The affect of identity Internet theft, or any identity theft is pervasive, hard to counteract and often devastating.

In identity theft, the perpetrator takes over the identity of a victim by stealing her or his private information - things of a critical nature such as driver’s license, social security number, bank account number, or the number of her or his credit cards. How this identity theft, Internet or otherwise has an affect on the victim is to potentially see the ruination of credit as the thief illegally obtains loans that he or she fails to pay or opening credit card or merchant accounts that once again he or she fails to pay. To keep this identity theft fraud going as long as possible the thief also changes the billing addresses for these accounts so the victim is unaware of the unauthorized transactions as long as possible.

What these identity Internet and other thieves often do to affect this address change is to put in a phone change of address at the post office.

To counterbalance the affect of Internet identity theft, or to head it off before it even happens, it’s first and foremost important that you give out your social security number sparingly, never record your debit or ATM card pin numbers, shred all important documents before you dispose of them, and at least once a year ask for and carefully study your credit report. You should order and review the reports from all three major credit reporting bureaus - TransUnion, Experian and Equifax.

Source:

http://www.gartner.com/5_about/press_releases/pr21july2003a.jsp

Ed Torres

Kidshealthadvantage
Backhandsprings

According to the United Nations survey (2004), life expectancy in Canada in 2002 was 79.3 years, compared to 78.9 in Norway, 80 in Sweden, and 79.1 in Australia. Other countries considered to have “low human development”, have a life expectancy of 48.5 years (Mali) and 46 years (Niger). Canada is one of the countries with the highest life expectancy in the world.

In relation to economic indicators, Canada is also considered one of the best countries in the world. For instance, the GDP per capita in Canada in 2002 was US$ 29,480, compared to US$ 26,050 in Sweden and US$28,260 in Australia. Countries which are considered to have “low human development” had a GDP per capita of US$1,020 (Kenya) and US$1,390 (Uganda).

Life expectancy in Canada is the world’s highest at 79 years. Canada has moved ahead of the United States in overall rankings and it is getting again closer to the number one spot.

1. Norway
2. Sweden
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. The Netherlands
6. Belgium
7. Iceland
8. United States
9. Japan
10. Ireland

Canada has one of the cleanest environments in the world. Being the 2nd largest country in the world, with a population of over 30 million, most of the country’s land is unspoiled by industrial development. It has some of the cleanest and purest air, water, and natural resources in the world.

Canada also has one of the best Health Care systems in the world. For a monthly fee, Canadians have access to one of the best medical care available. This is an advantage not only for Canadians, but also for Permanent Residents.

The education system in Canada is also one of the most competitive. Education is free until Grade twelve and tuition for University for immigrants with Permanent Resident status is approximately one fourth of the regular fee for foreign students. The public school system in Canada is extremely effective and it provides excellent Elementary and Secondary education programs.

Another advantage of Canada is its cultural diversity. Thousands of immigrants from all over the world arrive to Canada every year to start a new life. Therefore, the country has a very multicultural society, and this fact represents a great advantage for new immigrants, since Canadians are very friendly with people from all different backgrounds. Canada was built up over more than one hundred years by immigrants from all over the world, and Asians have played a role in Canadian society. This fact has resulted in equal opportunities in business, academics, and even politics. Asian communities have been established in Canada for more than a century. Actually, two of the largest Asian communities outside Asia are in Toronto and Vancouver. In most of these cities, Chinese newspapers, Television, and Chinese groceries are available!

In summary, Canada is one of the best countries in the world for you and your family to start a new life. Canada is the best option for your children’s future!

Immigration Options

Every year, Canada welcomes thousands of new permanent residents from all over the world to start a new life. This fact represents an excellent opportunity but it is also a great challenge that requires effort and dedication in order to achieve the objective of immigrating successfully.

Canada offers a number of options to immigrate in order to apply for permanent residence status. This guide focuses mainly in the first option, which is applying as a Skilled Worker. As shown in the following graph, more than fifty percent of all immigrants that have been granted the Permanent Residence have entered through this scheme.

However, I will explain briefly the other alternatives.

1. Skilled Worker Class Immigration

In order to fill employee shortages, Canada constantly needs skilled persons from diverse backgrounds. To immigrate under this scheme, the applicant should have education, work experience, knowledge of the official languages in Canada (English and/or French), and other relevant factors. Applicants with substantial work experience and academic qualifications are far more likely to immigrate under the Skilled Worker scheme.

2. Business Class Immigration

This scheme seeks to promote economic development in Canada by attracting successful business people. Business immigrants considered for this category are mainly people that are able to invest in, or start businesses in Canada. This program seeks to attract people experienced in business to Canada in order to support the development of the economy. The Canadian government encourages prospective business immigrants to invest in the country. As a result, foreign business people often find Canada to be an excellent place to invest capital. Business immigrants represent approximately 10% of total immigrants.

Alex Berezovsky is author of the now-famous book Step-by-Step Canadaian Immigration. A book that helps potential immigrants apply for the Canadian Visa on their own. For more information, go to: http://www.stepbystepimmigrationcanada.com/inside2.html

Quick
Bully Dog Triple

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is slow because of using this SVD method to create concept spaces. LSI assumes that there is some underlying or latent structure in word usage that is partially obscured by variability in word choice. So, a truncated Singular Value decomposition (SVD) is used to estimate the structure in word usage across documents. Retrieval is then performed using the database of singular values and vectors obtained from the truncated SVD. Data shows that these statistically derived vectors are more robust indicators of meaning than of individual terms.

SVD and LSI are least-squares methods. The projection into the latent semantic space is chosen so that the representations in the original space are changed as little as possible when measured by the sum of the squares of these differences. The projection transforms a document’s vector in n-dimensional word space into a vector in the k-dimensional reduced space.

