IT'S YOUR LAW
Agents Give Answers to Queries
Asked About Damage from Wind
Need of Wise Leadership for
Clubs Emphasized by Speaker
Respect Rot Law Makes Democracy Live
SAFETY MEASURE
4. Someone threatens your
You can prevent legal trou rights. The law exists to de
ble easier than you can get out fend them, but with some
if you don’t invoke them your
of it once you are in.
Most wage earning, child- self, they lie dormant.
rearing, home-buying, tax-pay
ing, installment buying people
see little need for a family
lawyer. Yet he could come in
handy if you knew when to see
him.
Often under prodding such
a family may get a lawyer to
write a will; but most people
wait for trouble to strike, be
fore they think of a lawyer.
That’s how it used to be with
doctors. Now people get check
ups before they are sick.
So when do you see a law
yer?
Can you spot the symptoms
of legal trouble?
Yes, you can: Check with
your family lawyer when:
1. Your s ta tu s changes:
Upon coming of age, marriage,
the birth of your children, buy
ing a house, divorce, or death
in the family. For at these
times you may need to draft
or revise your will, change
your insurance, straighten out
your property rights, or re
figure your taxes.
2. You buy or sell. Look out
for flaws in the papers before
you go into debt, part with
money, or sign anything in
volving big money or long
term debts. So far as you can,
make sure, too, that you don’t
bite off more than you can
chew.
3. You enter into contracts.
When you can, bring your
lawyer “live” facts (e.g. un
signed contracts; vexing, un
filed tax returns, unmailed let
ters, etc.). He can help you
much more and at smaller cost
than when you bring him the
“cold” facts (mistakes you
have made which now threaten
trouble).
But above all, get both live
and cold facts to your lawyer
at once. For time may run out.
(A debt, for example, may be
outlawed). Your lawyer may
be able to help you today, but
not so much tomorrow.
want. Tell him all the facts,
good or bad, and then keep
him informed at each step. He
is sworn to keep what you tell
him in confidence. He cannot
help much unless he knows all
the facts. Once you have a
family lawyer who is already
familiar with your needs, he
can act swiftly and wisely in
your behalf if trouble strikes.
And it isn’t so likely to strike
if he has been at your elbow
when you have to take legal
risks.
Promises—spoken, written, or
implied—bind you if they call
for a “consideration,” some
thing of value in return. Make
sure that you haven’t by word
or deed offered or accepted
such promises before you know
what you are getting into.
N o te : Oregon lawyers offer this c< lum n
so you m ay know about our
laws. I t is to inlorm , not advise.
CLEAN HANDS
Our courts work with two
sets of principles in meting out
justice — those of “law” and
those of “ equity.”
1. Under "law” a court de
clares the parties’ rights and
d u tie s and
s e ts m oney
damages for
harm already
d o n e — as
when so m e
one goes back
on his con
tract with you, or injures you
in an automobile crash.
2. But under principles of
“honesty, e q u ity , and con
science,” for example, a court,
seeing harm on the way, may
forestall it and enforce its or
ders by fines or jail terms. For
example, California farmers
oiten used to enjoin upstream
land owners from unlawfully
diverting or polluting waters.
England used to have two
kinds of courts to hear cases
under law and equity. But to
day both England and Ameri
ca use the same judge to hear
both kinds of cases.
How did these two systems
arise?
Long ago the English king
called upon the "chancery”—
then largely made up of
churchmen, (the keepers “of
the King’s conscience” ), to
give "relief” where the older
Common Law courts, grown
rigid, might fail.
Unable to use the Common
Law, the chancellors applied
certain rules and maxims,
sometimes borrowed from an
cient Greece and Rome — “He
who comes into equity must
com e w ith c le a n h a n d s .”
Sometimes this is stated: "No
one can take advantage in a
court of equity of his own
wrongdoing.”
This maxim denies a suitor
“ relief” if he himself has done
wrong in the transaction at
issue.
A scale maker had adver
tised that his scales would
count fractions of a cent
against the customer and in
favor of the storekeeper.
He had asked a court in
equity to stop a competitor
from revealing that his scale
was cheating customers. But
the court threw the case out:
Not having “clean hands,” the
scale maker had no standing
in equity. He could not seek
fair treatment when he him
self was dishonest in particu
lar situation at issue.
N ote: Oregon law yers offer thia column so you m ay know about our
laws. I t is to inlorm , not advise.
JUST IN CASE
It’s the efficient ones who
all too often fail to make plans
—about the most important
things.
take possession of all property
and prepare a detailed inven
tory of it, file an appraisal in
court, attend appraisers’ meet
ings, file all income tax re
turns, etc.
Be sure to name a trusted
executor. Without a will, the
probate court must name an
administrator, very often a
stranger to one’s family.
