Legal FAQ: Answers to Common Legal Questions

You file for divorce by submitting a petition (called a complaint in some states) to the family or circuit court in the county where you or your spouse lives, paying the filing fee, and formally serving the papers on your spouse. First you must meet your state's residency requirement and choose the grounds.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

It depends on the state. Nine community property states generally split marital property equally. The other states use equitable distribution, dividing marital property fairly — often close to equal, but not always. In both systems, property owned before the marriage or received as a gift or inheritance usually stays with its owner.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

An uncontested divorce in the United States usually takes two to six months; a contested one commonly takes one to three years. The biggest factors are your state's mandatory waiting period, whether you and your spouse agree on property, support and children, and how busy the local court is.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

A simple uncontested divorce can cost a few hundred dollars in court fees if you handle it yourself, or roughly $1,500 to $5,000 with a lawyer. A contested divorce commonly costs each spouse $10,000 to $30,000 or more, and a case that goes to trial can exceed $50,000.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

A legal separation is a court order that sets out a married couple's rights and responsibilities while they live apart — custody, support and often division of property — without ending the marriage. The spouses stay legally married and cannot remarry. Most states offer it; a few, including Texas, do not.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

A no-fault divorce is one where neither spouse has to prove the other did something wrong. It is granted because the marriage has broken down — usually stated as irreconcilable differences or an irretrievable breakdown — or after the spouses have lived apart for a set time. Every US state allows it.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

Alimony — also called spousal support or maintenance — is money one spouse pays the other during or after a divorce so that the lower-earning spouse is not left without means. Most states let judges weigh factors such as the length of the marriage and each spouse's income; a growing number use formulas.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

An annulment is a court ruling that a marriage was never legally valid. Unlike a divorce, which ends a valid marriage, an annulment declares that the marriage did not legally exist because of a defect present at the start — such as bigamy, a close family relationship, being underage, fraud or force.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

An uncontested divorce is one where both spouses agree on every issue — property and debts, spousal support, and custody, parenting time and child support if there are children — so the court only has to review and approve their agreement. It is the fastest and cheapest way to divorce.

Read the full answer ›Divorce

There is no number of years. The widely repeated idea that living together for seven years creates a marriage is false in every US state. What matters is whether the couple agreed to be married and held themselves out as spouses in a state that recognizes such marriages — that can happen in a month, or never.

Read the full answer ›Family Law

A common law marriage is a legally valid marriage created without a license or ceremony. Where it is recognized, a couple must live together, agree that they are married, and present themselves publicly as spouses. It carries the same legal effect as any other marriage — including the need for a divorce to end it.

Read the full answer ›Family Law

Family law governs the legal relationships within a family: marriage and divorce, custody and parenting time, child and spousal support, property division, adoption, guardianship, paternity, and protection from domestic violence. It is almost entirely state law, so the rules change at every state line.

Read the full answer ›Family Law

Only a minority of US states still create common law marriages: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia, with New Hampshire recognizing them only for inheritance. Several others honor marriages formed before a cut-off date, and every state recognizes one validly formed elsewhere.

Read the full answer ›Family Law

No. In a criminal case the charges belong to the state, not the victim, so only the prosecutor can dismiss them. A victim can tell the prosecutor they do not want the case to go forward, and that can influence the decision, but many prosecutors continue domestic violence cases even without the victim's cooperation.

Read the full answer ›Domestic Violence

Yes, significantly. Every state requires courts to consider domestic violence when deciding custody, and many presume that giving custody to a parent who committed domestic violence is not in the child's best interests. The abusive parent may still get visitation, but often supervised and with conditions such as completing a batterer intervention program.

Read the full answer ›Domestic Violence

You get a restraining order by filing a petition at your local court describing the abuse or threats, asking a judge for a temporary order that day, having the other person served, and attending a hearing — usually within two to three weeks — where the judge decides whether to issue a longer order.

Read the full answer ›Domestic Violence

Violating a restraining order is a crime. Police can arrest the violator on the spot without a warrant, and the violation is usually charged as a misdemeanor — or a felony for repeat or violent violations. The court can also hold the person in contempt, and the violation can affect custody and bail in other cases.

