Law Blog!

On account of a fundamental rule of inheritance under Muslim law that “a nearer in degree excludes the more remoter” the children of a predeceased son or daughter can not inherit the property of their grandfather or grandmother who is survived by a son or sons. All the schools and sub-schools of Islamic law unanimously accepted this fundamental rule. So it is evident that in the opinion of Islamic jurists the provision of representation in respect of inheritance is absence in Muslim law. As under this principle grandchildren are excluded from inheritance, different Muslim countries of the world attempted to solve this problem by taking various devices.

In Syria and morocco the children of a predeceased son who would be excluded from succession  under sharia  law ,are now entitled to either the share of their father which they would have taken ,had he survived the propositus or one third of the net estate ,whichever is  less .But till now no provision has been made for the children of the deceased ’s daughter.

In Egypt the children of a predeceased son or daughter is entitled to  the share of their parent which they would have received ,had  he or she survived the propositus ,but within the maximum limit of one third of net estate.

Some Middle Eastern countries have adopted the device of ‘obligatory bequests’. In Libya the will act 1994 introduced obligatory bequest for orphaned grandchildren through predeceased sons. But Bangladesh and Pakistan have accepted the rule of representational succession for the orphaned grandchildren. Section 4 of Muslim family law ordinance1961 provides;

In the event of the death of any son or daughter of the propositus before opening of succession ,the children of such son or daughter ,if any ,living at the time of succession opens ,shall per stirpes receive a share equivalent to the share which such son or daughter ,as the case may be ,would have received if alive.’

According to this section a grandson or granddaughter represents his or her father or mother at the time of death of grandfather or grandmother and inherit what their parent would have inherited if alive, it is called representation. So representation means a more distant relative steps into the shoes of a nearer relative (e.g. a son representing his father) and inherits in an identical manner to the individual he represents. This doctrine of representation has brought in some cases caustic injustice to some heirs of the deceased .For the better understanding the latent injustices in section 4 of MFLO; we can discuss it by giving some examples;

Firstly; a dies leaving behind one daughter and one son’s daughter. So under Islamic law of inheritance daughter gets three-fourths and granddaughter gets one –fourth but according to this ordinance daughter gets one-third and granddaughter gets two-thirds. Only this single injustice upsets the whole community. Here both the heirs are female one is one degree nearer than the other one but nearer gets half of property of remoter. Do you think it is justice?

Secondly; under the ordinance the doctrine is applied only for the descendents of the deceased. It means the entire property which the deceased son would have inherited, if alive, goes to his children, depriving his wife and other relatives. For example; A dies leaving B, a son and D a grandson from predeceased son C and C’ s wife E. Here the property will be divided into two. B gets half and the rest half goes to D. So E is completely deprived .Is it justice?

Thirdly; the propositus dies leaving a daughter of a predeceased son and a full brother. Under MFLO, the entire property goes to son’s daughter and she completely excludes full brother. Is it not injustice?

Fourthly, Son is duty–bound to maintain his father but son’s son is not obliged to maintain his grandfather .So equal distribution among son and grandson is not justice.

Although section 4 of MFLO protected the right of grandchildren yet for the abovementioned injustices to the heirs it should be amended.

References:

A Text Book On Islamic Law– Dr. Muhammed Faiz-ud-din.

Shariah Law and Society– A.M.Siraj uddin.

Principles of Mahomedan Law– D.F. Mulla.

The Muslim Law of India– Tahir Mahmood.

Yesterday your client had a life.  That may change as a result of today’s indictment.

Yesterday your client was a businessman, an owner.  He was a husband and a father.  Today he faces the possibility of losing everything, his family, his freedom, his future, his dreams, and his reputation.  His life may be changed forever.

Yesterday your client told people what to do.  His demands were met.  Starting today your client is in the grips of the government and he will be told what to do.

Yesterday your client was known for his power, his prestige, and his philanthropy.  As of today his name will be preceded by the title “the defendant.”

