Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law in the United States

Subtitle: “Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Legal Questions”

Editions: 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2011
Editor: Emily Doskow

Preface: About This Book

“Whether we like it or not, the law touches our personal lives invmany ways each day. We may not think much about the laws that affect us as we carry out simple tasks such as driving a car, making a telephone call, or buying milk at the corner grocery store.

But every now and again, we’re sure to need an answer to a common legal question that
arises in the course of daily life:

What can I do about my noisy neighbor?
What are my rights if I’m fired from my job?
Do I really need to make a will?
What should I do if I can’t pay the child support I owe?
And so on.

This book provides answers to frequently asked questions about more than 100
subjects you might encounter in your personal life—topics that range from buying
a house to getting a divorce, from paying your debts to starting and running a small
business. Obviously, we can’t answer every question on a particular subject, but we’ve
answered many common ones to get you started.

Throughout each chapter, you’ll find resource boxes listing sources for more
information about a particular subject.

In addition, for those of you who are computer savvy, each chapter contains a list
of online sites that will help you learn more about a particular area of the law. Look
for the “Online Help” icon as you read.
And if you need more information about finding the law, the appendix contains a
section that shows you how to do basic legal research—with a focus on using the
Internet.
Think of this book as a desk reference— a little encyclopedia that explains what the
law really means in a language you can understand. But remember that the law
changes constantly, as legislatures pass new statutes and courts hand down their rulings.
We will publish new, revised editions of this book periodically, but it will never be
perfectly current. It’s always your responsibility to be sure a law is up to date before
you rely on it. Check for legal updates on our website at www.nolo.com for the most
current legal information affecting Nolo books and software.

Houses

Buying a House
Selling Your House
Deeds

Neighbors

Boundaries
Fences
Trees
Views
Noise

Landlords and Tenants

Leases and Rental Agreements
Tenant Selection
Housing Discrimination
Rent and Security Deposits
Tenants’ Privacy Rights
Cable Access and Satellite Dishes
Repairs and Maintenance
Landlord Liability for Criminal Acts and Activities
Landlord Liability for Lead Poisoning
Landlord’s Liability for Exposure to Asbestos, Mold, and Bedbugs
Insurance
Foreclosure
Resolving Disputes

Workplace Rights

Fair Pay and Time Off
Workplace Health and Safety
Workers’ Compensation
Discrimination
Harassment
Workplace Privacy
Losing Your Job

Small Businesses

Before You Start
Legal Structures for Small Businesses
Nonprofit Corporations
Small Business Taxes
Home-Based Businesses
Employers’ Rights & Responsibilities

Patents

Qualifying for a Patent
Obtaining a Patent
Enforcing a Patent
Putting a Patent to Work
How Patents Differ From Copyrights and Trademarks

Copyrights

Parents and Children
Adopting a Child
Stepparent Adoptions
Adoption Rights: Birth Parents, Grandparents, and Children
Child Custody and Visitation
Child Support
Guardianship of Children

Courts and Mediation

Representing Yourself in Court
Small Claims Court
Mediation
Finding and Working With a Lawyer

Criminal Law and Procedure

Criminal Law and Procedure: An Overview
If You Are Questioned by the Police
Searches and Seizures
Arrests and Interrogations
Bail
Getting a LawyerG

Glossary

Appendix: Legal Research

Learning About a Particular Area of the Law
Finding a Specific Law
Finding Answers to Specific Legal Questions
Finding Legal Forms

Index

Review

As a Publisher, Nolo does a great job in publishing books that allow everyone access to legal information. Most are written by lawyers, but in language that anyone can understand and enjoy. And while I still believe that there are problems where a person needs to hire a lawyer, NOLO books allow people to do many things themselves, or to have a better understanding of things when they hire a lawyer. The eighth edition of “encyclopedia of Freight of everyday law: answers to frequently asked legal questions” by Shae Irving, J.D. & editors of Nolo is a book that will help you do things on their own and provide a general understanding of the topics that you might want help from a lawyer.

Says the back of the books, “Everything ever wanted to know about the law, but couldn’t afford to ask.” While maybe not everything, this book contains a lot of information. Of course, in an encyclopedia-like format, does not go in depth on topics, but for a general understanding, it does quite well, and for most people, that’s what they need to know to make informed decisions regarding what to do when dealing with certain conditions or when they just need to know something about what it means.

The chapters of this book cover many different topics and areas of law, including homes, neighbors, landlords tenants, rights at work, small businesses, patents, copyrights, trademarks, your money, auto Guide, wills & estate planning, medical directives & powers of Attorney, American seniors, spouses & partners, parents & children, mediation & courts, criminal law & procedure, and the book concludes with a glossary and Appendix on legal research. As mentioned, this book does not go into depth about the arguments. In fact, there are entire books and sometimes volumes of books on topics covered in chapters here. (Freight has many books on topics in these chapters)

However, for a concise, single volume, which covers the basics, this is a useful reference. The book is well organized, and the voices are often in the form of question and answer. For example, in the chapter of rights at work, there is a phone book, “I am entitled to SEVERANCE PAY if they are fired or laid off?” There is then a short answer that explains the procedures and rights. The chapters also include references to Web sites that provide online help, as well as other titles of books that go more in depth on topics.

Overall, this is a very good book if you want a reference that contains a little of many areas of law. For legal matters, General, this book does a great job of answering them in English without legalese. Because the law’s effects all areas of our lives, this is a useful book to help you with your legal questions.

Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law