San Diego, Orange County, Riverside & San Bernardino California Election Lawyer Discusses Campaign Election Finance Laws

Author: R. Sebastian Gibson

As this 2008 Presidential Election generates more interest than any election before it, and people from cities such as El Cajon, Carlsbad and La Jolla in San Diego to cities such as Newport Beach, Anaheim, Irvine and Yorba Linda in Orange County, from Santa Barbara to Ventura to Oxnard and Camarillo to Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Riverside, San Bernardino, Fontana and Fullerton to Palm Springs, Palm Desert and La Quinta want to know more about what they can contribute, both individuals and candidates have questions about campaign election finance laws and are looking for a California campaign election finance attorney who can advise them. 

Many people don't realize that in federal elections, the biggest source of campaign contributions comes from individuals. The second biggest source is political action committees (PACs).

Soft money is funds spent by organizations that do not expressly advocate support for or against a certain candidate and is money not contributed directly to an individual or a political party.

Bundling is the effort of one donor gathering donations from numerous individual donors and presenting that gathered amount to a campaign.

It is this last type of money, money raise through bundling that has in recent years been the subject of much abuse. Campaigns actively seek out bundlers but when they are accused of wrong doing, they can reflect badly on a campaign.

But when soft money became more difficult to run through corporations and other organizations, bundling became more important.

Political parties may contribute funds directly to political candidates and can make unlimited expenditures to support or oppose federal election candidates.

Contributions by individuals to federal PACs are limited to ,000. Federal multicandidate PACs can give ,000 to an individual candidate, and ,000 to a national party committee. Federal non-multicandidate PACs can give,300 to an individual candidate, and ,500 to a national party committee.

A multicandidate PAC is a political committee with more than 50 contributors which has been registered for at least 6 months and, with the exception of state party committees, has made contributions to 5 or more candidates for federal office.

Different rules apply to state and local elections. An individual intending to campaign for any elected office needs to know election finance rules and should consult with a political campaign finance attorney at an early stage in their campaign decisions and certainly at the first sign of trouble.

News Note - Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has set a new campaign contribution record with his announcement that his campaign fundraising efforts brought in 0 million in the month of September 2008. This gives Barack Obama a huge advantage which is reportedly allowing him to outspend John McCain by as much as 4 to 1 in some swing states. The campaign added 632,000 new donors for a total of 3.1 million donors to date. The average donor contribution to the campaign is .

If you have an election legal matter of any kind, we have the knowledge and resources to be your San Diego Election Lawyers, and Orange County Election Attorneys. For this reason, be sure to hire a California law firm with election lawyers who can represent you from Palm Springs, Rancho Cucamonga, Orange County, San Luis Obispo, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Anaheim, Irvine, La Jolla, El Cajon, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Temecula, Palm Desert, Yorba Linda, Carlsbad, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Murrieta, to Indian Wells and La Quinta.

If you have an election legal matter of any kind, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn how we can assist you. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/national-state-local-articles/san-diego-orange-county-riverside-san-bernardino-california-election-lawyer-discusses-campaign-election-finance-laws-612071.html

About the Author

The Sebastian Gibson Law Firm serves all of San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs and Palm Desert, the Coastal Cities from La Jolla, Carlsbad and Del Mar to Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and up to Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. We also serve the Inland Empire cities of Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Riverside and San Bernardino and all the cities in the Coachella Valley and high desert, from La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella to Yucca Valley and Victorville.

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com if you have an election legal matter of any kind. We have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your San Diego Election Lawyer and Orange County Election Attorney or your attorney in and around the cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, San Diego, Orange County, Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, Anaheim, Riverside, Chula Vista, Irvine, San Bernardino, Huntington Beach, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, La Jolla, Del Mar, San Marcos, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Garden Grove, Palmdale, Long Beach, Corona, Yorba Linda, Escondido, Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Victorville, Carlsbad, Temecula, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, El Cajon, Vista, Westminster, Santa Monica, Malibu, Westwood, Hesperia, Buena Park, Indio, Coachella, Del Mar, Oxnard, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Cambria and Santa Barbara.

