Islamic Law

Islamic law or sharia law is an advancing area of the law in the United States. Due to the influx of Islamic immigrants, Islamic law has grown prominence in law practitioners in the country. Islamic law is derived from the Quran, considered by the Muslims as the word of God, and the "Sunnah" or the teachings of Mohammad as prophet. Aside from the Quran and the Sunnah, Islamic law is also derived from religious edicts and legal decisions interpreting the law. Sharia law is a special kind of law in that it only applies to people who are practicing the Islam religion. This law governs all areas of the Islamic life, including marriage, crime, property, business and banking. Islamic law is governs both the personal and public practice of Islam as religion. In countries where Islamic law is widely recognized, there is a set of judges who interprets and makes decisions on disputes arising from Islamic law. In the United States, there are no different set of judges who makes decisions based on Islamic law. Rather, judges in the American legal system are the ones who are tasked in interpreting Islamic law vis-à-vis American laws.

The pervasive issue with Islamic law is its conflict with American civil law. Adaptation of sharia law in the United States vary in each state. Numerous states have adapted Islamic law in their legislation to accommodate Islamic practices, which are often different from American practices, but a few states have limited the application of Islamic laws. There is an increasing number of cases that question the constitutionality of certain laws and liberties as they often exclude Islamic practices, are seen insensitive to Islamic feelings, or are contrary to the Islamic beliefs. Because personal Islamic beliefs and feelings are sensitive, American courts are careful in deciding cases revolving around these issues.

One of the common application of Islamic law in the United States is in cases of divorce. Typically, judges will recognize the validity of marriage under Islamic law from a Muslim country in order to issue a divorce decree. The issue of marriage under Islamic law is an area of continuous debate in the United States as American family law prohibits polygamy or the marriage of one man to two or more women or the marriage of one women to two or more men.

Banking in the Islamic law, however, is a different matter to American courts. In order to attract investors from the Middle East and other Islamic countries, American banks and businesses have complied with requirements under the sharia law. Islamic banking law requires the company to donate a percentage of its annual profits to Islamic organizations designated by their Sharia-compliance advisors.

Legal issues arising from Islamic law is a sensitive matter in the United States and should be left handled by practitioners of both Islamic and American law. An expert Islamic law attorney would know how to be compliant with Islamic laws and reconcile both Islamic and American law for the client's best interest.

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Estate Planning Law - Legal Information and Resources

Estate Planning Law

Estate planning law governs the laws and procedures involved in the administration of an individual's estate while still alive and the process by which the estate will be distributed in the event the individual becomes incapacitated or when the individual is deceased. An estate consists of all of the individual's property, including house and other real estate; and tangible and intangible property. Estate planning also takes into consideration taxes to be paid during the distribution of assets and the selection of appropriate heirs.

The Uniform Probate Code seeks to clarify, unify and modernize estate planning laws throughout the United States and Washington, D.C.; however, only 30% of the states have completely adopted the Code, while the remaining 70% of states adopted only a portion of the Code. Thus, estate planning law vary greatly from state to state.

An estate plan must include the following: (1) a will; (2) assignment of power of attorney; (3) a living will or health-care proxy; and (4) for some people, a trust. Estate planning is for everyone, not just for the wealthy. Estate planning is for anyone who has property, regardless of whether it is in millions or in hundreds. Estate planning is also not just for older people because time will never tell when an individual will be incapacitated or will die. Estate planning is straightening an individual's life so that when that person can no longer make sane decisions, he or she will continue to live his or her life according to how he or she wants to live.

Drafting estate planning documents is relatively easy and may be completed without the guidance of an attorney. However, there may be unknown complicating issues that need legal advice. Thus it is advisable to have an expert estate planning attorney run through the documents. In addition, there is the issue on probate, the court process to determine whether a will is valid or not. A will is not a guarantee that the probate process will be easy. Probate is usually a lengthy and expensive process, which may involve different courts. If an individual has numerous properties in different states, each property may have to go through probate in accordance with the laws of the state where it is located. State laws on estate planning differ greatly, thus, an attorney who is knowledgeable on the myriad of laws involved in estate planning need to be retained.

Another area in estate planning that would require the expertise of an attorney would be the drafting of a trust. Trusts are draft to mainly avoid probate. An expert on estate planning would know other ways to avoid probate, aside from the drafting of a trust. Probate can be avoided when the property is jointly owned, in the case of spouses, or when the property is life insurance, annuities, or retirement plans.

An estate planning law attorney can greatly help in making sure that all properties are accounted for, the applicable taxes are taken into consideration, and all appropriate heirs are include to cut short the lengthy and expensive probate.

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