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Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law

Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Legal Questions

by: Shae Irving, J.D. , Nolo

Publication Date December 2007
Edition 7
ISBN 9781413305609
Pages 464 pp
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Description

Everything you wanted to know about the law, but couldn't afford to ask.

How do I get a collection agency to stop harassing me? If I work 50 hours a week shouldn't I be getting overtime? My new car is a lemon -- what can I do?

Like it or not, the law affects practically every aspect of our lives, and legal questions come up daily. Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law has the answers.

Written by Nolo's expert team of attorneys, the book provides concise, plain-English answers to hundreds of the most frequently asked legal questions about issues you face every day, including:

  • credit and debt
  • workplace rights
  • wills
  • divorce
  • bankruptcy
  • social security
  • landlord-tenant laws
  • child custody and visitation
  • adoption
  • and much more

The 7th edition is completely updated to reflect the latest in the law.

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Table of Contents

About This Book

1. Houses

  • Buying a House
  • Selling Your House
  • Deeds

2. Neighbors

  • Boundaries
  • Fences
  • Trees
  • Views
  • Noise

3. Landlords and Tenants

  • Leases and Rental Agreements
  • Tenant Selection
  • Housing Discrimination
  • Rent and Security Deposits
  • Tenants’ Privacy Rights
  • Cable Access and Satellite Dishes
  • Repairs and Maintenance
  • Landlord Liability for Criminal Acts and Activities
  • Landlord Liability for Lead Poisoning
  • Landlord’s Liability for Exposure to Asbestos and Mold
  • Insurance
  • Resolving Disputes

4. Workplace Rights

  • Fair Pay and Time Off
  • Workplace Health and Safety
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Discrimination
  • Harassment
  • Workplace Privacy
  • Losing Your Job

5. Small Businesses

  • Before You Start
  • Legal Structures for Small Businesses
  • Nonprofit Corporations
  • Small Business Taxes
  • Home-Based Businesses
  • Employers’ Rights & Responsibilities

6. Patents

  • Qualifying for a Patent
  • Obtaining a Patent
  • Enforcing a Patent
  • Putting a Patent to Work
  • How Patents Differ From Copyrights and Trademarks

7. Copyrights

  • Copyright Basics
  • Copyright Ownership
  • Copyright Protection
  • Copyright Registration and Enforcement

8. Trademarks

  • Types of Trademarks
  • Trademark Protection
  • Using and Enforcing a Trademark
  • Conducting a Trademark Search
  • Registering a Trademark
  • How Trademarks Differ From Patents and Copyrights

9. Your Money

  • Purchasing Goods and Services
  • Using Credit and Charge Cards
  • Using an ATM or Debit Card
  • Strategies for Repaying Debts
  • Dealing With the IRS
  • Debt Collections
  • Bankruptcy
  • Rebuilding Credit

10. Cars and Driving

  • Buying a New Car
  • Leasing a Car
  • Buying a Used Car
  • Financing a Vehicle Purchase
  • Insuring Your Car
  • Your Driver’s License
  • If You’re Stopped by the Police
  • Drunk Driving
  • Traffic Accidents

11. Wills and Estate Planning

  • Wills
  • Probate
  • Executors
  • Avoiding Probate
  • Living Trusts
  • Estate and Gift Taxes
  • Funeral Planning and Other Final Arrangements
  • Body and Organ Donations
  • 12 Health Care Directives and Powers of Attorney
  • Health Care Directives
  • Durable Powers of Attorney for Finances
  • Conservatorships

13. Older Americans

  • Social Security
  • Retirement Plans
  • Medicare
  • Finding a Caregiver or Residential Care Facility

14. Spouses and Partners

  • Living Together—Gay or Straight
  • Domestic Partnership and Civil Unions
  • Premarital Agreements
  • Marriage
  • Divorce
  • Domestic Violence
  • Changing Your Name

15. Parents and Children

  • Adopting a Child
  • Stepparent Adoptions
  • Adoption Rights: Birth Parents, Grandparents, and Children
  • Child Custody and Visitation
  • Child Support
  • Guardianship of Children

16. Courts and Mediation

  • Representing Yourself in Court
  • Small Claims Court
  • Mediation
  • Finding and Working With a Lawyer

17. Criminal Law and Procedure

  • Criminal Law and Procedure: An Overview
  • If You Are Questioned by the Police
  • Searches and Seizures
  • Arrests and Interrogations
  • Bail
  • Getting a Lawyer

G. Glossary

A. Appendix: Legal Research

  • Learning About a Particular Area of the Law
  • Finding a Specific Law
  • Finding Answers to Specific Legal Questions
  • Finding Legal Forms

Index

Sample Content

  • Introduction: About This Book

About This Book

Whether we like it or not, the law touches our personal lives in many ways each day. We may not think much about the laws that affect us as we carry out simple tasks such as driving a car, making a telephone call, or buying milk at the corner grocery store. But every now and again, we’re sure to need an answer to a common legal question that arises in the course of daily life:

What can I do about my noisy neighbor?

What are my rights if I’m fired from my job?

Do I really need to make a will?

What should I do if I can’t pay the child support I owe?

And so on.

This book provides answers to frequently asked questions about more than 100 subjects you might encounter in your personal life—topics that range from buying a house to getting a divorce, from paying your debts to starting and running a small business. Obviously, we can’t answer every question on a particular subject, but we’ve answered many common ones to get you started. Throughout each chapter, you’ll find resource boxes listing sources for more information about a particular subject.

In addition, for those of you who are computer savvy, each chapter contains a list of online sites that will help you learn more about a particular area of the law. Look for the “Online Help” icon as you read. And if you need more information about finding the law, the appendix contains a section that shows you how to do basic legal research—with a focus on using the Internet.

Think of this book as a desk reference—a little encyclopedia that explains what the law really means in a language you can understand. But remember that the law changes constantly, as legislatures pass new statutes and courts hand down their rulings. We will publish new, revised editions of this book periodically, but it will never be perfectly current. It’s always your responsibility to be sure a law is up to date before you rely on it. Check for legal updates on our website at www.nolo.com for the most current legal information affecting Nolo books and software.

Legal Updates

Here are summaries of important legal or procedural changes that affect the latest edition of this product.

Whats New in the 7th Edition of Encyclopedia of Everyday Law

Overview of What''s New

The 7th edition of Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law revises and updates all the information in the book. It also contains two new topics for seniors: information on Medicare Part D, and a section on finding a good caregiver or residential care facility.

Who Needs the New Edition?

You Need the New Edition If:

you want the most current legal information.

Chapters Most Affected

All chapters have been thoroughly updated.

Forms That Have Changed

There are no forms in this book.

Connecticut Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage