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What is a guardian ad litem? Guardian ad litem is a Latin term meaning “guardian at law.” A guardian ad litem is a person appointed by the court to speak on behalf of a child and to protect the rights of the child during court proceedings.

The doctrine of stare decisis (which means “stand by what has been decided”) is the legal principle underlying judicial precedent. When a court lays down a principle of law as applying to a particular set of facts, the court will apply that principle to all future cases where the facts are substantially similar.

Following incarceration, most convicted sex offenders are released to community supervision. Many states have enacted laws authorizing the maintenance of a central registry of sex offenders. Convicted sex offenders are required by law to register their residence in those states, and most states maintain a database of the registrations.

When multiple insureds obtain an insurance policy, usually on jointly owned property, and one insured causes a loss through wrongdoing, the other insureds are considered “innocent co-insureds.”

Reinsurance is the process by which an insurance company shares the risk that it assumes when it issues an insurance policy. For example, an insurance company that issues a $1 million life insurance policy may reinsure or have other insurers assume $900,000 of the risk. The insurance company issuing the policy thus “cedes” most of the risk to one or more reinsurers.

When an insured files a claim with his insurer to recover for a loss, the insurer may pay the amount requested without question, or it may begin the “adjustment” process.