The Difference Between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Author: Benjamin Yrungaray

Most consumers know bankruptcy can eliminate some types of debt, but they are unsure which type of bankruptcy to consider.  There are two types of consumer bankruptcy.  Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a type of personal bankruptcy and can be referred to as straight bankruptcy.  Chapter 13 bankruptcy is another form of personal bankruptcy and is often referred to as reorganization bankruptcy.  While the purpose of both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 is to help the debtor get back on their feet, each form of bankruptcy accomplishes this in very different ways.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: Eliminate Qualifying Debt

In 2005, the United States Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) which changed the eligibility requirements for Chapter 7.  The most significant change resulting from BAPCPA is the Means Test.  To qualify for Chapter 7 under the Means Test, a person’s income must be less than the median income for their community.  The easiest way to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy under the Means Test is if your average income over the past six months does not exceed the median income for your location.  Contact a qualified attorney to determine whether you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 will not, however, discharge the obligation to pay secured debt.  To keep property where there is an outstanding loan on that property, the bankruptcy candidate  must complete a reaffirmation agreement.  For instance, many clients have a car payment and do not want to give up their car.  By reaffirming the debt, they can keep the car but must continue to make payments on the loan after discharge.  The same principle applies to real estate property.  Chapter 7 bankruptcy will not eliminate the responsibility to make monthly mortgage payments.  However, many indi viduals can save their home by eliminating credit card debt in order to afford mortgage payments.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Reorganizing Debt

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is designed for individuals with large amounts of debt who do not qualify for Chapter 7.  The distinguishing feature of this type of bankruptcy is the Chapter 13 plan.  The debtor and his attorney develop a Chapter 13 plan and the trustee and creditors approve the plan.  Under the plan, the Chapter 13 debtor must pay back a portion of outstanding debt over a 3-5 year period.  During this time period, creditors cannot contact or harass the debtor.  Once the debtor has completed the plan, the court will grant a discharge of some or all of the remaining debt.

To qualify for Chapter 13, an individual must have unsecured debt below $336,900 and secured debts below $1,010,650.  While Chapter 13 does not eliminate secured debt like Chapter 7, it has the added benefit of modifying or stripping down certain secured assets.  For example, if the individual owns a home with both a first and second mortgage and the value of the first mortgage exceeds the current value on the home, you may be able to strip off the second mortgage.  Such a strip down is one of the features of Chapter 13 to consider when determining which type of bankruptcy is best before filing.

Both Forms of Bankruptcy Provide Relief

Contact an attorney to discuss your options and determine which type of bankruptcy, if any, is right for you.   If you wish I can be reached at http://www.firstsourcelaw.com for a free evaluation of your situation.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/bankruptcy-articles/the-difference-between-chapter-7-and-chapter-13-bankruptcy-1730502.html

About the Author

Benjamin Yrungaray handles bankruptcy and loan modification cases at First Source Law. He is a member of the state bar of California (#256224), Pennsylvania (#208558), and New Jersey (pending). He lives in Orange County and works for Higbee and Associates law firm.

Preventing Orange County & San Diego California Charter & School Bus Accidents - a California Bus Accident Attorney’s Guide

Author: R. Sebastian Gibson

If you or your children have been injured in a school bus or charter bus accident or who simply ride a school bus anywhere in California from San Diego, CA, to Orange County, from Santa Barbara to Ventura or Oxnard, from Santa Ana, Irvine or Anaheim to Fullerton, Fontana, or Yorba Linda, or from Rancho Cucamonga or Ontario to Palm Springs, Indio, Coachella or Palm Desert (though we expect the rides are much shorter than that) you probably wonder from time to time how well your children are being looked after with care and how bus drivers are hired. School bus drivers have a lot to do to ensure the safety of their passengers and one additional factor can result in an accident.

School bus accidents, because of their precious cargo, are no laughing matter. But as every parent knows, where kids are involved, despite a parent's best precautions, trouble often follows as certainly as dirt and grass stains.

Charter bus accidents have commonly been in the news in a different type of situation - many recent crashes have been promotional bus trips taking gamblers to casinos. In either situation, the results of a crash can be horrific.

Today, many parents lose time from work, and completely disrupt their schedules just to drive their children to and from school, rather than to allow them to risk the dangers of walking to school or being passengers in school busses. And yet, many adults will ride a casino bus with absolutely no knowledge of whether the bus driver has been vetted, and whether he or she is properly licensed to carry passengers.

Here's a sampling, taken to the extreme, of how bus accidents can happen.

Busses so overloaded they could make it into the Guiness Book of Records.

Bus drivers operating on no sleep due to staying up all night for their medical marijuana license exams.

Novice bus drivers or drivers more experienced in street racing than school bus driving.

Police chases of school or charter busses.

Busses equipped without properly maintained brakes in order to save cost.

Drag racing of busses.

Bus drivers racing to meetings with their parole officers.

Unlicensed or improperly licensed bus drivers.

Bus field trips gone awry with stops for beer.

Bus road rage.

