It’s therefore extremely important to keep your personal information safe. There are lots of things you can do to protect yourself from identity fraud. This practical factsheet provides some useful tips and information on how to do this.

Ways in which your identity might be stolen

By Benedict Rohan

A house burglary in which personal documents are stolen. Handbag or wallet theft. Fraudulent internet or phone banking scams in which you inadvertently give out personal details to fraudsters in the belief that you are being contacted by a legitimate organisation such as your own bank. Post in your name being delivered to a previous address of yours and used to commit fraud in your name. Having your post stolen or redirected without your permission. Internal systems fraud – for example, payroll data from employees of the Government Tax Credit Office was stolen in 2005 and their details used to falsely claim benefits. Criminals raking through your rubbish to find personal information.

How will you know when your identity has been stolen?

Often people first find out about it when they are refused credit because their credit rating has dropped. You’re not receiving any post at all, or key documents or letters you have been expecting do not arrive. You receive bills or invoices for goods that you didn’t purchase. There are some transactions on your bank account that you don’t recognise. You have received solicitors letters or letters from debt collectors that have nothing to do with you. You apply for benefits and are told that you are already claiming. You receive correspondence from a government agency demanding repayment of benefits when you have never claimed anything in the first place.

Who loses out?

You – your credit rating could be damaged and you might find it difficult to obtain credit in the future. You will also have to prove to the organisations demanding payment from you that you are not responsible for them. The government – the public purse suffers from billions of pounds worth of fraudulent tax and benefit claims every year. Financial organisations – the companies with whom your details have been falsely used to obtain money may never be able to recover what was stolen in your name.

How to protect yourself against identity fraud

Don’t throw anything containing your name and address and/or other personal details into the bin without shredding it first. This includes bills, bank statements, benefits statements, receipts and even unwanted post and junk mail. Always let your bank and other organisations of which you are a customer know when you move house. Don’t use your mother’s maiden name as a security password Check your credit rating with each of the three UK credit agencies at least once a year. (These are Experian, Equifax and Call Credit.) Don’t use the same password for all accounts. If you’re worried that someone else could easily intercept your post, arrange to collect important items rather than have them posted to you, e.g. credit cards or cheque books from your bank. Cancel stolen credit cards immediately. Contact the DVLA or the Passport Agency immediately if your driving licence or passport have been stolen. Don’t give out your credit card numbers or other personal information over the phone if people nearby could overhear. Check your bank and other financial statements regularly to check for suspicious transactions. If you receive a phone call or email from what seems to be a legitimate organisation requesting personal details, check it’s genuine before proceeding. The best approach is to take their phone number and call them back. Banks will never ask you for your PIN or login details for their banking system. Ensure your computer is safe for making online transactions – get anti-virus software and a good firewall for protection, and only ever enter personal details onto secure sites (with the prefix https in the address).

What to do if your identity has been stolen

Contact the organisations with whom the fraud has been committed to explain what has happened. Inform the police. Get in touch with the Royal Mail if you suspect your mail has been intercepted. Contact CIFAS, the UK’s fraud protection agency, and register with their protection service to help prevent future fraud. Get credit reports from the three credit checking agencies to identify exactly what has been done in your name.

Presently, individuals can file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Chapter 7 involves liquidating all the assets to pay off the creditors. Chapter 13 involves registering a plan to pay of the creditors from the monthly wages of the debtor within a specified amount of time. However, new laws passed by the President in 2005 might make the options for filing the case under Chapter 7 a bit more narrow and might force most individuals to file a bankruptcy case under Chapter 13 instead.

Chapter 13 requires the individuals to provide proof of income, as the whole law is based on the individual’s steady income. If the debtor fails to pay the monthly credit amount, the case might be dismissed from the court and will require the individual to file for bankruptcy all over again.

When an individual files for bankruptcy, it does provide him with a fresh start, but the credit bureaus keep records of the bankruptcy details and this might affect the debtor’s credit rating for the next 10 years. However, some banks currently offer a new kind of credit card that requires some initial security payment that will help build up the credit rating so that things are almost normal by two to three years.

The new law also requires the individual to take up credit counseling at least six months before filing for bankruptcy, which means the individual has to go through a licensed lawyer to file the case.

By: Eddie Tobey

There are many advantages to incorporating a business. They are personal liability, tax advantages, anonymity, perpetuity, easier access to capital and transfer of ownership. A Corporation is made up of a group of persons called shareholders. Each has limited investment in the venture. The benefits they accrue is in the form of salaries if they are employees, as well as dividends and capital appreciation if the shares are listed. If the business incurs any loss, the shareholders are liable only for their investments. Their personal assets are protected.

Corporations enjoy many tax advantages when compared to proprietorship and partnership. Many expenses like rents, insurance plans and retirement plans can be claimed for deductions. In proprietorship and partnership, debt is the only way to raise capital. This comes at a higher interest due to unlimited liability. But corporations can raise capital by selling shares and can borrow money from institutions because of the credibility. As ownership is held in the form of shares, it is easy to transfer ownership by selling the shares. Corporations exist on their own by their legal entity status. This makes the corporation live longer and provides the founders anonymity as they are separate from the corporation.

It is important to note that incorporating a business allows for public scrutiny, and the founders have a responsibility to society to file returns properly and follow laws set by the state. It is important to understand that incorporated business is not their alter ego, but a separate legal entity.

By: Steve Valentino

When a person dies, a probate proceeding is initiated to take care of his property. The will usually names an executor - a person assigned the task of carrying out the provisions of the will. If not an executor is named by the probate court. In some States of U.S., if the person (Testator) has died with a proper will, probate proceedings are not required. But in most states such legal proceedings are required to settle the property especially in case of intestacy (Lack of will).

