Chapmanville Legal Blog

Like the rest of the United States, West Virginia sees many car accidents every year, in part because the state is prone to inclement weather such as blizzards and freezing rain. However, negligent driving is another leading cause of car crashes. West Virginia residents who have suffered a personal injury as a result of another driver's negligence may want to take the issue to court, but proving negligence can be a complicated issue. First, it must be proven that the driver failed to exercise reasonable care.

Failure to exercise reasonable care is easiest to prove when there is dashcam footage available. Dashcam footage that shows a driver swerving in and out of their lane or following another vehicle too closely can go a long way toward proving that they were driving negligently. A driver might even be found negligent because they only had one hand on the steering wheel.

For people in West Virginia who decide to divorce, financial issues and disagreements may be some of the most common factors that lead to the end of a marriage. Disagreements about how to save or spend money or how to plan for the future may lead to long-term rifts, especially when one partner sees the other as controlling or irresponsible. These problems can be magnified when one spouse brings in a significantly higher share of the income as this can exacerbate feelings of inequality. At times, the higher-earning partner may also be more likely to neglect or exclude the input of the lower-earning partner.

These already tense financial issues may be exacerbated by social expectations about sex, gender and earning power. While women have made great strides in the workplace in recent decades, many still expect that husbands will continue to be the higher earner in relationships. This could play a role in undermining some relationships. One study indicates that couples where the wife earns more than the husband are 33% more likely to divorce.

Many people who have gone through a divorce in West Virginia feel a sense of relief once they have the divorce decree in their hands. They are ready to start their new lives. There are certain steps a person needs to take in order to ensure that his or her life really can start fresh.

The first thing someone who took his or her ex-spouse's name when he or she got married should do is change his or her legal name. This will require making phone calls, filling out paperwork and taking other necessary steps in order to change his or her name on his or her driver's license, bank accounts, Social Security card, passport and any other place where his or her married name was used.

Mass incarceration has become a hot-button political issue in West Virginia and around the country in recent years. Research into the consequences of placing millions of Americans behind bars makes for sobering reading, but the results of a study conducted by researchers from Cornell University have shocked even experts in the area. The Family History of Incarceration Survey was based on data gathered from 4,041 people by the University of Chicago, and it suggests that 45 percent of Americans have an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated child, spouse, sibling, parent or grandparent.

The Cornell researchers say that the figure, which is about twice as high as they expected, is the first accurate representation of family member incarceration in the United States. While the incarceration of a close family member was especially high among African-Americans, it was also quite common among Hispanics and whites. Siblings are the most likely family member to be in prison, according to the study.