legal advice

Thousands if not millions of claims might flood the court system without the ability to file together in a class action lawsuit. Filing together in a class action suit not only allows for the courts to be less burdened, but it also encourages corporate defendants to behave in a more responsible behavior.
A class action lawsuit is a lawsuit filed by one or more plaintiffs, who are also known as the "named plaintiffs", on behalf of others who have a similar legal claim. A class action lawsuit allows individuals to join together as a group and all file one lawsuit against a common defendant. These type of lawsuits also allow for attorneys fees and all other costs of litigation to be shared among all plaintiffs, instead of one or a few individuals having to pay the cost, which can be a great deal of money, all alone.
Class action lawsuits are an important legal right for all consumers, and are a very important part of our judicial system and its ability to function efficiently. Thousands if not millions of claims might flood the court system without the ability to file together in a class action lawsuit. Filing together in a class action suit not only allows for the courts to be less burdened, but it also encourages corporate defendants to behave in a more responsible behavior.
There are 12 Steps of a Class Action Lawsuit
Filing - Case Initiated - A complaint is filed by the attorney(s) on behalf of the plaintiff(s).
Response - The defendant(s) respond(s) with an answer, motion to dismiss or other legal pleading.
Discovery - Both sides disclose evidence to each other that supports their respective cases.
Certification Request - Plaintiff(s) file(s) a motion to certify the case as a class action.
Certification Opposed - Defendant(s) file(s) opposing briefs to the plaintiff(s) motion for class certification.
Class Action Certification - Judge certifies or denies the class action (if the judge denies, the case can continue as individual lawsuit(s) filed by the plaintiff(s).
Notification - If certified, notification of class action to prospective claimants, who must choose whether to stay in the case or file their own individual case.
Trial - Case is either set for trial, in trial, or has been tried before a judge or jury.
Appeal - A judgment of the trial court has been appealed to a higher level court.
Settlement Phase - Deadline is set for class action members to submit claims with supporting documentation.
Pay Out - Proceeds are distributed to class members.
Dismissed - A case can be dismissed at any point during the ten-stage process. This is not actually a stage, but the end of the process. This means that the case has terminated, at least for now, without the plaintiffs receiving any relief. The plaintiffs may have voluntarily dismissed the case, or the court may have ordered the case to be dismissed. Depending on the circumstances, the plaintiff may be able to file the action again later.

While the common assumption is that trust funds are only for the wealthy, a trust fund can actually be leveraged into an effective financial tool for a larger range of income levels.
The basic concept of a trust places a separate legal entity in control of financial assets (property, savings, etc.) for the benefit of the beneficiary of the trust. The individual who establishes the trust is referred to as the donor or grantor and the group or entity responsible for managing and executing the trust is known as the trustee.
One of the most common goals for establishing a trust is to separate the benefits of property ownership into current and future portions. Common trust designs first pass trust benefits on to one's surviving spouse, and next to the remainder beneficiaries (children, grandchildren, etc.).
What are some reasons for creating a trust fund?
• To help reduce certain types of estate taxes.
• To establish supervision of your assets in case you become unable to personally oversee them
• To transfer your assets more easily to your beneficiaries in the event of your death
• To provide for minors (e.g. your children) who might lack the financial experience needed to appropriately administer their assets
Establishing a trust may not necessarily be the best choice for your situations. Sometimes a well-written will is more effective.
To more fully evaluate your financial and probate law options, contact an Austin Probate Lawyer at Slater & Kennon, LLP. Both professional and experienced, the Austin Probate Lawyers and Slater & Kennon can evaluate your best options, explain them to you in an understandable way, and help you maneuver through the legal and financial documents required to establish a trust fund.

As its title signifies, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program of the government was designed to supplement or increase the financial support given to those people with insufficient incomes and maintain them in minimal standard living condition. This has been funded by the U.S. Treasury Department and managed by the Social Security Administration that has the authority to determine the qualifications of the claimants and subsequently approve their petitions.
Usually, SSI benefits are imparted to low income earners who are either 65 years or older, blind, or disabled.
Before filing an application for a SSI benefit, you should first determine how the SSA assesses your qualifications:
Income
The SSA will definitely look at your record of monthly earnings including your employment salaries, other Social Security benefits and pensions received. The SSA also relies on the area where you live. However, they do not consider the following in calculating your income and determining your qualification.
First $20 of your monthly income received
First $65 of your monthly income earned from performing your job
Food stamp
Housing acquired from private and non-profit associations
Various home energy aids
If you have an employed spouse, a percentage of his or her income and other resources will be included in the SSA's assessment. If you are below 18 years of age, they will consider your parent's and if you happen to be a non-citizen, your sponsor's.
Meanwhile, the SSA does not count the monthly earnings acquired by the disabled or blind people from their jobs if they are to use it in buying items and services they need to perform their duties.
Resources
Your assets, such as your real properties, cash, stocks, bank deposits and bonds, are included in the SSA's determination of your entitlement. The assessed amount of your resources should not exceed $2,000 if you are single and $3,000 if you are married. Yet, they do not count the following resources in determining your qualification:
Your house and piece of land where you are living
Life insurance coverage not in excess of $1,500
Vehicle
Burial plans
On the other hand, filing an application for Supplemental Security Benefit may be done on your own but the problem is, it would be very risky especially if you do not a complete understanding about the terms and conditions of the SSA along with the capacity to defend your case. Thus, it would surely be beneficial for you to seek the assistance of an experienced Social Security attorney or representative to boost your chances of having a successful result.

It is a general idea that an initial application for disability benefits with the Social Security Administration will most likely be denied. In fact, the records show that approximately more than 70% of the total applications filed to the SSA get negative results. Nevertheless, it is good to know that the SSA gives their members the right to appeal their cases.
The Appeals Process
After the disability examiner come up with a decision denying a claim, an individual may still pursue his case if he firmly believes that he is indeed qualified to get his disability benefits. The next thing that he should do is to file a request for reconsideration to the SSA. This is what will happen next:
The SSA will examine all the information stated in the application and make sure that all of the needed data are complete. If not, they will try to contact the applicant to get the missing or ambiguous information.
The claimant will be asked to fill up a disability report and sign medical release documents.
The case information and documents will be sent to the assigned office, which will determine whether the applicant is disabled or not
Such office may request for further medical documents and records as stated in the claimant's medical report.
They will again thoroughly assess all the medical records submitted including the past ones.
The claimant may request for a meeting with the office to discuss other matters.
The decision will be sent through registered mail.
Nevertheless, if the SSA denied an appeal for reconsideration, the claimant may still bring his case to the Administrative Law Judge for review. The ALJ has the authority to agree, revise, or completely reverse the decision of the examiner. If the ALJ agrees, the applicant then may result to his final appeal to a civil court, which has the final say on the matter.
Right to Representation
On the dread of being charged with such a high professional fees, most applicants refuse to hire their representatives in filing their appeals. This belief has resulted in many denials and longer period of acquiring their benefits due to the applicants' incompetence and lack of knowledge in pursuing such dealings.
Like in any court litigation, it is definitely important to understand what laws that applies in a particular case. Thus, an experienced SSI disability lawyer, who has the sufficient skills in defending a claimant's rights, can increase the possibility of gaining good outcome in a Social Security procedure.