TipDeck.com » Legal Questions http://tipdeck.com Home of the how to videos and instructions Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:59:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 How to Become an Insurance Underwriterhttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-become-an-insurance-underwriter http://tipdeck.com/how-to-become-an-insurance-underwriter#comments Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:03:16 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=10564 How to Become an Insurance Underwriter How to Become an Insurance UnderwriterThe professional insurance underwriters are an integral part of the organization structure of each insurance company. These professionals are responsible for deciding whether the insurance cover is provided to the policyholder along with the exact terms of the policy. As an insurance underwriter, your services will be availed during a number of insurance related events like illness, vehicle accident, and property damages. You will identify, evaluate, and calculate the exact amount of loss sustained by the policyholder. Further, you will also be required to establish the legal identity of the person receiving the policy along with the quantum of insurance premium and risk coverage. So to become a professional insurance underwriter, you have to possess strong communication and customer service skills in addition to strong knowledge in accounting and computer operations.

Instructions

  • No formal educational qualification is recommended to become an insurance underwriter. But most of the insurance companies prefer to hire candidates who have a bachelor’s degree or experience in any insurance related jobs. Further, you also need to have storing skills to operate computer and customized software. A number of large insurance companies also prefer to hire a graduate having a degree in finance or business administration. If you have a done any course in business law and accounting, the same will add to your educational background. You have to join the organization as a trainee for an entry-level underwriting job. Once you gather the required on-the-job experience and training, you will gradually be promoted to the post of an insurance underwriter.
  • When you join an organization as an assistant underwriter or underwriter trainee, you will be working under the supervision of an experienced risk analyst. You will start working on collecting information from the routine applications and familiarizing yourself with various types of insurance risk and the techniques uses to measure these. Once you gather some experience, you will be assigned with the responsibilities evaluate risks of more complicated and larger nature. During the initial training you have to familiar and master the various computer programs and software used to assess the risk. It is also very much important to pay attention to the minute details and use your judgmental skill to take sound decisions. Further, as you will be frequently dealing with the insurance agents and other professionals, you have to work on improving your communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Along with the practical on-the-job training, you need to master the changes in tax laws and government benefits programs along with the other changes in the insurance related regulations implemented by the state or federal authorities. You can even consider joining some of the certification training courses offered by the Associate in Commercial Underwriting (ACU) and the Associate in Personal Insurance (API). The ACU offers courses to initiate a career in underwriting business insurance policies, whereas the API offers courses to start a career in underwriting personal insurance policies. You can enroll to a course of your choice and obtain a professional certificate after clearing a series of courses and exams.

Watch a video instruction on  life insurance : how to become a life insurance underwriter

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-become-an-insurance-underwriter/feed How to Become an Estate Plannerhttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-become-an-estate-planner http://tipdeck.com/how-to-become-an-estate-planner#comments Sun, 26 Jun 2011 04:59:47 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=10556 How to Become an Estate Planner How to Become an Estate PlannerAs an estate planner you will be responsible for the conservation, utilization and deposition of another person’s wealth and property. The profession also requires you to take the required measures to reduce and minimize the amount of estate or gift tax payable to the authorized because of the ownership of a person’s properties and wealth passing over to another individual during the lifespan or after the death of the real owner. Further, you will be required to allocate the provisions required for raking acre of the deceased person’s spouse and family members. So as a professional estate planner, you have to handle situations that are both complicated and interrelated in nature. It also becomes very much important for you to understand and master the basic estate planning principles, techniques and practices. However, you need to possess the required educational background and the professional certificates to start as a professional estate planner.