Your client is going to be making certain critical decisions that will have an overwhelming impact on his future.  He will have to make these decisions at a time when he will be ill equipped to make them.  He will be suffering from massive stress and his family will be thrown into turmoil and fear.  His normal resources may be cut off and he is going to have to put his faith in others.  Even though he doesn’t want to trust anyone, he is going to have to trust you.

He can trust you.  You are the criminal defense expert.  This is your business and this is what you do.  You are the lawyer.  You know the law.  All of your knowledge, training, experience, and resources are devoted to obtaining a successful outcome for your client.  So what’s the problem?

The problem can be summarized in a simple number, a statistic – 93%.  Approximately 93% of all people indicted by the US Attorney’s Office are convicted.  And most of those spend time in federal prison.

Your numbers are better than that.  That is one of the reasons why you have the reputation and stature that you do.  Despite these well known and overwhelming odds, you are still able to win.  That is all your client wants.  Boy does he want you to win.

So your job, your focus, is to navigate the time period between your client’s indictment and when he is sentenced.  Even in those rare instances where there is a trial, you’re essentially done when he is sentenced.  Great.  On to the next case.

But not so fast.  A few things have happened to your client in the meantime.  Chances are he is now a felon.  Chances are he is facing a prison sentence.  Chances are he is scared to death.  And chances are things happened between the indictment and sentencing that will affect how much of his sentence he has to serve, where he has to go, and what he will do when he gets there.

Your white-collar client expects, as he always has, to have expert advice available to him to answer the questions that are consuming him and his family:

“Where am I going to go?”  We don’t know.  The judge made a recommendation but we don’t think the BOP is required to follow it.  “What?!”

“What is it like in prison?”  We don’t know because we’ve never been.  “What!?”

“What can I bring?”  Check the BOP web site.  “I did and it didn’t help.”

“What kind of people are there?”  “What will I do all day?”  “Is it violent?”  “Is there any way to get out early?”  “Can I bring my medicine?”  “Can I see my wife?”  “Can I see my doctor?”  We don’t know.  Check the internet.  Maybe there are some books.

I was indicted.  I was represented by fantastic lawyers and they did an amazing job.  And, as most are, I was also convicted.  Fortunately my lawyers really shined when it came to sentencing.  But, and this is a big “but” for someone in my position, my lawyers could only help up to a point.  I had all of the questions your clients ask, and so many others.  But no matter where I looked I couldn’t get answers.  Consequently, I walked into federal prison apprehensive and anxious.

Truthfully, even if your client and his family are relentless with their questions, you can’t be expected to know everything.  And unless, heaven forbid, you actually go through this experience yourself, you can’t really know how to answer certain types of questions.  You can’t be expected to provide answers for things you don’t know, but your client doesn’t know who else to ask.  And your client doesn’t even know what to ask.

However, you didn’t get to where you are in your profession by being satisfied with what you don’t know.  If you don’t know something, you want to at least know where to go for answers.  You go to the experts for the advice you need.  But what are you supposed to do here?

Let me tell you from my experience that your client will want to talk with someone who has been there, someone like him, a white collar professional who had been put in an untenable situation with no knowledge of how to navigate the ordeal.  And I know that he should talk to that person early enough in the process to make a difference.

For example, the first serious thing that will happen to your client happens early, and it is a major event.  It won’t seem like much.  It didn’t seem like much to me.  And given the casual way this event was handled by my lawyers and everyone else, I had no clue of the significance of this brief meeting.  I’m talking about the meeting with the probation officer that leads to the PSR/PSI.  You may know how important that document is during the sentencing process.  I now know, because I’ve been through the system, that the report is very important for other reasons too.  The PSI report turns out to be the first thing read by each member of the BOP staff each time they come in contact with a new inmate.  They rely on the content of that report, to one extent or another, for every decision they make while someone is in prison.  The content of that report is used to make decisions as wide ranging as bunk assignments, medical care, and qualification for sentence reduction programs.  Yes, having the right advice at the commencement of the sentencing process can help your client ease his stay and, most importantly, help him to reduce his time in prison.  Not having that advice early enough is like leaving the handcuffs on.

