Guides · 250 published
Legal guides.
Plain-English explanations of how the law works, each with key terms, examples, and the primary sources behind it.
Business
Running a business: customers, operations, buying and selling a company.
Corporate
Entity choice, LLCs and corporations, owners and governance.
Contracts
How contracts form, common clauses, breach, and remedies.
- A client will not pay your invoiceMulti-country
- Breach of contract: remedies and how they workMulti-country
- Contractor agreements for freelancersMulti-country
- Demand letters: what they are and how they workMulti-country
- Franchise agreements: what to checkMulti-country
- Getting paid as a freelancer: late payment rightsMulti-country
- Is a verbal agreement or text message a contract?Multi-country
- Liability under a contract: breach, indemnification, and limitation-of-liability clausesUnited States (general contract law; state law governs)
- Non-disclosure agreements: how they workMulti-country
- Personal guarantees and when you are on the hookMulti-country
- Reading a contract before you sign itMulti-country
Employment
Pay, classification, leave, discrimination, termination.
- Deductions from your pay that may be illegalMulti-country
- Discrimination at work: how claims are provedMulti-country
- Employment discrimination and retaliation under U.S. federal lawUnited States (federal), with state variations
- Employment termination in the United States: at-will employment and its limitsUnited States (federal), with state variations
- Getting your final paycheque after you leave a jobMulti-country
- Hiring your first employee legallyMulti-country
- Independent contractor or employee: misclassificationMulti-country
- Independent contractor vs. employee under U.S. lawUnited States (federal), with state variations
- Meal and rest breaks at workMulti-country
- Non-compete agreements and whether they are enforceableMulti-country
- Noncompete agreements in the United StatesUnited States — governed mainly by state law
- Pregnancy and parental leave rightsMulti-country
- References and what a former employer can say about youMulti-country
- Remote work rules: expenses, hours and monitoringMulti-country
- Retaliation for reporting a problem at workMulti-country
- Severance agreements: how they workMulti-country
- Sexual harassment at work: the law and the processMulti-country
- Sick leave and medical leave from workMulti-country
- Tips, tip pooling and service chargesMulti-country
- Unemployment benefits after losing your jobMulti-country
- Unpaid overtime and who is entitled to itMulti-country
- Workplace injuries and workers' compensationMulti-country
- Wrongful termination: when firing is illegalMulti-country
- Your employer changed your hours or pay without noticeMulti-country
- Your employer has not paid your wagesMulti-country
Real Estate
Residential and commercial leases, ownership, neighbours, property.
- A contractor did bad work on your homeMulti-country
- A neighbour's tree damaged your propertyMulti-country
- Adding or removing someone from a property deedMulti-country
- Adverse possession: can someone claim your land by using it?Multi-country
- Bedbugs and pests: who pays for treatmentMulti-country
- Boundary and fence disputes with a neighbourMulti-country
- Breaking a lease early without huge penaltiesMulti-country
- Can your landlord enter without notice?Multi-country
- Co-owning a home with a partner or friend who is not your spouseMulti-country
- Commercial leases: key terms and how they workUnited States (general; state law governs)
- Dogs that bite or roam onto your propertyMulti-country
- Drainage, runoff and flooding caused by a neighbourMulti-country
- Easements and rights of way across your landMulti-country
- Eviction notices and the eviction processMulti-country
- Foreclosure: timeline and options to keep your homeMulti-country
- Getting your belongings back after an eviction or lockoutMulti-country
- Getting your earnest money back when a home purchase falls throughMulti-country
- Hidden defects discovered after buying a homeMulti-country
- HOA fines and how to challenge themMulti-country
- Housing discrimination: what counts and how to report itMulti-country
- Illegal lockouts and utility shut-offs by landlordsMulti-country
- Landlord repair duties and tenant remediesMulti-country
- Late fees and what a landlord may chargeMulti-country
- Leasing commercial spaceMulti-country
- Mechanic's liens on your house from an unpaid contractorMulti-country
- Mould, damp and unsafe conditions in a rentalMulti-country
- Moving out: notice periods and what to leave behindMulti-country
- Noise complaints against or from your neighbours in a flatMulti-country
- Noise nuisance from a neighbour's houseMulti-country
- Permits and unpermitted work when selling a houseMulti-country
- Pets, service animals and emotional support animals in rentalsMulti-country
- Reading a lease before you sign itMulti-country
- Rent increases: how much and how often a landlord can raise rentMulti-country
- Retaliation after you complained to your landlordMulti-country
- Security deposits: how the return rules workMulti-country
- Short-term renting your home: rules and risksMulti-country
- Squatters and trespassers on your propertyMulti-country
- Subletting and having a roommate the landlord did not approveMulti-country
- Water damage from an upstairs or neighbouring propertyMulti-country
- What happens when your landlord sells the buildingMulti-country
- Withholding rent: when it is legal and when it backfiresMulti-country
Intellectual Property
Trademarks, copyright, and content ownership.
