Information

Warren Lucciti Esq. 2006

Message to My Clients About Buying a Home or Other Real Estate in Arizona

Many people often try to save a dollar here or there because they are tight for money. A perfect example is when people do not retain legal counsel even though significant legal rights are concerned. What my colleagues and I often see, are people signing away their rights without knowing what they're doing. Real Estate transactions involving $100,000, $200,000, $300,000 or more, are entered into without the benefit of an attorney to guide and protect them. The usual scenario is that you have the buyer, seller, real estate agent, and title company agent with a bunch of documents to be signed that you took no part in drafting. Nobody there represents your legal interests, and nobody there can even give you legal advice even if they wanted to. Nobody there has a legal obligation to provide any guidance to you, nor to protect your interests concerning the legal effect of the signature you're placing on the documents.

The sage advice of “read before you sign” is valuable. But, it is only half the battle. The other half is knowing the full extent of the legal ramifications of signing the documents. You have two choices when you're about to sign your name to a real estate transaction: One, you can "throw caution to the wind" and take the loss no matter how hard it hits you; Or, two, you can invest in some "peace of mind" by retaining a lawyer who can guide you and protect your interests. When it comes to real estate transactions, please do not be "penny-wise and pound-foolish."

For Those Who Drive Here in the Valley

With everyone from a teenager to a 90-year old being capable of having a license to drive, it is no wonder there are so many cars on the road. Couple that with the influx of several thousand people each month to this Valley of the Sun, with no railway system and with a bus system in its infancy, and you can guess why there has been such a significant increase in traffic over the past few years. With more vehicles, there are bound to be more accidents. All of us want to be responsible, so we maintain insurance coverage on our vehicles. That coverage will protect us from claims by people who are injured by our own negligence. But what happens when we are injured in that same accident and we are at fault. Who pays for our medical bills in that scenario? Unfortunately, if you don't have Health Insurance coverage through an employer or elsewhere, no one will pay... unless you had the foresight to obtain "Medical Payments" coverage (also known as "Med Pay") on your Automobile Policy.

Despite its availability, few people have taken advantage of "Med Pay" coverage, which is aimed specifically at paying your medical bills no matter who's at fault. This type of coverage is important because we all know how expensive medical bills can be. For a relatively low and reasonable cost (i.e. it costs about five (5) dollars a month) you and each person in your car can have $5,000 in medical bills covered by "Med Pay" no matter who's at fault for the accident.

For those of you without Health Insurance coverage, "Med Pay" is a necessity. For those of you who already have Health Insurance coverage through your job or elsewhere, the old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" recommends that we prepare for the unfortunate, unexpected events (like losing one's job or getting a divorce from the spouse who had the health coverage through their employer) by obtaining "Med Pay" coverage.

In a number of other states, drivers have $50,000 available to them to cover their medical bills, no matter who's at fault. It's even called "no-fault insurance". "Med Pay" coverage is the closest thing we have to no-fault automobile coverage here in Arizona. Why not take advantage of its availability and reasonable cost. I would like to see more people with the coverage than without. Ask your insurance broker for details.

Warren Luccitti, Esq., practices law here in the West Valley. He is a 1989 graduate of St. John's University School of Law in NYC, and is licensed to practice law in Arizona, Colorado, and New York. He can be reached for questions or comments at 623-533-7091.

Disclaimer: Please bear in mind that this is for general interest and informational purposes only, and not legal advice. Exceptions to general rules will often exist. Speak directly with an attorney when seeking legal advice.