One can conclude or prove that SVD is unique, that is, there is only one possible decomposition of a given matrix. Because SVD finds an optimal projection to a low dimensional space, that is the key property for word co-occurrence patterns.

Jose Nu?ez is a Scientific SEO/SEM Specialist, PHD in Computer Engineering Technology. He also also owns and operates Search Engines By Hand an online resource focusing on Search Engines (SE) and Artificial Inteligence (AI)

Jewel Series Topaz
Computersk

China, in 1979, implemented the policy restricting the number of children a family can have to just one child.

Unfortunately, a lot of controversies have stemmed from this policy. The Chinese people have been accused of doing everything from abortions to cannibalism in the wake of this government policy.

Also stemming from this policy is the ever-increasing incident of parents abandoning young daughters.

In China, sons are more valued, as tradition holds sons as the heirs of a bloodline.

However, you should know that the one-child-policy is no longer enforced in some places. This does not significantly affect, however, the number of daughters abandoned each year.

One solution the Chinese government has developed is the china adoption program.

While most countries would be difficult to deal with in cases of international adoption, the China adoption program has made a very clear-cut and easy to follow roads in these international adoption cases.

The government has specifically formed different agencies in order to help out with the China adoption program.

Some other countries have opened such similar adoption programs only to shut them down because of some problems. However, the China adoption program has been continually operating ever since 1996.

In China adoptions, there are some requirements that potential parents must fulfill in order to be considered eligible.

First of all, China adoptions work with parents at least 30 years and not more than 60 years old at the time of the adoption.

Parents who are 45-50 years old can adopt children who are 1-3 years old, while children 4 years or older may be adopted by couples 51-55 years of age.

You also need a basic income of 10 thousand dollars annually plus an additional annual income of 10 thousand dollars for every person in the family, including the child.

China adoptions also require that the couple be married for at least six months and have lived together.

If you already have 4 children, you will need to contact a China adoption services agency in order to determine whether or not you will be allowed to adopt yet another child.

If you have already adopted a child from China, you would have to wait a year before you can be considered eligible for another adoption.

If you have a birthed child, though, you will have to wait until he/she is six months old until you can submit an application for China adoptions.

If the parent is single, China adoptions usually work with single women 30 years of age.

If you are, in fact, single, you need to be certified a heterosexual. If you are living with a housemate, you need to complete a home study that describes your relationship with the housemate in detail.

You need to certify that the housemate is heterosexual. China adoptions also require that the housemate present different documents such as a medical examination and police clearance.

The China adoption program, of course, depends upon the number of children available. You need to contact an agency in order to make your China adoption a bit easier.

The china adoption agency can make things easier for you by becoming your contact to the China adoption program. There’s some travel required in China adoptions, and a agencies can help you maximize your usage of that time.

Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner of http://www.justadoptiontips.com. Visit Jeanette’s site to learn more about china adoption.

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What is worse, as more people realize the American dream they too will become unwitting victims.

As this tax is enshrined in Law all citizens of the United States are subject to it.

You and your family will suffer this Tax if you become even moderately successful.

An eminent Lawyer has stressed that the root of the problem is the public’s ignorance of the facts and the steps they need to take to CANCEL- OUT their share of the Tax

The document that follows will lead you through the steps you must take to make sure your family is saved from the ravages of this tax which will strike when you are least able to defend yourself.

The irony is it will cost you little or nothing to do it.

A spouses and partners, Survival Document

I am presenting this report to stimulate you into taking the action necessary to protect your loved ones from unnecessary hardship at the time of your death. Because most people do not like to face the thought of their own death and even less to discuss it with their partners many fall into the trap of estate duty and misdirection of their assets when they die.

Making a will and estate planning do not hasten your death but these actions will dramatically reduce the intense shock to your family caused by your lack of preparation for the inevitable .

I urge you to read the contents, and when you get to the questionnaire, answer the questions and then give your questionnaire to your spouse or partner and ask her/ him to do the same.

If you find that both you and your spouse/partner can say yes to all the questions, you are to be congratulated on your foresight.

If however you can’t, or your answers differ from those of your spouse/partner,

The irony is it will cost you little or nothing to do it.

A spouses and partners, Survival Document

Introduction

Any authorised professional such as an independent financial adviser or a solicitor will be well aware of the problems associated with an untimely death, and of the devastating effects caused by the lack of planning.

They will be able to highlight the benefits of proper planning and illustrate for you how to reduce the economic and also the emotional distress to your family when the inevitable occurs.

The rules of Intestacy

When a person dies without a will, (intestate), their assets are distributed in an order of priority, and whilst that order does include the deceased’s spouse (in many circumstances). it does so only in respect of some of the assets.

In this situation an unmarried partner often fares worse than a married spouse.

The surviving spouse, always inherits the personal chattels, i.e. the car, the jewellery etc, but not necessarily all the money, investments and savings.

Where there are surviving children of the marriage the spouse is entitled to only 75,000 pounds but any items from a business are excluded.

If there are assets in excess of this figure then any surviving spouse is entitled to a Life Interest in one half of the residue, which then passes on to the children on the death of the surviving spouse.

The other half of the assets pass to the children immediately.

Where there are no surviving children, the surviving spouse, is allowed up to 125,000 pounds, plus the personal chattels, plus one half of the residue of the estate, whilst the other half of the estate passes to any parents or brothers and sisters of the deceased.

Where there is no surviving spouse, a complex set of rules, determines the distribution of assets to the relatives.

Because of the rise in house prices, many people now have estates worth in excess of 75,000 pounds or 125,000 pounds and in these circumstances the absence of a will is a recipe for financial disaster.

Note:- information on the rules of intestacy are subject to amendment, and the figures are subject to increase by the retail price index.