Instructions

  • To pursue the career of an estate planner, you must possess a degree in law. Many people can even pursue the career after having an advanced degree in finance and accounting. When you are going to handle estate planning, you will be required to handle some operations relating to accounting, finance as well as law. If you have a master’s degree in any of these subjects, you will have the required qualification to handle most of the responsibilities associated with estate planning. So you must join a reputed college and study these subjects relevant to the estate planning careers.
  • Once you got the required degrees, you can further enroll into the career related courses and programs offered by the Certified Estate Planner Association. You have options to select from a variety of courses administered by various companies. Based on the course structure and tests, you can choose an program that suits to your educational background and preferred area. National Institute of Certified Estate Planners also conducts professional test to offer certificates. When you sign up for a professional course, you can learn a number of important topics like living trusts, trust provisions for special situations, funding, revocable living trust, and joint ownership accounts.
  • These courses also cover the various factors associated with the estate planning profession. But you can study and clear in required tests in a straight-forward manner. Some institutions even allow students to attend most of the classed in an online manner. You can avail these facilities to study for the profession, based on your own convenience. Further, you will be required to proctor your exams and tests at the end of each lesson or module to gain the required scores.
  • Once you achieve the professional certificate, you will be asked to sworn to uphold the code of ethics of estate planning. After that you can seek employment in various companies dealing in estate planning services. You can even consider advertising for your professional services to work as a freelancer. Based on your preference to join an organization or work on your own, you can choose the venue of your professional work and pursue your career goals as a professional estate planner.

Watch a video instruction on estate planning : the probate process explained

 

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-become-an-estate-planner/feed How to Do Accounting Transactionshttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-do-accounting-transactions http://tipdeck.com/how-to-do-accounting-transactions#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 04:59:30 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=10538 How to Do Accounting Transactions How to Do Accounting TransactionsWhen you are conducting or recording any transaction, you must understand the various aspects of the transaction or event. Irrespective of the nature of the transaction, each accounting entry has a debit along with a corresponding credit. When you are debiting an account for a particular amount, you have to credit another account for the same amount. The accounting transactions can be recorded in the traditional manner with a set of books as well as in a modern manner through the specialized accounting software and applications. But irrespective of the medium recording, the basic accounting concepts, formulas and principles are applicable to all types of financial transactions.

Instructions

  • Before recording an accounting transaction, you need to understand the accounts of different categories and types. All items involved in a transaction can be categorized into four categories like assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues. The term assets include everything owned by your organization which can be expressed in terms of money or worth of money. On the other hand, the word liabilities refer to any amount you owe towards outsiders for the services, loans or inventories provided by them. Expenses represent the various expenditures and payments incurred to run and operate your business on a regular and recurring basis. As the same time, revenues refer to the amount received or realized by your organization through selling goods or rendering services. Whenever you are going to record an accounting transaction, you have to identify the exact category or nature of the both items involved with it.
  • After identifying the various aspects of a transaction, you have to implement the specified accounting principles to decide when to debit or credit the item. As per the basic accounting principle, the amount of assets is increased with a debit and decreased with a credit. On the other hand, the amount of liabilities is increased with a credit and decreased with a debit. Similarly, a credit item increases the value of total revenues, whereas a debit reduces the amount of revenues. But a debit increases the amount of expenses and a credit reduces the amount of expenses. In nutshell, the same principles of debit and credit apply to the both assets and expenses just like the same rules apply to the liabilities and revenues.
  • Now you can record any of the accounting transaction by following the same rule. When you debit an asset account for a particular amount, you will have to credit the liabilities, revenues or expenses for the same amount. Similarly, when you are debiting the liabilities item, you have to credit the asset, liabilities or revenue item for the same value. You can maintain individual accounts based on the most common items involved with various accounting transactions related to your business. These accounts also need to be backed with individual ledgers including the date and description of the transaction date along with the amount of debit, credit and accounting balances. It is also very mush important to record each and every transaction in the books without evaluating the amount or significance of the entry.

