Archive for June, 2012

What You Need To Know About a Subpoena and Why it is Best to Rely on a Constable Service for Your Subpoena Needs

Saturday, June 23rd, 2012

A subpoena is a legal order issued by the court or other law enforcing agencies which makes it mandatory for the recipient to appear before the court. It does not mean that the recipient has committed a crime or any other illegal action. The recipient is only asked to testify as a witness in an ongoing case or to present the required documents or other evidence. Those living in Massachusetts usually receive a subpoena through Massachusetts constables. Massachusetts constables can also deliver subpoenas in other towns and cities within the United States.

A subpoena contains all the necessary information regarding the date and time on which you have to appear in court or have to bring a document or evidence. It is delivered by a neutral body that is not related to or employed by the parties involved in the case. That is why the constable service is usually used to serve this document.

If you ignore a subpoena you may receive the contempt of court charge and in some cases even charged with the offense of obstruction of justice.

What to do when you get a subpoena?

There is no need to worry when the court summons you. Once the constable service or some other representative of the court delivers a subpoena you have to do the following things:

  • Get yourself an attorney.
  • Find out whether the subpoena is for a civil or criminal case.
  • Find out whether you have to testify in court or are you required to produce other evidence.
  • Find out who has sent you the summons.

If you are not directly involved with the case then before taking any further action always consult your attorney. For example, you may have to appear as a witness in case of a bank robbery, or car crash or you may have to present the videotapes of certain events. Your attorney will help you protect your rights and assist you to choose the course of action that does not incriminate you in any way. It is also advisable to get in touch with the attorney who issued the document. This way if you do not posses the information the attorney thinks you do, the subpoena may have to be withdrawn. In case you have to travel to the place where your presence is required you can also receive compensation for your travel and lodging expenses by the attorney who issued the summons.

If you are directly involved in the case, you must get representation so that you can protect your rights. If you fail to respond then you will automatically end up on the loosing side.

Once the constable service or any other legal representative delivers a subpoena to you then you have to respond but you don’t have to meet the terms. Your attorney will help you choose the best course of action.

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Skip Tracing and Mass constables – Why it is Important to Hire a Constable Service for Your Skip Tracing Needs

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

During their training, Mass constables are trained in the art of skip tracing. This involves the techniques and measures that allow them to effectively track down missing people.

A person may disappear for many reasons; these reasons may range from overwhelming debts, physiological or mental issues or unhealthy domestic life. Apart from these reasons, a person may also disappear to get away from the law. Skip tracing is used by a constable service when the constable service is either approached by creditors who want their money or other assets or worrying family members to find their missing loved ones.

Skip tracing not only requires talent and skill but also impeccable discipline and organization. This is needed to make the most of all data gathered. The constable service in most cases starts its search by meticulously going through all the conventional sources that may give them important clues and assist them to find the missing person. They use these clues to find leads and then follow up on them. These include telephone directories which CD-ROMS can store. In many cases this step is usually fruitful and may help the constable service find out the location of the missing person. But in some cases, when telephone directories are not enough, Mass constables have to go through various tedious resources like court records and also the DMV databases to find their target. They also search through property records and go through old addresses of the person to pinpoint his or her location.

With the advent of technology, most records are now computerized and categorized in a way that makes it very difficult for anyone to disappear. However, finding a missing person is not child’s play and requires professional handling. Skip tracing is important because sometimes those who wish to disappear forge a new identity for themselves, and can only be found through trained professionals. Another reason for hiring a professional is that with an excessive inflow, data can get cluttered. This can result in an unwanted mixing of useless and irrelevant rumors and information with inaccurate facts. Mass constables are more than qualified to tackle all these issues and find their targets.

Skip tracing has taken a quantum leap with the rise of the internet. Moreover many new techniques have been developed for Mass constables to better utilize their resources and time. They can now easily cross reference the picture of any missing person with their databases anywhere in the country. Also they can use social security numbers, voter registrations and even traffic tickets to pinpoint the location of the missing person. With the help of the latest technology, proper training and well practiced skills, the constable service can use skip tracing as effectively as any other detective.

