North Texas Journal v23n29

8/9/2019 North Texas Journal v23n29

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WEEKLY Volume 23, Number 29 - July 23, 20


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In This Issue


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Ten Tips On How To Be A Good

Neighbor - And Avoid LawsuitsARA) Treating your neighbor as you would likeo be treated is wisdom that is thousands of years

old. And it may be more important than ever in to-

days litigious society where a growing number ofAmericans - nearly 80 percent - live side-by-siden urban and suburban areas, in many cases sepa-ated only by a wall.

Between sharing driveways and fences to shar-ng the beautiful,or not-so-beautiful,sights and soundsof a neighborhood,conflict is bound tohappen from timeo time when peo-

ple live next to oneanother. Exces-sive noise, pets offheir leashes, un-

maintained lawns,respassing, an il-egal home busi-ness - these rep-

esent just some ofhe most common

complaints that cancome up betweenneighbors. Whencomplaints go unre-solved, frustrationurns into phone

calls to the local police or into a lawsuit.

Here are 10 tips from Findlaw.com, a leading on-

ne source of legal information, on how to avoidearning the scorn of your neighbors and being thesubject of a lawsuit.

. Get to know your neighbors. Make time to get toknow your neighbors. Learning the basics of whyhey choose to live in your neighborhood, whathey desire in a great neighborhood, what they

do for a living, what they enjoy doing for fun, andeven the names of their kids can pay dividends in

avoiding conflicts down the road.

2. Start a neighborhood watch group. Join or fo

a neighborhood group to watch for unusual olegal activity in your neighborhood, and to fatate common ground among your neighbors. Crently, about 200,000 official neighborhood waprograms are registered throughout the UnStates. To see if your neighborhood has a wa

group, or to register a new group, visit www.uonwatch.org.

3. Courtesy call. Open communication is an portant part of home ownership, and can help pvent future problems with your neighbors. Tare more likely to be supportive with your projeif they know whats going on ahead of time. If are planning a major landscape or remodeproject, let your neighbor know in advance. Aif youre going to have a party that could cresome unexpected noise, dont just tell your nebors about it, invite them.


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4. Maintain your property. Think about the wayyour property affects your neighbors and imag-ne the view from their side of the street or fence.Many neighborhood associations and cities main-ain covenants or have regulations about property

maintenance, according to Findlaw.com. Not ad-hering to these standards can get you in hot waterwith more than just your neighbors.

5. Respect property lines. Check all local commu-nity laws before landscaping, adding a fence orree, or launching a remodeling project, such as

adding onto your home. If youre building or land-scaping near the property line, make sure youre incompliance with local codes. If you share a prop-erty line, such as a shared driveway, work closelywith your neighbor to find solutions that work forboth of you. If necessary, consult a lawyer to draftan agreement on how to handle present and futureactions with shared property.

6. Fences. Fences make for good neighbors, butmake sure that before you build one, you follow lo-cal codes regulating the height, location, materialused and appearance of a fence. A neighbor canonly remove anothers fence if it poses a dangero those who interact with it. If it is a property-lineence, neighbors have equal share in the future

of the fence and must agree in remodeling it. This

also means that both neighbors are responsibleor maintenance of the fence and need to split all

costs for the preservation.

7. Trees. The tree owner is responsible for maintenance of the tree and any damage if tree falls on a neighbors lawn or house. If a thderstorm or other natural disaster forces a trecause damage, then the tree owner is no lonresponsible. Neighbors are able to trim othtree branches; however, if they harm the tree, t

could be sued for up to $2,500.

8. Keep pets in control. Pets are free to roamtheir owners property if they have a fence set but if the animals escape and cause damageis the pet owners full responsibility. Most neborhoods and parks have leash laws and reqowners to clean up after their pets. Pet ownwill also be responsible if their pet bites or haanother person. If a neighbor has too many pthen they could be violating a zoning, health cor noise ordinance.

