Category: Brownness

6. What if I get a ticket?

Sign it. A ticket has nothing to do with your guilt or innocence. When you sign, you are only promising to appear in court to contest the ticket, or to pay it later if you wish. If you do not sign the ticket, the police officer can arrest you.

While it is okay to sign the ticket, you may want to talk with your lawyer before you pay a fine or plead guilty to the charges. Find out if you can attend traffic school instead. If you plead guilty, you may hurt your chances of collecting damages from the other driver later. Or, you may help the other driver to collect damages from you.

• Drunk driving. Driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher (or any percent if you are under 21) is illegal, and the penalties for drunk driving in California are severe.
• Seat belts/child passenger restraints. You can be pulled over and ticketed by the police if you or your passengers are not wearing seat belts. In addition, children must be protected by a special safety seat until they turn 6 or weigh at least 60 pounds. Children who are required to be in safety seats also must sit in a back seat under most circumstances. (There are exceptions for, among other circumstances, when a vehicle does not have a back seat or when all rear seats are already occupied by children under 12.) And youngsters are not permitted to ride in the front seat of a vehicle with an active air bag if they are under a year old, weigh less than 20 pounds or are restrained in a rear-facing car seat.

7. Do I need auto insurance?

California’s compulsory financial responsibility law requires that every driver and vehicle owner have insurance or other proof of financial responsibility. You must carry written evidence of financial responsibility whenever you drive. For most of us, that means evidence of an automobile insurance policy.

Often, that evidence takes the form of an insurance card issued by your insurer. However, if the name of the insurer and the policy number are contained in the DMV’s vehicle registration records, you may simply write your automobile insurance policy number and the name of the insurer on the back of your vehicle registration. If you don’t have this evidence to show to a police officer after a citation stop or an accident, you may have to pay a fine and a court may impound your vehicle. If you have an accident and can’t show proof of financial responsibility, you may also lose your driver’s license for up to four years.

The law says that you can prove your financial responsibility in one of these ways:

• Insurance. For most drivers, you must have liability insurance that provides at least $5,000 coverage for property damage for one accident, $15,000 for one person injured or killed in an accident, and $30,000 for two or more people injured or killed. Low-income drivers in certain counties may qualify for state-sponsored, low-cost liability insurance that has lower coverage amounts.
• Cash. You can deposit $35,000 in cash with the DMV.
• Bond. The DMV also will accept a bond for $35,000, issued by a California-licensed surety bonding company.
• A DMV-issued certificate of self-insurance.

8. Should I get a physical checkup after the accident?

A checkup may be a good idea for both you and your passengers if any of you have concerns about your health. You could be injured and not know it right away. You may wish to call your doctor or another health care provider for advice. Your automobile insurance may pay some or all of these health care bills (see #10 and #11). You should consult your policy or agent for details on what is covered.

9. Do I have to report the accident?

Yes. First, you may need to call the CHP or the local police (see #1). Second, report the accident to your insurance company. Ask your insurance company or insurance agent what forms you should fill out and to help you make other necessary reports on the accident. Third, you and the other driver must report the accident to the DMV within 10 days if:

• the damage to either car is more than $750; or
• anyone is injured or killed in the accident.

Get an SR-1 Report of Traffic Accident form from your local DMV office, CHP, police or insurance company.

10. Who pays if I’m injured or my car is damaged?

That depends on who is at fault, whether you and the other driver have insurance and what kind of insurance you have. There are two major types of automobile insurance: liability and collision.

• Liability. If you are to blame for an accident, your liability insurance will pay the other driver for property damage and personal injuries up to your policy’s limits.
  If you are not at fault, the other driver’s liability insurance pays for your car damage and/or personal injuries up to the policy limits of the other driver’s policy.In California, if you and the other driver both have car damage or injuries and you both are partly responsible for the accident, you each may be able to collect part of your loss, but not all of it. How much each of you collects from the other’s policy (or from each other’s assets if there is no insurance) depends on the amount of your damages and on how much each of you is at fault.If you loan your car to someone who has an accident, your insurance can also help pay for the damages.
• Collision. No matter who is at fault, your collision insurance pays for damages to your car (not your medical expenses), minus the policy deductible.
• You may have other insurance, too. Your health insurance, for example, may pay your medical bills. Also, your automobile insurance may have medical payments coverage. If so, it can pay the cost of necessary medical treatment for you and your passenger up to the medical payment policy limits.

