Bullying has been in the news a lot lately, particularly when something tragic happens to the child being tormented. Students, parents, and educators are wondering what laws are available to help prevent bullying and what can be done to stop it. A bully is defined as “a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people”. California already has several laws in place to protect children from being bullied, including the California Safe Place to Learn Act located in the California Education Code §234(b) which ensures “local educational agencies continue to work to reduce discrimination, harassment, violence, intimidation, and bullying

If you have a close friend or family member who is suffering from severe physical or mental illness, recovering from a serious accident, or declining mentally or physically as a result of aging, they may need your help, including finding a place to live, obtaining healthcare, or depositing checks in the bank. Even if it is only a temporary situation, a conservatorship may be the answer for you to take of your loved one. A conservatorship is a legal arrangement on which a responsible adult or organization oversees the personal care or financial matters of another adult considered to be incapable of managing alone. The person who cannot care for him or herself is called the conservatee. The

Frequently parents find that they need someone else, often a grandparent or other family member, to care for and make decisions for their children, but they do not want to establish a formal guardianship. There are a variety of factors that can attribute to why parents and the person who has care and physical custody of a minor may not want to pursue a legal guardianship. Some of the factors may include a difficult relationship between the parents and caregiver, parents’ refusal of consent to a legal guardianship, or the caregiver may not want the hassle of applying for legal guardianship. More often it is the case that the caregiver will be taking care of the minor only temporarily As an

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. Any person who obtains, or attempts to obtain, credit, goods, services, real property, or medical information without the consent of the individual is guilty of a crime according to California law. Identity theft is a very serious crime and can have disastrous effects on the person who is victimized. Potential victims need to act quickly in order to minimize the damage. “Know Your Rights: California Identity Theft Victims’ Rights” discusses victims’ rights and can assist consumers in clearin