9. Dont be a noisy neighbor. Loud noises aronly a nuisance, but also a potential health hard. Exposure to sounds of 115 decibels forminutes a day can cause hearing loss, accordto the League of the Hard of Hearing. As a reence, a noisy restaurant is about 80 decibels live rock music is 130 decibels. Almost every cmunity prohibits excessive, unnecessary, and

reasonable noise (including excessive dog baing), and the police enforce these laws. Most noordinances designate quiet hours within tcommunity.

10. Seek mediation. Filing a lawsuit should alwbe the last resort. Before you get there, speak wyour neighbor about the problem. If its an isthat affects many neighbors, team up for more sport. If that doesnt work, seek mediation, whmany cities and neighborhood councils now of

Mediation can help neighbors address a proband still preserve long-term relationships with yneighbor.

If a legal issue arises between you and your nebor, check Findlaw.com to learn about the lawfind more information on how to handle certainuations, and to find a lawyer in your area.

Courtesy of ARAcontent


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Overwhelmed By Debt? Know Your Options

ARA) - If you find yourself in a financial hole youcant get out of, its important to know you haveoptions. Being in debt can cause people to con-inue to make payments that they cant afford or

can barely afford without much hope of ever elim-nating the debt. If you find yourself in this posi-

ion, there are a few routes you can pursue to freeyourself from overwhelming debt.

First, getting out of debt on your own should al-ways be your first choice, if you can do it. Thequickest way to save money and keep your creditntact is to pay off your balances as quickly asyou are able.

f you dont think that option is open to you, itmight be time to seek outside help. The Federal

Trade Commission recommends looking at theollowing options and finding what might work for

you. When you examine each of these possibili-ies, make sure the organization you are working

with is legitimate. Always beware of hidden coand make sure you know exactly what you receive before you pay for these services.

* Credit counseling: If you dont think you can your debt under control by yourself, credit co

selors can help you develop a plan to get oudebt.

* Debt management plan: Often offered throa credit counseling service, this allows the pticipant to make monthly deposits to the servwhich in turn will pay your bills as worked with your creditors. You will be required to myour monthly payments on time and you maybarred from applying for additional credit whilethe plan.

* Bankruptcy: This is usually considered the resort, but it can allow you to have some of ydebts forgiven completely. You may also be


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quired to put your car, house or other assets to-ward repaying your debt. Bankruptcy stays onyour credit report for 10 years and can make itdifficult to secure any type of credit during thatime.

Debt settlement programs: Often consideredan alternative to bankruptcy, debt settlement, ordebt negotiation programs, allow those with un-

secured debt (debt not tied to an asset, like creditcard debt or medical bills) to pay less than whathey owe through negotiating with creditors.

The goal of a debt negotiator is to obtain a dsettlement for you on the current debt amount owe your creditor. For example you may owe oparticular creditor $10,000, so the goal of the gotiator would be to have you end up paying bsay $5,000, says Steven Veator, senior progadviser of Core Financial Services, a Massacsetts-based debt settlement agency.

Recently, much attention has been brought to by-night debt settlement agencies that often ocause participants to go into more debt. If


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plan on enrolling in a debt settlement prograthe United States Organizations for BankrupAlternatives (USOBA), a professional organtion for the debt settlement industry, recommetaking the following things into account befenrolling in a program:

* Know in advance that your credit score will ta hit. Any debt settlement agency promising o

erwise is probably not telling the truth.

* Programs will often take two to three yearscomplete. If you cant make the payments nessary to complete the program, dont enroll cause you will still be responsible for your dein addition to any program fees.

* Beware of hidden fees. Make sure all fees will have to pay during the program are agreupon before enrolling in the program, along wipayment schedule. The program will likely chayou beyond what you will be paying back to ycreditors for their work, so make sure it is stgood option once these fees are included.

* Debt settlement is a private industry, so anyganization that speaks of a federal programdebt settlement is not telling the truth.

* Dont stand for pressure or silence. A leg

mate agency should not pressure you to enand should allow you the time to make a de

sion. You should also be ablfreely and easily communicwith the agency before enring and during the debt setment process. Some prograrequire you to default on ping your creditors, so havplan in place with your setment agency on how to han

calls from creditors if this is case.

