Estate Planning

What You Need to Know About Compensation After a Dog Attack

In California, dog attack cases are pretty open and shut. The owner is just about always liable for the damages caused. And most homeowners or renters insurance policies will cover the injuries under general liability. But here are a few things you should know:

• You can’t be a trespasser – If you are on someone’s property illegally and their dog defends the property, the homeowner is not at fault. You shouldn’t have been there. If you were invited onto the property or have another legal reason to be there, you have a right to your personal safety.
• The owner is responsible for anything that happens in public – Once the owner leaves home with their dog, they are now responsible for the dog’s behavior. The only exception would be if someone was behaving in a way that seems to be intentionally trying to taunt the dog into attacking.
• You only have a case if you get injured – Sometimes, a dog attacks just to scare someone, and they don’t bite or do any serious damage. If you don’t have medical bills resulting from the injury or other losses, then there is no case.

California’s Dog Bite Attorneys in San Diego

Petrov Law Firm has the experienced attorneys that you want in your corner when dealing with an insurance company to try and receive compensation after a dog attack. Give us a call today at 619.344.0360 to schedule a consultation and let our team help you get the compensation you deserve.

Estate & Gift Tax Exclusion Updates in 2022

Each year, the government reviews the amount of an estate or gift that remains untaxable. Most years, the numbers increase, and this year is no different. How much of your estate can avoid taxes in 2022, and what can you gift to loved ones without them having to pay takes on it? Here are the figures you need to know for 2022.

• The estate exclusion amount is increasing from $11.7 million to $12.6 million. This means that if your estate is worth less than $12.6 million, your beneficiaries should not have to pay any taxes.
• The 2022 gift tax exclusion is now $16,000 per person per year. Of course, there are ways to significantly increase this. For example, if you and your mate want to give a larger gift to your child and their mate, all you have to do is have each of you write a $16,000 check to each of them, and you can get away with giving them $64,000 in one year (and more if they have children with bank accounts).

Gifts can play an important role in estate planning as they can allow you to dispense part of a very large estate while you are still alive in order to reduce the estate amount to less than the exclusion amount.

Estate Planning Attorneys in Southern California

Of course, there are also applicable laws in the state of California. This is why you need a local estate planning attorney. Petrov Law Firm can help. Call our San Diego office today at 619.344.0360 to get started on your estate plan.

Tips for Care Following a Dog Bite

First things first: If you cannot confirm that the dog that bit you is vaccinated against rabies, seek medical attention immediately. There is no treatment for rabies once symptoms begin to show, so if you can’t be sure, you need to take the treatment as soon as possible following the dog bite. You will also require medical attention if you can’t stop the bleeding. If the dog is properly vaccinated, here are some tips to help you to keep the bite infection-free.

• Clean the wound with water and mild soap – Run water over the bite for up to 10 minutes to make sure all of the bacteria have been flushed out. Obviously, if there is too much bleeding, you will have to apply pressure to stop it. Use a clean cloth. Don’t just run water on a wound that is gushing blood. Take that to the emergency room.
• Bandage the wound – If you can get the wound clean and stop the bleeding on your own, it is now time to bandage the wound while it heals. Use an antibiotic cream to fight infection (some also help with the pain). Use sterile bandages and change them every few hours during the day and immediately when you wake up in the morning.
• If you see an infection starting to set in, contact a doctor right away.

Get Legal Assistance Following a Dog Bite in California

If you do require medical visits, stitches, missed workdays, or experience any other tangible losses due to the attack, contact Petrov Law Firm in San Diego. We can help you to recuperate these losses through a settlement with the owner’s insurance company. Call 619.344.0360 to get started today.

Reasons to Update Your Estate Plan After a Birth or Adoption

An estate plan is crucial for anyone with a family. Perhaps you had an estate plan in place before even having any children. If you have now added a new member of the family, whether through birth or adoption, here are a few things you should review on your estate plan.

