Dealing with the Death of a Loved One

Dealing with the Death of a Loved One

No doubt, the death of someone you are close to is a painful experience, but it is an experience everyone will deal with at some time in their lifetime.

There are five stages of grief one usually goes through after a death, which generally occur in this order: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. These are based upon the Kübler-Rossmodel.

Legal Considerations

From a legal perspective, there are certain legal issues that unfortunately should be addressed while you are still grieving. Most important of these is dealing with the estate of the deceased. Whether that person had a will or trust or nothing at all, their estate should be probated, even if there are little to no assets. This will often help to wipe out certain debts. A probate attorney can handle this process.

If thedeath was wrongful from a legal standpoint, then dealing with a wrongful death lawsuit cannot be put off indefinitely. Not only are there statutes of limitations in play, but if the wrongful party was a government entity, then a tort claim notice has to be filed within 180 days (about six months). Stevens & Legal can handle these cases for you.

Helping Yourself

The last topic to discuss are some ways you can help yourself while dealing with the emotional issues of the death of your loved one. First, there are many free support groups out there to help you discuss the death and your relationship with that person, whereby you can gain empathy from others in similar circumstances. Even if you are not a talker, one of the most effective ways to deal with grief is through talking with others who have also dealt with this or are dealing with it. You can also connect with your family, as death can often bring families back together after years apart. Another option is to find a good book on dealing with death and read it. Also, professional counseling can help, and your health insurance may pay for some sessions. Lastly, do not be afraid to cry.

Some Tips for Hiring an Attorney

If you are in need of the services of an attorney, here are a few things to keep in mind.

First, you want someone who has handled your type of case, or potentially something similar. You may not be able to find someone near you to handle your exact situation, but at the least, find someone who has handled similar cases. Experience is key.

Then we have fit. That is, when you talk to the attorney to take advantage of a free consultation, do you get along? Are you both on the same page as to what you are looking to do? If not, the that lawyer is probably not right for you. The thing is, your attorney cannot fight for you and fight with you at the same time. You must be a unified team. There are plenty of fish in the sea and plenty of attorneys out there to choose from, so you should be able to find one you can work with. If you cannot find one, then perhaps the issue is with you.

Next, do a little research. Vet them online. While attorneys may not have Michelin or Zagat ratings, there are a few places on the internet now that have reviews for attorneys and law firms. Google, Yelp, and Avvo are the main places where consumers can leave reviews about an attorney. Use these as part of your toolbox when looking for an attorney.

Honesty is also very important. This factor is hard to know beforehand, but if your attorney says they are going to do something, make sure they do. And if they do not, then maybe it is time for new counsel. To check on this beforehand, you can check the Oregon State Bar’s website to see if the person you are considering has any record of discipline.

Perhaps ask a friend or co-worker or family about the attorney. Maybe someone you know used a particular attorney before, so you can get an honest opinion about them, or maybe the acquaintance refers you to an attorney they do know.

Lastly is knowledge. Now, experience and knowledge are very similar and tend to go hand-in-hand, but there is a difference. You can usually discern if someone is knowledgeable about some topic when you talk to them. Does it make sense what they are saying, or does it contradict what they said five minutes earlier? Now, no two cases are identical, so you have to make sure your attorney has extensive knowledge in the area of law you are hiring them for.

My Guide As to Why You Need to Hire an Attorney for Your Personal Injury Case

Victims of accidents often try to handle their own claims with the insurance company when injured in an accident, but this is usually a big mistake.

One reason, is people think it costs too much to hire an attorney. Well, most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, which means they do not get paid unless they recover for you. Almost always, an attorney will get you more money than the insurance company is offering, more than enough to cover the expense of hiring an attorney.

1. Also keep in mind that the insurance adjusters are not your friends, even though they may claim they are trying to help you. The role of the claims adjuster is to pay as little as possible on your claim. That includes your own PIP adjuster. Hire an attorney whose job is to get them to pay what is fair.

2. Speaking of the adjusters, they know how this process works, and you do not. Unless you deal with claims all day long, everyday, you are not going to know what to do, let alone what is a fair settlement amount. Attorneys know this as well, and help to keep the adjusters in check.
3. 
   Those adjusters are also counting on your inertia. If you delay long enough, the statute of limitations will expire and you will not be able to get anything. Insurance companies count on this, and every time someone procrastinates, they win.

4. Plus, your time is valuable. Do you really have time to deal with this? You are already busy getting your car fixed or replaced, plus going to the doctor, so do you really have more time to stumble through this process? That is what you pay an attorney for, who can also do it much quicker due to their skills and experience.

5. Then, the attorneys who are skilled in this area of law know the law, and you simply do not. If an adjuster tells you something, you will probably believe it, since they sound knowledgeable. Well, adjusters are not usually lawyers, so they often do not actually know what the law is and will misinform people. Attorneys know the law, and can make sure the adjusters do not get away with denying claims.

6. This means the lawyers know what to say, and just as importantly, know what not to say. Again, the adjuster's job is to pay as little as possible, so they will do their best to get all the information from you that could hurt your case, and not give you anything. You likely do not know what will and will not hurt your case, but your skilled attorney will. This is critical at the early stages of your claim when the adjuster will be hounding you for information you think you have to provide, but you do not have to provide anything most of the time, and some of that can be very harmful for your case.

7. Lastly, if you wait too long to hire an attorney, it simply may be too late. Many attorneys will not take your case if it is too close to the deadline to file a lawsuit, as they do not want to risk a malpractice claim if they miss the deadline after you waited 20 months. Further, even if you file the lawsuit to protect the statute of limitations, many times attorneys will still not want to take the case, as you could have already damaged your case far beyond repair. Then, once you are all alone and going against the insurance company's attorney, you will quickly be buried with discovery and other legal maneuvers, and then have no idea what to do at trial. Help yourself, hire an attorney with experience in this area of law as soon as possible to protect you from you.