Law For Dummies

Get answers to your legal questions — in plain English!

Find out how to protect your family, your money, your job, and your rights

If you're like most people, you probably don't know much about your legal rights and responsibilities — until you run smack-dab into a messy legal problem. Now revised and updated, this friendly guide helps you get a handle on a wide range of everyday legal issues, decipher legal mumbo-jumbo — and come out on top.

Discover how to:

• Protect your child support rights
• Arm yourself against identity theft
• Clean up your credit and improve your credit score
• Hire the right attorney for your needs
• Draw up wills and living wills

Introduction 1

Part I: Basic Legal Stuff 7

Chapter 1: All About Our Legal System 9

Chapter 2: Do It Yourself: Solving Your Own Legal Problems 25

Chapter 3: Solving Legal Problems with an Attorney 35

Part II: Laws That Affect Your Daily Life 47

Chapter 4: Relationships, Marriage, and Divorce 49

Chapter 5: Parenting and Child Care 73

Chapter 6: The Law and Your Job 87

Chapter 7: Driving and the Law 109

Chapter 8: Privacy: Do You Really Have Any? 117

Part III: The Law and Your Money 145

Chapter 9: So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur! 147

Chapter 10: Credit: Getting It, Using It, Losing It, Rebuilding It 167

Chapter 11: Smart Spending 189

Chapter 12: Buying and Selling a Home 201

Part IV: Tough Stuff: Being Sick, Getting Older, Dying 219

Chapter 13: Your Health Care Rights 221

Chapter 14: Getting Older: We All Do It 241

Chapter 15: Estate Planning 273

Chapter 16: Death and Dying: Doing It Gracefully 291

Part V: Crime and Punishment 305

Chapter 17: Do the Crime, Do the Time 307

Chapter 18: Juvenile Law: The Times Are Changing 329

Part VI: The Part of Tens 337

Chapter 19: More Than Ten Ways to Avoid Legal Problems 339

Chapter 20: Ten Common Mistakes Consumers Make When Hiring an Attorney 345

Index 351

John Ventura, JD, was a board-certified bankruptcy attorney and an authority on consumer and small business legal issues. His books include The Credit Repair Kit and The Bankruptcy Kit.

Get answers to your legal questions — in plain English!

Find out how to protect your family, your money, your job, and your rights

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t know much about your legal rights and responsibilities — until you run smack-dab into a messy legal problem. Now revised and updated, this friendly guide helps you get a handle on a wide range of everyday legal issues, decipher legal mumbo-jumbo — and come out on top.

Explanations in plain English

“Get in, get out” information

Icons and other navigational aids

Online cheat sheet

Top ten lists

A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

Protect your child support rights

Arm yourself against identity theft

Clean up your credit and improve your credit score

Hire the right attorney for your needs

Draw up wills and living wills

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