Jointly held property is a major cause of confusion, because there are two ways in which property can be jointly owned i.e. as joint tenants or as tenants in common (tenants in this instance means owners).

If the property is held as joint tenants (many houses and bank accounts are held in this way) then on the death of one of the joint tenants, the half share cannot be disposed of by a Will, as it automatically accrues to the survivor.

Property held as tenants in common, can be freely disposed of by a will.

A Valid Will

To be valid in English law, a Will must comply with the following

1) A person must be 18 to make a will.

2) They must know what he /she is doing .

3) They must take account of any moral or legal obligations to beneficiaries.

4) The Will must be in writing and signed at the end of the document in the presence of two witnesses (who must both be present at the same time).

5) Both witnesses must sign in the presence of the person making the Will.

Care over the choice of witnesses

Since it is not possible for a witness to benefit under the Will, witnesses must be chosen carefully. Husbands and wives of beneficiaries cannot be witnesses to the testator’s signature.

What happens if a beneficiary dies before the testator?

If you benefit somebody in a will and they die before you do, the gift becomes void. If the gift is a specific one, the asset forms part of the residuary estate. However, if the gift was a share of the residue, then the rules of intestacy will decide who inherits. This makes it very important to review a will, in the event of the death of one of the beneficiaries.

Change of Will

A Will has no effect until the person or testator dies. Until that time comes, it is only a declaration of intent and as such, can be altered, amended or revoked at any time before death occurs.

It is possible to revoke a will in any of the following ways :-

1) By destroying it.

2) By making a new Will or adding a codicil.

3) By marriage, divorce or subsequent remarriage.

Deeds of family arrangement

A “Deed of family arrangement” is a way of re writing a will after the death of the testator.

This is allowed for, in section 17 and 142 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984.

This of course, requires the agreement of all the beneficiaries and must be done within two years of the death of the testator.

It is not possible to obtain inheritance tax relief on a second deed of arrangement, which seeks to vary, a former deed.

It is therefore important to use these tax planning instruments properly at the outset.

If the client has considerable assets, a large number of beneficiaries or complex asset holdings where there is a need to exercise control after the death, it may be much more sensible to use the Will to set up a Trust or several trusts to give effect to more sophisticated financial planning. Instead of bequeathing all the residuary estate to a spouse, it may be better to give a Life Interest. This does have the advantage that it is possible to ensure that the children eventually benefit.

Some people are concerned that the remaining spouse may remarry, and that the property may then pass to the new spouse, and thereby defeat the children’s interests.

It is possible to give a spouse, a life interest that terminates in event of remarriage. Flexibility can be incorporated by including powers to make loans to the spouse to deal with any future problems of hardship or special needs for capital.

The death of both the spouses/partners together

Professional help

Clients are strongly recommended to consult a solicitor to draw up a Will rather than try to do it themselves. The cost of making a Will can be quite modest, unless the client has complex financial affairs. Having made a Will, it is essential to update it every few years.

It is said that solicitors take more fees from writing the wrongs created by do-it-yourself wills, than they do in preparing an original

Estate Planning

Estate planning should be directed not only at the reduction of taxes, but also at the basic human needs for peace of mind, adequate money and freedom from fear and ignorance. Too little estate planning is actually accomplished. Only 7% of those whose families would benefit from planning actually do it. The vast majority of people will probably die without having made a will. Even when planning is accomplished, the usual result is incomplete and fragmented. Estate planning fails to satisfy the human needs if it does not include the involvement and education and preparation of the surviving spouse or partner.

The objectives of estate planning

1) The efficient disposition of assets under current legislation

2) A plan to transfer assets via gifts, trusts and wills as appropriate.

3) Adequate cash to meet known and anticipated needs, particularly on the death of the breadwinner

4) Minimisation of taxes.

5) Durability including the management of the property and business interests of the breadwinner after death.

6) Compassion to satisfy, not only the material, but also the emotional needs of the spouse and children.

Items one to four are usually part of most estate plans, but items five and six are necessary to provide a solution that will not lead to a fragmented incomplete and painful result.

The odds are three to two that a woman will survive a partner or spouse if they are of the same age and these odds are increased greatly for each year the husband’s age exceeds the wife’s.

In America, women own 52% of all quoted shares and about 65% of all private wealth. Women are the beneficiaries of 60% of all life policies, they inherit 68% of all estates and bequeath 40% of all taxable legacies, but it is estimated that 80% of widows have run out of benefit from the life policy proceeds within one year of their husband’s death.

One third of all husbands die from an accident that occurred, or an illness that commenced less than 24 hours prior to their death, leaving little time for desperation planning.One out of every six women over 21 years of age is a widow, the average age of a widow is 55 years, proving this situation is not confined to older women.

Widows bear the tragic brunt of neglected, inadequate and mistaken estate planning. Women suffer from a lack of involvement, ignorance, a lack of ability, and lack of good advice until it’s too late.

When a husband or partner dies, the spouse experiences two kinds of shock.

Emotional shock and Security shock.

Emotional shock at the loss of a loved one can give rise to deep depression and feelings of guilt or remorse. Strong support from children, family, friends and church are essential at this time.

Security shock first strikes, when a widow discovers there is insufficient cash for their own and the family’s needs. Then, it builds up and as they discover they are responsible for the problems of probate, business, investment and taxation decisions, without the requisite knowledge or experience to cope with these problems.

Compounding security shock on top of the emotional shock at the loss of a loved one creates really intense shock for the remaining spouse/partner. Security shocks can be eliminated,– if the spouses involve each other and their families in the debate and the decisions on the following matters:-

Adequate money to meet known the future needs

Money will do two things for a surviving partner that no other shock absorber can do.

First it pays estate debts such as taxes and protects other assets: an estate,

the business and a home.