Best of all, gather your legal
papers together, call up a
lawyer, make an oppointment
with him and go over all your
property, business and family
situations. He has done this
with many others and may
have suggestions to solve your
problems, save taxes, and take
care of your family.
Consider a
will: No mat
ter how big or
little your es
tate, you need
a w ill, f o r
w ithout one
you m ak e
needless and
troubles
by leaving the courts to handle
your estate. A survivor may
find it hard to take care of
the children while awaiting
a court's permission to use es
tate funds.
Have a lawyer draw up your
will at once to prevent family
rows, needless court actions,
freezing of funds. The cost is
minor.
Review your will to meet
new circumstances — births,
deaths, marriages, and chang
es in your fortune as well as
changes in the tax law.
Think well about the choice
of an executor of your estate.
He may have a tough job. He
must, for instance, offer your mind and. save your family all
will for probate in court, no sorts . of uncertainty and
tify all interested persons. trouble.
N o te : Oregon lawyers offer this column so you m ay know about our
laws. I t is to inlorm , not advise.
Now that a month has passed
since Oregon's disastrous October
12 storm, independent insurance
agents throughout the state have
had time to collect and forward to
their association’s main office the
questions most often being asked
by their insureds, together with
the most applicable answers.
William H. Breeden, informa
tion chairman of the Oregon As
sociation of Independent Insur
ance Agents, made public today
the state’s eight key post-wind-
storm queries, collected from the
OAIA’s 500 member agencies.
As a preface, Breeden empha
sized: "Almost every claim is dif
ferent from every other claim, and
is being processed individually.
Coverages vary, therefore readers
should check their own policies
with their own agents, applying
the following answers only on a
broad and general basis, as a rule
of thumb.”
Q. I carry fire and extended
coverage insurance on my home.
How much coverage do I have for
damage done by the Oct. 12 wind
storm?
A. Quite a bit. Windstorm dam
age is included in the extended
coverage endorsement which is
contained in more than 95% of all
fire insurance policies and even
though you only bought insurance
on your house itself, you also have
free automatic insurance (up to
10% of the policy amount) on de
tached garages, fences, outbuild
ings, driveways, patios, and other
private structures on your proper
ty. Most of your windstorm dam
age will be covered, subject to a
$50 deductible. Another valuable
extension of coverage insures you
—automatically—for the expense
of removing debris of insured pro
perty. If your chimney blew down,
the company will pay the cost of
hauling away the rubble in addi
tion to the expense of rebuilding
the chimney.
Q. How does deductible work?
A. Let’s take an example. Tree
falls on your home damaging
chimney and roof. Windblown de
bris breaks several windows. To
tal loss in $268.75. You pay the
first $50 and the insurance com
pany pays the rest. Don’t forget,
you probably can recover part of
the $50 in filing your income tax
return; as an uninsured casualty
loss it’s a deductible item.
Q. What about damage to fences
and garages?
A. It’s covered, too, although the
amount you recover will depend
on another factor. General rule
contained in most insuring policies
is that if the fence or garage is
attached to your home, only one
deductible will apply to wind
damage to house, fence, and gar
age. But if the fence or garage are
detached, i.e. separate structures,
then a separate $50 deductible ap
plies to each separate building or
structure. For instance, damage to
your home and a child’s playhouse
in the backyard is covered, and
you’d pay $100—the first $50 of
damage to each building.
Q. We lost two large fir trees,
several ornamental shrubs and
some rhododendrons. Are they co
vered?
A. Probably not. Most property
owners didn’t anticipate a storm
of this magnitude and, as a result,
didn’t take out specific coverage
on trees, shrubs, and lawns. But,
again, this loss may be tax-deduct
ible. Consult your accountant or
the nearest Internal Revenue Ser
vice office.
Q. Trees uprooted by the storm
did considerable damage to our
patio and driveway. Is this cover
ed?
A. Yes. Damage to driveways,
sidewalks, and patios on private
property is covered under most
dwelling fire insurance policies.
However, they are considered
separate structures and take a $50
deductible separate from that ap
plied to damage to the home—but
this deductible is applied to the
aggregate; one $50 for total dam
age to all private driveways, side
walks and patios.
City sidewalks and curbing are
public property, of course, and
not insured. In many cities pro
perty owners are responsible for
repairs.
Q. We didn’t suffer any direct
damage to the house, garage, or
fence but the yard is a mess from
trees down, broken limbs, etc.
Who pays to clean it up?
A. You do, probably—but again
the cost may be claimed as a tax
deduction. The fire insurance poli
cy only covers direct damage to
insured property (your home, ga
rage, fences, outbuildings, remov
al of debris from insured proper
ty, etc.). Unless specifically in
sured, trees down in the yard are
not “insured property” and the in
surance company is not obligated
to remove that kind of debris. On
the other hand, the company will
remove debris—insured or unin
sured—to the extent necessary to
make repairs to insured property,
e.g., where an “uninsured” tree
falls on an “insured” house.
