Brayden Hopkins

  • How Can Vesting In A Pension Affect Your Ability To Receive Federal Disability Payments?

    Whether you've been a government or public service employee for decades or worked enough years to vest in a private pension ago, you may be eagerly anticipating the thought of a guaranteed income stream in retirement. Unfortunately, a disabling injury or illness can sideline your retirement plans, and you may worry about being able to stay afloat until you turn 62 and can begin drawing Social Security retirement payments. Read on to learn more about the federal disability benefits that may be available to you, as well as how these benefits can impact your receipt of pension income (and vice versa).
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  • Can I E-File My Divorce If My Spouse And I Live In Different States?

    If you've separated from your spouse and now live in a different state, you may be ready to take the next step and finalize a divorce. You may want to skip the hassle of court and file online, but are unsure if you still qualify since you no longer live in the same jurisdiction. Here are some considerations about whether or not you qualify for e-filing. You Must Establish Residency
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  • How A Real Estate Attorney Can Help You With A Short Sale

    When it comes to making a short sale on a piece of property, one of the best things you can do for yourself is hire the services of a real estate attorney. Throughout the course of this article, you will learn a little bit about the practice of short sales and how exactly hiring the services of a real estate attorney can directly benefit you and help you net a bit of profit you perhaps were not expecting.
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  • 3 Reasons Your Attorney May Tell You Not To Take The Stand At Your Criminal Trial

    If you are preparing for an upcoming criminal trial and know you are innocent, you may want to take the stand in your own defense. While your lawyer may suggest not to do this, the decision is still up to you. Before you make the decision to testify at your own trial, it is important for you to understand why lawyers often recommend against this. Here are three reasons you may want to change your mind about this.
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  • Urgent Care Claims And The Employment Retirement Income Security Act: What You Need To Know

    If your employer offers you a health plan, federal law treats the insurance as a type of employee benefit. As part of this, the policy falls under the remit of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (or ERISA), which sets out to protect your benefits. In certain cases, your insurer must treat a claim through one of these plans as an urgent care claim. Find out what this means, and learn more about the regulations that ERISA imposes.
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  • Work In Public Relations For A Publicly-Traded Firm? How Can You Avoid Inadvertent Securities Violations?

    If you work in the public relations division (or are the public relations division) of a company regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), you likely spend most of your time managing your company's press coverage -- scheduling interviews, responding to negative reports, and issuing press releases. As a company that depends in part on the purchase of stock to succeed, your employer likely also expects you to periodically provide statements that convey a positive message to potential investors.
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  • What Are the Pros & Cons of an Uncontested Divorce?

    When faced with divorce, it's normal to feel overwhelmed. One choice that should be made early on, with the agreement of your spouse, is whether you will be filing a contested or uncontested divorce. An uncontested divorce means that you and your soon-to-be ex are in agreement about major issues regarding the divorce, such as how your property and bank accounts will be divided. When considering an uncontested divorce, here are some pros and cons to keep in mind:
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  • Am I Eligible For Workers' Compensation Benefits?

    You were just injured on the job. Maybe you slipped on a wet surface and fell. Maybe a piece of heavy machinery you were operating malfunctioned. Possibly, you were walking through a restricted area, and a piece of construction material fell on you. Who's at fault? And more importantly -- who pays for your medical care? You may think that getting injured on the job automatically qualifies you for workers' compensation, but that's not always true.
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  • How May a Proposed Law Help You Improve Your Credit After Bankruptcy?

    Making the decision to file for bankruptcy protection is never an easy one. However, with rising interest rates and penalties and fairly stagnant wages, many Americans eventually find themselves in a debt cycle from which they can't escape without outside assistance. Once you've declared bankruptcy, you'll want to begin repairing your credit and putting this time behind you as quickly as possible. This can seem like an uphill battle, but help may be on the way.
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  • Appealing A Criminal Conviction: What You Need To Know

    When a defendant is found not guilty during a criminal court case, that is merely the end of the trial. However, this is not necessarily the case if the defendant is found guilty. In criminal court cases, if an individual is found guilty, there are many times when he or she can appeal the case, which is to say that he or she was found wrongfully guilty for one of a number of reasons.
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