Watch a video instruction on become an accountant : how to do accounting transactions

 

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-do-accounting-transactions/feed How to Create Your Own Willhttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-create-your-own-will http://tipdeck.com/how-to-create-your-own-will#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 10:08:42 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=9254 How to Create Your Own Will How to Create Your Own WillA will is a very important document in possession of someone. Creating a will is a legal requirement done by a lawyer but some people can make it their own by applying some jurisdiction process. The fundamental thing one must adopt while creating a will understands the legal instructions and implementation .Someone can create a will by following some useful hints given below:

State identification clearly

In some cases, any individual of legal age with the proper mental capacity and sound knowledge of law may take on the task of drawing up a will. It is a matter of attorney to look it over but while it can be done without the aid of an attorney, it is usually a good idea to engage a legal professional to review the document for form and content. There are some additional requirements that are dependent upon the jurisdiction in which it is written. Generally, as long as one follows the criterion of the area in which it is issued, it can be considered valid. Otherwise it will make no relevance for the legal requirement.

Arrange document

Buy a standard paper will for your need. Statutory will forms have the same terms and clauses lawyers use to make it. Add some personal information and express the wishes. Make a list of what and whom like to will it to in plain language and it will be legal. Include the names, locations and dates of birth of immediate family members and all beneficiaries. Good lawyers can sometimes tell how to avoid a proceeding. In many cases, it is an unnecessary aggravation and expense and the process in which the will be admitted in the court in case of need.

Appoint personal representative

Executor or representative is the person who carries out your instructions and administers of the state after death of the will taker. Every state has rules over differently. In most cases, if the person is living in one particular area over that will do the will but obviously want a person who will honest, thrifty, prudent and resourceful to look after. Empower the representative to pay all the debts on behalf of the will if something happens.

Sign the will before witness

The witnesses can be anyone, but they must be able to legally sign a document typically in the meaning they are adults. If someone has two adult children, they may act as witnesses even if they receive something in the will. Two strangers willing to sign the will are also acceptable if it is a matter of law and can affect its validity. Check on this but in all cases, the will be fine if sign in the presence of three witnesses and a notary. All of them must watching while sign and present at the same time and all of whom are related to the will and not beneficiaries.

Writing a will is a difficult thing best handled by an experienced attorney. Law changes time to time and it makes difference from geographical point of view. So be cautious and collective while making a will for someone.

Watch a video instruction on legal information : how to make a will

 

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-create-your-own-will/feed How to Apply for a Patenthttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-apply-for-a-patent http://tipdeck.com/how-to-apply-for-a-patent#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:01:11 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=2928 How to Apply for a Patent How to Apply for a PatentApplying for a patent is the legal way to claim ownership on your newly invented product. Briefly speaking applying for a patent includes filling up an application form with required documents and fees. But if you are really going to apply for a patent and want to know how to apply for a patent, you must understand that there are many different aspects of patent application. It is practically difficult to suggest any particular way of applying for a patent as there are various options to initiate a patent procedure. However, in this article, we will discuss about the primary methods of how to apply for a patent and the main requirements of the application in each option.
Whatever be the type of patent, you must lodge a patent application and submit the same with the Patent Authority.

  • Provisional patent application is a simple and inexpensive application procedure that doesn’t require many details except for some formal requirements. It is a procedure which is generally followed by a standard or complete patent application. This type of patent provides the inventor upto 1 year of time to further develop, gather funding or market their product. For filing patent application, you need to write a description regarding your invention including the manner and process of making it. The description should be brief, clear and precise. Make a drawing of your invention which is same as the non-provisional application. You provisional application must include a cover sheet with required data for the application and the fees.
  • How to Apply for a Patent2 How to Apply for a PatentThe provisional patent application provides you twelve months of time to prepare for standard or complete patent application. The requirements for complete patent application are more than that of the provisional patent. You need to write a brief summery of the specifications of your invention. Then write the complete or fulltext specification of the products in two separate parts. The first part of the description should be a clear and complete report of the invented product and its utility. The second part should include a list of claims defining the essential features of the product and the boundaries of patent protection. Make sure you use exact terms for the description. If applicable, add a drawing of the product showing all of its features.
  • If you want to apply for an International patent, you need to apply for a foreign filing license. Hence, first of all you need to decide the country in which you want to apply for the patent. Select the country where your product is marketable. Try to gather adequate knowledge about the procedures of application and know the legal formalities required for international patent. The process may take many years to obtain a patent and you need to be patient for that.

