Ask Standard Legal: Law Questions & Answers for FREE

A Power of Attorney document is generally effective only during the life of the person executing it. As such, the Attorney-in-Fact has no standing to access any assets of the estate by law.

In most cases, unless provided for in the power of attorney document, compensation is not paid.

The person appointed as attorney-in-fact may be entitled to cover any out of pocket expenses incurred in performing his or her duties.

If the Limited Liability Company was “formed”, how was it not signed or finalized? No state government would permit the filing for or formation of an entity without signatures. [ Read More… →]

There are no ’standard’ references to specific assets required within a Last Will and Testament. [ Read More… →]

A spouse’s bankruptcy filing does not transfer ownership of any property also held by any non-debtor co-owner. So any action by the Bankruptcy Court will not affect a the share held by a spouse.

A deed can certainly be prepared and filed with the proper county government agency, transferring property from one person to another (or to a business entity).

But it is not typical for a piece of real estate property to be transferred to a grantee (in this case, the mortgage holder of the property who has not foreclosed and won’t return the investor’s phone calls) without that person or entity’s consent. [ Read More… →]

You must carefully read the details of your Lease Agreement, as that document will spell out the rights and responsibilities of both the Landlord and the Tenant. [ Read More… →]

An organizer is a person who signs the articles or organization that are filed to form an LLC.

The organizer can be — but is not required to be — a member (i.e. owner) or manager of the LLC.  By signing the articles, the organizer is not indicating any ownership or management in the LLC, per se.

Ownership and management of the LLC are set forth in the LLC’s operating agreement once it is prepared and signed by the members of the company.

Being an Organizer alone creates no liability in relation to the company. Thus, there is no need to modify or remove your name from the organizing documents (and in many states there is no way to do so without a new filing).

To create an LLC filing, see Standard Legal’s Limited Liability Company legal forms software page.

The format of the writing (in hand vs. typed or computer generated) is irrelevant. The CONTENT of the writing is paramount. To that end, see Standard Legal’s Last Will and Testament legal forms software page to ensure the CONTENT that is required is provided.

There is indeed a risk to a Land Contract buyer if the Land Contract seller has a mortgage on the property being contracted. Buyers need to protect themselves during the purchase negotiations. [ Read More… →]

Documents for a previously created Trust that cannot be located can be re-created (replicating the exact same setup and ownership structures) using new document templates. [ Read More… →]

The terms of the Trust document as executed by the Donor (the father) will control the issue of retention vs. sale and distribution of any asset contained within the Trust. [ Read More… →]

If a Last Will and Testament mentions a memorandum, the memorandum most likely should have been attached to the finalized, processed document.

Whether or not that Will is legal and valid depends on upon the situation and the document. [ Read More… →]

When filing for Limited Liability Company status with a USA state, the Articles of Organization that are filed with the Secretary of State may ask the filer to state a specific purpose for the business — e.g. ” medical supply and device supplier.”

But over time, the focus of a business may change, sometimes completely. Does such a change in business focus affect the validity of the LLC or its filing with the state? [ Read More… →]

If it was a standard Quitclaim Deed that was properly signed and recorded, transfer of ownership to you and your brother has occurred.

But if the deed was not a standard Quitclaim, the matter of outright ownership is not so clear. [ Read More… →]

In most states and when the family structure is relatively straight-forward, the handling of family property after the death of just one spouse is fairly consistent. [ Read More… →]

A co-owner to a real property can transfer his or her interest in that property to a third party using a Quitclaim Deed. But be advised that such a step does not remove the original owner from all responsibility. [ Read More… →]

In most cases concerning Land Contracts, title to real property does not pass to the purchaser until all or a certain percentage of the land contract installment payments are made.

Until such time, the purchaser (or a partner-purchaser) does not hold any title or ownership in the property.

As such, if the purchaser does not hold ownership, he/she has no ownership interest in the property that can be transferred by way of a Quitclaim Deed.  In essence, a drafted Quitclaim Deed would be meaningless because a person cannot “transfer ownership” of something he or she does not own.
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Under certain conditions, a Deed that was signed by the parties to transfer property several years in the past can still be valid. [ Read More… →]

Required fees stipulated in any contract — including a Lease Agreement — do not stop accruing simply because a court case is filed. [ Read More… →]