Dealing with the BOP is not always intuitive.  In one case, a former lawyer who was represented by a prominent attorney appeared at a sentencing hearing with a negotiated prison term.  During the hearing, this highly respected criminal defense lawyer successfully argued for a three month reduction in the pre-agreed length of the sentence.  Although this sounds like a wonderful result, a result that would confirm the value of that defense lawyer, it was not.  Neither the client, who had been a lawyer, nor his criminal defense attorney, realized their mistake.  As a result of the three-month reduction in the sentence, the client was no longer eligible for a BOP program that would have reduced the defendant’s sentence by 15 more months!  Yes, due to the rules governing programs available to prisoners, the 3-month reduction in the sentence meant the defendant was no longer eligible for a much larger reduction in his sentence.

Are you responsible to know all about the mechanics of BOP operations and   prison life?  The answer is no.  These are not legal questions and this is not legal advice.  But how much of your time has been consumed away from the “legal” side of your cases over the years by these same questions?  If an expert had been available to your client, someone who could answer these questions, then you could have spent more of your time on his case.  After all, you have someone prepare trial graphics, you use jury consultants, economists, and other experts.  This is another way to provide your client with better service and free up your time to do what you do best.

You know that there is critical information that can provide valuable advantages to your client. Given the likelihood that someone who is indicted will be incarcerated, your client should be referred to an expert on these matters from the very beginning of the case.  Once in the system, everything you know about getting what you want or need, and how to get it will have changed.  Sometimes doing the right thing can be wrong.  This is a bureaucratic system and the people and their tactics must be understood by anyone who wants to safely navigate through the prison experience.

White collar defendants are best served by an expert who was also a white collar defendant.  I am one of these experts.  I am a former attorney who was indicted and became a federal prisoner.   I vividly recall all of the questions I had.  I vividly recall my own concerns and fears and those of my family.  But most importantly, I was the clerk at Lompoc, where I was responsible for resolving the day-to-day problems of 600 prisoners.  It was my job to introduce all of these men to prison and to act as their unofficial ombudsman with the staff and administration.  I use all of those experiences when I consult with those who are indicted and who are going through this process.  I know that my time spent with these people and their families is going to make their experience more bearable – the time before prison, the transition to prison, and their stay as a “guest of the government.”

I pay particular attention to those things that can make sentences as bearable and as brief as possible.  I also know that, because clients are not distracting their lawyers with questions that I can answer, their entire legal team functions more smoothly.

WhiteCollarSentencingConsultants.com

310-560-8000

The rate of divorce has increased many fold over the years. Most educated couples believe that it is better to have divorced than endure a broken marriage. A divorce is always a very difficult and serious decision for any couple. Irrespective of the time that they have spent in matrimony, divorce can be tough proposition. Not only does it tax the concerned parties mentally and economically but there are other important issues like child custody, property share and alimony to be settled.

Child support is an important issue in a divorce case. The laws across the various states of the USA are more or less uniform on this. There are various child support programs and funding by the state.  Most follow the Family Support Act of 1988 to the core. The main tenet of this law is that the interest of the child will prevail over all other’s interest. Payment for child support is calculated on the basic of three formulas. The first is Income Shares. This is the most used formula where an estimate of the total amount required for raising a child properly is calculated. Both parents income is then calculated and a certain percentage is fixed for the child fund. The second method is called Percentage of Obligor Income. This is based on the non custodian’s income. The third method is known as Delaware-Melson method. The child support amount that you determine may not be the same amount that the Family Court will order.  The child support order may be much higher or much lower, because the Family Court makes the final decision as to what income figures should be used in the calculation based upon the facts presented at the hearing. Some states like Massachusetts use a hybrid of all these methods. The primary  purpose of these laws is to make sure that the child receives the best education and lifestyle, often described as “in the best interest of the child”.