I feel like I keep writing about the same thing over and over. July is a busy month in terms of birthdays, anniversaries and now deaths.  It makes for a surreal time as I count my blessings that my mother, father in law, sister and niece have birthday near each other, but also have now reminders of deaths of close ones.

So I did the best thing I could think of which was hug them just a bit tighter to let them know they matter to me. That I am grateful for their presence in my life. I avoided posting on social media not because I didn’t want to, but I thought my actions could do a better job than my words.

With so much going on in the world, I sometimes wonder if there is anything I can do to make a difference besides argue with people. Nowadays, that seems to be the go to. We no longer listen to each other, but pound each other with our opinions. It all just seems so irrelevant when we fail to celebrate lives and deaths of ones close to us. I rather honor them than focus on being right.  Because at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

It’s been a rough week for  many, and it got worse as we got news of a family friend passing away as well as a dear friend losing her cat. Add to that the entire conversations on social media going on about Race, Police, Racism, and then hearing others with either passionate views, it just felt as if I was bursting full with emotions. So I did what I know when I am overwhelmed. I switched off.

One of the things I have learned is that passionate others are, it does not help me to respond or get involved in a discussion. This is not to say I am apathetic or weak, but that I know from experience that responding with emotion really enrolls no one especially ones who are the opposite from me. Then it hits me, why is it important to convince others of my viewpoint. As “right” as I feel in my feelings about people of color, it does me or anyone else no good when I preach or lecture.

It comes back to the same theme: responsibility. I am responsible for my feelings, thoughts and actions.  I cannot control others nor should I want to. What I can do is work on myself and my surroundings. Don’t get me wrong, this is not to say that I don’t want to get involved, just that I get to be present and really notice where I can be of healing help. We are all entitled to our opinions, but we are also responsible for our actions. Until our actions match with our opinions, all we are doing is standing on a fictitious higher ground. So I love myself, others around me, and continue working on the one things I know I can to make this a better place: myself. Not financially, not materially but as a person of social and spiritual consciousness.

With the advent of smartphones and constant distraction, car accidents are on the rise. Daily, I hear about accidents involving not paying attention. If you are involved in an accident, keep this checklist in mind.

1. If I have an auto accident, do I have to stop?

Yes. California law says you must stop—whether the accident involves a pedestrian, a moving car, a parked car or someone’s property. If you drive away, you can be charged with hit and run even if the accident was not your fault.

If you hit a parked car or other property, try to find the owner or driver. If you cannot, the law says you may drive away only after you leave behind, in a conspicuous place, your name, address and an explanation of the accident, and the name and address of your car’s owner (if other than yourself).

You must call the police or the CHP if the accident caused a death or injury. An officer who comes to the scene of the accident will conduct an investigation. If an officer doesn’t show up, you must make a written report on a form available at the police department or CHP office as soon as possible.

2. What should I do if someone is injured?

The law requires you to give reasonable assistance to anyone who is injured. For example, you may need to call an ambulance, take the injured person to a doctor or hospital, or give first aid—if you know how.

To help prevent additional collisions, try to warn other motorists that an accident has occurred. Placing flares on the road (only if there are no flammable fluids or items nearby), turning on your car’s hazard lights and lifting the engine hood are usually good ways to warn others on the road. Arrange to get help for anyone who is injured, and try not to panic.

3.What information should I gather at the accident scene?

You and the other driver should show each other your driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations. Then you should write down:

• The other driver’s name, address, date of birth, telephone number, driver’s license number and expiration date, and insurance company.
• The other car’s make, year, model, license plate number and expiration date, and vehicle identification number.
• The names, addresses, telephone numbers and insurance companies of the other car’s legal and registered owners—if the driver does not own the car.
• The names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and telephone numbers of any passengers in the other car.
• The names, addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses to the accident. Ask them to stay to talk to the CHP or police. If they insist on leaving, ask them to tell you what they saw and write everything down.
• Try to identify people at the accident scene, even if they will not give their names. For example, if someone who saw the accident drives off, take down his or her license plate number. Law enforcement officials can trace the owner’s name and address.
• The name and badge number of the law officer who comes to the accident scene. Ask the officer where and when you can get a copy of any accident report.
• A simple diagram of the accident. Draw the positions of both cars before, during and after the accident. If there are skid marks on the road, pace them off. Draw them on the diagram, noting the distance they cover. Mark the positions of any crosswalks, stop signs, traffic lights or streetlights. If you have a camera with you, take pictures of the scene, and of the other drivers and occupants. However, do not place yourself in a position of danger in order to complete an accident diagram. Be aware of traffic conditions and skip any measurements that could place you in a position of harm.
  Make notes, too, on weather and road conditions. If the accident happened after dark, note whether the streetlights were on. Estimate your speed and that of the other vehicle. Be sure to record the exact time, date and place the accident happened.

