Pamela Wynn, an attorney specializing in collaborative divorce, is guest blogging for us today. Thanks, Pamela!

Half of all marriages end in divorce these days. As your lemon lawsuit winds its way through the court system, life happens. If you end up in divorce court before your lawsuit is finished, you could have a contingent marital asset. How a lawsuit settlement is treated in your divorce case depends on the law of your state.

Marital assets are those that are obtained during marriage and are divided in divorce. Contingent assets are those assets that are likely to come into existence but are not certain yet. So, if your lawsuit is in progress at the time of the divorce, you will need to report the case as a contingent marital asset and ask the court to divide it.

In general, community property states will evenly divide the contingent asset. In equitable distribution states, treatment usually depends on what the award represents. If the judgment is for lost wages or past earning capacity, it will be considered a marital asset because it replaces marital earnings that would have been made during the marriage. If the judgment is simply a joint award to both of you and does not specify what the damages represent, the entire award will likely be marital property.

Even if the award is considered a marital asset, portions of it may be non-marital and not subject to division in a divorce. Compensation for future losses or pain and suffering typically belong only to one spouse and are treated as non-marital assets in a divorce. If the judgment awards each of you separate amounts, the separate amounts will be considered non-marital assets. Also, awards for future losses will be considered non-marital.

If you are involved in a lawsuit and a divorce, be sure you know what the award represents. How your state will treat the lawsuit proceeds in the divorce case may well depend on what the nature of the award is.

Pamela S. Wynn has practiced family law in Florida for more than 24 years and is President of Legal Education Center of Florida, Inc., home of the DIY Divorce system. For more information about Florida family law, visit http://diydivorcefl.com/

If you own a lemon car, lemon truck, or lemon motorcycle, you have rights under your state’s laws, as well as rights under federal law. If you are an immigrant, you have rights and procedures that you need to follow in order to navigate the complex immigration law system. Jacob J. Sapochnick, an attorney specializing in immigration law, offers an overview of immigration law and recent updates, as well as tips to make sure you can take advantage of your Immigration law rights.

One of the basic principles of U.S. immigration law is family unification; in principle, the system is dedicated to uniting husbands with wives, and children with parents. Unfortunately, due to understaffing, underfunding, and security concerns, cases often cannot be processed as quickly as a family would desire or as quickly as the law allows. Certain family members related to either U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), may enter the U.S. and stay. The best category to be in is the immediate relative category - spouses, parents, and children under 21 of U.S. citizens.

People that qualify under the immediate relative category are not subject to visa numerical limitations. Other relationships, which are subject to a quota system, are divided into family-based “preferences.” The family preferences include four categories:

First preference: Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.

Second preference:    Spouses and children of legal permanent residents (Green Card holders) Level 2A; and unmarried sons and daughters of legal permanent residents (Green Card Holders) Level 2B.

Third preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.

Fourth preference: Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens.

If a family member petitions for you in a preference category-that is, a category with annual limits on the number of visas-your wait could be several years long. Although it’s possible to estimate the likely wait in your category, this will be only an estimate. You will need to learn to track it, month-by-month, based on the Visa Bulletin published by the US State Department.

As evident from the categories described above, not all family relationships are recognized for purposes of immigrating to the United States. A person could petition for his or her own parents or siblings, but a grandchild could not petition for a grandparent, or a nephew for an aunt. A permanent resident can petition for his spouse, but the spouse will be subject to the preference system and will need to wait for a visa number to become available before obtaining the permanent residency.

Did you know that Connecticut Lemon Law was the first in the nation?

Signed into law on June 4, 1982, Connecticut’s Lemon Law paved the way for every other state in the U.S. to pass its own version of a Lemon Law. John J. Woodcock III, sponsored the bill (PA 82-287), and Governor William A. O’Neill signed it.

According to the Central Connecticut State University, Center for Public Policy & Social Research:

President Ronald Reagan’s policy of deregulation left consumers subject to fraud and other abuses by manufacturers. A federal law, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975, and Uniform Commercial Codes provided some protection for the consumer, but the way in which these laws were written meant the consumer usually ended up filing a lawsuit against the manufacturer. Seeking redress under either statute led to ‘frustration, delays, expense and uncertainty.’ (Kegley and Hiller, 1986, p. 88). Hence the need for a more consumer-friendly procedure.

I live in and practice Lemon Law in Connecticut, so I’m always interested in hearing the musings of other attorneys in Connecticut. Attorney Ryan McKeen, who is at the firm Leone, Throwe, Teller & Nagle in East Hartford, has a great blog, “A Connecticut Law Blog,” that he describes as, “Thoughts on Connecticut Law with a Side of Baseball.”

Ryan discusses his thoughts and reactions to news about virtually every type of Connecticut civil law - from family law and child support to evictions and small business. His recent posts cover topics ranging from the inclusion of pets in your will to Connecticut’s foreclosure mediation program.

The best thing about Ryan’s blog is that it provides truly useful and accessible information to Connecticut consumers. It’s kind of a one-stop shop for people who want to keep tabs on the ways laws impact our lives. Plus, his humor and his love of the Red Sox add an entertaining dimension to the topics he covers.

Keep up the great work, Ryan!

Once upon a time, there were three Chevrolets - a 2006 Chevy HHR, a 2006 Chevy Cobalt, and a 2007 Chevy Aveo. The HHR was besieged with problems, including a water leak, a check engine light, and other electrical problems. The Cobalt had a leaky sunroof, a check engine light, a noisy supercharger, and an unsettling, constant vibration. The Aveo had a variety of electrical issues, each one more annoying than the last.

Each Chevy had a family at its wit’s end, tired of the hassles of taking its vehicle in for repair. One family lived in New York, another in Pennsylvania, and the third in Connecticut. Nevertheless, each family found its way to Lemberg & Associates in the hope that the firm would use NY Lemon Law, PA Lemon Law, and CT Lemon Law to help them get relief from Chevrolet.

Like knights in shining armor, the staff at the Lemon Law firm came to the rescue. GM offered to resolve the claim for the Chevy HHR for $1,900, but that simply wasn’t enough, and Lemberg & Associates ultimately convinced GM to pay a $4,000 settlement.

Even though the Chevy Cobalt didn’t have any problems until it had already been driven almost 17,000 miles, the legal staff charged ahead. It was a protracted battle, but a year and a half and 17,000 miles later, Chevrolet agreed to settle the family’s claim for $4,000.

In all honesty, the Chevy Aveo wasn’t really a lemon; most of this family’s problems were resolved after one repair attempt. Still, they had to take the Aveo in seven times during the first eight months after they bought it, and Lemberg & Associates felt that the family should receive some compensation. Ultimately, Chevrolet provided the family with an extended service contract and $1,500.

 In the end, the three families lived happily ever after, and the Lemon Law attorneys polished their armor in preparation for the next battle.

The moral of the story? No matter what state you live in, having a Lemon Law attorney at your side will give your family a fighting chance in getting the compensation it deserves.