EXPLORING THE CRIMES OF ANTARCTICWILDLIFE Legal Case Study: Adélie the Rock Thief
On an island off the coast of Antarctica, a BBC film crew caught footage of a crime taking place. In the video, as one male Adélie penguin leaves his nest to search for additional rocks to add to it, his neighbor waddles over, removes a rock from the nest, and carries it back to his own. When the first penguin returns from his search, his neighbor plays it cool, but at each opportunity, he repeats the crime and steals his neighbor’s rocks. While animals aren’t actually subject to legal action, and the Adélie penguin was only behaving according to natural instinct, the fine writers for the blog Legal Grounds point out that the rock thief situation presents an interesting legal case study. By taking his neighbor’s rock and putting it in his own nest, the neighbor penguin committed an act of theft. Theft is defined as “the taking of someone else’s property with the intent to permanently deprive the victim of that property.” In some places, when a thief leaves the scene of the crime, the theft is considered complete. If the thief returns and steals additional items, that could be considered a new crime and result in additional charges. So, since the neighbor penguin takes a rock, leaves the scene of the crime, and returns, he could be found guilty of multiple theft charges. If he’d decided to go big and take his neighbor’s entire nest at once, he might’ve been charged with grand theft.
Now, if the penguin who was stolen from had used force to protect his precious nest rocks, the case would be complicated even further. Allowable force is generally limited in cases of theft. To prove self-defense, the victim penguin would have to show there was a threat of force against him, that he didn’t provoke the neighbor penguin in any way, and that he didn’t have the option to escape. From a legal perspective, it was probably best that the victim penguin didn’t use force.
For now, we’ll leave the Adélie penguins to their nest-building business and save the legal cases for the human world.
IN THE SEASON OF GROWTH AND RENEWAL
3 Tips to Help Your Aging Parents Plan
With the beginning of spring comes renewal and growth. While this season is typically regarded positively, if you’re trying to help your aging parents organize their finances and plans for long-term care in the future, a season associated with growth might be more stressful than joyful. While you understand that aging is an inevitable reality of life, it can still be difficult to watch your parents grow older. Broaching the topic of death and the logistical truths associated with it makes this even harder. According to the Public Broadcasting Network, 85 percent of families will only have these difficult conversations during or after a health scare or high-stress crisis. By starting the conversation earlier and discussing important financial questions with your parents, you’ll ultimately make the process easier on everyone. Here are three tips to keep in mind.
to happen someday. Prepare yourself for the conversation by doing your research so you have a clear understanding of the options available to them. Then, try to work through your emotions as best you can beforehand so that when you sit down for the discussion, you can help to make logical decisions rather than emotional ones. Documents There are two extremely important legal documents your parents should have in place: a statutory durable power of attorney and a medical power of attorney. These two documents are so important because they give a designated individual the legal authority to make legal, financial, and health care decisions for them should they be unable to do so. If your parents don't have a durable power of attorney or a medical power of attorney in place and they become incapacitated, you will have to go to court in order to be given the legal authority to become their guardian. Care Most seniors will need some form of long-term care. The cost of this can be overwhelming. It is important to address this plan with your parents. Speak with them about plans for how to pay for their care as they age, but be sure to start sooner rather than later.
Emotions No one likes to think about losing his or her parents, but unfortunately for all of us, it’s going
For help constructing a long-term care plan as well as a will, durable power of attorney, and other important legal documents, call us today!
2 HEGWOOD LAW GROUP
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