Tips

  • Every word you write on your patent application has impact. So be careful while using the words. Don’t fill the application form in a hurry or just for the shake of filling it. You must remember that filling the application form is the most important part of applying for a patent.
  • Read the application form thoroughly before you start filling it.
  • If you are applying for International patent, it’s better not to disclose every detail of your invention till your application is accepted.

Watch a video instruction on how to apply for a patent

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-apply-for-a-patent/feed How to be a Successful Landlordhttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-be-a-successful-landlord http://tipdeck.com/how-to-be-a-successful-landlord#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:05:33 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=2748 How to be a Successful Landlord How to be a Successful LandlordBeing a successful landlord involves many responsibilities. Before thinking of leasing out your property, there are numerous crucial matters that you must understand and take care of to manage your rental property effectively.

  • First of all, it is crucial to learn and follow the landlord-tenants law of the state. The states differ in their laws and guidelines meant for the landlords as well as the tenants. You need to be familiar with the rules and follow them to avoid any future hassles.
  • Be careful while selecting your tenants. Make proper inquiry before you decide on your renters. Check for their current income and credit history, and also the references.
  • Before signing the rental agreements discuss the terms and conditions with the tenants for a fair deal. Both the landlord and occupant should have copies of the terms and conditions. However, make sure your prospective tenants are aware of the laws.
  • A better practice is to get everything in written. Most landlords keep this process to the agreement only. But getting everything in written protects your interest and your tenants as well. Maintain a record of payment for each installment, maintenance of the house and complains from the tenants. This will help you get immediate information. If required ask your tenants to sign on the paper as in the lease agreement. Prepare a well-drafted lease to make it more convenient.
  • How to be a Successful Landlord1 How to be a Successful LandlordGet insured and protect your property. Learn thoroughly about the rental insurance, liability insurance and other insurance schemes to cover the damages to your property.
  • If you don’t have enough time to manage your property personally, hire a manager to maintain it. But make sure the person you hire for the purpose is dependable who will take every step keeping in mind the interest of the landlord and the tenants simultaneously.
  • Maintain your property to keep it worth living. Repair promptly when required. It is your legal obligation to provide a decent living condition to your renters. Listen to the problems of the tenants carefully and try to solve them as soon as possible.
  • Follow the standard policy of screening the tenants. This is one of the most important parts of becoming a successful landlord.
  • Be respectful and fair with your tenants. Respect their privacy.
  • As far as possible, stay in touch with the tenants. It is important to maintain a good relation with them.
  • Managing the rental income is another important step of being a successful landlord.

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-be-a-successful-landlord/feed How to Copyright a Namehttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-copyright-a-name http://tipdeck.com/how-to-copyright-a-name#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:05:28 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=2671 How to Copyright a Name1 How to Copyright a NameIf you think about a unique name and you want nobody else to use it, then the first thing you think about is about copyrighting it. However you must remember that it is difficult to get a copyright for a name thought it isn’t really impossible to legally protect a name. You must file an application with the Patent & Trademark Office to get a copyright for your name. Also you can protect logos that carry names in them.

You must do some research on copyrights, patents and trademarks to understand the difference between each of these legal terms. While you patent a product or an invention, you get a trademark for a commercial product and you get a copyright for some intellectual property that protects some kind of authorship. You can apply for copyright for a name only when you use it for running a business or some kind of trade. Though it is not essential you can speak to an attorney who specializes in the area of patents and trademarks to help you out with copyright the name you want. You must be patient with copyrighting your name as it may take some time and effort from your end.

