and the risk of losing it via a foreclosure can never be trivialized. When faced with foreclosure, using the services of legal specialists in this field could be the only assurance you have of retaining your home.
Faced with the risk of losing their properties, many homeowners run in panic mode and are unable to explore the possibilities available to save their homes. When you consult a foreclosure defense lawyer, they will advise you of other options possible. Could you, for instance, look for a loan modification that will enable you an extended payment period or lower interest rates? Could you also file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy?
Some people facing foreclosure proceedings could be the victims of unfair lending practices. In other situations, the mortgage lenders could have made mistakes in their accounts. In summary, there are many grounds for contesting foreclosure and legal specialists could help fight for your rights.
Will Attorneys
The process of preparing and executing a will is complex and might call for the services of a will lawyer. The complexity of the process is easy to appreciate. If, for instance, you wrote your will today and declared how your estate will be divided amongst various beneficiaries, what happens when you change your mind a few months later? Should you get offended by one of the beneficiaries and wish to remove them from the list, you’ll need to modify your will. Whatever action you need to take, the assistance of legal specialists comes in handy.
For wills to be valid in Florida, they must meet certain legal requirements and only a specialist wills attorney can be trusted to know such requirements. As a professional who has handled similar situations in the past, a wills lawyer approaches the process with sobriety. The specialist appreciates that there are family dynamics to address and helps the creator of the will come up with a document that won’t cause problems later.
Wills legal specialists will also help in other areas of estate management. The expert will help you know how you can reduce your tax liabilities and clarify how you could distribute property among various beneficiaries.
Vehicle Accident Lawyers
Should you get involved in a car accident, an important decision that has to be made by the law enforcement authorities and your insurance company is whether you were negligent. Deciding on the driver at fault determines who is liable to meet a host of costs including vehicle repair, medical bills, lost wages, and mental anguish among others.
The consequences of a car accident could be traumatizing. If you were the driver of a semi-truck, for example, and got involved with a small car, fatalities could result and you might face charges for wrongful death. In such a situation it helps to seek help from semi accident lawyers.
Apart from being required to pay huge compensations to victims of an auto accident, the guilty party might be required to pay higher insurance premiums in the future. Your esteem could also be tarnished if the victims of the accident were neighbors or vulnerable people.
Car accident legal specialists work hard to ensure that your rights are protected after an accident. In many cases, the person that appears guilty could be innocent and only a specialist attorney could help clarify the real situation.
Bankruptcy Attorneys
Bankruptcy is perceived so negatively by most people that they fail to file when it would be in their best interests to do so. Filing for bankruptcy does not amount to financial irresponsibility as some people assume. On the contrary, filing bankruptcy helps keep creditors at bay and gives you time to re-organize your finances.
When you work with a reputable local bankruptcy lawyer, you get a great opportunity to reorganize your finances in a stress-free way. Your lawyer appreciates that you might have too much to handle and, to ensure that you get out of a debt trap, could arrange for you to get help from credit counselors.
Consulting bankruptcy specialists is a great measure of responsibility. Your lawyer will advise you whether filing is the best option you have and, if it’s, whether you should file under Chapter 7 or 13. Additionally, the lawyer will handle all the complex paperwork that comes with these proceedings and attend meetings with your creditors. Working with a reputable and competent attorney will give you peace of mind during the times you have to deal with insatiable creditors.
All areas of legal practice have their unique complexities. Whenever you have issues likely to have far-reaching consequences such as sending you to jail, compromising your employability, or reducing your esteem among peers, a general lawyer might not be of much help and you’re better off talking to legal specialists.