Read the full answer ›Domestic Violence

A restraining order is a court order that forbids a person from contacting, approaching, threatening or harming someone. In domestic violence cases it is often called a protective order or order of protection. It is a civil order, but violating it is a crime, and police can arrest the person who breaks it.

Read the full answer ›Domestic Violence

Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted conduct aimed at a specific person that would make a reasonable person fear for their safety or suffer substantial emotional distress. Following, watching, repeated calls and messages, tracking by GPS and threats can all qualify. It is a crime in every state and under federal law.

Read the full answer ›Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is abuse by one person against a current or former spouse, partner, family member or household member. It includes physical violence, threats, sexual abuse, stalking and, in many states' definitions, coercive control. It is a crime in every state, and victims can also obtain civil protective orders.

Read the full answer ›Domestic Violence

The Violence Against Women Act is a federal law first passed in 1994 that funds services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, strengthens criminal penalties, and gives victims specific legal protections. Despite its name, it protects victims of any gender. It was last reauthorized in 2022.

Read the full answer ›Domestic Violence

A Romeo and Juliet law is a state provision that reduces or removes criminal liability for consensual sexual activity between teenagers close in age. It exists so that a 17-year-old and a 16-year-old are not treated like an adult predator. It is an exception to the age-of-consent rules, not a replacement for them.

Read the full answer ›Juvenile Law

No. In every US state an adult of sound mind can write a valid will without a lawyer, as long as it meets the state's signing and witnessing rules. But a lawyer is worth it when you have children from different relationships, a business, real estate in several states, a family member with special needs, or a sizable estate.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

If you die without a will, you die “intestate,” and your state's intestacy laws decide who inherits your probate property — usually your spouse and children first, then parents, siblings and more distant relatives. A court appoints an administrator, a judge picks guardians for minor children, and unmarried partners, stepchildren and friends usually get nothing.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

A durable power of attorney is a power of attorney that stays in effect if the person who signed it becomes mentally incapacitated. It lets a chosen agent manage finances and legal affairs during illness or dementia without a court guardianship. It must be signed while the person still has capacity, and it ends at death.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

A living trust is a legal arrangement you create during your lifetime to hold your property. You usually serve as your own trustee and keep full control; at your death, or if you become incapacitated, a successor trustee you chose takes over and manages or distributes the property without going through probate.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

A living will is a written statement of your wishes about medical treatment at the end of life — for example, whether you want life support, a ventilator, tube feeding or CPR if you are terminally ill or permanently unconscious and cannot speak for yourself. It is a type of advance directive and has nothing to do with property.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

A power of attorney is a legal document in which one person (the principal) gives another person (the agent, or attorney-in-fact) authority to act on their behalf — for example, to manage bank accounts, sign contracts, handle taxes or make health care decisions. It can be broad or limited, and it ends at the principal's death.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

Estate planning law covers the legal tools people use to decide who receives their property at death and who makes decisions for them if they become incapacitated. It includes wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, health care directives and guardianship nominations for children, along with the tax and probate rules that affect them.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

A revocable trust can be changed or canceled by its creator at any time, and its assets are still treated as the creator's for taxes and creditors. An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed once signed; the creator gives up control, but the assets can be removed from their taxable estate and shielded from some creditors and Medicaid.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

A will is a document that takes effect only at death and directs how probate property is distributed, through a court process. A living trust takes effect as soon as it is signed and funded, holds property during your life, avoids probate for trust assets and lets a successor manage things if you become incapacitated.

Read the full answer ›Estate Planning

Yes, but only on specific legal grounds and only if you have standing — usually as an heir or a beneficiary who would receive more if the will were invalid. The main grounds are lack of mental capacity, undue influence, fraud, improper signing, or a later will. Deadlines are short, often a few months after probate begins.

Read the full answer ›Probate

A simple probate case in the United States usually takes six months to a year. Complex or contested estates can take two years or more. The main factors are the creditor claim period set by state law, the court's workload, the kind of assets involved, taxes, and whether anyone challenges the will or the executor.

Read the full answer ›Probate

Letters testamentary are a court document that officially appoints the executor named in a will and gives them legal authority to act for the estate — to access accounts, sell property, pay debts and distribute assets. When there is no will, the court issues similar letters of administration to an administrator.

