Greenfield Indiana Legal Blog

It is easy to think that only people who have children and those who are wealthy need to make an estate plan. This is far from the truth. Even a single person who doesn't have children and doesn't have considerable assets should have a plan in place.

You have to remember that your estate will default to the state's laws if you don't have a plan in place. Think carefully about what you want to happen to your assets if you pass away, but don't stop there. You should also make plans for what needs to happen if you are incapacitated.

• End-of-life plans: Your living will should outline what medical interventions you want to accept and which ones you flat out refuse. This helps medical professionals to determine how to handle your case if you can't speak up for yourself. It works together with the decisions your medical power of attorney makes, so be sure they fully understand your wishes.
• Family members: You can use your estate plan to help your family members out if you pass away. Setting up a will and establishing trusts can help to ensure your goals are met in this area.
• Charitable gifts: Some single people opt to pass along all or some of their assets to charity. You can do this through your estate plan, but only if it is handled in the proper manner. Trusts are a great way to pass things along to a favorite charity.

Divorcing your spouse isn't always as easy as it might seem at first. Even if you don't have children together, you are going to have to work out a property division settlement. This can often a be a source of contention, since some people want to hang on to the same assets. We can help you determine what's in your best interests as you work to split up the marital property.

Many people don't realize that you aren't only dividing assets like the home and investment accounts. You also have to divide the debts. In many cases, it is best to start with the larger assets and then move to the smaller ones. Once all the assets are split, you can use the debts to balance things out. We can help you to figure out ways to divide everything so your divorce can move forward.

Ice and snow are both dangerous when on the roads. Both make for slick road conditions, increasing the risk of crashes stemming from loss of control. Drivers need to know how to address these conditions so that they can react appropriately.

When ice and snow are present, it's expected that operators of motor vehicles will take precaution by reducing their speed. You can expect to slow down by around 30 to 40 percent when there is slushy or snowy pavement. On the freeway, people may slow down by up to 13 percent when there is light snow. In heavy snow, expect speeds to slow down by 40 percent.

School bus accidents are prevalent throughout the entirety of the fall season. Though you would think more would occur more in September as many are adjusting to buses being on the road, they continue to happen due to the negligence of certain drivers, the changing seasonal conditions or sometimes both. Last weekend’s daylight savings will certainly throw many motorists off and could put several people in danger.

Recently, one family suffered significant losses thanks to the recklessness of one driver. This terrible incident is inspiring Indiana lawmakers to examine the state’s laws on school bus stops. Residents can also learn from this crash on proper school bus safety laws before they head out on their commute.