Homes hotline to help owners

With 77,000 Floridians in foreclosure, attorneys across the state are banding together to offer legal advice to keep others from losing homes.

The initiative called FLASH or Florida Attorneys Saving Homes has launched a toll-free telephone hotline to help homeowners getting behind on their house payments.

An estimated 11.6 percent of Florida property owners are more than 30 days past due on a mortgage payment or in foreclosure, according to organizers of the initiative which include The Florida Bar, The Florida Bar Foundation, Florida Legal Services, Inc. and the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar. -more-

Schiavo II? Please, no

One Terri Schiavo case should be more than enough for Florida. One living will should be a priority for each adult Floridian.

Karen Weber of Okeechobee didn't have a living will when she suffered a seizure in November. A living will allows someone to specify medical instructions if she or he becomes incapacitated. As The Post detailed in a story last week, her husband wants to disconnect the feeding tube that has sustained Ms. Weber for the past seven months. Ms. Weber's mother disagrees. -more-

Bill Eases Up On Drivers With Suspended Licenses

Hundreds of thousands of Floridians who drive every day on suspended and revoked licenses, or without any license at all, could soon get a break from the state Legislature.

This week, five days after a car driven by an unlicensed driver struck and killed a little girl in Sunrise, lawmakers advanced a bill that would sharply reduce penalties for people who repeatedly drive without a license. It has almost unanimous support in the Senate and has a good chance of winning House approval, supporters and opponents said.

By contrast, a bill backed by Rep. Ari Porth, D- Coral Springs, and co-sponsor Rep. Mary Brandenburg, D- Lake Worth, that would stiffen penalties and impound cars of unlicensed drivers is almost certain to fail for the third straight year, Porth said. It has sat in committee for more than a month and legislators have not voted on the bill.
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Appeals Court Criticizes Polk Judges
An  appeals  court ruling involving a man jailed on a drunken driving charge  after  a  Breathalyzer  test  registered  0.00 could change the way police  in  Polk  County  document  evidence in some DUI cases.  -more-

The Worst Estates of the Year
By Jan Alexander
Life is short—sometimes tragically so—and an estate plan is never truly finished. The year’s most notable estate blowups were all sadly avoidable, if only they had left clear intentions for everyone on their list. -more-

Families Rethink Their Estate Plans
After flirting with death, the estate tax now looks like it isn't going away anytime soon -- and that's creating headaches for wealthy families and their advisers.

Instead of having an estate plan that's set in stone, many people have been flocking to flexible strategies that can help minimize taxes but can still be adjusted as tax laws and circumstances change. -more-

Firm Ready To Open Up Breath Test
Facing court fines and the possibility of losing future sales, the company that manufactures the state's drunken-driving breath-test machines has agreed to give DUI defendants a look at how one works. -more-

No-fault bounces back on Jan. 1
Florida's no-fault auto-insurance law, which expired earlier this week and had been pronounced dead, is coming back -- but not until Jan. 1.

The Florida Legislature on Friday approved reform legislation with anti-fraud provisions to combat excessive medical payments. After it is signed by Gov. Charlie Crist, the measure will reimpose on New Year's Day the requirement that motorists buy personal-injury protection for themselves and their passengers.

But it may take time and patience for drivers to sort out the twists and turns during the next three months. -more-

The Burden of Being an Executor
Patricia Marek, in Woodland Hills, Calif., says an uncle asked her and her older sister to serve as his so-called personal representatives when he died. They agreed. When the time arrived in the fall of 2005, they combed through his filing cabinets, safe-deposit box and other personal items to determine assets and liabilities. Ms. Marek headed off to Florida to deal with the remnants of his life there. -more-

Sun About To Set On "No-Fault" Insurance
In just two weeks, the rules of the road will change in Florida. Driving could be more dangerous because drivers will no longer be required to carry personal injury protection or PIP. "It is a huge problem, a gap, affecting millions of our citizens," says attorney Joe Camerlengo. The way it is now, if you are in an accident, personal injury protection will cover either driver up to $10,000. But starting October 1, the driver at fault will pay, and it could take a lawsuit to get that money. If someone with no insurance hits you, you'll pay either way.-more-

Judge's ruling could limit use of breath-test results in DUI cases
A Leon County judge's ruling to throw out blood-alcohol breath-test results in four DUI cases could have a big impact on others currently facing drinking-and-driving charges. On Tuesday, Judge Augustus D. Aikens Jr. ordered that breath tests be thrown out in DUI cases involving four men arrested in 2006. Their breath samples showed blood-alcohol readings above Florida's legal limit of 0.08. -more-

Broward jury awards $6 million to man injured in Ford van accident
After a six-week product liability trial, a Broward Circuit Court jury Wednesday awarded $6 million to a 22-year-old man for injuries he suffered five years ago in the rollover of a 1993 Ford Aerostar van. -more-

New Trust Code Offers Opportunities And Challenges
If  you  have  a  trust,  or  you're  considering setting up a trust, Florida  has a new trust code, "Chapter 736," which became effective Sunday The  five-year  drafting  effort, according to Brian Felcoski, co-chair  of Florida's ad hoc trust code revision committee, may not change too  much, but it could save you money. -more-

Practice of animal law gains in popularity and acceptance
Jennifer Dietz still remembers the letters she received from fellow attorneys when she proposed starting an animal law committee for The Florida Bar.