Read the full answer ›Probate

Assets that pass automatically to a named person skip probate: property in a living trust, accounts and policies with a named beneficiary, jointly owned property with right of survivorship, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, and real estate with a transfer-on-death deed where the state allows it. A will does not control these assets.

Read the full answer ›Probate

An executor is the person named in a will to settle the deceased person's estate. They ask the court for appointment, find and protect the assets, notify creditors and pay valid debts and taxes, keep records, and distribute what remains to the beneficiaries as the will directs. They owe a fiduciary duty to act in the estate's interest.

Read the full answer ›Probate

A small estate affidavit is a sworn statement that lets heirs collect a deceased person's property without formal probate when the estate is below a dollar limit set by state law. The heir signs it after a waiting period and presents it, with a death certificate, to banks and others holding the assets.

Read the full answer ›Probate

An heir at law is a person who would inherit from someone who dies without a valid will, under the state's intestate succession rules. Usually that means the surviving spouse and children first, then parents, siblings and more distant relatives. Being an heir at law is different from being a beneficiary named in a will.

Read the full answer ›Probate

Probate is the court process that settles a person's affairs after death: proving the will, appointing an executor or administrator, identifying and valuing assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what is left. Probate law is the set of state rules that govern how that is done.

Read the full answer ›Probate

Elder law is the area of practice built around the legal needs of older adults and their families: long-term care and how to pay for it, Medicaid and Medicare, guardianship and capacity, powers of attorney and health care directives, estate planning, and protection from financial exploitation.

Read the full answer ›Elder Law

Before a crisis, if possible. The usual triggers are a diagnosis affecting memory or capacity, a hospitalization likely to end in long-term care, a Medicaid application, signs of financial exploitation, or a family disagreement about who should be making decisions.

Read the full answer ›Elder Law

A red flag law lets a court order the temporary removal of firearms from a person found to pose a significant danger to themselves or others. The orders go by various names — extreme risk protection order, gun violence restraining order, risk protection order — and about 20 states plus the District of Columbia have one.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

A stand your ground law removes the duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, in a place where the person is lawfully present. Most US states now follow the rule, by statute or court decision. It does not authorize force that was not otherwise justified — the threat must still be imminent and the response proportionate.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

An ex post facto law is a law applied retroactively to conduct that happened before it was passed. The US Constitution bans them in criminal matters for both Congress and the states, in Article I. A legislature cannot criminalize what was lawful when you did it, or increase the punishment after the fact.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Battery is intentional harmful or offensive physical contact with another person, without their consent. The contact does not have to injure — an unwanted shove or spit can qualify. Battery exists both as a crime prosecuted by the state and as a civil tort you can sue over.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime. It is a separate offense from the crime itself, and in most US jurisdictions it is complete once an agreement exists and — where required — one participant takes an overt step toward carrying it out. The planned crime never has to happen.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Criminal law is the body of law that defines offenses against the public and sets their punishment. A criminal case is brought by the government, not by the victim, and it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The possible outcomes are punishment — fines, probation, jail or prison — not compensation.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Double jeopardy is the Fifth Amendment protection against being tried twice by the same government for the same offense. Once a jury is sworn, or the first witness is sworn in a bench trial, jeopardy attaches — and an acquittal after that point is final, however wrong it may look.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Entrapment is a defense available when law enforcement induced a person to commit a crime they were not otherwise willing to commit. Simply giving someone an opportunity to break the law is not entrapment — undercover work, sting operations and decoys are all lawful.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Immunity is legal protection from prosecution or from being sued. In criminal cases it is normally granted to a witness so that their compelled testimony cannot be used against them. In civil cases it shields certain officials and government bodies from liability for acts within their role.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Megan's Law is the name given to US laws requiring that information about registered sex offenders be made available to the public. Passed federally in 1996 after the murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka in New Jersey, it turned confidential registries into public ones. Every state now operates a public registry.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Restitution is money a convicted defendant is ordered to pay a victim for losses caused by the offense. It is part of a criminal sentence, not a civil award, and it is meant to restore what the victim lost — medical bills, property damage, stolen funds, lost wages — rather than to punish.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

Criminal law deals with offenses against the public, prosecuted by the government and punished with fines, probation or imprisonment. Civil law resolves disputes between private parties and ends in money or a court order. The same incident can produce both cases, and the outcomes can differ because the standards of proof differ.