Second, it permits a family to go on living with comfort and dignity.

Wives particularly should be concerned about the needs for money upon the death of their husbands/partners, because as widows they may have the problem of raising it or doing without it.

The question is simple– should the problem is solved by the wife and husband/partner together–or solely by the widow?

An understanding of estate planning concepts

The main reason for neglect is the failure of people to understand what estate planning is and how they may achieve its benefits.

These are the essential elements of estate planning.

1. a) The fact-finding stage.

b) Problem identification

c) The solution

2. The six objectives of estate planning as outlined previously.

3. Estate planning is an activity for the living, not just a death related activity.

4. Estate planning is essential for both small and large estates.

5. Both husbands and partners belong on the estate planning team.

6. A periodic estate planning review is desirable.

7. Time is the most critical raw material of estate planning and family security.

A widow’s probate role

Wives are not interested in estate planning but every widow is desperately interested in it.

If a wife understands what she will have to go through in a probate, she may become interested. The actual functions/procedures and steps in routine probates break down into three categories :-

The functions that have to be performed by solicitors.

The functions to be performed by an executor.

Those functions in which the widow and family should be involved and participate. Some of these functions include major matters or decisions such as the drawing up of a list of the assets; the sale of the business; the sale of property; raising money for Taxes, settling professional fees; insuring the estate assets, and the settling debts/mortgages.

Once a wife takes the time to learn what probate is, how it will affect her and what her role will be, she will become vitally interested in good estate planning.

The action and information necessary to cushion the shock of the death of your spouse/partner.

Up-to-date Wills

The shock of intestacy and its resulting problems is one of the most frequent and disastrous of all estate planning tragedies, particularly for large estates– resulting in inadequate assets for a wife, costly and cumbersome guardianships and other serious problems.

Be warned :-

if a spouse acts as a witness to the other spouses/ partners Will, in which he/she is a beneficiary, the Will is invalid.

It produces considerable shock for a widow, when it has to be explained to her that the Will is invalid, and that she will only be entitled to a greatly reduced portion of her husband’s assets.

An informal estate-planning letter from the husband/partner to the wife

The letter may discuss the location of important documents, also who the wife should consult for advice in various areas, what securities or assets should be retained and which should be sold, the wishes expressed to a widow and children, particularly to wives and daughters about remarriage.

Information about properties and management of the same,

a list showing the desired disposition of properties having sentimental value and information relating to such important matters, as domicile, gifts and remaining pension benefits.

The effective use of Trusts.

There are some wives, who may not have the desire or the ability to manage properties or to assume the many of the functions which burden widows.

In these situations, the extremely flexible and effective tools, known as “trusts” can be utilised to relieve the widow from these burdens.

Business problems and arrangements.

One of the most difficult problems in administering estates, and often a great burden for a widow, is whether certain business interests, (including ongoing business or business properties) are to be retained or whether they are to be sold. If they are to be retained, what will be the source of the money to pay the tax and who will manage the business interests?

Also if the business interests are to be sold, are there any existing agreements?

Unfortunately too many businessmen leave these unresolved problems on the shoulders of their widows.

A businessman should decide whether his business interests are to be retained or whether they are to be sold. Thereupon, the husband should arrange solutions to implement the decision. If the business is to be sold the best person to negotiate a potential sale is the husband, while he is living, not the wife in an atmosphere of tragedy or perhaps in a forced liquidation.

Taxes, gifts and property concepts.

At the outset of the planning procedure, a list of assets should be drawn up and the current value of the estate should be calculated.

This should then be projected forward at regular intervals to reflect the rise or fall in value through growth and inflation.

Adequate insurance.

Often it is not possible to give away assets during one’s life in order to take advantage of inheritance tax gift allowances. The solution in such cases is to make provision for cash to be available to pay the tax and leave the assets intact for your beneficiaries.

This is where life-insurance is the ideal answer to provide the money when it is needed in the most cost-effective way

When insurance is being considered for estate planning, attention should be given to disability insurance, as a loss of income through injury or sickness can destroy the wealth created from a lifetime of work.

A documents file should be created

The most common complaints of widows during probate is the lack of organisation and ready availability of documents, data, accounts, records, tax returns etc.

The file should include:

1. Estate planning review– a schedule of appointments for estate- planning reviews.

2. Location list– a complete list showing the exact location of all important data and documents.

3. Wills — include copies of wills for both spouses/partners.

4. Estate-planning letter– include a copy of the informal estate planning letter

5. Trusts — include copies of the client’s trusts.

6. Life assurance list — include a complete list of life assurance policies on the life of the client and his spouse/partner, together with a description of their location.

7. Business agreements — include copies of the business agreements.

8. Deeds — include copies of deeds to properties owned by the client and or spouse.

9. Other documents — include copies of the other estate-planning documents such as affidavits, powers of attorney, etc.

10. Estate-planning facts — include a copy of the estate-planning fact-find questionnaire that was used in conjunction with the plan.

The documents portfolio is a complete estate planning data-bank. It is an organiser, a questionnaire for husbands and wives and a checklist and motivator.

It is Your Spouses/Partners, Survival Kit.

Taxation and other estate planning problems cut across and affect more lives and activities than any other economic concept.

Estate-planning is the only means available to the individual to defend his property freedoms– his rights to accumulate, enjoy and transmit properties to his loved ones, and his rights to protect property from the ravages of neglect and taxation.

Now make two copies of the questionnaire that follows.

Complete one copy yourself by answering yes or no as appropriate and ask your spouse/partner to complete the other. Wherever your answers are different you need discussion where the person who answered Yes needs to inform the other of the right answer,

Where you both answer No you both need outside help. This may come from reference books or a specialist Lawyer or Financial Advisor etc.

