Ask Standard Legal: Law Questions & Answers for FREE

Generally, a power of attorney that meets the execution requirements (i.e. a signature, proper witnesses and notarization) in a state, even if signed in a different state, should be valid and enforceable in that state. [ Read More… →]

Generally, some consideration — a dollar amount or something of value provided in exchange for the transfer of a property — is required to complete the Quitclaim Deed form prior to submission. [ Read More… →]

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy case allows one who is behind on secured debts to “catch up” on these debts through the chapter 13 plan and repayment process.

Using disposable income (the debtor’s income in excess of allowed expenses), the debtor pays the Bankruptcy Trustee a monthly amount that will pay the past due amounts in full over time. [ Read More… →]

If the terms contained within a Last Will and Testament and a Premarital Agreement contradict each other, the Probate Court judge assigned to your estate case would decide upon the appropriate application of the two documents as they relate to the distribution of your assets after death. [ Read More… →]

Generally, a person may sign only his or her own name to a legal document that is to be notarized, and must do so in front of the notary after proof of identity is established. But not always. [ Read More… →]

Assets are transferred from one person or entity to another in different ways, depending upon the nature of the property. This distinction holds true when those assets are transferred between an individual and a newly formed Limited Liability Company or Corporation as well. [ Read More… →]

Generally, in order to fund a Living Trust, a person must have ownership of an asset so that he or she can transfer the title to that asset into the name of the Trust. [ Read More… →]

Changes made to an existing Last Will and Testament document should be witnessed and notarized to ensure the validity of the changes to others, after the death of the Will’s maker.

Since the process for changing an existing Will requires these steps, creating a new Will is often a better strategy for making updates to the content of a Will document. [ Read More… →]

While Standard Legal cannot speak directly to a specific personal situation, generally cash money or other highly-liquid assets placed or maintained in a revocable Living Trust are not exempt from creditors and their collection efforts. [ Read More… →]

Rarely is anything “typical” as to closing costs or down-payment percentages as they related to the content of a Land Contract, as both items are negotiable and based on the interests of the parties specific to the contract. [ Read More… →]

In most instances, life insurance benefits are paid to the person listed on the policy, notwithstanding the terms of any Last Will and Testament. [ Read More… →]

In most states, a spouse cannot be “cut out” of a Last Will and Testament, even if it is a “new spouse” and an “old will”.  [ Read More… →]

The market value of your home simply should be a value that is agreed upon by you and your spouse. There are some online tools you can use to help you make this valuation. [ Read More… →]

Joint accounts are owned only by those specifically participating in the account. In most cases, upon the death of one joint account holder, the remaining account holders continue to own the contents of the account.

Each state has its own rules regarding the time frame in which a Last Will & Testament must be submitted to the probate court for evaluation and execution.  [ Read More… →]

A Premarital Agreement (also called a prenuptial agreement or the common version “prenup”) is in essence a contract between two parties, the two spouses involved in the Agreement. [ Read More… →]

A “personal representative” is better known as the Executor or Administrator of the Will: the person who oversees the distribution of assets as it is written in the Will, guiding it through Probate. [ Read More… →]

The federal government’s “first time home buyer tax credit” applies to real estate properties purchased by a person who has never owned a home in the past, so long as the purchase is completed by the deadline that has been set for the program (but may be extended again).

The issue with applying for and receiving this tax credit through the use of a land contract is the right to the transfer of Deed, among other specific requirements. [ Read More… →]

Standard Legal has drafted its Living Trusts so that the children of the maker(s) of the Trust, who are presumed to be the ultimate beneficiaries of the Trust in most instances, are not named as Trustees or Successor Co-Trustees.

That may seem contradictory to many families since the primary reason a Trust has been considered is to provide protected assets to a family’s heirs, but this limitation in structure is based in sound logic. [ Read More… →]

Probate is the court that oversees the distribution of estates. When a Last Will and Testament are submitted to Probate, the judge reviews the Will, authorizes its validity, approves or disapproves its content, and oversees its execution as indicated in the content. [ Read More… →]