When you contact divorce lawyers, find out how many divorce cases they have handled. Find out what kinds of cases they have experience with. If you have small children and your assets are worth a significant amount of money, you will feel more confident hiring a lawyer that is experienced. If you find an experienced lawyer, make sure you find out if he has a license to practice law in your state.

Before you choose a divorce lawyer, right down any questions you have. Compare at least three lawyers until you find one that suits your needs. Find out what the attorneys charge for their services and what this divorce is going to cost you. Compare lawyers by their qualifications, experience, and fees. When you find a lawyer that interests you, ask for references. Ask for names and telephone numbers of his previous clients can contact them. Find out what they have to say about him.

If you need a brilliant divorce lawyer, you should visit HbdLaw.com. Hillman, Brown & Darrow is a sophisticated law firm with over 150 years of experience. They have many well-educated, professional, talented lawyers. Their lawyers handle divorce cases and other kinds of cases like adoptions, business law, custody, domestic, domestic violence, protective orders, estate planning, family law, juvenile, real estate matters, and many others. Their lawyers have a fine reputation in the industry and affordable prices for their services.

You should choose a divorce lawyer that you feel comfortable with and trust if you want to find success. If you find a compassionate, honest, trustworthy lawyer, you will have a better experience. You are probably going through a difficult time right now, but a good lawyer will help you get back on track quickly.

If you are a business enterprise that is conducting commercial trade, you are subject to business laws and government regulations. This area of law is very broad. It covers everything from business formation to contract law, litigation and corporate law. Complexity of the law is another reason to bring in an experienced business law attorney. To be successful in operating a business, someone must have an understanding of the complex laws and issues that apply to that business. The business lawyer should be an important confidant all along the path to business success.

Business transactions are governed by state laws, with most adhering to the Uniform Commercial Code regulations for business transactions. This includes contracts, operations and litigation. Attention to legal details is needed in order to form legally binding agreements between parties. The lawyer knows what legal details must be put in writing to be enforceable.

If litigation becomes necessary, the business owner needs the protection of the skilled business law attorney to uphold their contract rights. Trials may be very long and drawn out, with many complex issues of business law. Litigation can occur between clients and a business or even within the business, between partners or corporation executives. Protecting the business and owners from monetary claims and awards during lawsuit actions is the job of the corporate attorney who acts on behalf of the best interest of the business and owners.

If you are starting up a new business, buying an existing one, upgrading your business to a corporation, need contracts for your business, or have other business related legal matters that need attention, bring in your business law attorney to represent your interests. The business lawyers at www.hbdlaw.com can be steady advisors as your business grows and prospers. Their job is to help you make good business decisions.

Contrary to popular belief, most wills won’t avoid taxes, and can’t determine custody issues.  However, wills can put good, common sense conditions even on transfers of property that most people consider normal, and they can be tailored to suit your personal family situation.  They can also prevent court action to determine trustees, guardians, and conservators, actions which are typically much more expensive than a simple will, and which may occur if you don’t spell the matters out in a will.  Along with your will, at Hillman, Brown & Darrow we also will draft Powers-of-Attorneys and Living Wills to assist your affairs upon disability and end-of-life decisions.  These are documents that clients often don’t consider but are of tremendous help.  The attorneys here stand ready to assist you in planning for your family’s future, during your life and beyond.

ADVANCED DIRECTIVE and DESIGNATION OF HEALTH CARE AGENT. These are for medical decisions. We recommend that you read and execute the State of Maryland ADVANCED DIRECTIVES forms, as these have been adopted for uniform acceptance by all hospitals and health care providers.

SIMPLE WILLS. A standard Simple Will is about 7 pages long, and typically leaves your household belongings to your spouse if living and your children. Typically your entire residuary estate would be left to your spouse first if living, and then to your children in equal shares. If any of your children are under the age of 25 there can be a Trust provision to hold their shares until they reach 25. SPECIFIC BEQUESTS. Usually, more often than not, spouses with children don’t make specific bequests. Rather, everything is left all to your spouse if living and then to your children. If you have specific bequests, you must state so specifically in the standard will. Specific bequests can also be added later by a short specific Codicil.