In actuality, bus accidents do occur due to overloading, speed, the use of drugs or alcohol, aggressive driving, poor maintenance, sleepy drivers and drivers with police records that should never have been allowed behind the wheel.

But bus accidents of any kind can also occur without the driver being drunk or on drugs, when it later comes out in an investigation that the bus driver simply wasn't properly licensed and on parole, as in a recent casino bus crash that took the lives of nine people and injured many more.

If you have a child who has been injured in a school bus accident, or if you've been injured in a charter bus accident, speak with an experienced bus accident lawyer who can investigate if any of these factors were the result of your injuries or your child's accident..

News Note - On October 1, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger banned motorists from texting, writing or reading messages on electronic devices. The law goes into effect January 1, 2009.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/preventing-orange-county-san-diego-california-charter-school-bus-accidents-a-california-bus-accident-attorneys-guide-603265.html

About the Author

Sebastian Gibson graduated cum laude at UCLA in 1972 and received two law degrees in the U.S. and the U.K., graduating with an LL.B. magna cum laude from University College, Cardiff in Wales and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in Southern California.

Visit our website at http://www.californiaattorneyslawyers.com If you’ve been injured in a school bus or charter bus accident or lost a loved one, we have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your Orange County Bux Accident Lawyer and San Diego Bus Accident Attorney or your attorney in the areas surrounding the cities of Ventura, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs, Twentynine Palms, Indio, La Quinta, Mission Valley, San Marcos, Escondidio, Palmdale, Mission Beach, San Diego, Orange County, La Jolla, Del Mar, Carlsbad, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Corona, Yorba Linda, Orange, La Habra, Mission Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Camarillo, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Tustin, Buena Park, Anaheim, San Bernardino, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Temecula, San Luis Obispo, Oxnard, and Fullerton.

California Respa Attorney Warns That Respa Imposes Severe Penalties On Realtors And Lenders Who Violate The Kickback Provisions

Author: R. Sebastian Gibson

RESPA

For thirty-five years, RESPA has confused people in the real estate industry and attorneys alike. In 1974, Congress enacted RESPA, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act primarily to address abusive practices, promote greater understanding to homebuyers and to prohibit practices such as kickbacks or referral fees that result in higher costs.

Efforts began in earnest in 2008 to reform RESPA and on November 17, 2008, HUD published its new 341-page RESPA final rule. Though published in the Federal Register, there is a one year implementation period and mandatory compliance begins January 1, 2010. Now RESPA is about to confuse the real estate industry once again, this time perhaps even more so with respect to its prohibition against kickbacks and fee splitting with questions of how those prohibitions will be enforced.

If you have been the victim of a violation of RESPA in California and have been improperly charged as a result of such a violation, or if you are in the real estate industry and are facing RESPA litigation visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com and call us at any of the numbers easily found on our website.

RESPA Prohibition of Kickbacks

RESPA was created in the first place partly because various types of entities involved in the purchase and sale of real estate such as Realtors, lenders, construction companies, and title insurance companies were often engaged in providing undisclosed kickbacks to each other, thereby causing the costs of real estate transactions to become inflated.

RESPA was designed to prevent kickbacks not just in California, one of the states with the greatest number of foreclosures in this current economic crisis, but throughout the U.S. But RESPA has been criticized for failing to prevent what it was meant to prevent. Lenders and others in the real estate industry in California, for instance, still see customers go with the default service providers associated with a lender or Realtor, even though the documents the homebuyer signs explicitly state they can choose any service provider they wanted.

However, Section 8 of RESPA quite explicitly and forcefully prohibits a person from giving or accepting a fee, kickback or anything of value for referrals of settlement service businesses relating to a federally regulated mortgage loan. It also prohibits fee-splitting or a person from giving or accepting any part of a charge for services that are not performed.

RESPA Penalties for Kickback Violations

Violations of Section 8's kickback, referral fee and unearned fee provisions subject a person who violates RESPA to criminal and civil penalties. In criminal cases, a person in violation of Section 8 cam be fined up to ,000 and imprisoned for up to one year. In a civil lawsuit, a person in violation of Section 8 can be liable to the person who was charged for a settlement service an amount equal to three times the amount of the charge paid by the person for the service, and for the person's attorneys fees. Individuals have one year to file a complaint to enforce violations of Section 8 in federal court in the district the property is located or where the violation occurred.

Without oversimplifying Section 8, a real estate agent in California or anywhere in the U.S. may not offer nor may a real estate agent accept anything of value for referring business to a settlement provider such as a mortgage banker, mortgage lender or title company or to a friend who refers the agent business. Realtor to Realtor referrals are excluded and there is a contract for such referrals that is enforceable. It is probably still acceptable to take such contacts out to dinner, discuss business and thank them for their support, but that is about as far as one can go.