Be advised; take action, while you still have the time.

Your Tax Mitigation Checklist

Copy this for each spouse/partner

Each person to answer these questions separately from their own Knowledge

Fulfilling this questionnaire and providing Yes answers will not only resolve the tax problem it will also reduce the emotional stress upon the death of one of the spouses/partner.

Question

Have you discussed with your spouse/partner

the requirement for money in the event of his/herDeath? Yes—– No—

Have you taken account of the following needs?

Access to immediate cash during probate. Yes—- No—

Liquid funds to meet the estimated estate tax. Yes— No—

Ongoing income for the remaining

spouse and family. Yes— No—

Education cost for children

if applicable. Yes— No—

I understand the need for Estate planning and the need for me to be and remain involved in it. Yes— No–

I understand the need for periodic

revue of our plans Yes— No—

I am aware of the things I have to do for Probate and the decisions I will have to make Yes— No—

I know the advisor I should consult in the event of my Spouse’s/partner’s death for the following advice

1) Legal. Yes— No—

2) Banking Yes— No—

3 Life Insurance Yes— No—-

4) Business/accounting Yes— No—-

I have a current and complete will and my

spouse/partner knows where the original is kept Yes— No—

I have a letter from my spouse/partner, that tells me his/her wishes for the disposition of his/her assets and effects.

Yes— No—

We have discussed how our debts will be met ie:-Mortgage, Inheritance tax, expenses, etc. Yes— No—

I am aware of the ways to reduce tax through Lifetime Gifts and the division of assets between spouses, etc. Yes— No—

I am aware of the need for Disability insurance should one or other of us become disabled. Yes— No—

We have completed a file of all the necessary documents, such as our Wills, insurance policies, marriage certificates

Medical cards, pension, investments, bonds,etc, and I know where it is kept. Yes— No—-

I am aware of the emotional trauma that the death of my Spouse /partner will bring and I have thought how to support myself emotionally and physically. Yes— No—

Business Owners

My spouse/partner has discussed their business interests with me and I know about the following

If the business is to continue I am aware of the Continuation plan including future manage and the settlement of shares and taxes. Yes— No—

If the business is to be sold I am aware of the Agreements and theirlocation. Yes— No—

I am aware of the plans to continue or sell the business and the role I have to play in it Yes— No—

End

Don Westacott

Toysq
Asaleaza

Legal nurse consultants are medical insiders who know the inner workings of our complicated healthcare system firsthand. Their professional expertise as an RN and a legal nurse consultant qualifies them to provide the following services:

Assessing Medical Records and Analyzing the Case

* Identify, locate, review and interpret relevant medical records, hospital policies and procedures, other documents and tangible items.
* Organize, tab and paginate medical records for easy reference.
* Prepare chronologies of the medical events involved in a case.
* Summarize, translate and interpret medical records.
* Identify issues of tampering with the medical records.
* Screen medical malpractice cases for merit.
* Identify, locate, summarize and interpret applicable standards of care.
* Identify adherences to and deviations from these standards.
* Identify causation issues, assess damages/injuries and identify contributing factors.
* Identify and recommend potential defendants.
* Develop written reports for the attorney’s use as study tools.

Supporting the Attorney’s Case

* Search and summarize medical and nursing literature and integrate results of your search into case analysis.
* Analyze the validity of research studies relied on by all parties.
* Coordinate and attend independent medical examinations.
* Help in developing life care plans.
* Expand the attorney’s medical library.

Serving as the Attorney’s Liaison

* Interview plaintiff and defense clients, key witnesses and experts.
* Consult with healthcare providers.
* Meet with other consultants and service providers on the attorney’s behalf.

Working with Experts and Other Witnesses

* Identify types of testifying experts needed for the case.
* Find and communicate with appropriate expert witnesses for deposition and trial.
* Analyze potential experts’ reports and other work product.
* Help prepare witnesses and experts for deposition and trial.
* Serve as an expert witness and testify to the nursing standard of care.

Assisting with Discovery and Preparing for Court

* Prepare questions for deposition or trial examination (direct or cross).
* Prepare interrogatories and requests for production.
* Review and draft responses to various legal documents and correspondence for the attorney’s signature.
* Analyze and summarize depositions and past testimony.
* Assist with exhibit preparation and other demonstrative evidence.
* Attend courtroom proceedings when relevant.
* Coordinate and assist with facilitating focus groups and mock trials.
* Assist in resolution of cases through alternative dispute resolution, such as arbitration and mediation.

Vickie Milazzo RN, MSN, JD

Dietnowx
Kel

One of the most important factors when hiring outside counsel is to do your homework, know the law firm, as well as what they represent. After all, establishing a secure relationship is a win-win situation for both parties. To ensure you work with the right outside counsel, you will need to measure services offered with price, communication, responsiveness, professionalism, and areas of expertise. Today, we see many large (and small) corporations consolidating services with outside law firms as a means of tightening up operations, and with great success.

Okay, so what is the key to success when looking for and securing outside counsel? The formula is not difficult but it is precise. For starters, look for a law firm that wants and values your input. The foundation of a strong relationship is two-way communication. The firm should actively keep you abreast of changes, and concerns. However, communication is not simply conveying information but also listiening. In other words, if outside counsel does not take the time to listen to the client, to hear and understand potential risks and goals, then the relationship will never work.

Law firms should take the time to learn about your company’s technologies and capabilities. For example, every company has different needs. Whether legal support and advice, technology, or software choices, a law firm needs to take the time to understand the client, their business, the competitive threats and the opportunities. In this way, outside counsel would not only have a comprehensive understanding of your business but also your specific requirements to run that business. Outside counsel should also be fully vested in your financial interests. Their work plan should include ways to cut costs for your company while adding to or maximizing profitability. A good law firm committed to serving your needs, can add value to your operations by identifying ways that you could better utilize your internal systems, as well as their services.