Powers of Attorney must be notarized in proper form. Wills must be correctly executed with at least two witnesses and should be kept in a safe place. There is specific and necessary language for legal and proper Wills and an attorney should be consulted to make sure that your Will has been executed properly.

“In good faith; In a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation; and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances.”

See MD Code, Corporations and Associations, § 2-405.1 and MD Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings, § 5-417

However, this immunity does not apply to individual actions committed by an individual (for example causing an accident while driving a company car or operating the company’s saw mill).

Whether or not an officer or director is immune from suit, this is why all corporations and their boards should have good insurance to pay for the costs of defending against lawsuits. Liability insurance for Officers and Directors Coverage in Maryland is relatively modest in cost because officers and directors are rarely liable for corporation claims.

Regarding the normal duties for a non-stock not for profit corporation in Maryland, there are only a few things necessary to maintain the corporation in  good standing.

The corporation should file its Maryland Personal Property Tax Return by April every year.

The corporation should file its State and Federal Income Tax return every year (Federal Form 990). A copy of the Federal Form 990 gets filed with the Maryland Secretary of State as part of the charitable registration process.

The corporation should register with the Maryland Secretary of State in Annapolis.

The corporation should have at least one annual meeting of its members and directors (even if there are no members other than directors)

The purpose of the meeting is to appoint officers and to continue the directors in office. If no meeting is held the last acting directors and officers continue in their capacities until replacements are appointed.

Standard Bylaws for a non-profit are easy to obtain from numerous sources.

The annual meeting should include the following items:

ORDER OF BUSINESS.

The order of business at all meeting of the members shall be as follows:

a. Roll Call.
b. Proof of notice of meeting or waiver of notice.
c. Reading of minutes of preceding meeting.
d. Reports of Officers.        (usually treasurer’s financial report)
e. Reports of Committees.
f. Election of Directors.
g. Unfinished Business.
h. New Business.

Keeping minutes of meetings is a good idea so that there is a paper record that you acted responsibly as a board of a corporation.

There is no magic required language for minutes. The most important thing is to record that a meeting occurred at a place, date and time.

State who was present at the meeting, and describe what business was discussed, and what actions were taken.

Keep a copy of all minutes in the corporation’s records, so you can later remember what transpired at meetings over the years.

Drunk driving cases have the potential for many viable defenses.  Your dui attorney needs to aggressively go after the prosecutor’s case and fight for you from the traffic stop to the moment you walk out of the police station.

There are a number of folks out there that are professional landlords and for whom being a landlord is more or less a profession.  Most landlords, though, are people that own one home besides their own, and are not looking to get rich in the real estate business.  They are just looking to recoup their costs and maybe make a little money off their house.  As such, they often do not feel it is worth their money to consult a lawyer before leasing their property.  I have always felt this was a big mistake.

Many small landlords, if they have a written lease, either use a form that was given to them or one they have created themselves.  Rarely have I seen one that is fully compliant with the law in Maryland.  In Maryland, residential tenants have a number of protections by law.  Many of them cannot be bargained away.  Many of them must be contained in the written lease.  If they are not, it can prevent the landlord from holding the security deposit for damages to the property and/or unpaid rent.  Further, if the court holds that you unreasonably withheld the security deposit in violation of the tenant’s rights, you can be held responsible for three times the amount of the deposit plus attorney’s fees.  It can be dangerous ground to walk on.

Most lawyers can either draft a lease for you for a couple hundred dollars or help you make your own lease compliant with Maryland law for about the same amount.  These leases can be used over and over.  It is a little money up front, but it can save you so much money (and headache) in the long run.  This is one of the many services we provide here at Hillman, Brown and Darrow, P.A.  Feel free to contact me or the other attorneys in the firm if you would like to discuss these types of services.