Read the full answer ›Criminal Law

OWI stands for Operating While Intoxicated. It is one of several labels US states use for impaired driving, alongside DUI (driving under the influence), DWI (driving while intoxicated or impaired) and OUI (operating under the influence). The label matters less than what the state's statute requires to be proved.

Read the full answer ›DUI & DWI

Implied consent means that by driving on public roads you have already agreed to chemical testing — breath, blood or urine — if an officer lawfully arrests you for impaired driving. Every US state has such a statute. Refusing carries its own penalties, separate from and in addition to any DUI charge.

Read the full answer ›DUI & DWI

Zero tolerance laws make it an offense for a driver under 21 to drive with any measurable alcohol in their system — typically a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02 percent or above, and 0.00 or 0.01 in some states. All 50 states have one, because federal highway funding was tied to it.

Read the full answer ›DUI & DWI

The basic speed law requires you to drive no faster than is reasonable and prudent for the conditions, regardless of the posted limit. It means a driver can be cited for 45 mph in a 55 mph zone during fog, ice or heavy traffic — the posted number is a ceiling, not a guarantee.

Read the full answer ›Traffic Tickets

RICO is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970. It makes it a federal crime to run or take part in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity, and it also lets private parties sue for triple damages. Its reach now extends far beyond organized crime.

Read the full answer ›White Collar Crime

A statute of limitations is the legal deadline for starting a case. Once it expires the claim is normally dead, however strong the evidence. In the United States each state sets its own periods, and they vary by the kind of claim — commonly one to three years for injuries, longer for written contracts.

Read the full answer ›Personal Injury

Negligence is a failure to take the care an ordinary reasonable person would have taken in the same situation. It is the basis of most injury claims in the United States. Proving it takes four things: a duty of care, a breach of that duty, a causal link, and actual harm.

Read the full answer ›Personal Injury

Personal injury law is the branch of tort law that covers physical and psychological harm caused by someone else. It exists to put the injured person back, as far as money can, in the position they would have been in — covering treatment, lost income and the human cost of the injury itself.

Read the full answer ›Personal Injury

A Good Samaritan law protects a volunteer who helps someone in an emergency from being sued for the harm their help causes. Every US state has some version. The protection covers ordinary mistakes made in good faith — it does not cover reckless behavior, gross negligence, or helping in exchange for payment.

Read the full answer ›Personal Injury

Tort law is the part of civil law that decides who pays when one person's conduct harms another. It is not about punishing a crime — it is about compensation. A tort claim asks a court to shift the cost of an injury from the person who suffered it to the person whose act or carelessness caused it.

Read the full answer ›Personal Injury

Vicarious liability makes one party answerable for someone else's wrongdoing because of the relationship between them. The classic case is an employer paying for an employee's negligence committed on the job — a doctrine lawyers still call respondeat superior, “let the master answer.”

Read the full answer ›Personal Injury

Medical malpractice is care that falls below the accepted professional standard and injures the patient because of it. A bad outcome is not enough — medicine carries risk even when everything is done properly. The claim needs a doctor-patient relationship, a departure from the standard of care, and harm caused by that departure.

Read the full answer ›Medical Malpractice

Strict liability means responsibility without fault. The injured person does not have to prove carelessness or intent — only that the thing happened and caused harm. In the United States it applies mainly to defective products, abnormally dangerous activities, and in many states to dog bites and other animal attacks.

Read the full answer ›Products Liability

“Squatters' rights” usually refers to adverse possession — a legal doctrine that can let someone who openly occupies another's land for a long statutory period, often 10 to 20 years, become its legal owner. Separately, squatters in a home cannot simply be thrown out by the owner; in most states removal requires a legal process.

Read the full answer ›Real Estate Law

A lien is a legal claim against a property that secures a debt. It gives the creditor the right to be paid from the property — through foreclosure or when it is sold or refinanced — if the debt is not paid. Common liens include mortgages, tax liens, contractors' mechanic's liens and court judgment liens.

Read the full answer ›Real Estate Law

A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the signer has in a property — if any — without promising that the title is valid or free of liens. It is quick and cheap, and is commonly used between family members, spouses in a divorce, or to put property into a trust, but it offers the buyer no protection.