For more on debt settlemand answers to frequeasked questions, visit wwcoredebt.com.



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What To Do If Your Child Is Being BullieARA) - If your child is being bullied, shes not alone.

About 160,000 children in the United States missschool every day due to fear of attack or intimidationby other students, according to the National Educa-on Association.

Bullying is a serious problem that is growing worse,and is taking on new forms through the use of thenternet and mobile phones, say educators. Some

estimates say that 25 percent of American childrenexperience direct or indirect bullying daily.

Broadly speaking, bullying can involve any number ofbehaviors, according to Findlaw.com, a leading onlinesource of legal information, including sexual harass-ment of another student, teasing, excluding a student,calling a student names, physically pushing or attack-

ng, threatening or hazing, spreading rumors, damag-ng or stealing belongings, or demanding money.

Cyber-bullying, a relatively new form of bullying, takesplace over the Internet through social media websitesand forums, or through mobile devices. Many pre-eens and teens prefer to communicate with one an-

other through texting on their mobile devices. Becausekids can share messages quickly with a large groupof students, cyber-bullying can be especially effectiven spreading rumors about a student or harassing astudent through the sharing of photos. Because thiss a relatively new area of harassment, many schooldistricts are still trying to determine the reach of theirauthority in off-campus cyber-bullying attacks.

Bullying can have far-reaching consequences for the

victim, the perpetrators and other students, who irectly become distracted from their studies out of of becoming a bullys next victim. Bullying has bcited as a factor in teen suicides as well as in a nuber of on-campus shooting massacres, including infamous and tragic Columbine High School incid

In that case, media reports suggested that both ofshooters were victims of bullying.

Historically, bullying among school children has been a topic of broad public concern. In fact, soadults may view bullying as a rite of passage for cdren and youth, as popularized on the big screen on TV programs. Because of events like Columbattention to bullying among children has increadramatically among school personnel, membersthe general public and policymakers. Today, acco

ing to Findlaw.com, 43 states have some form of abullying laws in place, complementing anti-bullypolicies established at the local level by private public school boards.

Here are some additional tips from Findlaw.comwhat to do if you suspect that your child is the vicof a bully:

Talk to your child. A lot of times your child will not wto talk about being bullied because they perceive iembarrassing and humiliating. If you notice a chain your childs behavior and attitudes, approach rst. Offer your support and let him know that ac

will be taken to improve the situation. Your child most likely be feeling isolated at school and its imtant for him to know that he can conde in you.

Document facts. Take pictures of any injuries have your child give a detailed description of whappened. Write down the dates and times that th

situations occurred and get statements from any er students, teachers or parents who may have served the bullying. This information may be usif police and school ofcials need to get involved

prove how long this has been going on and whatdamage has been.

Talk to teachers and the principal. Dont wait. Imdiately contact the school and alert school ofcial

the problems that your child is facing. Many scho


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are adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward bullying.Alert other adults about this situation as well, includingparents of other children and the bus driver. The morepeople who are aware of bullying, the more chanceshe act has of being stopped.

Put it in writing. In addition to talking directly to teach-ers and the school principal, put your concerns intowriting to the principal, the superintendent and school

board members. While many schools have adopzero-tolerance policies, some school ofcials

teachers may not take seriously their own schobullying policies, or for that matter, state laws reging bullying. Putting your concerns in writing sendstrong signal that you mean business.

Encourage others to speak up. If the same chilbullying other students, persuade parents to repo

too. School ofcials are more likely tospond immediately if they see the plem is affecting several students.

Call the police. Many states reqschools to report bullying incidents topolice, according to Findlaw.com. If ychild has been the victim of a physassault or repeated incidents of bullycall the local authorities - especialyour school has not contacted localthorities.

Talk with a lawyer. If your child has bphysically or sexually harassed conan attorney. Attorneys who speciain personal injury litigation are probbest suited to represent you and ychild.

To learn about the law and what to d

your child is being bullied, visit Findcom.



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