by Alan S. Kopit, Chair, ABA Standing Committee on Public Education

How do you get your information? If you're like a lot of us, you often cruise the Web, flitting happily from website to website. Here's a link that looks interesting . . . that leads to this cool website . . . that takes you to one that looks even better. It's fast and fun, but does it give you the best insights and guidance? Maybe yes, maybe no. One problem with the Internet is that you don't always know who's behind a site, or when the information was updated, or if it was accurate in the first place. The Internet is a great source of information—and, unhappily, of misinformation as well.

In the work I do on television as a legal affairs commentator, I'm impressed by how much Americans want to know about the law, and by the sophistication and understanding behind many of their questions. But I'm constantly amazed at how much misunderstanding there is—about matters that are crucial to every family's well-being. That's why this book is so important. It's an authoritative reference that you can count on. It has the resources of the nation's premier legal organization—the American Bar Association—solidly behind it.The authors are experts in their fields. They range from law professors to practicing lawyers, from staff of not-for-profit organizations specializing in a particular legal area to ABA staff members and legal journalists who have a particular talent for conveying information about the law in a style that readers can easily understand.

Revising an earlier edition of the book, the authors have added hundreds of brand-new entries, and have reviewed every entry, updating them so that you'll have the latest and best information. The authors worked under the guidance of the ABA's Standing Committee on Public Education. This group, which I have the honor to chair, contains experts on reaching out to the public and explaining the law in reader-friendly ways. Our members and our staff include teachers, university educators, law professors, writers and journalists, and others with special expertise in the challenges and opportunities of conveying clear and accurate information about the law to nonlawyers. For more than thirty years, the committee has been a national leader in helping students and the public learn about our rights and responsibilities under the law. Finally, every word in the book has been reviewed by ABA members from all over the country, who have collaborated to ensure that it contains the most accurate, up-to-date information possible. Practicing lawyers know the kinds of legal issues and problems people have—people like you. With their help, we've fashioned a book that answers the questions you're apt to have, in language you can understand.

How This Book Can Help You

This book covers the law that affects all of us every day. In nearly four thousand easy-to-understand question-and-answer entries, it will help you

• buy or rent a home;
• get a mortgage, refinance your home, or try to get the best deal possible on a credit card;
• order products online, or over the phone, or from a catalog;
• buy or lease a car;
• work at your job;
• start and operate your business;
• understand your rights to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other benefits; and
• devise an estate plan that will provide for your family, protect you if you become incapacitated, and save you as much as possible in taxes.

In this book, we provide guidance that will help you decide if you need a lawyer and, if so, how to find one that's right for you, and right for your budget. We give you tips on what to ask in your first interview, what various fee structures mean, and what your rights are as a legal client. And we give you insights into how the legal system works, how a case moves through the system, and how you can protect your rights at every stage. We also look at some specialized situations you might find yourself in, such as the need to

• recover from debt, and
• protect your rights if you're involved in an accident.

No one wants to be in such financial trouble that bankruptcy is a possibility, but this book helps by explaining what your options are, how you might get out of debt trouble without bankruptcy, how to find a lawyer specializing in bankruptcy if you decide to go that route, and what steps you need to take if you file for bankruptcy. We give you special tips on how you can preserve as many of your assets as you can, and how you might be able to save your home. We also cover personal injury law. Of course, you hope you'll never be injured and forced to seek damages, but in this book we tell you what your rights are and how to enforce them. We give you tips on finding a personal injury lawyer and provide insights into how the system works and what options you'll have. We also look at personal injury from the other side—how you can limit your personal injury liability as a driver and homeowner.

Two New Chapters: Computer Law and Health-Care Law

In the years since the first edition of the book, the world has changed greatly. Not only does this revised edition incorporate new material into every chapter included in the first edition, it adds two new chapters to give you help in areas of life that are increasingly important. Chapter 17 covers heath-care law. Health care accounts for a huge and growing share of the national economy—and of most people's budgets. We give you help on dealing with health insurance claims and HMOs, and explain your rights to medical coverage. We explain how the law affects almost every aspect of the doctor-patient relationship, from rules guaranteeing your privacy to your rights to informed consent. And we look at how the law is dealing with such new developments as reproductive technology.

Computer law is covered in chapter 10. Ten years ago, the Internet was just getting started, and personal computers were in just a tiny fraction of the nation's homes. Now more than half the country is wired—and the law is struggling to catch up. We look at such evolving issues as online purchases and doing business online, computers on the job (how much privacy do you think you have?), Internet issues like spam and viruses, law enforcement and the computer, and how to protect your kids in their online activities.

Written with You in Mind

In writing this book, we worked overtime to take the mystery out of the law. We begin each section with anecdotes drawn from real life, then follow with a question-and-answer format that enables us to explain the law and your options in terms that you can easily understand. The answers aren't abstract—they try to point out how the law affects us every day, and what practical steps we can take to assure that our rights are protected. You won't find legal jargon or technicalities here—just concise, straightforward discussions of your options under the law. Within chapters, brief special sidebars alert you to important points.

• Sidebars with this icon 3 give you practical tips that could be of benefit to you.
• Sidebars with this icon g provide key additional information.
• Sidebars with this icon m give you warnings about potential pitfalls that you can navigate with the right information and help.
• Sidebars with this icon 4 provide clear, plain-English definitions of legal terms.

At the end of each section, a feature entitled "The World at Your Fingertips" advises you where to go for free or inexpensive materials to find more information on a topic. Most of these free resources are on the Internet—but you can be sure of them because our experts have vouched for them. Another concluding feature of each section, entitled "Remember This," highlights the most important points that section has covered. At a glance, you'll know the key information.

How to Use This Book

As the table of contents shows, each chapter covers how the law affects a major segment of everyday life. Family law, for example, covers marriage (what are the requirements for getting married, who owns what, etc.) and separation and divorce (who gets what, what support might be due, etc.). The chapter also covers how the law affects children, from adoption to the obligations of parents and child custody and support. If some material relates to information in other chapters (for example, how you hold title to your home might affect how it is divided at divorce), we briefly discuss the matter and refer you to other chapters for more on the topic. The book's index also will help you to research a topic by listing all of the pages where it is discussed.Frequent summaries of the important points will help you see how the material might affect your life, and frequent references to free or inexpensive sources of further information will help you delve into a matter in more detail. The information included in this book is an excellent introduction to the law in each area. It is not necessarily the final word. In some instances, you may want to pursue legal action. In those cases, you'll want to consult with a lawyer, and this book tells you how to find one through your local bar association or lawyer referral system. Armed with the knowledge and insights provided in this book, you may be confident that the legal decisions you make will be in your best interests.

Alan S. Kopit is a legal affairs commentator who has appeared on national television for more than fifteen years. He is chair of the ABA's Standing Committee on Public Education and is an attorney in private practice with the firm of Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLP, in Cleveland, Ohio.