| Volume 22 Number 13 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
An Advanced Directive, commonly called a "living will" gives you the right to make your own decisions regarding whether to die a natural death or be kept alive by artificial means after being diagnosed with a terminal condition. For a free copy, Click here for more.
Get Income Tax Refund Status
The IRS will give you the status of your income tax refund. Click here for more.
Consumer Reports' Secret Shoppers Have Lots of Explaining to Do
Jon is not his real name. He won't reveal his true identity because he is a member of an underground network of nine full-time and 85 freelance shoppers working for Consumer Reports. In 2006 (last year's numbers aren't available yet), CR tested 3,377 products, drove 85 cars, purchased 572 tires, washed and dried 192 wrinkle-free shirts, and prepared 470 pounds of mashed potatoes. According to the magazine's rigid ethics code, it all has to be bought by secret shoppers. The cost is considerable: In 2006, the advertisement-free magazine spent $2,849,349 on cars alone. Click here for more.
How Travel Insurance Works
The question of whether or not to purchase travel insurance isn't easily answered. Some people throw caution to the winds and never get any insurance at all, much less travel insurance. Of course, these same folks may end up in debt for life if they're ever in a disabling accident. Travel insurance poses some new questions -- some vacations are low risk and cost very little money and therefore probably aren't worth insuring. A vacation that includes hang gliding on a remote island during hurricane season, on the other hand, may be worth insuring. If you're prone to injury, illness or flat-out bad luck, you might want to consider insuring your trip as well. Click here for more.
Beware of Tax Rebate and Refund Scams
As part of the economic stimulus package, millions of American taxpayers will receive billions in rebate checks this spring after they've filed their taxes. Consumer advocates say they always see tax refund scams this time of year, but the additional tax rebate check is like chum in the water to attract the scamming sharks. Click here for more.
Your Money
How do I maximize returns on my CDs? Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Convenience checks constitute a transfer of property. A Bankruptcy Appellate Panel has held that convenience checks drawn on one credit cared account to reduce balance on another credit card account qualified as transfer of interest of debtor in property, with result that trustee could recover payments as preferential transfers. Click here for more.