As grandparents, parents or other family members grow older, they often get to a place where they need the assistance of others to make decisions regarding their persons or their property. At those times, when prior planning has not been accomplished or is not sufficient, Court intervention may be necessary in the form of a guardianship and/or conservatorship. A guardian is a person appointed by the Court to make decisions for a Ward concerning personal care issues such as healthcare…
When you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and have a car loan, a mortgage, or other secured debt for personal property, there is a good chance that the lender will send you a reaffirmation agreement to reaffirm the debt. Reaffirming a debt in bankruptcy means that you are agreeing to remain legally obligated to pay that debt, despite having filed a bankruptcy that would otherwise discharge it. Typically, it is not in a debtor’s best interest to reaffirm a debt…
Acting as a conservator for a minor is a difficult but important task. A conservator must use the assets of the minor only for the minor’s support, care, education or benefit and never for the benefit of the conservator. If a conservator is misusing a minor’s funds in some cases they can be exposed to potential personal liability or court sanctions.
Learn how to protect your estate plan from litigation after your passing.
Did you know a Trustee is protected from personal liability when entering into contracts in their fiduciary capacity? This does not protect the Trustee outright, particularly if they are mishandling the estate. Learn more here.
Boundary disputes, which are disagreements regarding who owns a piece of property, can be quite common. Boundary questions often arise when a property owner makes an improvement, such as building a fence.
For example, when you are raising a fence outside of your house, you may unknowingly be placing your fence on your neighbor’s property. On the other hand, you may be erecting the fence entirely on your property, but your neighbor may argue that the fence is encroaching on his property. It is important that any issues concerning boundary disputes get resolved in a timely manner.
Persons who have been nominated to serve as a personal representative under a Will often express a concern that they may become liable for the debts of the deceased person’s estate. The answer to this is a qualified no. In the normal course of administering a probate estate, the Personal Representative should not become personally responsible for debts of the estate. However, a Personal Representative must take care, when transacting estate business, to: Disclose the representative capacity of Personal Representative,…
Adverse possession is a way of acquiring title to real property by physically occupying it for a long period of time. As strange as it may seem, you may acquire property without the consent of the actual title holder if you possess it long enough and meet the legal requirements. The adverse possessor, or the person occupying the land, may or may not be aware that the land belongs to another. Under the law, the occupier’s knowledge is irrelevant which makes this…
Many of us consider digital assets indispensable. Learn more about what happens to these records in the event of death, including your rights beyond Terms of Service agreements.
A recent case illustrates at least one of the pitfalls for those who invest in property tax liens. In Delo v. GMAC Mortgage, an investor (Delo) purchased a property tax lien on a property that had been acquired by Pinal County. Mr. Delo paid the outstanding property taxes and received an assignment from the County.
Following the three year waiting period for the owners to redeem the property tax lien by paying the past due taxes (plus interest), Mr. Delo proceeded to foreclose. Neither the owners nor the lenders defended and Mr. Delo obtained a default judgment.
However, while Mr. Delo’s lawsuit was proceeding, the lender on the property initiated a separate non-judicial foreclosure proceeding on the property. The original lender was EquiFirst with MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) “as a nominee for Lender and Lender’s successors and assigns” and as “the beneficiary under the Security Instrument” and as legal title holder.
Reasonable Fees