Good legal counsel can also aid you in growing your business. They would teach you about implementing systems, marketing, and using tactics for surviving against your competitors while also providing support in legal matters. Keep in mind that even if you were to find a law firm you liked, as a best practice meet with three, four, or five outside firms to make sure you choose wisely. A good law firm will show you ways of thinking outside the box, and using innovation to drive business results.

Taking time to understand and clearly articulate your needs will facilitate your evaluation of options for outside counsel. You will develop a very specific set of criteria which you can use to objectively measure potential law firms. Doing so will ensure that not only have you chose a firm that is competent but one that partner with you in your business to achieve your specific goals. Being able to clearly communicate with your law firm will not only enable you to effectively evaluate them but will also set the tone for what will hopefully be a long term, mutually beneficial partnership.

Richard A. Hall is founder and President/CEO of LexTech, Inc., a legal information consulting company. Mr. Hall has a unique breadth of experience which has enabled him to meld technology and sophisticated statistical analysis to produce a technology driven analytical model of the practice of law. As a busy civil trial attorney, he was responsible for the design and implementation of a LAN based litigation database and fully automated document production system for a mid-sized civil defense firm. He developed a task based billing model built on extensive statistical analysis of hundreds of litigated civil matters. In 1994, Mr. Hall invented linguistic modeling software which automatically reads, applies budget codes, budget codes and analyzes legal bill content. He also served as California Director and lecturer for a nationwide bar review. Mr. Hall continues to practice law and perform pro bono services for several Northern California judicial districts.

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William A. Keleher had an intimate relationship with Elfego Baca (born in 1865, died in 1945), a legendary lawyer, lawman and politician in the closing days of American wild-west. Keleher met him during his reporter-days. The colorful New Mexican figure had something very common with Keleher - They were both versatile and multi-faceted individuals. Baca was born when the American civil war was about to be finished. His father was a marshal. Baca, at the tender age of 19, declared himself deputy sheriff in Sorocco County after he stole some guns and managed a sheriff-badge. He wanted to put an end to the anarchy in his local territory. He also operated a detective agency and theorized in real estate among other activities. William Keleher was his attorney and good friend. One day, Baca came to Keleher’s house and demanded to see him. Her wife, Loretta responded by saying that he was sick in bed. Elfego Baca insisted to see him by saying that it was about his wife (Ms. Baca). Loretta was pretty curious. She said it is unusual for him to be so intimidated since Mr. Baca is a bold character, even killing many men without much trouble. In reply, Baca just shook his head and said Loretta did not know Ms. Baca! This is just one of the innumerable stories involving Keleher and Baca. The Kelehers’ personal archive has Elfego Baca’s briefcase and five postcards that were signed by him.

One of the most important developments in Albuquerque in Keleher’s times was the Hilton Hotel by the great Conrad Nicholson Hilton who believed that the place was destined for great things. The ten-story building was completed in 1939. Conrad was an American hotelier who founded the Hilton-Hotel chain. Coincidentally, he belonged to the same place as Elfego Baca (Sorocco County). Conrad N. Hilton, too, was known to William Keleher. It is believed they met in one of the countless social events that both of them used to attend.

William A. Keleher, was a prominent figure in New Mexico. Due to his diverse work and philanthropic activities, he met many people in his life. Among them, there were legendary people like Elfego Baca, Conrad N. Hilton and some others, who played an important role in history. Like Keleher, their names are also remembered even today with great respect.

One may wonder how these friendships became known to the world today. The answer is pretty simply actually. The Kelehers recently donated the entire William Keleher collection to the University of New Mexico (UNM). Such magnanimity is unequivocally praiseworthy since many unknown things about William Keleher have been divulged to the world lately. Among them was the tale of friendship that you just learnt about. One of the family members said that the children and the grandchildren are less likely to find any interest in them at the moment; however, in the future, they will certainly be. The Keleher family and their connections to the prominent figures of the society would have not been revealed to the world if these materials were not found in the first place. As historians use the documents to develop a greater understanding, more information regarding William A. Keleher’s influential friends will be divulged.

Keleher authored some of the premier works on the Southwest:Purchase the Books of William Keleher at http://www.williamkeleher.com in .pdf format online.

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We asked ourselves these questions as our foundation’s Board reviewed the grant requests from these families. When most people hear the term ‘adoption,’ we tend to think about couples faced with infertility, or couples who are trying to put their step-families together to strengthen their family bond. These first three grant requests to The Orphan Foundation bore no similarities to those stereotypical images.

The Smith Case - California

Madeleine Smith, the first recipient of an adoption assistance grant from our Foundation, is a very interesting woman. She describes herself as having a big heart, with an even bigger pile of bills. When she found her way to our Foundation, she was in the process of adopting Dang Jian, a “special needs” child from China. The name she chose for the 4-year old boy is “Elijah.” She describes Elijah as a wonderful child who loves to play outside, and is especially fond of toy cars. His fifth birthday will be in December, so she’s planning a very big celebration when he arrives.

But that is only a small piece of the story. Dang Jian was placed in the “special needs” category by his China orphanage, and given to an adoption agency in Oregon to place. Dang Jian is missing his right ear, which is accompanied by marginal hearing on that side. Adding to that malady are various urinogenital and colorectal problems. These factors, along with his age, also put him in the “hard-to-place” category of adoptions. And what does that mean? He was given this one last chance to be adopted before he would be permanently institutionalized in China.

If China and the adoption world considered Elijah’s problems as significantly daunting, why would a single mom struggling to grow a start-up music services business, step in to rescue him? Good question. But wait, there is still another page to this story.

