What is a Tort?-
A tort is a civil wrong (other than a breach of contract) that causes injury or other damage for which our legal system deems it just to provide a remedy. The primary focus of Tort Law is to repair a private wrong.
Purposes for Tort Law-
Peace: In order to provide a peaceful means for adjusting the rights of parties who might otherwise “take the law into their own hands.”
Deterrence: To deter wrongful conduct.
Restoration: To restore injured parties to their original state by compensating them for their injury.
Justice: To identify those who should be held accountable for the harm that resulted.
Categories of Torts-
There are three main categories of torts:
1. Negligence
2. Intentional Torts
3. Strict Liability Torts
1. Negligence is harm caused by the failure to use reasonable care.
2. An intentional tort is a tort in which a person either desired to bring about the result or knew with substantial certainty that the result would follow from what the person did or failed to do.
Types of intentional torts include: battery, assault, trespass, and false imprisonment.
3. Strict liability is having responsibility regardless of blameworthiness or fault.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Civil vs Criminal Law
Civil law is the area of law that encompasses lawsuits brought by individuals who have suffered private wrongs for which they are seeking some form of compensations. Civil law includes tort law, property law, domestic relations law, contract law and probate law. Criminal law is the area of law that deals with the wrongs done to an individual that result in harm to society as a whole. The purpose of criminal law is to punish those who commit crimes such as murder, robbery, theft, arson and sexual assault.
Although the same act can be both a civil wrong and a criminal wrong (theft), several differences exist between civil and criminal law. The purpose of civil law is to compensate victims by providing them with some form of monetary damages. The purpose of criminal law is to punish those who have committed a wrong. Punishment is accomplished by confining and/or fining the wrongdoer. The civil law acts on behalf of the individual wronged and that individual brings suit to recover damages. The criminal law acts on behalf of the state, which is considered the offended party, and the prosecutor of the state represents the state in the courtroom.
The plaintiff (person who sues) has a burden of proof known as the preponderance of the evidence that must be shown in court. In the preponderance of the evidence burden of proof, the plaintiff must prove that it is more likely than not the defendant committed the wrong. In the beyond a reasonable doubt standard, the state must remove all reasonable doubts from the jurors’ minds.
Although the same act can be both a civil wrong and a criminal wrong (theft), several differences exist between civil and criminal law. The purpose of civil law is to compensate victims by providing them with some form of monetary damages. The purpose of criminal law is to punish those who have committed a wrong. Punishment is accomplished by confining and/or fining the wrongdoer. The civil law acts on behalf of the individual wronged and that individual brings suit to recover damages. The criminal law acts on behalf of the state, which is considered the offended party, and the prosecutor of the state represents the state in the courtroom.
The plaintiff (person who sues) has a burden of proof known as the preponderance of the evidence that must be shown in court. In the preponderance of the evidence burden of proof, the plaintiff must prove that it is more likely than not the defendant committed the wrong. In the beyond a reasonable doubt standard, the state must remove all reasonable doubts from the jurors’ minds.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wills: Basic Information
A will provides one of the easiest ways of giving an individual a voice in how they want their property to be distributed and avoid legal problems that may arise when someone dies intestate. To die intestate means to die without a will. To avoid probate, a will must be carefully designed and well-drafted to meet the needs of the testator and their intended recipients.
Validity
To be valid a will must be:
Made by an adult
Made by someone with testamentary capacity
Created Voluntarily
Formality
A will can be formal meaning word processed, signed and properly witnessed. It can also be holographic, meaning hand written with no witnesses (check your states statutes to see if they recognize holographic wills), or nuncupative, meaning an oral will.
Changing a Will (codicil)
Changing the terms of a will is done through a codicil, which is a separate instrument with new provisions that change the original will in some way.
Revoking a Will
The act of revoking a will must be accompanied by the testator’s intent to revoke the will. There are three methods for revoking a will.
The execution of a new will revokes a prior will. To revoke a prior will in some states, the new will must either expressly state that it revokes an earlier will or be inconsistent with the old will.
The marriage of a person who has made a will revokes the will in some states unless the will declares that it is made in contemplation of marriage to a particular person.
A divorce or dissolution of marriage revokes bequests and devises to a former spouse but not the will itself.
Validity
To be valid a will must be:
Made by an adult
Made by someone with testamentary capacity
Created Voluntarily
Formality
A will can be formal meaning word processed, signed and properly witnessed. It can also be holographic, meaning hand written with no witnesses (check your states statutes to see if they recognize holographic wills), or nuncupative, meaning an oral will.
Changing a Will (codicil)
Changing the terms of a will is done through a codicil, which is a separate instrument with new provisions that change the original will in some way.
Revoking a Will
The act of revoking a will must be accompanied by the testator’s intent to revoke the will. There are three methods for revoking a will.
The execution of a new will revokes a prior will. To revoke a prior will in some states, the new will must either expressly state that it revokes an earlier will or be inconsistent with the old will.
The marriage of a person who has made a will revokes the will in some states unless the will declares that it is made in contemplation of marriage to a particular person.
A divorce or dissolution of marriage revokes bequests and devises to a former spouse but not the will itself.
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