Read the full answer ›Real Estate Law

An easement is a legal right to use someone else's land for a specific purpose without owning it — for example, a driveway across a neighbor's lot, utility lines, or a path to the beach. Most easements run with the land, so they bind future owners of the property and benefit future owners of the land they serve.

Read the full answer ›Real Estate Law

Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use, as long as it pays the owner just compensation. The Fifth Amendment allows it for projects such as roads, schools, pipelines and utilities. Owners cannot usually stop a lawful taking, but they can challenge it and fight for a higher payment.

Read the full answer ›Real Estate Law

Escrow is an arrangement in which a neutral third party holds money or documents until the conditions of a deal are met. In a home purchase, the escrow agent holds the buyer's deposit and funds and the seller's deed until closing. After closing, a mortgage escrow account collects property taxes and insurance with each payment.

Read the full answer ›Real Estate Law

Real estate law governs land and anything permanently attached to it: how property is bought, sold, financed, leased, used and passed on. It covers deeds and titles, purchase contracts, mortgages and foreclosure, landlord-tenant relations, zoning and land use, easements, boundary disputes and homeowners' associations. It is mainly state and local law.

Read the full answer ›Real Estate Law

Title insurance protects a property owner or lender against financial loss from defects in the title that existed before the purchase — such as forged deeds, unknown liens, errors in public records or undisclosed heirs. It is paid once at closing. A lender's policy protects the bank; an owner's policy protects the buyer.

Read the full answer ›Real Estate Law

Often, yes. In Chapter 7 you can keep your home if your equity is protected by your state's homestead exemption and you are current on the mortgage. In Chapter 13 you can keep it even with extra equity or missed payments, by catching up on the arrears through a three- to five-year plan while paying the regular mortgage.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for up to 10 years from the filing date. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is usually removed after 7 years. The effect on your score is strongest in the first year or two and fades over time, especially if you rebuild with on-time payments.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

The court filing fee is $338 for Chapter 7 and $313 for Chapter 13. Required credit counseling and debtor education courses add roughly $20 to $100. Attorney fees usually range from about $1,000 to $2,500 for a simple Chapter 7 and from about $3,000 to $6,000 for Chapter 13, often paid through the plan.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy does not erase every debt. Child support and alimony, most student loans, most recent income taxes, criminal fines and restitution, debts for death or injury caused by drunk driving, and debts obtained by fraud generally survive. Some of these survive automatically; others only if the creditor successfully objects in the bankruptcy case.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy law is the federal law that lets people and businesses who cannot pay their debts either eliminate them or repay them under court protection. It is set out in the US Bankruptcy Code, handled by federal bankruptcy courts, and offers several “chapters” — mainly Chapter 7, 11 and 13 — each designed for different situations.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 is “reorganization” bankruptcy for individuals with regular income. The debtor keeps their property and repays part or all of their debts through a court-approved plan lasting three to five years. It is often used to stop foreclosure, catch up on missed mortgage or car payments, or protect assets that Chapter 7 would not.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 is “liquidation” bankruptcy. A court-appointed trustee may sell a debtor's non-exempt property to pay creditors, and most remaining unsecured debts — credit cards, medical bills, personal loans — are discharged, usually about four months after filing. To qualify, individuals generally must pass a means test showing limited income.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

The automatic stay is a court order that takes effect the moment a bankruptcy case is filed and stops most collection actions against the debtor — lawsuits, wage garnishments, repossessions, foreclosures, collection calls and utility shutoffs. It gives the debtor breathing room while the case proceeds. Creditors who violate it can be ordered to pay damages.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 wipes out most unsecured debts in about four months but may require selling non-exempt property and is limited to people who pass a means test. Chapter 13 lets you keep your property and repay part of your debts through a three- to five-year plan, and is often used to stop foreclosure and catch up on missed payments.

Read the full answer ›Bankruptcy

Sometimes. Most state lemon laws cover new vehicles only. A minority — including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota and Rhode Island — have separate used-car statutes with their own mileage and price thresholds. Elsewhere a used buyer relies on the remaining factory warranty, dealer warranties or fraud law.

