Latest posts
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Debt Collection Letters: A Consumer Verification Checklist
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team What To Do Before You Respond to a Debt Collection Letter Before you pay, dispute, or even discuss a debt collection letter, verify that the collector has given you the required legal information and confirm the debt is actually yours. Federal law requires a collector to send you…
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Identity Theft Recovery: Building an Official Action Record
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team A scenario worth planning for Maria checks her bank app on a Tuesday and finds two accounts she never opened. She spends the next hour on the phone with her bank, a credit bureau, and the FTC’s identity theft site. By Thursday, a collector calls about one of…
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How to Verify a Court Form and Filing Rule on an Official Website
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team What “Verifying a Court Form” Actually Means Verifying a court form means confirming three things before you use it: that it comes from the correct court system, that it is the current version in effect right now, and that you understand the filing rule governing how and where…
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Statute, Regulation, Rule, or Guidance? A Legal Source Map for Consumers
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team Statute, regulation, rule, or guidance: how do you tell them apart? A statute, a regulation, a rule, and agency guidance are four different types of legal authority, and they carry different weight: a statute is passed by Congress, a regulation and a final rule are binding text an…
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Power of Attorney: Types, Legal Requirements and How to Choose the Right Agent
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team A power of attorney is a legal document that lets one person, called the principal, give another person, called the agent or attorney-in-fact, the authority to make financial, legal, or medical decisions on the principal’s behalf. It’s one of the most common tools people use to plan for…
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Estate Planning Basics: Wills, Trusts and What Happens When You Have No Plan
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team What Is Estate Planning? Wills, Trusts and the Basics You Need Estate planning is the process of deciding, in writing, who receives your money and property after you die and who can make decisions for you if you become unable to do so. It typically involves a will,…
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Probate Process: What Happens to an Estate, Timelines and Alternatives
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team What Probate Is and When It’s Required Probate is the court process that validates a will, settles debts, and transfers a deceased person’s property to the right heirs. It typically takes several months to more than a year, and not every asset has to go through it. Whether…
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Civil Rights Complaints: Where to File Discrimination Claims by Category
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team Where to File a Civil Rights Complaint, by Category Where you file a discrimination complaint depends on what happened and where. Job-related discrimination goes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), housing discrimination goes to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), discrimination at a school goes…
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Restraining Orders and Protective Orders: How to File, Types and Enforcement
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team What Is the Difference Between a Restraining Order and a Protective Order? In most states, “restraining order” and “protective order” mean the same thing: a court order that tells one person to stay away from another person, stop contacting them, or stop certain behavior. Some states use one…
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Lemon Law Basics: What Qualifies, Filing Deadlines and State-by-State Variations
By LegalHelpOnline.org Legal Research & Editorial Team What Lemon Laws Cover Lemon laws are state laws that protect buyers of new vehicles with serious, repeated defects the manufacturer cannot fix after a reasonable number of tries. If your car has a covered problem that keeps coming back despite proper repair attempts, you may be entitled…