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Television Lawyers

If you follow us on Facebook*, you probably know that we love to reference movies and television shows. We bet you know some of these names: Vinny Gambini. Rachel Zane. Saul Goodman.  Fletcher Reede,   Sol & Robert. Rebecca Bunch.  Lionel Hutz.  Elle Woods.

What do all of these names have in common? They are all attorneys created by Hollywood and take creative liberties about what it like to practice law in the real world.

1. Attorneys are more like chess players than dramatic actors.  If you walk into a court house, you won’t see lawyers slamming their fists on the table or hear dramatic music. What you will find is lawyers huddled in a corner or in a conference room, trying to position their client in the most favorable way. There are, however, those Elle Woods toe tapping moments, where a new realization changes our next move.

2. Attorneys are actually decent people. Being an attorney means that you get to help people in your community with real solutions. We are generally nice people, just trying to perform a service, not the nasty, self serving jerks that Hollywood often makes us out to be.

3. Attorneys are pretty honest.  We present evidence that is favorable to support our client’s position. We can be creative in arguments and questioning.  We can present alternative explanations.  Much to the surprise of some clients and as Fletcher Reede once said, we “cannot lie.”

4.  Attorneys put a lot of work into an argument.  Good attorneys can make a strong argument and make it appear effortless.  One of our best friends participated scholarship pageants when we were in college. Did she wake up every morning looking like a Disney princess?  Nope, but she wanted to win, so she practiced her singing and spent a lot of time fine tuning her interview skills.  Similarly, attorneys spend hours, days and months looking at evidence and planning to argue our client’s position.

Who is your favorite lawyer on television or in a movie?**

If we can assist you in any legal matters, please call or email us at fayejslgal.com.

Regards,
John & Faye

* If you don’t, you should: https://www.facebook.com/Wjslegal/?ref=bookmarks
** Ours is currently Saul Goodman!

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Clark Griswold

 

“Unravel these. We need to check every bulb. Ooops. Little knot here, you can work on that.”
-Clark Griswold to his son, Russ, as he hands him 25 strands of Christmas lights

You can admit it. You LOVE decorating for the holidays. Tell us the truth: are you a more HGTV or Clark Griswold?

Decorating your home can really get you into a festive mood for any holiday; however is it a good idea to decorate for the holidays when you are getting ready to sell your house? We asked a realtor her thoughts on this important question. Her answer was “it depends” and “maybe.”

It depends whether you have already taken marketing photos of your house: Marketing photos of your house should not include holiday decorations. Any decorations will “date” your photos and might make your home appear as though it has been on the market for a long time.

Decorating can make or break your staging: Decorating a home that is already on the market can help people to visualize themselves celebrating future holidays there too. Decorations should be traditional and serene. For instance, pumpkins and corn stalks are perfect for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Single colored lights will highlight your landscaping and a small Mensch on the Bench may provide a dash of blue color on white shelves. Overall, as a former law professors once said, “keep it simple.”

For specific ideas, HGTV has some thoughts on staging your house during the holidays:
https://www.hgtv.com/design/real-estate/staging-tips-for-selling-during-the-holidays

What is YOUR favorite holiday to decorate for every year?

As always, please let us know if we can help you with this or any other matter.

Warm Regards,
John and Faye

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Famous.

One of the fun things about living and working in North Attleboro is the vibe during football season.  We love the game and our football families; they support our community and we support them, often by just protecting their privacy.

 

The fascination that people have with “celebrity” is not always easy to understand. It’s something that we think about from time to time and can never truly reconcile.

 

Soon after Aaron Hernandez got arrested, someone asked me where he lived; the address and photos of the home were blasted across every news station, but this person wanted to know how long it would take to drive their from their current location and directions to the house (NO!).    Prior to it being sold to an investor last year, we would hope gawkers stayed away out of respect for the neighbors and that only truly interested & qualified buyers toured the home out of respect for the real estate agent.