“What are you, crazy?” was the prevailing theme. Crazy, perhaps, but Dietz was certainly ahead of her time. According to the Torts and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association, animal law is the fastest growing legal discipline in the country. -more-

Supreme Court Allows Drug Court Defendants To Change Pleas
Defendants  will be able to withdraw guilty or no contest pleas after successfully  completing drug court treatment programs, under new rules the Florida  Supreme  Court adopted Thursday [June 21].  The high court adopted separate  rules  covering  plea  withdrawals  by  adults  and juveniles who entered  them  to get their cases transferred to drug court.  Those changes made court rules consistent with new laws passed by the Legislature in 2005 and 2006. -more-

Florida Increases Criminal Penalties
Gov. Charlie Crist signed five crime bills  into  law  on  Wednesday  [June 20]. One will set a two-year minimum prison  term  for  drunken  drivers  who  leave the scene of a fatal crash. - more-

Starting Your Own Business - ABC'S of Incorporation presented by Dana Laganella, Esq. and Rodney Gerling, Esq. July 18, 2007 -more-

Second  Verdict  Is  All  That  Stands  Between  Man And $8.2 Million
A  Jacksonville  man who sued Allstate after being hit by a truck was awarded  nearly $8.2 million in damages Wednesday [June 6] but another jury will  decide  whether  he  can  collect.   John  Clements  was struck by an out-of-control  motorist  while  doing  landscape work in November 2004. He received  $100,000  from the driver's insurer.  But, when Clements tried to get Allstate to pay him his $100,000 in underinsured motorist coverage, the company  refused,  prompting the lawsuit.  -more-

Canine Case Is Doggone Tough
You could say counseling the parties in a particularly contentious Tennessee probate dispute is like herding cats—except their disagreement involves a dog: a 13-year-old golden retriever named Alex, to be exact, who has his own lawyer. -more-

How to Keep Peace Among Heirs
David Altshuler recently bid at auction for a vintage necktie. The event wasn't set up by an auction house or to benefit a charity.
Instead, he was bidding against his two siblings in a private, Web-based auction that they held to divvy up their late father's personal property. -more-

Courts don't recognize pets' full value
Pet law is a growing area of practice. Companion pet owners have recognized the growing importance and significance our companion animals have on our families and our lives. And most pet owners think of their pets as members of their families. - more-

What Have We Learned from Terri Schiavo? An Article for Women
As women we have so many demands on our time, that typically planning for our future and planning our estate plan gets pushed to the back burner.  However, we are such planners, planning parties, events and dinners for others, why do we always forget about ourselves? We must face the facts, women live longer than men, typically by approximately ten years.  It is likely that you will be left to handle the often daunting task of planning for your incapacity and death.  Remember to keep it simple.  When you think of your health, the two essential planning documents that you must have are a Health Care Surrogate and a Living Will.  -more-

Jury: Home violated living will
Nursing facilities must heed patient's wishes, panel rules
Linda Scheible said she wanted her grandmother's "unnecessary suffering" to
send a message to nursing homes everywhere. A Palm Beach County jury's verdict on Friday afforded her the opportunity, she said, to let those caring for the elderly and infirm know that "they need to pay attention to patients' end-of-life directives and wishes." -more-

What Can We Learn from the Death Anna Nicole Smith?
If you have been anywhere in the vicinity of a television, computer, or national newspaper in America in the last three weeks, you likely have learned of the untimely passing of Anna Nicole Smith.  The sad saga of the immediate court battles over Anna Nicole’s Will and her burial is a lesson for all of us: it is important  that your Will provide effective and clear instructions which can be relied upon in decision-making after you are gone.  -more-

Risks of Payable on Death Bank Accounts
According to Fla Stat 655.79(1). Unless  otherwise expressly provided in a contract, agreement, or signature card executed in connection with the opening or maintaince of an account (including a certificate of deposit), a deposit account in the names of two or more persons is presumed to have been intended to provide for surviorship rights upon the death of one of them. -more-

Community Leader, Dana Laganella, Esq. of Affordable Attorney/Gerling Law Group Chartered is quickly becoming the foremost source for legal counsel on issues of Animal Law and Pet Trusts in our community.
Attorney Laganella is dedicated to the rights of individual pet owners and of organizations involved in large scale animal care. She serves on the Board of the Sarasota County Humane Society, the Advisory Board of the Pinellas Animal Foundation, the Animal Law Committee of the Florida Bar Association, and the Animal Advisory Board of Manatee County Animal Control. -more-