• Adding a trust in the child’s name – You can set up a successor trustee who will be in charge of dispensing the funds for your child should you pass away before they turn 18 (or even after if you don’t want your child to have direct access and control over the funds).
• Naming a legal guardian – You don’t want to think about leaving a minor child behind, but if you and your spouse pass away at the same time, you need to be sure your child is well-cared for. Assigning a legal guardian for your child in the case of your untimely death is certainly a weighty responsibility.
• Consider updating your life insurance policy – Before having children, your life insurance policy may have taken into consideration your burial expenses and perhaps some additional funds to help support your significant other. Now, you need to think about the upbringing of a child. This will likely call for increasing the amount of insurance you have.

Estate Planning Attorneys in San Diego

Petrov Law Firm can help you to keep your estate plan up to date for all of the changes that come your way. Whether you’ve recently added a member of the family or recently moved to California, give us a call today at 619.344.0360 to learn more.

California Regulations Regarding Dog Bites

Did you know that more than 4 million dog bites occur each year? That may seem like a shocking figure unless you know that over one-third of households own one or more dogs in the United States. That makes up more than 76 million dogs. That’s more than one dog for every five humans!

While dogs are usually very safe pets, what happens when a dog attacks someone? In California, it is important to know the laws specific to this state. Here are a few regulations.

• Proof of negligence is not required – For most personal injury cases, you have to prove that the property owner was negligent. This is not the case with dogs. There is an implied risk.
• There is no “one bite rule” in California – Some states let a dog owner off the hook if the dog has never attacked anyone before. This law does not exist in California. The owner is liable for damages the very first time the animal attacks a human.
• The person who was attacked must not be responsible for the attack if they want compensation – If you are trespassing on private property or intentionally antagonizing a dog, then the bite is your fault, not the owner’s.

Legal Support for Dog Bites in California

Dog bite settlements are usually handled by an insurance company, and that means you are going to want an attorney, so you don’t get shortchanged on the settlement. Call Petrov Law Firm today at 619.344.0360 to learn what we can do to help.

Services Performed By Estate Planning Attorneys

If you hire an estate planning attorney, what are some of the services that you can look forward to receiving? Here are some of the vital estate planning services you can expect:

• Drafting a will – The most basic estate planning document is a last will and testament. Remember that estate planning laws vary from state to state, so you will need an experienced attorney in your state to prepare the document properly.
• Preparing medical care documents – Not all estate planning involves your wishes for after you die. Some involve your care if you become incapacitated. In this case, medical care documents can allow you to make decisions in advance and to designate a power of attorney specifically for medical care.
• Establishing a power of attorney – Besides medical care, you can also establish a power of attorney to care for specific financial matters or to be responsible for all of your financial decisions should you no longer be able to make them for yourself.
• Draft trust and other arrangements to avoid probate – If you want to keep the inheritance out of probate court for your beneficiaries, a will is not enough. An estate planning attorney can help you to establish trusts and learn other ways to keep your estate out of probate.

Estate Planning Professionals in Southern California

Petrov Law Firm in San Diego has the estate planning attorneys you can trust to draft your documents legally in the state of California. Whether you need to execute a new estate plan or update an existing one, give us a call at 619.344.0360 to get started.

How to Handle Medical Expenses Due to Injuries

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, a slip and fall, a dog attack, or in some other preventable way, the most important thing to do is to get the proper medical care. However, you may find that the bills are starting to pile up. Maybe the injuries were more extensive than you thought at first, or perhaps you were taken to a facility that this not covered by your insurance due to the location of the accident.

So how can you handle the medical expenses? The number one thing is to track all of the expenses closely. These bills prove that you experienced damages as the result of the accident. Now, it is time to hire a personal injury attorney in the state where the injuries occurred. This is vital because you will most likely be dealing with an insurance company.

Insurance companies hire people who are very friendly and charismatic as their adjusters. This gives you the sense that they are working for you and trying to get you the best payout possible to cover your losses. But remember: the adjuster works for the insurance company. Their job is to pay out as little as possible, so you should have someone who knows the law helping you to get what you truly deserve.

