Helpful Articles

Even “Fender-Benders” Can Cause Serious Injuries

Rear-end accidents are some of the most common collisions on the roads in San Antonio and throughout the United States. In a single year, there were about 2,101,000 rear-end crashes reported in the U.S., which was more than any other type of collision. Many people refer to rear-end accidents as “fender-benders” because they often cause relatively minor property damage to bumpers and are not considered to be particularly serious events. However, statistics indicate that of the 2,101,000 r...

Lawyer Up! Work Smarter, Dress Sharper and Bring Your A-Game to Court (and Life), T&G Press, 2017

This book is broken down into three sections – Inside, Outside, and  What NotToWear To Court. The sections areintended to be practical, inspirational, and humorous in turn.   The first section, Inside, is about getting your mind right and your head in the game. It’s a distillation of practical tips for lawyers to maximize their day-to-day work and tackle their long-term career goals. The fi...

What are the requirements for a will to be valid?

In the estate-planning world, there are many different requirements (depending on the state) for a last will and testament to be valid. One of the main reasons to make a Will is for it to set forth the final distribution of your assets. There is no point in having a Will if it is not deemed valid in the event it is challenged in a court of law. Each state has its own requirements, but the following is for Wills that are created in the state of Illinois. First, the person making the Will must ...

The Payment And Disclosure Of Attorneys Fees In a Long Island Bankruptcy Case

If you are having a difficult time paying your monthly bills and are considering the filing of a bankruptcy petition, it is important to gain a general understanding of how attorneys fee are charged, paid and disclosed in a Long Island bankruptcy case. The answers to these questions depend, in part on whether you intend to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Attorneys’ Fees in a Nassau County Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Bankruptcy An attorney representing an individua...

Standing and the Possession of Original Loan Documents in a New York Foreclosure

The crash of the housing bubble in the last decade caused a devastating effect on consumers throughout New York State. In 2016, homeowners in New York are defaulting on mortgages as the result of the loss of employment and income, a by-product of the financial meltdown following the collapse of the subprime markets. Foreclosure actions in New York are a significant part of the courts’ dockets and are costing the parties involved, as well as the state, both time, and money. Adding...

Defenses In a New York Foreclosure Based On Violations Of Truth In Lending Act And RESPA

If you are experiencing financial difficulties and cannot pay your monthly mortgage, an experienced Long Island foreclosure attorney can discuss possible solutions and even defenses to a foreclosure action should one be filed against you. While there are many different defenses that may apply to your situation, two such defenses include violations of the Truth and Lending Act or the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Truth in Lending Violations Congress enacted the Truth i...

Which Type of Mortgage Modification is Right for You?

Many people facing foreclosure may wrongfully believe that they have no options but to lose their home or commercial property. Fortunately, there are solutions to fight against a foreclosure and even to prevent a foreclosure action from even being filed in the first place. One of the most common alternatives to giving up your home in foreclosure is to get approved for a modification of your mortgage. Mortgage modifications can change certain terms of your mortgage to lower your payment ...

Disclosing Attorney’s Fees in a Bankruptcy Case

Having an experienced bankruptcy attorney handling your case is imperative to obtaining the best possible results and the maximum discharge of your debts. An attorney will help ensure that you meet all requirements for disclosures, filings, and hearings so that your case can be resolved efficiently and without complications. What you may not realize is that bankruptcy laws also set out requirements for attorneys throughout the case. One important requirement is to fully and accurately...

What is included in closing costs?

When you are selling your home (or any type of property for that matter) sellers are always curious what their closing costs are going to run. Sometimes the costs can make the difference as to whether you get money back or have to bring money to the closing. A lot of people do not realize how expensive it can be to sell their home.   Below is a breakdown of the typical closing costs you will incur when you are selling your home: Realtor feesThis will usually be your biggest fee.&nb...

What do medical malpractice attorneys do and when you should hire one?

What do medical malpractice attorneys do and when you should hire one? When most patients undergo a routine surgery, are admitted to a hospital or visit a doctor’s office there are positive outcomes and patients leave healthy and whole. Unfortunately, not all medical care has positive outcomes, and sometimes medical care can go terribly wrong. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2015 survey, 86 percent of adult Americans, and 93 percent of children had some conta...

How can police search a car without a warrant?