5. If I think the accident was my fault, should I say so?

Do not volunteer any information about who was to blame for the accident. You may think you are in the wrong and then learn that the other driver is as much or more to blame than you are. You should first talk to your insurance agent, your lawyer or both. Anything you say to the police or the other driver can be used against you later.

Do not agree to pay for damages or sign any paper except a traffic ticket until you check with your insurance company or lawyer.

However, be sure to cooperate with the police officer investigating the case. But, stick to the facts. For instance, if you were driving 30 miles an hour, say so. Do not say, “I wasn’t speeding.”

 

It is never easy to make the decision to end a marriage.  Divorce can be a hugely personal and emotional process. More often than not, if uncontested, it can be that an attorney can handle the process for both parties. However, if there is significant property and children involved, it is best both parties are represented by their own counsel.   Here are three things to keep in mind

 

1. Date of Separation:In California dissolution cases the phrase “Date of Separation” (“DOS”) is what we refer to as a “term of art”–it is a phrase with legal significance separate from its colloquial usage.

   In California, this legal term refers to the day that one spouse finally determined that his or her marriage was over, and subsequently did not change his or her mind.  If there is a contest over date of separation, the court looks to external behaviors which support the internal decision to finally end the marriage.  Commonly, the court will look at whether the parties maintain a romantic relationship, whether they hold themselves out in public as man and wife, whether they exchange articles of affection, whether they maintain joint finances, whether they engage in therapy or similar to revive the marriage, whether they communicate with each other or third parties about continuing the marriage, or getting back together, etc. The court is looking for “indicia of finality.”

2. Fiduciary Duty: The California Family Code imposes fiduciary disclosure duties on spouses who are dissolving their marriage.  These duties require each party to disclose information and documents that are material to the case – without being requested. In transactions between themselves, spouses are “subject to the general rules governing fiduciary relationships which control the actions of persons occupying confidential relations with each other,” which “imposes a duty of the highest good faith and fair dealing on each spouse, and neither shall take any unfair advantage of the other.
3.  Divorce Options:There are three main routes to take during a divorce. Mediation, collaborative divorce, and litigation.

   Meditation tends to be the least costly but will only be successful if both parties are willing to work together with one expert. All documents and matters discussed in mediation are completely confidential, however, the final judgement does become a public document and is filed with the court. This route of divorce is often the quickest route.

   Collaborative divorces involve divorce lawyers for each party involved. It generally costs more than mediation and will also take longer because there are both meetings with just the client and their divorce lawyers, as well as the other party and their divorce lawyers. Everything, except the final judgement, is kept confidential.

   Litigation often results when the parties involved cannot agree or work with each other, or if there is a history of abuse, or a history of a power imbalance. This process is not private — all of the pleadings are put into the public record. Litigation is the most costly of all the options because if the case goes to full litigation it can go on for a long time thus driving the cost of the divorce up. A judge will make the final decision in this type of divorce, but it can be appealed which can drive the cost up even more. This divorce route takes the longest as well.

Last week, I had a new employee who was on her way to fill out their paperwork and begin training, and unfortunately ended up getting rear ended. This has become a common occurrence as the use of cell phones while driving has increased exponentially.

If you are involved in an automobile accident in which your vehicle is rear-ended, most of the time, the driver that hit your car from behind will be determined to be at fault, no matter why you stopped. Fault is not codified into the State of California vehicle code. Therefore, the police determine fault when they issue their accident report. This determination is based upon the damage to the vehicles as well as the basic “rule of the road” that requires a driver to be able to stop safely if traffic stops suddenly ahead of him or her. If he or she cannot stop safely, the driver is traveling too fast, too closely, or both, and therefore in violation of the vehicle code.

In a typical rear-end car wreck, the driver in front is either stopped or slowing when the driver in back hits the car from behind. While it is the policy of most insurance companies to accept that the driver in the back car is at fault in a rear-end collision, that is not the law. Therefore, insurance companies offer to settle claims based on their estimate of what would probably happen if the case came to trial–who would be found at fault, and how much they would be liable for. Generally, people who get rear-ended are not determined to be negligent, while those who rear-end them are.

No matter what, always get checked out by a doctor. Your health is always the biggest priority. And if you feel you are getting the run around from the party and/or their insurance, it might be time for you to call in your own big guns. 🙂