This subject is best separated into two categories: how to plan for a marriage and how to plan for a wedding ceremony. It's well known that planning a wedding can be highly stressful, especially when a lot of money is involved, but even if it's a relatively modest affair. There are numerous details that have to be provided and the job of a wedding planner is basically an acting project manager of a large group of people. (Sometimes in excess of hundreds of guests) Some brides are nervous enough about the occasion and prefer not to deal with the logistics of planning a large wedding event.
However, someone has to do it! At this point, the couple can delegate the authority to family members (who are usually happy to assist) or to a professional wedding planner. The advantages of the latter are many: this is an experienced professional who can guarantee that a wedding ceremony and reception will go swimmingly. Not only is a wedding planner experienced, but he or she also brings a more objective point-of-view to the affair. Often times, when you hire relatives to organize weddings, some hurt feelings or personal disappointments can appear. Hiring a wedding planner ensures that things are kept strictly professional and the event is truly a success. A wedding planner's services do cost you, however. As much as you would like to hire a wedding planner to carry the full burden, it may not be an option for you.
If this is the case, then a personal wedding plan (made by you or relatives) can be a success; it just takes lots of preparation and clear communication between all parties involved. Start by setting aside a budget and then making an outline of all the major decisions before the wedding day. It will help to create a checklist that you can work by, a list of contact numbers, and a schedule of approximate times.
In addition to planning the wedding ceremony and reception, there are also other activities and events you must plan for. If you want to have a marriage ceremony on a certain date, then you can get married in front of the justice of the peace, where he or she will witness you sign a marriage certificate. You could even have a friend be specially appointed on a temporary basis to act as minister. You also need to give special consideration to planning a honeymoon (location as well as weather) and timing the events to comfortably coincide with a woman's menstrual cycle. If you need help on the logistical side of planning a wedding then it may help to attend local bridal shows in down and other events of interest to a new bride. The events are also great for networking among cake makers, musicians and wedding planners.
What about the big name change? The first point of contact is the Social Security office, but most brides advise that you shouldn't change your name until after you return from the honeymoon, since it will be easier. (Otherwise, you could run into some difficulty with passports and other legal forms giving two different names)
Last but not least if you need some practical advice on planning a wedding, honeymoon and marital future, then talk to your parents or the parents of your spouse. These experienced paramours will give you a great deal of comfort, as you know that all of these bridges have been crossed before and that you have a large support group to work with.
Planning a wedding is not easy, but with patience and preparation it can be done, professionally or even amongst family.
After the sickening thud of a road crash, you expect the driver responsible to stop, call for the emergency services if necessary, and give you his or her details, including insurance details if they have them to hand. Sadly, increasing numbers of drivers simply leave the scene, claiming if they are caught that they panicked. More often, they are not caught. Those who do give their correct particulars may not be insured, or their insurance may not cover them.
Insurers can avoid cover if someone is driving who is not named or allowed on the policy, if the driver is using the car for a purpose (usually, business) not permitted under the policy, or in some cases, because the policy specifically says it does not cover anyone driving while drunk. If the driver has a medical condition and has not notified the insurer, it may decline cover. The driver may stop and give you a Gallic shrug, because he is Gallic - foreigners with overseas registrations can cause crashes, but most people don't know where to start in trying to recoup losses from them.
And in lots of other cases, the driver never bothered paying for insurance in the first place or the cover note has expired - with premiums of 𧺬 or more for third-party cover for young male drivers, and court fines often much less than that, it is hardly surprising.
The Motor Insurers' Bureau exists to help the injured victims get compensation for their injuries and damage to property, in all these cases.
If you use a solicitor, the MIB will pay the full legal costs for an uninsured motorist case, but only a limited amount (£500 plus most disbursements) on an untraced (hit and run) case. Unless you use your own legal expenses cover, a solicitor will sign you up to a conditional fee agreement, which I discussed in my last article, for an uninsured case, and you are likely to get all or nearly all of your damages. For an untraced driver claim, though, they may ask you to sign a contingency fee agreement. That can mean they take a fixed amount of your damages, typically 25% or more.
Happily, insurance companies have to deal themselves with uninsured drivers' claims, if there is any identifiable insurance cover relating to the vehicle - so, in all the cases where insurers avoid cover, as the example above where the driver is drunk or failed to notify a medical condition, they still have to pay out to the victim. The only difference is that the insurer can try to get a refund from their policyholder, if appropriate. Your insurance company has to pay if someone steals your car and injures people, but they should not try to recoup the money from you, or reduce your no-claims bonus, obviously.
The MIB has a limit to the amount of the property damage it will pay, and an excess for each claim. It will not pay if the victim was a passenger, and knew the driver was uninsured. It covers accidents on the public roads only, so with petrol station prangs and pub car park disasters, you are on your own. If a joyrider tears over the kerb, hitting people on the grass on a council estate, they may reject the claim, but if you are hit on the pavement adjoining the road, they will normally pay. And the damage has to be caused by a motor vehicle, so the baby run over in its pushchair by a cyclist is outside their remit. If someone uses their vehicle as a weapon and deliberately injures you, as happened to one of my clients in the middle of a nasty divorce, the claim is not to the MIB but to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
Any accident causing injury must by law be reported to the police straightaway, and the MIB expects to get a police report corroborating what you tell them. Whiplash takes up to a day to be felt, so report the accident as soon as you realise you have been injured, if it is the next day. If you are unconscious or immobilised in hospital, that is a good reason for delay, but check once you wake up that someone has already told the police - someone usually does.
The MIB has a vast database of insurance details and can often find an insurer when you or the police have been unsuccessful, although they expect you to make an effort. Some drivers threaten their victims and others give false names - not always Mickey Mouse, either. They might give a friend's name and address, sounding quite plausible, and the friend could then prove he was in Canada at the time. Get the registration number of the vehicle if you possibly can, and a description of it including the make and model, and a description of the driver.
The MIB is financed by the insurance industry, that is, by all of us who pay up every year. Not surprisingly, if you were driving when you were injured, the MIB will want your own insurance details, and if you are not insured yourself, they will not pay you. And in that case, I wouldn't bother to appeal.
If more than one vehicle was involved in the accident, if you have lost much time off work, if your claim is late, or if someone died, you will certainly want legal advice. In a simple claim, you can fill in the form yourself and see how you get on.
The MIB is at Linford Wood House, 6-12 Capital Drive, Linford Wood, Milton Keynes MK14 6XT. Tel: 01908-830001 www.mib.org.uk
Both Richard Adams & Charlotte Pegman are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Charlotte Pegman has sinced written about articles on various topics from Culture and Society. harlotte Pegman, Partner, Personal Injury, Hubbard Pegman & Whitney LLP. HPW offers specialist personal and commercial legal services for individuals and businesses. Whatever legal help you require, you will find us approachable and professional, efficie. Charlotte Pegman's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.