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Eviction Process and the Notice to Quit

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

Just like other states of the US, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a proper legal process by which landlords can evict their tenants. Massachusetts constables play a vital role in delivering the Notice to Quit and other legal documents that are pertinent to this process. This protects the property of the owners from unlawful occupation and possession by other parties. Whenever there is a breach in the lease agreement between two parties it is only fair that both sides have a chance to sort things out in an orderly manner.

What Does Notice to Quit Mean?

When a landlord wants his tenant to evacuate his property, he sends them the notice to quit. This notice is served usually by the constable service. It is mostly done when a landlord wants his tenant to leave the property within a period of time, usually 30 days, or when there is a breach in the tenancy agreement.

For the Notice to be effective it is mandatory that you include the names of your tenants. Apart from this it is also necessary to write all the financial liabilities that your tenant owes you and the time period within which they should be paid. Even though it is not mandatory to use Massachusetts constables to deliver the notice to quit it is necessary that it is delivered to your tenant by hand. For this reason the court and landlords usually prefer to use the constable service to serve this notice. Massachusetts constables are specially trained to serve these kinds of legal documents. These Mass constables have various protocols under which they make sure that recipients get served. The constable service also fulfills the duty of removing tenants from the building.

What if the Tenant refuses to leave?

In many cases tenants refuse to leave the premises even after the notice is delivered by Mass constables. In these circumstances the landlord can get the Summary Process and Complaint, which will be delivered to the tenant by Massachusetts constables. This document will be a summons to the court and contains the landlord’s reason for eviction. Tenants have to then answer this summons by either lodging a complaint or facing the charges. Failure to do so will cause the tenant to lose the case and Mass constables will then carry out the eviction process.

If the court ruling is in favor of the landlord, he can formally request the court to evict the tenant. The tenant will get a notice that will be delivered by mass constables; the notice will inform the tenant about the date on which either the sheriff or Massachusetts constables will force them off the premises.

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How the probate process works and what is the role of the constable service.

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

Generally speaking, the process by which an estate is managed legally, after the death of its owner, is called “probate”. The constable service can play a vital role in delivering all the legal documents to the court for the probate process to start. Probate helps to streamline the transition process of the ownership and can be taken as the guidebook that has all the rules pertaining to the ownership and transfer of the estate.

Probate does not depend on a will, however in case of a valid will, the transfer of the estate during the probate is determined accordingly. However, in its absence the law decides who gets what. Almost all the probate processes in Massachusetts involve Massachusetts constables. These Mass constables play a major role in serving legal documents of the entire process.

How Probate works

The representative

Probate process is handled in a state court, known as probate court, instead of federal. The reason is that even though the general process is the same there are some small details that vary from state to state. The Probate court with the assistance of the constable service tries to clear all the liabilities and debts that are on the estate and transfers the assets or ownership to the beneficiaries of the deceased. Court session starts with the swearing of the deceased’s representative. If the representative is not mentioned in the will, or cannot be present for some reason then one is nominated by the court. The Court can use the constable service to notify the chosen representative. Mass constables also serve other notifications such as hearing dates and other documents related to the process.

The Creditors

The court mostly asks the representative to declare the death in the local papers. This allows all the stakeholders of the estate to work out their claims and present them to the court. One disadvantage of this declaration notice is that the case becomes public record. The court makes sure that the estate is adequate to pay off all the financial obligations. In case the estate falls short of the obligations then one or more of the beneficiary have to forgo their share under the abatement statutes.

Intricate facts about Probate

  1. There is a common misconception about when and where probate is applicable. Probate Process is only applicable on the estate that has been included in the probate and the rest is declared non probate estates. The property the deceased jointly owned is non probate property.
  2. Also, all types of property i.e. intangible or tangible can be subjected to probate

The last step of the process is property distribution among heirs and creditors alike. Here the constable service can be used to carry out the legal serving of all documents.

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