With all that has happened in the mortgage industry in California and throughout the U.S. that has led to the current economic recession (and some would call it a depression), anyone criticizing the kickback and fee-splitting prohibitions should remember the excesses in lending to unqualified homebuyers that led us to the situation the financial industry now finds itself.

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com and call us if you have been the victim of a violation of RESPA in California and have been improperly charged as a result of such a violation, or if you are in the real estate industry and are facing RESPA litigation.

Entities who are found to have formed sham joint ventures for the purpose of evading the Section 8 prohibitions risk potentially millions of dollars in damages and attorney fees as well as criminal charges and imprisonment.

If you believe you have been the victim of a violation of RESPA in California and have been improperly charged as a result of such a violation, or if you are in the real estate industry and are facing RESPA litigation, we recommend that you consult with our California RESPA law firm immediately.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/california-respa-attorney-warns-that-respa-imposes-severe-penalties-on-realtors-and-lenders-who-violate-the-kickback-provisions-784285.html

About the Author

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com if you have been the victim of a violation of RESPA in California and have been improperly charged as a result of such a violation, or if you are in the real estate industry and are facing RESPA litigation in California. We have the knowledge and resources to be your California RESPA Lawyer and California RESPA Attorney or anywhere in Southern California.

Process Serving - California

Author: David G. Hallstrom, Sr.

Section 415.20 (b) of the California Civil Code Of Procedure
States: If a copy of the summons and complaint cannot with
reasonable diligence be personally delivered to the person to be
served, as specified in Section 416.60, 416.70, 416.80, or
416.90, a summons may be served by leaving a copy of the summons
and complaint at the person's dwelling house, usual place of
abode, usual place of business, or usual mailing address other
than a United States Postal Service post office box, in the
presence of a competent member of the household or a person
apparently in charge of his or her office, place of business, or
usual mailing address other than a United States Postal Service
post office box, at least 18 years of age, who shall be informed
of the contents thereof, and by thereafter mailing a copy of the
summons and of the complaint by first-class mail, postage
prepaid to the person to be served at the place where a copy of
the summons and complaint were left. Service of a summons in
this manner is deemed complete on the 10th day after the mailing.

Most process servers understand dwelling house or usual
place of abode to mean the actual place where the person is
currently staying. It has, however, been our experience that
this means the official residence or place where the
person is currently staying. We have found that most courts
consider the dwelling house to be where the person is currently
staying and the usual place of abode to mean the persons
permanent residence, ie: the person lives with his parents but
is currently away at school. The persons dwelling house would be
where he is currently staying while in school and his usual
place of abode would be his parents house where he returns on
vacations and when school is on break and where he expects to
return when he finishes school. The same applies if the person
is currently in the hospital, away on a business trip or is on a
vacation.

Usual place of business can mean different things. Say a
person works every day in a factory on 8th St., that of course
would be a usual place of business. Say a Doctor is on staff and
shows up for work regularly at ABC Hospital. He also rents
office space from a doctor's group at another location where he
also sees paitents. It has been our experience that both places
could be considered the Doctors usual place of business.

Usual mailing address other than a United States Postal
Service post office box. Usual mailing address can be a private
mail box service or any other place (Other than a U.S Post
Office branch.) that the subject uses as a mailing address. This
does not mean that the person must actually pick up or receive
the mail. It only means that the person must use the address as
a mailing address. Some people in order to evade creditors or
others give out mailing addresses but never pick up the mail. If
a person directs people to send that person's mail to a certain
address then that address can be considered a usual place of
mailing as the server would have no way of verifying that the
mail is actually picked up.

Competent member of the household does not mean family
member. It means anyone who resides at that residence, including
full time live in nannys, maids, gardeners, friends, etc.. As
long as the person resides ther full time they can be considered
members of the household.

Person apparently in charge does not mean, as some
process servers believe, a manager or officer of the business or
place of mailing. It means "the person apparently in charge. If,
at an office, the receptionist will not let the process server
see anyone else in the office, then the receptionist is the
highest person in charge that the server can serve. If the only
person who works at a mail box service says that he or she is
only a clerk, that person is still the person apparently in
charge.

Serving a complaint in a gated community or security
building where the security guard will not allow entrance.
On May 28, 1992, in the case of Robert Bein vs Bechtel-Jochim,
the California Court Of Appeals held that a guard gate
does constitute part of the dwelling and therefore the
guard is a competent member within the dwelling. The court
reasoned that if a process server is not permitted to proceed to
the actual residence, then the outer bounds of the actual
dwelling place must be deemed to extend to the location at which
the process server's progress is arrested.

