Families Should Consider Legal Checkups

Alan Kopit, lawyers.com Legal Editor

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The modern American family no longer fits a traditional model. Families are changing faster than the law can sometimes keep up.

Americans point to divorce as the biggest factor hurting families today, outpacing other changes in family structure such as same-sex or dual-career couples, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Martindale-Hubbell's lawyers.com from LexisNexis, in conjunction with REDBOOK.

The unease that many U.S. adults feel about non-traditional family arrangements could be compounded by their lack of familiarity with legal concerns that affect families. The survey shows that 85 percent say they are somewhat or not at all knowledgeable about basic family law issues.

Make an Appointment for a Legal Checkup

"It's a good idea for all adults to get a legal checkup every three to five years - or sooner if you've had a major life event like having a child - just like you'd see a doctor for a physical," said Alan Kopit, legal editor for lawyers.com. Lawyers.com is the most comprehensive and trustworthy online resource for finding lawyers and legal information.

Whether you're ready to hire a lawyer or have a long-standing relationship with one, you should discuss these three things:

• Protect your kids. Even if you don't have lots of money, it's a good idea to make a will saying who you would like to take care of your kids in case anything happens to you. If you travel, consider giving someone the power to make medical decisions for your children in an emergency.
• Protect your property. A will can make sure your property goes to the person you want to have it, in the case of your death. This is especially important if you're not legally married. Double-check the beneficiaries on your life insurance policies and retirement savings to make sure they agree. If you're getting married, consider a prenuptial agreement to cover any assets. If you're living together, you can make a co-habitation agreement defining your financial arrangements.
• Protect your health. Designate the person you want to make health care decisions for you if you can't. This is known as a health care power of attorney. A living will states how you want end-of-life decisions made. This way you will know your wishes are understood.

For more information or to find the right lawyer for your needs, visit www.lawyers.com.

Alan Kopit is the legal editor of lawyers.com and partner at the Cleveland-based law firm Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP. He has contributed columns to lawyers.com, focusing on consumer and small business legal issues and his media appearances include MSNBC, CNBC, CNNfn, Bloomberg Television, WEWS-TV Cleveland (ABC), WKYC-TV Cleveland (NBC), WKBC-TV Houston (NBC), Bloomberg Radio, and legal contributor to NBC-TV's Today show. For more information about Alan Kopit, please see his biography.

Harris Interactive^® conducted the online survey within the United States on behalf of lawyers.com from LexisNexis and REDBOOK magazine, between August 16 and 23, 2006 among 1,092 U.S. adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, race/ethnicity, education, household income, and region were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. With a pure probability sample of 1,092, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of + / -4 percentage points. Sampling error for sub samples would be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell's lawyers.com is the leading lawyer directory on the Web, providing access to more than 440,000 attorneys and law firms nationwide. More than one million searches per month are conducted at lawyers.com by consumers and business people in search of the right lawyer for their needs.