Alimony issues also play an important role during a divorce. This refers to the amount that is paid by one ex-spouse to the other. Some also call this maintenance law or spouse support. Initially courts had a tendency of deciding on the alimony amount directly proportional to the number of year stayed together. But recently the trend is shifting. Now limited duration marriages draw maximum alimony. A spouse who is economically at a disadvantage receives this amount. Alimony is also more common in cases where one parent desires to stay home to care for the children for a period of time.

Divorce Recovery Suite is an on-line community-based organization which provides information and help that an individual requires prior to divorce and after it. Their comprehensive site includes divorce laws, child support and custody, legal separations, child visitation rights, divorce settlements, grounds for divorce, infomation on separation agreements, definitions of adultery, recovery from divorce, child welfare after divorce and a chat room that provides a compassionate community to visitors who are undergoing this uncomfortable process.

The visitors to the site can get exposure to state specific divorce laws and regulations, simple interpretation of the complex laws, live video chat room where people can share their experiences and problems. Visitors are encouraged to share their issues.  You also get access to a country wide list of divorce and separation attorneys, counselors, physical and spiritual healing methods, father’s and grandparents’ rights and solutions to issues of parental alienation. They have regular updated information on the site. Divorce Recovery Suite provides a large library filled with divorce articles.

Nobody goes into a marriage looking at the reality of divorce a few years down the road, but it happens with many marriages these days. The first thing you need to do is make sure that both you and your spouse have agreed that divorce is your best option. In some states, divorce law mandates that both of you attend marital counseling sessions before divorce proceedings can start, so be aware of the requirements in your state.

If both you and your spouse agree that divorce is your best option, and that marital counseling is just going to delay the inevitable, then you may be a candidate for what is known as an uncontested divorce. Are any and virtually all assets that you jointly own able to be easily divided, where you and your spouse can mutually agree on how to divide them? If so, then an uncontested divorce might be your easiest option and your most cost effective option.

But one of the things that you must make sure you fully understand is the divorce is final. It is not like a trial separation where a couple separates for awhile to understand how life works for them without the other one around. Sure, you can change your mind before the proceedings are finalized, but that is going to cost you even more money, not to mention the personal time you will have used to get to this point.

The other thing you need to fully understand is exactly what is meant by the term uncontested divorce. Generally speaking, it means that both parties agree that a divorce is their best option and nothing will be argued about, either in terms of the divorce itself or in the division of assets. Typically, a couple who is doing an uncontested divorce may have already split their assets and may not even be living together, so the divorce for them is almost just a formality.

Should you do it yourself or consult with a divorce lawyer? A lot of the answer to that question is how far you trust your spouse. If it is truly uncontested and you are 100% confident that no skeletons will jump out of the closet during the proceedings, then you can probably do it yourself and save some money. But if you do not have that level of confidence, even though on the surface it would seem that the divorce would be uncontested, you may want to protect yourself by consulting with a divorce lawyer first.

A good divorce lawyer may be just a consultation or two, where the lawyer lets you know what your rights are and what you can expect. If you truly expect the divorce NOT to be uncontested, you may want to consider actually hiring the lawyer to be with you every step of the way. While the latter option is of course going to cost you more, consider how much more it may cost you if your spouse pulls a rabbit out of the hat during the proceedings, where you are not prepared for something which is going to definitely turn out to NOT be an uncontested divorce. This is a judgment call on your part, but especially in financial terms, it may be better to err on the side of caution to ensure that you do not get hosed in the process.

If you do use a lawyer, do your research carefully. Make sure that the lawyer you choose is familiar with divorce law in your state, and has experience with what was expected to be an uncontested divorce and actually turns into something else. Every situation is different, so be cautious of divorce lawyers who suggest a cookie-cutter approach.

Since you are considering divorce, things have not been good up to this point. Make sure that you do everything you can to make your divorce go smoothly and allow yourself to restart your life on the right foot.