Reasonable diligence has been interpreted differently in
different jurisdictions, however, we have found that if three
attempts are made at least eight hours apart and if at least two
of those attempts are made at the address wher the papers are
served then a substituted service on the fourth attempt is
usually considered valid.

The foregoing information is not given as legal advice. It is
instead given as information and opinion gathered and developed
through experience over the last thirty years. David Hallstrom
is the owner of Hallstrom Detective Agency and although the
agency no longer offers process serving services, it has,
through it's servers, completed service of several hundred
thousand legal documents. Although the author believes the
information to be accurate no guarantee is made or implied.

Permission is given to reprint this article providing credit is
given to the author, David G. Hallstrom, and a link is listed to
Resources For
Attorneys the owner of this article. Anyone or any company
reprinting this article without giving proper credit and the
correct link, is doing so without permission

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/process-serving-california-1730.html

About the Author
David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and
currently publishes several internet directories including http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com a
legal and lifestyle resources directory for attorneys, lawyers
and the internet public.

In real estate cases, the enforcement of a deed of trust may require the court to appoint

Over the last two years, tens of millions of people have learned far more about loan modifications than they ever thought they would.

Mortgage Resolution Services Launches Website, Services for Bay Area Homeowners

Mortgage Resolution Services, an attorney-based loan modification company, is set to reach hundreds of Northern California homeowners this week with the launch of their new website, http://MortgageResolutionServices.com.

The San Francisco Bay Area mortgage firm assists borrowers facing foreclosure by guiding clients through the loan modification process, offering forensic loan audit reports through National Loan Auditors and providing referrals for legal services through Liz Koepke Law Office. Mortgage Resolution Services utilizes a reliable, well-developed approach for helping homeowners through challenging loan workouts, including thorough case assessments and document submission management.

With a mutual goal of helping homeowners avoid foreclosure, Mortgage Resolution Services has united with National Loan Auditors (NLA), the nation

The California State Senate has passed Senate Bill 94 (

New Yorkers tend to complain about the high cost of auto insurance, especially in New York City. But at least New York City has the subway system. It is extremely comprehensive and you can actually live without a car in the Big Apple. Spend some time tooling around Los Angeles however, and you've got a different situation entirely. Yes, there is a metro in the city of angels, but it is not nearly as comprehensive as the one in New York and worse, with the sprawl that is Los Angeles, you really cannot get around easily on public transportation.

Add in the obscenely high unemployment rate of 12.2% caused by the Great Recession and you have a serious problem. What you need is cheap California auto insurance. And you need it right now.

Now, before you decide to try illegal tricks to make your payments lower, you need to be aware that doing so will void your insurance should you get into an accident, thereby leading to potential bankruptcy and garnishing of your wages or even worse, possible jail for insurance fraud. So yes, your brother-in-law's friend's cousin's girlfriend might have gotten a better deal by registering her car in Wyoming and then driving around on Rodeo drive, where she lives and works (and why exactly someone who lives and works in that area needs to get cheaper insurance, we don't know, but that's another column entirely), but if the insurance company can prove she really was living in California, she is going to be in some seriously deep trouble.

That said, there are ways to get cheap California auto insurance. First, you need to know the minimum coverage requirements. The bare minimum that the law requires you to carry for liability coverage in California is 15/30/5. This is a pretty minimal number which basically means you need to be able to cover $15,000 of damages to anybody in the other car, $30,000 of damages over-all (i.e. two people could get $15,000 each, 3 could get $30,000, etc.) and just $5,000 for coverage of damage to the other car itself. With the cost of health care, not to mention the expensive cars out in California, this is next to nothing. So yes, you can get away with this. But make sure that you have no other assets if you do.

If you own a home, if you have savings, IRAs, retirement accounts, etc. they can be attached if your insurance is not enough to cover the damage you cause. This is likely not going to happen however if you happen to have nothing worth going after. But it is a concern. Please note that this advice is not to be construed as being of a legal advisory nature and the author does not purport to have any legal qualifications whatsoever. The advice should be taken at face value and checked with a qualified attorney if you intend to rely on it.

Once you've decided how much coverage you need, the best way to find cheap California auto insurance is to look online. The cost of coverage can vary by hundreds of dollars from one company to another and it pays to shop around. Either that or actually move to Wyoming. I hear Cheyenne is a lovely little town.