Q. Several of my trees fell in
my neighbor’s yard. Am I respon
sible for the damage and removal
of debris? What coverage do I
have under my personal liability
policy?
A. You’re responsible for the
damage only if you’re proven to be
negligent, in which event your
personal liability policy will de
fend you and pay any damages
awarded. However, your neigh
bor’s fire insurance policy will
pay to remove the trees from his
home, garage, and other insured
property as well as repair the
damage, subject to the appropriate
deductibles.
State To Open Highway Bids
Bids will be received by the
state highway commission in Sa
lem on November 20 for eight
highway grading, stone base, oil
ing, paving, bridge, illumination,
signing, and rock producton pro
jects, estimated to cost $6,500,000.
These projects include 18.33
miles of grading; 20.47 miles of
stone base construction; 8.41 miles
of oil mat surfacing; 10.82 miles of
asphaltic concrete paving; con
struction of six bridges; signing,
illumination, and rock production
projects.
One project which will benefit
this area is in Multnomah county
and calls for the improvement of
the Columbia river highway be
tween the west city limits of Port
land and the St. Johns bridge over
the Willamette river.
Plans call for widening the ex
isting highway to provide for four
lanes of traffic. The median area
between opposing lanes of traffic
will consist of painted stripes on
the pavement and is designated to
provide left-turn refuge areas be
tween the two sets of travel lanes
for vehicles which desire to turn.
An adequate storm sewer system
to provide for the drainage of
surface waters is also included in
the plans. Walkways and stair
ways are to be constructed to pro
vide for pedestrian traffic, and
intersections have been designed
to insure safe and easy access to
the highway from connecting
streets and roadways. Numerous
large retaining walls have been
included in the construction of
this project due to the steepness of
the adjacent terrain. The com
pletion of all construction on this
project is scheduled for the fall
of 1963
Beware of the fellow who soft-
soaps you. Fish bait always covers
a hook.
READ ADVERTISING-IT PAYS
Mrs. Ervin Abraham
In her talk on, "To Strengthen
the Arn\s of Liberty”, Mrs. Mel-
ford Nelson, president of the Ore
gon Federation of Women’s Clubs,
stated that a club must have wise
leaders. She spoke during the
Fifth District Institute program of
the Oregon Federation of Women's
clubs held at the Congregational
church in Scappoose last Monday.
The Fifth District is an affiliate of
the General Federation, the larg
est women’s organization in the
world with 11 million members in
15,000 clubs in 53 counries of the
world. Oregon is a federation of
3,774 members in 98 clubs.
“Freedom," Mrs. Nelson quoted,
while speaking of the public af
fairs department, “is ours if we
keep it. We are guardians of the
future. Apathy is a threat to life.”
Mrs. Nelson was introduced by
Mrs. H. A. Shadley, Fifth District
Federation of Women’s Clubs pres
ident.
The program, with the theme,
“The Challenge of Leadership",
began with registration and coffee
at 9 a.m., served by the Scappoose
Woman’s Club. Opening of the in
stitute by Mrs. H. A. Shadley was
followed by the Pledge of Alleg
iance led by Mrs. Mary Watkins
and greetings by Mrs.Ernest West-
erfield, president of the Scap
poose club.
Leadership discussion was led
by Mrs. Nelson on “How to Put
Your Best Foot Forward.” Mrs.
John S. Taylor, first vice-president
of the state federation, had a les
son on parliamentary procedure,
and Mrs. Walter B. Rich had a
program, “To Seek, To Have, To
Hold.” She is the second vice-
president of the federation. Third
vice-president Mrs. Walllace L.
Smith led her group on “The
Three Rs of Federation, Response,
Receipts, and Rewards.” “So
You’ve Been Elected Publicity
Chairman” was the topic of Mrs.
Clark C. McCall, Oregon com-
municatons charman.
Followng the talks, members
participating in response were:
Mrs. D. E. Ostlund, St. Helens;
Mrs. Pat Elders, St. Helens; Mrs.
John Simmons, Scappoose; Mrs.
Eleanor Blumstead. Hillsboro; and
Mrs. R. M. Smith, Hillsboro.
During the lunch hour Mrs. Nel
son spoke on “Respite from Re
sponsibility," telling of the niceties
of her trip to the national con
vention.
After reconvening, Mrs. Shadley
named the district officers and
chairmen. They are: Mrs. John
R. Roberts of Forest Grove, first
vice-president; Mrs. Allen Wend-
landt, Scappoose, second vice-
president; Mrs. James Lewis, of
Forest Grove, third vice-president;
Mrs. John Simmons, Scappoose,
financial secretary; Miss Minette
Biblehausen, Seaside, treasurer;
Mrs. Norman Burgoyne, St. Hel
ens, corresponding secretary; Mrs.
