The Law Blog of Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C.

Riding a bicycle can be dangerous at any time, but some instances make it especially risky. For example, biking on the road or near traffic can result in a collision that proves fatal or leads to a devastating injury. Moreover, riding a bicycle near traffic at certain times, such as foggy weather or during the night, can be even more dangerous because of the poor visibility. As a bicyclist, it is vital for you to do what is necessary to protect yourself on the road and reduce the chances of a crash.

For starters, it is important to wear a proper helmet and ensure that you avoid traffic. For example, some areas may have bike trails near the road and these may be safer to ride on. You should also wear reflective clothing so that drivers have an easier time seeing you, which may help them avoid you. In fact, it may be a good idea to stay off of the road at night altogether and ride your bicycle when the chances of an accident are lower.

You spend decades building a dependable retirement nest egg, and if you're facing a divorce there are likely numerous questions and concerns you have about protecting those accounts. Your retirement savings represents a significant investment in your future. The prospect of divorce can suddenly create an environment where it can feel like more than your money is at risk, but your future retirement as well.

Knowing what to expect, how these accounts may be handled as part of property separation, and how to defend against an unnecessary tax burden is step one.

For many divorcees, their savings, 401Ks, IRAs and other retirement or employee benefit plans can be one of, if not the, single largest asset they own, and like any other marital property, these accounts are subject to rules of property and asset division in the State of Colorado. Handling the proper division of these accounts in a complete and fair way can be complicated, particularly in cases involving professionals who may have more significant and diverse holdings.

If you are working through a divorce, then your attorney is the best person to speak to about the specifics of your case and how to protect your savings. However, those conversations can be improved by educating yourself on some of the important terminology and considerations that your attorney is likely to discuss with you.

With that in mind, here are three things to be thinking about in preparation for conversations about division of retirement accounts during your divorce.

Your worst nightmare as a parent may be to have your child ignore your warnings about avoiding dangerous situations and suffering a serious injury or even death because of it. Yet how can you blame them; they are kids, after all, and they lack the knowledge and experience to discern what might be dangerous and what is not. A swimming pool, a drainage canal or an abandoned building may seem to them to be exciting attractions, when you know that they can potentially cause serious injuries if kids are allowed to play in such areas unsupervised. 

The aforementioned attractions are known legally as "attractive nuisances." The term is applied to them due to the dangers that they pose while also recognizing that they may attract unsuspecting children. The concept of the attractive nuisance was first applied to railroad turntables. Kids would enter rail yards to play, only to be injured on the turntables. This lead to the creation of "the turntable doctrine." As more attractions were recognized as posing dangers to kids, the concept evolved into "the attractive nuisance doctrine." 

When people think of work-related injuries, they may picture people who are hurt while working in a dangerous occupation. For example, they may envision an injury that occurs on a construction site. However, it is important for people employed in all fields to keep in mind that although many jobs may seem relatively safe and free from the risk of suffering a workplace injury, various hazards may be present. For example, someone employed in an office may be hurt after tripping on a cord, falling on a wet surface or some other type of accident.

Aside from unexpected accidents that occur abruptly, some people may also become injured due to long-term actions. For example, someone may suffer a repetitive strain injury due to typing for many years or bending over repeatedly. These are just some examples of how people are hurt in office-related injuries and the consequences can be severe. Someone who is injured in any type of work-related incident may suffer financial consequences due to hospital expenses and being forced to take time off work. Moreover, the emotional toll of these accidents can be staggering.