In most states the Intestacy laws follow the laws of descent. In the event of a person’s death, property goes to the spouse, then children and their descendants. If a person dies intestate with no legal heirs, the person’s estate generally escheats or reverts to the government. A legal representative is appointed to look after this process.

Probate proceedings take along time and to avoid probate, people generally execute a living trust while they are alive. This is a trust to which a person transfers ownership of his property and which he controls. After his death, the beneficiaries named in his trust gain ownership of the property. This avoids probate proceedings and publicizing of property details.

Any person above the age of 18 can draft his own will without an aid of an attorney. Every will must have following provisions- The testator must clearly identify himself and declare that he revokes all previous wills and codicils (attachments). He must declare that he is acting freely and willingly and must sign and date the will in the presence of two witnesses who must not be beneficiaries. Lastly, the testator’s signature must be placed at the end of the will.

Wills may be of different types. A holographic will and testament is one that has been entirely handwritten. It is then signed by the testator. In some states, holographic wills need not even be legally witnessed. Such wills are common in emergency situations, such as when testator is alone and in near death situations. In the U.S. unwitnessed holographic wills are recognized by 30 of the 50 states. A minority of states also recognize “non cupative” or oral wills.

A joint will is a single document signed by both the husband and the wife. It makes a single disposition of their property on the death of either or both of them. Mutual wills are a pair of identical documents, one signed by the husband and other by the wife, thereby assuring identical dispositions of property.

Although wills are simple enough, nearly half of all Americans die without making one. They fail to realize that their hard earned wealth will be reverted to government possession and divided according to State Law. A will is especially important if you want to appoint legal guardians for your children in the event of your demise.

By: Damian Sofsian

A legal nurse consultant is a registered nurse who uses existing expertise as a healthcare professional plus specialized training to consult on medical-related cases at fees of $100-$150 per hour. Few attorneys know how to read medical records or understand the terminology and subtleties of healthcare issues to achieve the best results for their clients. A legal nurse consultant bridges that gap in the attorney’s knowledge. While the attorney is the expert on legal issues, the legal nurse consultant is the expert on nursing, the healthcare system and its inner workings.

Wherever there are attorneys, the services of legal nurse consultants are needed. According to the Houston Chronicle, “Of the approximately 900,000* attorneys in practice today, 25 percent deal with medical malpractice and personal injury cases.” These attorneys rely on specially trained Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to help them win their cases.

• According to the American Bar Association Market Research Department, in 2006 there are 1,116,967 attorneys in the U.S.

Who Are Legal Nurse Consultants?

Legal nurse consultants of all ages live all over the U.S., rural or urban. Legal nurse consultants have consulted on cases as simple as a neck injury caused by an auto accident, as high-profile as the Rodney King case and as groundbreaking as Fen-Phen, Vioxx, silicone implants and toxic mold litigation.

Additionally, legal nurse consultants provide healthcare expertise for insurance companies, utilization review firms, government agencies, private corporations and hospitals, both as staff members and consultants. The legal nurse consulting profession allows nurses many options for establishing a satisfying and profitable part-time or full-time consulting career.

What Services Do Legal Nurse Consultants Provide?

The legal nurse consultant services include assisting with discovery; conducting research; reviewing medical records; identifying standards of care; preparing reports and summaries on the extent of injury or illness; and locating expert witnesses. Although most legal nurse consultants work behind the scenes, they may also serve as expert witnesses. The legal nurse consultant acts as a specialized member of the litigation team whose professional contributions are often critical to achieving a fair and just outcome for all parties.

Types of Clients Who Need Legal Nurse Consultants

1. Attorneys (plaintiff and defense)
2. Insurance companies
3. Healthcare facilities
4. Other legal nurse consultants and medical-legal consultants (plaintiff and defense)
5. Government agencies
6. Private corporations (e.g., for developing corporate strategies for quality assurance, risk identification and management, evaluation and control of loss exposure)

How Can You Become a Legal Nurse Consultant?

RNs wishing to enter the specialty practice of legal nurse consulting undergo specialized training and certification. Legal nurse consultant training is offered by several organizations that provide both online, seminar and home study options, including the nation’s first, Vickie Milazzo Institute.

An advance directive outlines what wishes your doctor must follow if you become unable to make your own medical decisions. When you`re admitted to the hospital usually the staff will ask you if you have an advance directive, or you can hand your doctor and hospital staff a copy yourself if they don’t ask.

An ideal advance directive would be to describe the kind of treatment you would want depending on how sick you are at the time. Also, an advance directive is made to describe what to do if you have an illness that you most likely have no chance to recover from, or if your in a coma what kind of care you wish. The most important thing on an advance directive is what you don’t want your doctor to do otherwise a doctor will usually do everything in his power he feels is necessary. However it works both ways, you can demand certain treatments no matter how ill you become.

The laws and forms on advance directives are usually different for every state, its important you get your state’s specific form that comforms to your state’s laws.

The good thing about an advance directive is that you don’t stress out your family and loved ones by putting the burden of making medical decisions for you. If your 18 years or over you can prepare an advance directive.

A do not resuscitate order is like an advance directive but very specific. A do not resuscitate order is made for you to request if you want cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Usually if you don’t fill this form out the whole hospital staff is trained in CPR and also trained to revive you using CPR if your heart stops or you stop breathing. Do not resuscitate orders are accepted in all states.

Author: David Fagan