D. E. Ostlund, St. Helens, parlia
mentarian.
Committee chairmen are: Mrs.
Benson, Forest Grove, conserva
tion; Mrs. E. G. Paine, Hillsboro,
fine arts; Mrs. H. H. Keck, Sea
side, care; Mrs. Kent Brooks, For
est Grove, International affairs;
Mrs. Ellen Larkins, Forest Grove,
education; Mrs. Mary Watkins, St.
Helens, home life; and Mrs. Er
vin Abraham, Rainier, communi
cations chairman.
The ABC's of Federation Action
was presented by Mrs. W. L.
Smith, junior director of the Ore
gon Federation.
Mrs. John Tyler was moderator
and concluded and summarized
the program of the day.
The institute was attended by
officers and members from
Seaside, St. Helens, Hillsboro,
Rainier, Forest Grove and Scap
poose. Rainier’s delegation was the
largest in attendance.
Social Security Deduction Rate
On Pay Increases in January
Starting with the first pay
received in January, the social se
curity contribution is increased by
one-half of one percent on the first
$4,800 of wages. With this increase,
the contribution will be 3% per
cent on earnings up to $4,800 a
year.
This contribution, together with
a matching amount paid by each
employer, is credited to the old-
age and survivors insurance trust
fund and the disability insurance
trust fund. By law, these funds
can be used only for social secur
ity purposes.
The orginal social security law
provided for an ultimate contri
bution rate of 3 percent on em
ployees to pay the cost of retire
ment benefits ranging from $10
to $85. The 3 percent rate was
scheduled to go into effect in 1949.
The original program has been
enlarged by congress to include
benefits for wives and children of
retired workers, for the survivors
of deceased workers, and for se-
verly disabled workers and their
dependents. Benefit amounts have
been raised so that for a retired or
disabled worker they now range
from $40 to $127 and for a family
they may be as much as $254.
When these improvements were
made the law was amended to
provide a schedule of increased
contributions to cover the cost.
The increase in contribution to 3%
percent is part of that schedule.
The present law provides for two
additional increases, one in 1966
and the other, bringing the maxi
mum rate to 4% percent, in 1968.
The scheduled contribution rates
assure the continuing financial
soundness of the social security
program. The board of trustees of
the social security trust funds, fol
lowing its latest annual review of
the adequate "to pay the benefits
now provided in the law to all
present and future beneficiaries,
and to pay the administrative ex
penses of the program, without
any subsidy from the general
funds of the treasury.”
For more information, ask the
nearest social security office for
booklet No. 36, "Financing Your
Social Security Benefits."
Pomona Grangers Hear Reports
On Tree Damage, Pest Control
The Columbia County Pomona
Grange met Saturday, November
3, in the Chapman Grange hall
with a good attendance. Visitors
from other counties were Ted
Simms, State Grange deputy of
Lane county and Edna Graf and
Susie Bennel of Sauvies Island
Grange. All spent a pleasant day
as guests of Chapman Grange.
Agricultural committee reports
covered pest control as practiced
in Tillamook county, resetting
trees which have been uprooted
by the recent storm, which is said
to be possible if done soon. New
stock will not be available to com
pletely replace trees, so orchardistg
should do what they can to save
those they have. Filberts, prunes
and walnuts, especially, have been
hard hit, and these trees take
some time to come into bearing if
replaced by new stock. Also, Don
Walrod, county agent, advocated
that any buildings lost might be
modernized in being rebuilt.
Much discussion of various
measures on the ballot for the
past election brought out argu
ments for and against, serving to
give better understanding in some
cases, and causing confusion in
others.
Miss Jacquelin Wyland, who
won the trip this year to the
United Nations presented by the
IOOF and Rebekah Lodges, was
present in the afternoon to show
her pictures taken on the trip. In
the evening, David Stevely told
of his trip as youth exchange stu
dent to Ontario and showed pic
tures he took. Both young people
gave a good account of their trip.
Reports showed extensive dam
age to the Pomona Grange parks
in the Nehalem valley and the
park board was given authority
to fix them up as a community
service. Mrs. Inez Langdon, Mrs.
Lydia Erickson and Mrs. Pearl
Becker were appointed as & com
mittee to aid in this project as a
Pomona Grange community ser
vice for next year. History of Po
mona and subordinate granges of
the county also is being under
taken at this time.
The fellow who is smart enough
to ask his friends for advice sel
dom needs it.
A hypocrite is a fellow who pro
fesses tolerance, and then contin
ues to do a lot of name-calling.
Demonia Eagle
THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 1962
5