How can police search a car without a warrant? As a criminal law attorney, I have often argued whether law enforcement had grounds to search a client’s clothes, home, car or business. Under law, police need a warrant to inspect premises, but a recent decision from the Court of Appeals of Maryland explains that officers at a traffic stop didn’t need a warrant to search a car. Why? Because the officers had enough direct telltale signs at the stop to determine the driver could have been ca...

Prom: Have fun and be safe (Life Saving Tips)

Prom season is upon us. Young people will be dressing up, going out, dancing and having a blast. It should be a fun and memorable night for everyone. It should also be safe. Prom night poses several unique risks for teenagers out on the road, and both prom-goers and parents should be will aware of the dangers that students might encounter during the night, and how to best avoid them. Studies have indicated that a large number of drunk driving deaths occur between April and June. Most prom...

Amazon Key-When You’re Out-They’re In, So What’s Next?

Amazon Key-When You’re Out-They’re In, So What’s Next? Last year Amazon started Amazon Key which allows members to receive deliveries at home when they are not there. It requires a fee for a keyless lock setup and a camera so when the delivery is made, you can either watch as it happens, or it is recorded. Amazon provides notice by the phone when the window of time when delivery can be expected. The latest development allows for Amazon to deliver packages to the trunk of your ...

The Standing Dead: Law Tackles the Plague of Zombie Properties in New York

When the New York Knicks granted Latrell Sprewell a five-year contract extension for $62 million in 2000, he settled into a home in Purchase, NY with his own basketball court and outdoor pool, as well as a $2.3 million mortgage. The value of the home increased at one point to $5.4 million though Sprewell had no more need for the property when he was traded away from New York in 2004. The mortgage lender, Deutsche Bank, did not complete foreclosure proceedings on the property until 2015 and th...

New Legislative Changes Aim to Help Resolve Issues in NY Foreclosure Settlement Conferences

When the foreclosure crisis hit in 2008-09, New York legislators aimed to protect the rights of homeowners and help find alternative solutions to foreclosure losses by enacting a requirement for mandatory mediation and settlement conferences between mortgage lenders and property owners. Through these conferences required under Civil Practice Law & Rules 3408 (CPLR 3408), many New Yorkers have been able to keep their homes by entering into a mortgage loan modification or another settlement...

The Expiration of HAMP: What Options do Homeowners Have Now?

For years, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) provided a potential for relief for struggling homeowners to cure a default and to prevent the foreclosure of their home by their mortgage lender. HAMP was first enacted in 2009 as part of the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program in reaction to the subprime mortgage crisis. Homeowners who were having difficulty affording their mortgage payments due to financial hardship could qualify for a modification of the mortgage loan throug...

Debt Limits on Filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

It seems counterintuitive that there are actually debt limits involved in the bankruptcy process when the bankruptcy system itself was designed to relieve those overwhelmed by debt. For those with only a preliminary knowledge of the bankruptcy system, it may seem even more confusing to learn that the debt limits apply to petitions for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, in which the debtor agrees he can and should pay a portion of his restructured debts over a fixed repayment period. In order to underst...

Who pays for the survey when buying a house?

In the state of Illinois, if you own a single family home or a townhouse with its own lot number, and you are selling your property, your real estate contract will require you to provide a survey to your buyer dated within the last six months.   If you have bought the home in the past five years, and you can sign an affidavit stating that you have made no changes to the home since you have owned the property, it is possible to ask the buyers if they would accept an old s...

SUSPENDED IMPOSITION OF SENTENCES (SIS) VS SUSPENDED EXECUTION OF SENTENCE (SES)

WHAT IS AN SIS OR SUSPENDED IMPOSITION OF SENTENCE Having worked hundreds of criminal defense cases in St. Louis, Combs Law Group has faced this exact question (what is an SIS?) from a considerable amount of our clients. It’s a common question because in many of our cases we encounter SIS as the final outcome for the client. The state of Missouri and it’s courts utilize SIS protocol to gain a guilty plea from a defendant in exchange for avoiding a conviction and subsequently plac...

Defending and Representing Juvenile Prostitutes in Criminal Courts

I previously practiced juvenile criminal defense with the Clark County Public Defender’s Office as a student attorney for three years while in Law School. I also organized and taught legal classes to the public for the Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic, where I taught Pro Se litigants how to represent themselves in court regarding matters of divorce, paternity, child support, child custody and visitation, small claims actions, and landlord-tenant disputes. My graduate thesis "Defending and Rep...