Privacy
Personal data, breaches, recording, monitoring, and privacy rights.
- A company is selling or misusing your dataMulti-country
- Cameras and privacy around your homeMulti-country
- Children's privacy and appsMulti-country
- Deleting an account and your data for goodMulti-country
- Online terms, privacy policies and cookie bannersMulti-country
- Recording phone calls and conversations legallyMulti-country
- Requesting your personal data from a companyMulti-country
- Spam calls, texts and robocallsMulti-country
- Your data was leaked in a breachMulti-country
- Your employer monitoring your devices and messagesMulti-country
Tax
Tax debts, assessments, and how tax rules interact with other areas.
Litigation
Courts, lawsuits, small claims, judgments, and dispute resolution.
- Being a witness in courtMulti-country
- Being served with a lawsuit: how the process worksMulti-country
- Collecting a court judgmentMulti-country
- Court deadlines you must not missMulti-country
- Jury duty: excuses and obligationsMulti-country
- Mediation and arbitration instead of courtMulti-country
- Representing yourself in courtMulti-country
- Restraining orders: getting one or responding to oneMulti-country
- Small claims court: how it worksMulti-country
- Suing the government or a public agencyMulti-country
Consumer
Refunds, warranties, subscriptions, travel, and scams.
- A contractor or tradesperson took a deposit and vanishedMulti-country
- Buying a used car that turns out to be a lemonMulti-country
- Cancelling subscriptions and auto-renewalsMulti-country
- Car repairs that were overcharged or done badlyMulti-country
- Chargebacks: getting money back through your cardMulti-country
- Defective products that caused injuryMulti-country
- Event tickets, cancellations and refundsMulti-country
- Flight delays, cancellations and compensationMulti-country
- Getting a refund for faulty goodsMulti-country
- Gym memberships and hard-to-cancel contractsMulti-country
- Hidden fees and price gougingMulti-country
- Holiday and travel bookings that went wrongMulti-country
- Lost or damaged luggage claimsMulti-country
- Misleading advertising and bait-and-switchMulti-country
- Online purchases that never arrivedMulti-country
- Phone, internet and utility billing disputesMulti-country
- Returning items: store policy versus your rightsMulti-country
- Scams and fraud: the first steps people takeMulti-country
- Timeshares and how to get outMulti-country
- Warranties: what they cover and how to claimMulti-country
Debt & Credit
Debt collection, credit reports, loans, and bankruptcy.
- Bank froze your accountMulti-country
- Bankruptcy basics: when it helpsMulti-country
- Being sued for a debtMulti-country
- Buy now, pay later debtsMulti-country
- Car repossession and your rightsMulti-country
- Co-signing a loan: your risk if they stop payingMulti-country
- Credit card interest, fees and disputesMulti-country
- Dealing with debt collectorsMulti-country
- Debts after someone dies: who has to payMulti-country
- Fixing errors on your credit reportMulti-country
- Identity theft: the recovery processMulti-country
- Lending money to a friend or family memberMulti-country
- Medical bills and medical debtMulti-country
- Old debts and the statute of limitationsMulti-country
- Payday loans and high-interest lendersMulti-country
- Settling a debt for less than you oweMulti-country
- Student loan options when you cannot payMulti-country
- Unauthorised charges on your card or bank accountMulti-country
- Wage garnishment and how to stop itMulti-country
Family
Divorce, custody, support, and family agreements.
- Adoption and step-parent adoption basicsMulti-country
- Changing your name after marriage or divorceMulti-country
- Child custody: how courts decideMulti-country
- Child support: how it is calculated and changedMulti-country
- Collecting unpaid child supportMulti-country
- Custody when a parent is in another state or countryMulti-country
- Divorce basics: the first decisions to makeMulti-country
- Divorce with a business or retirement accountsMulti-country
- Grandparents' rights to see grandchildrenMulti-country
- Guardianship of a child when parents cannot care for themMulti-country
- How property and debts are divided in a divorceMulti-country
- Legal separation versus divorceMulti-country
- Mediation in family disputesMulti-country
- Moving away with your child after separationMulti-country
- Paternity: establishing or challenging itMulti-country
- Prenuptial and postnuptial agreementsMulti-country
- Protective orders for domestic abuseMulti-country
- Separating when you are not marriedMulti-country
- Spousal support and alimonyMulti-country
- When a parent will not follow the custody orderMulti-country
Estate Planning
Wills, trusts, probate, and powers of attorney.
