This is the latest entry in BeenVerified’s legal term library designed to help you better understand public record information, criminal records and related terminology. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

If you want to start a business and create a separate identity for the company, including giving it a unique and fictitious name, you should register a DBA, or “doing business as” for the company with your county and/or state. To find out more about DBAs, how to officially be granted your ideal business name and if a DBA will show up on your public record, read on.

This is the latest entry in BeenVerified’s legal term library designed to help you better understand public record information, criminal records and related terminology. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

A subpoena is a court-ordered request for information either in the form of documents or a personal appearance at a legal proceeding. What are the different kinds of subpoenas? What are some of your options when being served by a subpoena? And will having been served with a subpoena show up on public record?

This is the latest entry in BeenVerified’s legal term library designed to help you better understand public record information, criminal records and related terminology. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Driving under the influence (DUI) is a crime associated with operating a motor vehicle while impaired, typically with alcohol. In fact, DUI is often synonymously used with the term “drunk driving.” But what’s the legal difference between driving under the influence and driving while intoxicated (DWI)? What other substances, in addition to alcohol, are considered under this umbrella? At what levels are you officially considered “under the influence?” And how does this vary by state? And most importantly, is a DUI or DWI listed on your public record?

This is the latest entry in BeenVerified’s legal term library designed to help you better understand public record information, criminal records and related terminology. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

If a defendant has been convicted of a relatively minor offense or is a first time offender, then he or she may be looking at serving probation, instead of being sent straight to prison. But what is probation, exactly? Who decides on it and how do probation laws differ by state? Read on to find out.

This is the latest entry in BeenVerified’s legal term library designed to help you better understand public record information, criminal records and related terminology. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

As we’ve covered in previous blog entries, divorce can be costly. This is particularly true for spouses with substantially more assets than their soon-to-be exes. While certain issues  such as child custody can’t be resolved through these agreements, spouses with significantly more wealth and property coming into a marriage do have one tool available to them to help protect them during divorce proceedings: a prenuptial agreement.

This is the latest entry in BeenVerified’s legal term library designed to help you better understand public record information, criminal records and related terminology. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

In addition to the equitable division of property and an agreement over the need for alimony, issues related to children are often the most time-consuming when finalizing a legal divorce.

If the divorcing spouses cannot come to an agreement over the custody of their children, the court will decide for them based on a variety of factors. Part of a child custody arrangement may be the need for the non-custodial spouse to pay child support.

This is the latest entry in BeenVerified’s legal term library designed to help you better understand public record information, criminal records and related terminology. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Last Tuesday we looked at divorce and its many legal facets. This week we’ll start to take a deeper dive into some of its many consequences, starting with alimony.

Alimony is an allowance paid to a person by that person’s spouse or former spouse for maintenance, granted by a court upon a legal separation or a divorce or while action is pending, according to Dictionary.com. Other definitions and nuances according to state law may refer to alimony as “maintenance” or “spousal support.”