Steps to copyright a name:

  • You must visit the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to learn more about copyrights. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers helps to copyright website names.
  • To find out whether the name you want to copyright is already protected by somebody else you must look that out in the copyright and trademark database. There is the Trademark Electronic Search System that can help you search with ease. If you do not do this, you may end up wasting both time and money.
  • How to Copyright a Name How to Copyright a NameAfter the search either you may find the name to be unique and ready to be copyrighted or it is already available in the database. You can try some variations to the name or do a fresh new search. This way you can find out whether you get a name that is copyrighted or not.
  • You can also try websites like Nameboy.com or Name Generator to look for a unique name.
  • After you ensure that your name is unique and not copyrighted you can file and application online. You must use the Trademark Electronic Application System to apply. Once your application is checked and the name you chose gets a green signal, you can pay the amount required to copyright and save the serial number with you to use it when you need to produce your copyright number.
  • The approval or rejection of the copyright is finally decided by the US trademark office. It may take a while before you actually get that. So wait patiently.

This way you can verify the name you like and copyright it. Copyrighting is pretty essential when you do not want anyone to steal your ideas or concepts soothe faster you think about taking a copyright is better. Because if you do not hurry, somebody else might get it before you.

Watch a video instruction on how to copyright a name

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-copyright-a-name/feed How to Know Where to Invest Moneyhttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-know-where-to-invest-money http://tipdeck.com/how-to-know-where-to-invest-money#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:05:25 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=2663 How to Know Where to Invest Money How to Know Where to Invest MoneyPeople are generally very confused when it comes to investing money. They want to place their money on secure assets so that they can earn a lot and not lose much. They wish to place their funds on assets which have the least risk and the maximum gain. There are many types of assets on which you can invest your money. These maybe interest earning assets like CDs and bonds. You can also choose capital assets like stocks and homes. The method you choose to invest money must allow you to pay the least amount of taxes on it. Let us find out where to invest money based on all these criteria.

  1. First, you have to keep aside the amount of money you want to invest. You will be able to earn interest on this which you can use for your regular spending. If you want ready money always then it is better to invest in stocks or mutual funds and you will get dividends and capital gains. You can also get gains from CDs and bonds but these types of assets have more taxes levied on them. There are tax-free bonds as well but they give very low interests. Generally you can invest in tax free bonds when you have income over $150,000 USD per year.
  2. How to Know Where to Invest Money1 How to Know Where to Invest MoneySee your money grow in the short term investment plans for 5-20 years and then after you get the amount you want to invest in long term assets, you can do so in real estate. The greatest advantage of investing in these assets is that you pay taxes on them only after you sell them off. If you invest for more than a year in the asset then they are termed as long term gains which are taxed at much lower rates. So this type of investment is preferable when you don’t want fast returns.
  3. Learn to combine long term gains with short term ones so as to get a good mixture. This will allow the losses from one to be offset by the gains of the other. If you suffer losses on stocks then it can make your gains from dividends look less, and thus save you money on taxes.
  4. You can make some donations too. Deductibles like this matter a lot when it comes to taxing income. Depending on the bracket you fall in, there will be a 5% tax difference. If you get capital gains and dividends up to a certain level, then you may not pay taxes if the laws say as much in the particular year. You cannot avail this advantage with interest income. This makes dividends and capital gains a more dependable form of investment.

Take advice from people who have great experience in this field so that you know the right places to invest money in.

Watch a video instruction on how to know where to invest money

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-know-where-to-invest-money/feed How to Get a Birth Certificatehttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-get-a-birth-certificate http://tipdeck.com/how-to-get-a-birth-certificate#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:05:24 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=2171 How to Get a Birth Certificate How to Get a Birth CertificateA certified copy of the birth certificate is an absolute necessity for all legal purposes. If you want to roam the world or even register for school, you will need a certified copy of the birth certificate. You can also get a non-certified copy but it will only be for informational purposes. A raised seal with a signature will tell you that it is a certified copy. It is not very difficult to get a certified copy of the birth certificate if you know the procedure. Let us learn how to get a birth certificate without undergoing much hardship.