Elijah will be Madeleine’s third “special needs” child that she has adopted! And she also has a 22-year old college student son, Donovan. Madeleine’s other adopted children include her 7-year old son Michael, from Bulgaria, and her 3-year old daughter Hana, from Guatemala. And just to make this random act of love more difficult on her, Madeleine decided she had to move from her 2-bedroom apartment to a 3-bedroom apartment to make sure that there was enough room for Elijah in his new home.

Madeleine discovered Dang Jian, when a friend emailed her that she saw Dang Jian’s story on an adoption agency’s website, and described his impending fate. Madeleine found out that someone had put up an anonymous donation to help offset part of the adoption expenses, and that started Madeleine’s wheels in motion. With domestic adoptions averaging $18,105 currently, and almost double that internationally, due to travel costs, document translations and other country specific requirements, this was the opening break she needed. This was her chance to give Elijah a home, and she’d worry about the rest of his living and medical needs when he was in her care.

Madeleine has since arranged for the UCLA Craniofacial Center to replace Elijah’s missing ear. All she wanted from The Orphan Foundation was enough money to finish her legal paperwork with the State of California, get the legal documents translated into Chinese and certified, and have enough left over to pay her travel expenses to China to bring “Elijah” home.

When we asked her why she was doing this, she simply repeated what she said earlier - she has a big heart. The only anchor on that big heart seems to be that big pile of bills she’s managed to build in the process. Our Board could not have agreed more, and voted unanimously to grant her the money.

The Cancilla Case - California

Mary and Warren Cancilla, along with daughter Annalise, seemed truly overjoyed about 6-week old Harrison’s arrival. Harrison would be that new brother for Annalise, and the perfect one boy, one girl family would arrive in a small, quiet California town. However, this family portrait turns out to be a bit more unique than that. Harrison was born with Down syndrome, with the added rare heart complication called tetralogy of Fallot.

Mary, a sign language interpreter, told us that they had been on the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati’s waiting list for 2 years. This seemed hardly a “spur of the moment” decision. When the association called to tell the Cancilla’s that Harrison’s mother decided to give him up, and they were on the top of the list to receive a Downs syndrome child, they were overjoyed that their long wait was finally over.

What did they want from The Orphan Foundation? Just some financial help with their adoption costs so that they could free up some money for the medical needs that Harrison will be facing.

Another unanimous vote, and another unnoticed random act of love from just a regular kind of family who chose to love a very special boy.

The Buckley Case - New York

When we talked with Lorraine Buckley she told us all about the incidents that led up to their finding Abrous, the brother of one of the two girls that they had already adopted from an orphanage in Liberia - an orphanage that had been overrun by soldiers during Liberia’s deadly civil wars. A badly beaten orphanage director managed to save the children from harm, by convincing the soldiers that some of the children might be their own. The soldiers confiscated all of the orphans’ food, but allowed the children to vacate the orphanage. The children walked for two days in search of shelter, with at most, a handful of rice for each day of their journey. The UN came to their rescue, and stepped in to provide them with blankets and food. Eventually the orphanage reopened, but everything was completely destroyed, including the children’s beds and toys.

Now what was the connection and motivation that moved the Buckley’s to adopt these two young girls in the first place? Lorraine’s dad was doing some volunteer work to build a home for an old Air Force buddy, who had later turned to missionary work. While swapping time with other contractors to save his buddy money, Lorraine’s father met yet another missionary family in the area. That family had already adopted one of the children from that Liberian orphanage, by the name of George. George had been spared from the attack on the orphanage by being in the US on tour with the Liberian Boy’s Choir. It took a year for George to get up enough courage to ask the missionary family to try to find his sister, who was also living in that orphanage. The family was in shock. They never even knew he had a sister! The family agreed immediately, found his sister Mala, and brought her to the States.

When the Buckley’s went to visit Lorraine’s parents during the December holidays of 2004, they also met the other missionary family, and the reunited siblings, George and Mala. The plight of these children thrust them into motion. Mala asked the Buckley’s if they would help find her two roommates from the orphanage, Patience and Naomi. The Buckley’s not only found them, but by October 2005, the girls were on their way here to their new home with the Buckley’s in New York.

As fate would have it, when Lorraine’s father and husband went to pick-up the girls, Naomi’s parents brought her brother Abrous to the Liberian orphanage when they came to see Naomi off. Abrous’ parents asked that the Buckley’s take Abrous as well as his sister Naomi. It was not safe for any of them in Liberia, and the parents were not only living in abject poverty, their situation was made even worse by Abrous’ father being severely injured in a work accident. But in that first round of adoptions, the Buckley’s only succeeded in bringing the 7 and 9 year old girls back to New York. Abrous had already been relinquished to the orphanage, but he was on a waiting list to get in, and of course there was the mound of official paperwork required, and all the money that had yet to be raised. Imagine that - on a waiting list to get into an orphanage!

When they brought the two girls home to New York, Abrous returned home with his parents to wait for an opening at the orphanage. Luck finally prevailed, and at the end of August, Abrous was one of 100-plus children admitted to the orphanage. The Buckley family immediately went into motion trying to raise the money they needed to rescue Abrous, and once again, they reentered the adoption process. Nearly 14 months later, in December of 2006, their documents were finally clear to send to Liberia, and the monies were almost all in place to cover the country fees and other adoption costs. As of July 2007, they are still waiting for word on the case, and final passport clearance. The Buckley’s are hoping that the adoption petition is either in the Liberian courts or will be there very soon.

What did they want from The Orphan Foundation? Financial help to complete the adoption. The families were all asked to go through the same United States adoption agency, which resulted in additional processing fees of $1,800. The Buckley’s were now running out of sources to tap for quick financial help, and were becoming more anxious and desperate in the eleventh hour of Abrous’ rescue. Another unanimous vote from the Board, and another lost child in the world was sent a lifeline.