 

The Mayo family recently shared their family tragedy with the world with the hopes of finding their dog, Knox, and helping other families; however, some people on social media took it as an opportunity to ask where the family lives; they were not asking for a town, which was obvious from news coverage, but for the street address. WHAT? SERIOUSLY?

 

We, too, are guilty of some curiosity. During a late night Google search for random Guns and Roses trivia, we came across photos of Axl Rose’s house in Malibu, CA. We had never thought about what his house would look like, but certainly it should be worthy of a rock star, dark and mysterious, with empty whisky bottles all over the floor. Apparently, his house is in a surfing community and is about as bad ass as a rainbow unicorn covered in pink sparkles. We found it interesting and shared it on our Facebook page.*

What is it about celebrities and where they live that is so fascinating to people? We think that it’s about feeling connected to something bigger than us, whether it be a person, story or history, but here is an old article that discusses the phenomenon:

https://mn2s.com/news/talent/what-makes-us-so-interested-in-the-lives-of-celebrities/

 

As always, please let us know if you have any questions regarding real estate or any other legal matter.

Warm Regards,
John & Faye

*If you don’t already follow us on Facebook, please do! Our page name is “Law Office of Weiner Jackson & Simmons .”

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Common Sense.

 

“When can I start dating?”
– Approximately 60% of clients during divorce consultations (based on totally unscientific studies)

We suggest that people use common sense when starting to date during the divorce process. If you think that your dating might create anger in your spouse, it likely will; that anger often leads to prolonged proceedings and increased legal fees.

We recommend keeping the divorce moving towards resolution by following these simple guidelines:
Protect your Assets: If you want to date, remember that you are spending marital assets to pay for the dates. You have the right to move on and to enjoy life, but it may ultimately effect division of marital assets. Typical dating and entertainment expenditures are typically not an issue, but we recommend nothing extravagant, especially if it interferes with your ability to support your family;
Be Smart and Discrete. If you want information to remain private, do not advertise what you are doing on social media. Not might your spouse see it, but potentially your spouse’s attorney (of course, under ethical boundaries). The quickest way to discredit an argument about lack of money are photos of fancy dinners, vacations and adventures;
Be a Parent First: This is not the time to start introducing new “friends” to your children. First of all, children experience a range of emotions during (and after) a divorce. They will often “blame” the first person that they meet for keeping their parents apart, even if that person has nothing to do with the split. Also, rebound relationships are common and it is not in the best interest of the children to be introduced to many “friends.” Lastly, anyone who meets the kids will be open to scrutiny by your spouse and the court for any influence that they might have on your children;
Know Yourself: Everyone wants companionship. In the short term, it may mean surrounding yourself with family and friends or a new puppy; however, at some point in the future, you may want romantic companionship. Even if you wanted the divorce, you may still may not be ready to date beyond something very casual.
As always, please let us know if we can guide in you in any legal matters.

Warm regards,
John & Faye

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Put Away the Swords

“You didn’t always hate each other. There had to be nice moments, during the courtship, maybe? Or the wedding?”
-John Beckwith, Wedding Crashers (2005)

The “Divorce Nisi” period is one of the strangest legal concepts for people to grasp. Most people assume that their divorce is final on the day that a Judgement of Divorce is ordered; however, in Massachusetts, parties have to wait 90 days longer for their divorce to become final or absolute.

After months of fighting over airline miles, the Nisi period gives the parties an opportunity to “put away the swords” and consider reconciliation before their divorce becomes final. How often does this happen? Not often, but we always believe in looking at a glass half full and with the hope that it could. There are two defining characteristics of the “Nisi” period:

1. Neither party can remarry; and
2. If the Nisi period has not ended by December 31, the Parties will considered married for tax purposes and must file “joint” or “married, filing separately” for that year.

As always, please let us know if we can be of assistance to you.

Warm Regards,
John & Faye

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