  1. Generally the record of your birth is preserved in your very own state and city. If you know which city you were born in, then it makes things much easier.
  2. You will have to locate the original copy of your birth certificate. After that, it will be easier to get a certified birth certificate which will help you in the current context. There are chances that the original birth certificate will be a non-certified one.
  3. The Department of Health is the right place to get the certificate. Hence try to locate the contact address and phone number of this place. You can search the How to Get a Birth Certificate1 How to Get a Birth CertificateInternet for information or call Directory Assistance.
  4. You may need your driver’s license and social security card to get the certified copy of your birth certificate. The Health Department will also let you know if you need any additional documents to get the certificate.
  5. You can go to the Department of Health in person or send your requirements through post to get the certified copy. There will be a fee which you will have to deposit.
  6. If you don’t want to use the post or go in person, then you can also get the certified copy through the Internet. The National Center for Health Statistics website will help you in this process. You need to click on the State where you were born.
  7. The website will inform you what information you will have to furnish in the Department of Health in that State. It may ask for your picture ID along with other particulars of your birth. You will also be asked for your parent’s names, your mother’s maiden name, your birth date and place and your own name at the time of birth.

Although the Department of Health maintains records of birth, yet information is available only up to a certain year. If you were born prior to that, then you will have to go to the Probate Court in that city. And it is extremely important that if you cannot obtain the certified birth certificate by yourself, then your legal representative can help you out. A money order or check will suffice for the payment of the fee if you cannot pay in cash. But make sure that you have confirmed information about your birth particulars before getting the certified certificate.

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]]> http://tipdeck.com/how-to-get-a-birth-certificate/feed How to Get a Marriage Licensehttp://tipdeck.com/how-to-get-a-marriage-license-2 http://tipdeck.com/how-to-get-a-marriage-license-2#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:05:54 +0000 Sofi http://tipdeck.com/?p=2003 How to Get a Marriage License How to Get a Marriage LicenseMarriage is an important social occasion. Though marriages can be performed in various manners, the first and foremost thing required to legalize a marriage is a marriage license. This document is required for a lot of reasons like obtaining a passport or applying for joint loans and a number of such situations. The manner to obtain or get a marriage license differs from country to country and state to state for that matter. The basic steps how ever remain the same for most of the states.

So, if you are ready to tie the knot. But don’t forget to get the important things done in your excitement. And you would obviously want to legalize your marriage with a marriage license. You can always contact the clerk of your town marriage registration office and learn about the procedures and what documents you would need to provide before you get your marriage license. Also, make sure you take an appointment before you visit the city clerk’s office, else you may end up in a long queue. At the same time, you can always depend on your wedding co-coordinator to do it for you.

However, if you decide to do it yourself, then here is a list of things you need to know before applying for a marriage license. Remember that you must be of legal marrying age or more to be eligible for a marriage license. 18 is the widely accepted age for marriage in many states. So make sure, you have some age proof with you.

  • Collect your birth certificate or driver’s license that can work as an identity and age proof to support your application for the marriage license.
  • If you are divorced, then you would also need to submit a copy of the annulment or certificate of death of the ex-spouse and clarify your position of being single and not How to Get a Marriage License1 How to Get a Marriage Licensegoing for polygamy, which is barred in most states.
  • You would be required to fill in a form for applying the marriage license. You can collect the form from the City clerk’s office. You would also need to visit in person to collect this form and declare your intentions about the marriage.
  • You must fill in the form with factual information and submit it at the city clerk’s office in the country or state you want to marry.
  • A marriage license requires a fee so get some cash with you to pay for the marriage license.
  • Some states also need blood test reports showing that you don not have any contagious diseases or venereal diseases.
  • Wait for the procedure to take its time and usually there is a time gap between your application and dispatching your marriage license. So, make sure, you keep some time in hand before fixing your marriage date.

It is always wiser to collect all information from the city clerk’s office by visiting personally with your to-be-partner. Also, make sure there is no legal hassles before you apply for your marriage license.

Watch a video instruction on how to get a marriage license

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