Read the full answer ›Consumer Law

It works as a sequence: report the defect during the warranty period, give the manufacturer a reasonable number of repair attempts, notify the manufacturer in writing, go through arbitration if your state requires it, and then claim a refund or replacement. Documentation at every step is what decides the outcome.

Read the full answer ›Consumer Law

A lemon law gives the buyer of a defective new vehicle the right to a replacement or a refund when the manufacturer cannot repair it in a reasonable number of attempts. Every US state has one, and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act adds a nationwide layer covering consumer products generally.

Read the full answer ›Consumer Law

Not by federal law. No US federal statute requires a 15-minute rest break for adult workers. What federal law does say is that if an employer gives a short break of roughly 5 to 20 minutes, it must be paid and counted as hours worked. Mandatory rest breaks exist only under state law.

Read the full answer ›Employment Law

Federal law requires no breaks at all. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not mandate meal or rest periods for adults — it only says that short breaks of 5 to 20 minutes, if given, must be paid. Break rights come from state law: about 20 states require meal breaks, and fewer require paid rest breaks.

Read the full answer ›Employment Law

Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is severe or pervasive enough to create an intimidating, hostile or abusive environment. In US law the term covers two different things: workplace and housing harassment based on a protected characteristic, and criminal harassment — repeated conduct that alarms or threatens a specific person.

Read the full answer ›Employment Law

Employment law governs the relationship between workers and employers: hiring, pay, hours, leave, discrimination, safety, privacy and termination. In the United States it is a patchwork — federal statutes set the floor, state and local laws add more, and the employment-at-will default shapes everything else.

Read the full answer ›Employment Law

Consideration is the value each side gives up to make an agreement binding — money, goods, services, or a promise to do or refrain from doing something. Without it, a promise is usually a gift and courts will not enforce it. It is what separates a contract from a favor.

Read the full answer ›Business Law

Contract law governs agreements the courts will enforce. A contract needs an offer, acceptance, consideration — something of value exchanged — and parties with capacity and a lawful purpose. When one side fails to perform, contract law decides what the other side is owed.

Read the full answer ›Business Law

Corporate law governs how companies are formed, financed, governed and dissolved, and the duties owed by those who run them. It covers entity choice, shareholder and director rights, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and securities compliance — the legal structure around a business rather than its day-to-day deals.

Read the full answer ›Business Law

Intellectual property law protects creations of the mind. In the United States it has four main branches: patents for inventions, copyright for original works, trademarks for brand identifiers, and trade secrets for valuable confidential information. Each has different requirements, different terms and different enforcement routes.

Read the full answer ›Intellectual Property

Patent law grants an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing an invention for a limited time, in exchange for publishing how it works. In the United States patents are federal, issued by the USPTO, and utility patents last 20 years from the filing date.

Read the full answer ›Patents

Antitrust law protects competition. In the United States it rests on three statutes: the Sherman Act, which bans restraints of trade and monopolization; the Clayton Act, which addresses mergers and exclusive dealing; and the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair methods of competition. Enforcement is by the DOJ, the FTC, state attorneys general and private plaintiffs.

Read the full answer ›Antitrust Law

Both keep a dispute out of a courtroom, but they do opposite things. A mediator helps the parties reach their own agreement and cannot impose anything. An arbitrator hears evidence and issues a decision, which in binding arbitration is enforceable in court and very hard to appeal.

Read the full answer ›Arbitration & Mediation

HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the federal law that sets national rules for the privacy and security of health information. It limits how providers, health plans and their contractors may use and share your records, and it gives you the right to see and correct them.

Read the full answer ›Health Care Law

The Stark law is the US physician self-referral law. It bars a doctor from referring Medicare or Medicaid patients for certain designated health services to an entity the doctor — or an immediate family member — has a financial relationship with, unless the arrangement fits a written exception.

Read the full answer ›Health Care Law

A deposition is sworn, out-of-court testimony taken before trial as part of discovery. A witness answers questions from the opposing lawyer under oath while a court reporter records every word. The transcript can be used to prepare for trial, to challenge inconsistent testimony later, or as evidence if the witness cannot appear.

Read the full answer ›

Discovery is the pretrial stage in which each side must disclose relevant evidence to the other. It covers documents, written questions, depositions and physical evidence. Its purpose is to remove surprise from trials: both sides go in knowing what the proof is.

Read the full answer ›