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I am in Tennessee and have hired an attorney. The courts have signed some kind of document stating I have temporary custody until she can prove herself not to be addicted to crack. They can not find her to serve the papers, she is homeless and doesnt have a job. She is threatening to leave the state with my daughter and her other 16 year old daughter who is preganet. It is my weekend to get my daughter but my ex wife wont answer her cell phone. My ex wifes parents are concerned that my daughter will be hurt or molested in the enviroment she is in and the 16 year olds father lives in Arizona and hasnt been able to talk to his daughter for 3 weeks so he doesnt know if she is even ok. The courts will do nothing for me because they cannot find my ex wife. What can I do?

1.) Do not retain a criminal law attorney or dui defense lawyer based upon the attorney’s office location. For many hard working people, it is simply easier to go to a local criminal law attorney blocks away to make legal decisions that could land you or a loved one in jail and/or affect one’s livelihood forever. While a general practice attorney is often acceptable for non specialty areas such as the drafting of wills, contacts, etc., criminal and drunk driving defense has become a specialized field requiring unique training and attention. For example, most police departments have officers who are trained to do nothing other than pursue drunk driving arrests or drug crimes. As a result, it is often critical that your attorney be one that has devoted himself or herself exclusively to the practice of criminal law or dui defense with more training in the field than the officer who has arrested you. In an age where most all top criminal or dui attorneys are accessible for free phone or computer consultations, there is simply no reason not to consult with as many capable criminal defense law attorneys as possible before making the all important decision of who will defend you in a criminal court of law.

2.) Be wary of a fee arrangement that requires you to pay a criminal law attorney or drunk driving attorney base upon an hourly rate. It is often the practice of top criminal attorneys to have a client pay an initial retainer fee for their criminal defense, followed by a detailed fee for services performed beyond the initial retainer fee, or down payment. While not a problem limited to criminal law attorneys or dui lawyers, a professional paid by the hour has a financial interest in prolonging services for their financial benefit. Within the context of a criminal prosecution, this financial arrangement can too often prove to be a lose situation for an uniformed client. This is so because not only is a client faced with the prospect of limitless and often frivolous professional fees, but also the potential of creating unnecessary conflict between defense counsel and a prosecutor who will often attribute delays in settlement to a client who is punished for the needless actions of a criminal arrest attorney with financial thoughts on his mind not always consistent with an effective criminal defense.

3.) Never speak to law enforcement without a criminal law attorney and be especially pro active in retaining a criminal law or dui defense lawyer at your earliest opportunity

One who has been arrested for a felony or misdemeanor crime or accused of a criminal offense must always be aware that an arresting officer or detective is not your friend. No matter the kindness and sympathy one in law enforcement may extend to you, the fact that you are a professional, veteran of the armed forces or contributor to the sheriff’s department is not going to legally aid you in providing a legal defense. Only a rookie or inexperienced detective or police officer will yell and scream at one being investigated for a crime. Rather, an effective law enforcement officer is usually trained in the art of gaining a suspect’s trust and in turn the potential for an incriminating statement without the assistance of a capable criminal defense law attorney to protect you. Do not let the truth get in the way of reality. It is an officer’s job to thoroughly scrutinize a statement given in good faith for any possible discrepancies in an effort to incriminate one subjected to a criminal investigation. Once that statement, no matter how innocently intended or misinterpreted has been made, the job of your criminal law attorney has been made infinitely more difficult. If you or a loved one is the target of a criminal investigation and have not given a statement without the presence of your criminal attorney, consider yourself fortunate. You have the benefit of securing the services of a top criminal defense lawyer prior to charging decisions and settlement options being made within a prosecutor’s office.

Recent changes in U.S. law made declaring bankruptcy a much more complicated matter. Chapter 7 is the most common form of bankruptcy requested by debtors and does not require repayment. However, the U.S. Trustee has become much more aggressive in denying Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and instead forcing people into a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that does require repayment. Today you need much more from your law firm to get your Chapter 7 petition approved.

Under the new regulations, the government requirements to obtain a Chapter 7 bankruptcy are:

# Obtaining a Special Edition Credit Report of your obligations

# Transfers of your accounts to collection agencies

# Third-party assignees and if any judgments have been obtained against you

# Obtaining a copy of your IRS Tax Transcripts

# The Pre-Filing Credit Class

# Performance and certification of the Financial Means Test

# Preparation and filing of your petition

# Payment of all court filing fess;

# Representation at court hearings (as known as the Meeting of Creditors)

# A copy of your official filed bankruptcy petition

# And the Post-Filing Credit Class.

Arguably the most difficult and the most critical part of the Chapter 7 process is the new “means test.” The means test compares the debtor’s income in the six months before the filing of the bankruptcy to their state’s median income. If the debtor’s income falls below the state median, they are automatically allowed to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7. If the debtor’s income is above their state’s median income, they may still qualify to file for Chapter 7, but it becomes more complicated process with additional tests that take their expenses and excess income into account.

Another crucial step in getting your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition approved is the “341 creditors meeting.” The meeting takes place one to three months after the bankruptcy petition is filed, the 341 creditors meeting takes place, which allows creditors the chance to gain additional information about the debtor’s finances and ability to repay his debt. While you are not required to have a bankruptcy attorney, it is important to make sure you are prepared properly for the meeting.

Considering both the new and the old requirements, it may be in the best interests of a debtor to hire a law firm that has both bankruptcy lawyers and a professional accountant.