San Diego’s Personal Injury Attorneys

At Petrov Law Firm, we are committed to helping our clients receive the proper compensation for their losses. Give us a call today at 619.344.0360 to have an experienced attorney handle your settlement.

Teach Your Children How to Play Nice with Dogs

Millions of dog bites occur each year across America, and hundreds of thousands require medical attention. Some of the worst injuries occur in kids because dogs can quickly attack a child’s face, whereas they often go after the legs in adults. Here are some vital suggestions to help your children avoid accidentally provoking a dog.

• Teach your child the importance of introducing yourself to a dog by letting it sniff you before trying to pet it.
• Don’t leave a young child alone with a dog. This is also true at home. Even the family pet can bite if it feels anxious.
• Teach your child good manners with the pets of others. Not only is it rude to just walk up to someone else’s pet and touch it, but the dog may also view the approach as threatening. Speaking with the owner first to get permission will put the owner, and therefore the dog, at ease.
• Remind your child that there are times they should not try to pet a dog. Dogs are more likely to bite if you wake them suddenly or approach them while they are eating.
• Train your child to deal with a dog that is aggressive. For example, remind them to back away rather than turning to run.

Assistance After a Dog Bite Injury

Despite proper training, sometimes a dog bite can happen. When the injury was caused by someone else’s pet, you should receive compensation for medical bills or other losses. If you or a loved one has been injured in southern California, contact Petrov Law Firm today at 619.344.0360 to get the legal assistance you need.

Why Rabies Is a Legitimate Concern After a Dog Bite

Rabies is pretty rare in the US, especially among domesticated animals that are usually vaccinated. However, there is still cause for concern. Here are three reasons that rabies treatments are strongly recommended if you can’t confirm the vaccination status of a dog that bit you.

• Rabies does exist in every state but Hawaii – So you can’t completely write off the possibility that the dog you were bit by had this deadly disease. In fact, the only reason that very few rabies deaths occur in developed nations is because of treatment, not the fact that the disease doesn’t exist.
• You may not be able to tell if the dog has rabies – The classic stereotype is an animal that is foaming at the mouth. Unfortunately, this is a dangerous myth because only some dogs with rabies will experience this symptom. Most animals will just seem to have a case of the flu.
• There is no treatment after symptoms appear – We’re not trying to be alarmist, but there is cause for alarm when it comes to rabies. The issue is that once a patient begins to show symptoms, the disease is too far along to save a person. If you are not 100% sure the dog is vaccinated, you must be treated just in case.

Dog Attack Attorneys in San Diego

Petrov Law Firm has experienced attorneys who can help if you have been the victim of a dog attack and are beginning to see medical bills piling up. Give us a call at 619.344.0360 to get your case started today.

Why Do People Try to Keep Their Estate Out of Probate?

As far as the initial investment is concerned, it is cheaper to have a will and let your estate go through probate. So why do people spend the extra money to execute trusts and use other estate planning methods to cut out the court system as much as possible? Here are a few reasons.

• Probate court is public – A criminal could check the public records to see who inherits what and then target those people with scams, knowing that they recently experienced a loss and gained possessions of value. Keeping things off the record protects your beneficiaries and may help to preserve your estate.
• Probate court takes time – This is especially true if your will is contested. Your beneficiaries are not going to receive anything until the court decides who your estate rightfully belongs to. A vindictive person who was cut out of the will could tie the assets up for months or even years if they are they are able to make their case well.
• Probate court can get expensive – The longer your estate is tied up in court, the higher the court fees, lawyer fees, and executor expenses will climb. Your beneficiaries may lose out on far more than what you have to pay to take care of the paperwork now.

Get the Estate Planning Help You Need in Southern California

Petrov Law Firm has the experienced estate planning attorneys for you. Call 619.344.0360 today to get started on your plan or to update an existing one.