- Being named executor: your dutiesMulti-country
- Beneficiary designations and why they override your willMulti-country
- Contesting a willMulti-country
- Digital assets after deathMulti-country
- Do you need a will?Multi-country
- Elder financial abuse: warning signs and stepsMulti-country
- Funeral costs: who paysMulti-country
- Guardianship for an ageing parentMulti-country
- Healthcare directives and living willsMulti-country
- How probate worksMulti-country
- Inheriting a house with siblingsMulti-country
- Joint accounts and what happens when an owner diesMulti-country
- Leaving money to minorsMulti-country
- Paying for care homes and protecting assetsMulti-country
- Power of attorney: what it is and when you need oneMulti-country
- Small estates without full probateMulti-country
- Trusts versus willsMulti-country
- Updating your will after marriage, divorce or childrenMulti-country
- What happens if someone dies without a willMulti-country
- What to do in the first week after a deathMulti-country
Injury & Insurance
Personal injury claims and insurance disputes.
- Denied insurance claims: appeals and the processMulti-country
- Disability insurance claimsMulti-country
- Dog bite injuries: who is responsibleMulti-country
- Health insurance denials and appealsMulti-country
- Homeowners insurance claims after damageMulti-country
- How long you have to file an injury claimMulti-country
- How personal injury settlements workMulti-country
- Injured on public property or by a government vehicleMulti-country
- Injuries at a store, restaurant or hotelMulti-country
- Injuries at school or daycareMulti-country
- Injury from a defective productMulti-country
- Life insurance claims and delaysMulti-country
- Medical negligence: when to suspect itMulti-country
- Pain and suffering: how it is valuedMulti-country
- Recording evidence after an injuryMulti-country
- Renters insurance claimsMulti-country
- Slip and fall injuries on someone else's propertyMulti-country
- Travel insurance claimsMulti-country
- Working with a lawyer on contingencyMulti-country
- Wrongful death claims for familiesMulti-country
Vehicles & Traffic
Accidents, tickets, licences, and buying or selling a car.
- Accidents in parking lotsMulti-country
- After a car accident: the legal basicsMulti-country
- Bicycle and pedestrian accidentsMulti-country
- Buying a car: financing traps and add-onsMulti-country
- Car recalls and safety defectsMulti-country
- Dealing with the other driver's insurance companyMulti-country
- Diminished value after an accidentMulti-country
- DUI and drink-driving arrest basicsMulti-country
- Fighting a traffic ticketMulti-country
- Hit by an uninsured or underinsured driverMulti-country
- Hit-and-run accidents: the law and the processMulti-country
- Motorcycle accident claimsMulti-country
- Parking tickets and towing disputesMulti-country
- Rental car damage claimsMulti-country
- Rideshare accidents as a passenger or driverMulti-country
- Selling a car privately: the legal basicsMulti-country
- Speeding tickets and points on your licenceMulti-country
- Suspended licence: how to get it backMulti-country
- Who is at fault in a car accidentMulti-country
- Your car was totalled: getting fair valueMulti-country
Online & Reputation
Defamation, harassment, accounts, and online marketplaces.
- Crypto scams and lost cryptoMulti-country
- Deepfakes and impersonationMulti-country
- Getting harmful content removed from the internetMulti-country
- Intimate images shared without consentMulti-country
- Negative reviews: your rights as a reviewerMulti-country
- Online harassment and cyberstalkingMulti-country
- Online marketplace sales gone wrongMulti-country
- Someone posted lies about you onlineMulti-country
- Your social media account was hacked or bannedMulti-country
Regulatory
Licences, permits, and dealing with government agencies.
Legal Basics
How the legal system works, citations, claims, and your rights.
- Filing a police reportMulti-country
- Filming police and public officialsMulti-country
- Finding a public defender or free legal helpMulti-country
- Free speech at work and onlineMulti-country
- Getting a criminal record expunged or sealedMulti-country
- How courts evaluate a legal claim: elements, evidence, and deadlinesUnited States (general; federal rules shown as examples)
- How to read legal citations and find primary sourcesUnited States
- Voting rights and registration problemsMulti-country
- What happens after an arrestMulti-country
- Your rights if police want to search your home or carMulti-country
- Your rights when police stop youMulti-country