These were definitely not the stories that we expected to see in our first three grant requests. Where was that stereotypical family that was starving for a child of their own, but left barren by some cruel twist of biological fate? Where was that known connection between the parties that used adoption to solidify a new marriage and family? These weren’t childless parents looking to fill an empty space in their heart, or stepparents coming in to secure the bonds of their new family. These were a whole new breed of parents, with a whole new agenda and view of life.

Our 12-person Board looked at each other in astonishment. We just could not get our heads around this left-turn in our world views. We were seeing entirely different passions at play, complete with an unfaltering commitment to see the long arduous adoption process through to the end, so that they could then begin on the really hard part of all this - raising children with some very special needs.

We told all three of these families that they are the real heroes out there. Forget Superwoman, Batman, and Spiderman. Meet Madeleine, the Cancilla’s, and the Buckley’s. These are the kind of quiet heroes we pass on the streets each day, and had no clue that they even existed. They’re made of the same mettle as those courageous people, who rush into burning buildings to save children, rescue a fallen soldier from enemy fire, or run down a thief who snatched an old woman’s purse. And then they want to quietly disappear behind their private lives, shying away from the cameras and lights of a press eager to exploit their bravery and courage. These families don’t even seem to know what all the fuss is about. Wouldn’t all of us do the same?

Perhaps it was that small quote, nearly hidden at the top of our home page that led them to us (www.TheOrphanFoundation.org):

“We ask that you not judge our success in terms of “bottom lines.” Instead, we ask to be measured by the number of “lifelines” we extend to the homeless children of this world.”

Perhaps we were never alone in our mission to find these children a family to love them, to cherish their worth, and to give them hope. Either way, bear witness to the birth of a whole new breed of family. Meet the new “tutelaries of hope,” the real guardians of our world’s children. They know no bigotry, no deception, nor bias of thought that would ever prevent them from the simple act of loving a child that would otherwise be lost to the world. We think this is a bright and shining light in the distant skies, and we choose to call that light “hope ascending.”

Author’s Footnote: The semi-official orphan count is now estimated at 143 million children around the world. UNICEF estimates that there are another 20 million children in the “displaced children” category. These are the child victims of armed conflict and human rights violations. If we considered these combined categories of children as a nation, their population would rank them as the 7th largest country in the world. Please help us by donating your time or money to our mission to find these children a home, and equally important, by discussing adoption in your circle of family and friends. Currently, we are run by an all-volunteer force of dedicated people, which means 100% of your donations will go to help families adopt. Please go to www.TheOrphanFoundation.org for more information.

Joe DiDonato was ordained “The Godfather of Education” by Oracle and was a double-nominee for the CLO of the Year in 2006. Joe and his wife Tatiana are the Co-Founders of The Orphan Foundation. Visit them at http://www.TheOrphanFoundation.org.

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Utility of Account Data capture Software

Several companies like Kofax , ReadSoft , AnyDoc and Abbyy manufactures data capture solutions specifically developed to convert all the paper based documents into data to sent to the accounting or ERP systems. Large corporations have seen its utility which has increased efficiency of their accounting departments and achieved significant productivity gain in processing their accounts payable and accounts receivable data. Small business cannot afford the cost of the software. Most of the small companies use software just to scan their paper based accounting documents and manually enter the accounting data into their accounting or ERP system.

Reason for not using Account Data capture software

Beside the cost of the sophisticated software other utilities are

* 1. Licensing Fee for the software (User based or CPU based access)
* 2. Hardware upgrade to install the software
* 3. Training for your employees
* 4. Software support and maintenance

Thus it becomes unbearable for small company to buy this software. Moreover your accounting or ERP system must have a compatible interface with the software otherwise it may not run. Sometimes the software couldn’t identify the scanned hand made documents for which sometimes your have to work manually. Software vendors embraced OCR and ICR technologies into their product to capture the account data accurately from the scanned images, they’re still long way to go to remove the manual process. So still a long way to go to remove manual work.

Thus big companies using an account data capture solution can affordable it and they can justify the cost of managing it. But for small companies it is not an affordable solution and their in-house manual process is not cost-effective and efficient.

So what is the way ouy from here?

Outsourcing to different offshore vendors help a lot to get account processing documents converted to your account or ERP systemThey can use their existing infrastructure to send the data to offshore location securely through Internet to be processed by the offshore vendor. For more details on how the process works read Cybelink Secure BPO They don’t have to change their unique way of management of accounts department

Only change is instead of small business personnel offshore vendor is responsible for converting all the account data from the scanned images to the accounting software or ERP system.

After receiving the scanned images, following are the typical tasks performed by the offshore vendor.

* 1. Use automated and manual process to extract all the data like invoice number, invoice date, and check number from the images.
* 2. Hardware upgrade to install the software
* 3. Enter extracted data to small business accounts software
* 4. Perform other accounting operations like Invoice preparing, Bill payment, and Check Printing in the small business account software.
* 5. Export the work from the accounting software to a file.
* 6. Send the file to the small business to import it into their accounting software for verification.

Once they receive the finished files from the offshore vendor, they can import it into their accounting or ERP systems for verification and further processing it.

Small businesses can achieve several benefits from using offshoring accounts payable and accounts receivable services; cost of processing their paper documents will decrease by 50% to 60%. The cost saving does not come free, small businesses needs to overcome issues like offshore security and offshore outsourcing cultural issues. But by carefully managing their offshore vendors small businesses can gain the cost reduction and operational efficiency in their accounts payable and account receivable operations.

Mani Malarvannan is cofounder of Cybelink, a company specializes in small business financial and accounting outsourcing like Bookkeeping, Tax, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, etc. For more info visit http://www.cybelink.com

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