A Living Trust document that was valid and effective at the time it was executed should be effective in another state.

However, this statement is not intended to suggest that the information or directions contained in your existing Living Trust document are still current; without a full professional review of the Trust documents, it is impossible to know. [ Read More… → ]

No, such a restriction cannot be accomplished through a standard Last Will and Testament. But there may be a somewhat complex solution if such a requirement is truly desired. [ Read More… → ]

Standard Legal’s Living Trust legal forms software package contains Donor-Based Living Trusts.

A Third Party Discretionary Trust is not a highly common Living Trust format frequently used by the general public, and thus not a good candidate for an offering of pro se legal documents. [ Read More… → ]

No. Certainly two corporations can jointly own a piece of real estate, and a Quitclaim Deed can be created to reflect joint tenancy once a real estate purchase agreement is formalized.

But most states reserve ’survivorship rights’ for individuals, especially since corporate entities cannot die.

A landlord can enforce the terms contained within the signed lease.

If a condition of the lease has been violated by the tenant’s actions, then a landlord can proceed against the tenant under the terms stated explicitly within the lease. [ Read More… → ]

Trusts are structured with liability in mind, to keep the beneficiaries removed from the assets involved. Most Trusts are set up with personal property assets like land, or homes or vehicles, and their liabilities are somewhat limited. But some trusts hold assets like fully operating businesses, LLCs and corporations. So if a business held by a Trust ‘goes bad’, can the beneficiaries of that Trust become personally liable for any portion of the debt generated by any operational business assets within a Trust — especially if that debt exceeds the value of the assets in the trust? [ Read More… → ]

The document structure would be incorrect to have just a single name on a deed with survivorship rights, as a Survivorship Deed must name the person to whom the right of survivorship would pass. [ Read More… → ]

Typically, the “buyer” in a Land Contract does not own the property or hold clear title until the entire amount due as listed within the land contract document is paid.

So the Land Contract “buyer” cannot sell the property until all payments have been made and the Deed has been revised with the county recorder to show sole ownership.

Until such a time and in most cases, only the current Deed holder can sell the home, with deference to the terms of the land contract.

To create a well-written Contract for Deed that specifies these very types of situations in writing, see Standard Legal’s Land Contract legal forms software.

If there is no survivorship language detailed in a deed and one of the owning parties in the Deed dies, then the surviving parties may need to open an estate case with the appropriate probate court to permit that court to issue an order transferring the property (since the deceased is no longer able to sign the deed transferring the land). [ Read More… → ]

If the soon-to-be husband and wife are concerned about their individual assets entering into the premarital agreement process — or even if they are uncomfortable having financial discussions directly — then the couple should choose to secure individual legal counsel and have the attorneys “negotiate” the document.

(Certainly the bar association would recommend this; that keeps the lawyers working!) [ Read More… → ]

Sometimes a person can gain full ownership rights to a home from a Separation Agreement or a Divorce proceeding. But what if the Deed to that home still shows both names of the divorced couple on it, and the newly single owner wishes to sell it? [ Read More… → ]

An existing Last Will and Testament is valid until the maker creates a new one.

If you wish to change the listed beneficiaries in your Last Will and Testament because of a Divorce, simply create a brand new Will document then have it notarized.

To easily and affordably create a new Will document without the expense of an attorney, see details about Standard Legal’s Last Will and Testament legal forms software.

Standard Legal is unaware of any state restrictions on the residency of the person named as the “attorney in fact” on a Power of Attorney document.

However, the ability of a foreign-based ‘attorney in fact’ to carry out the wishes of the Grantor could be an issue for any transaction involving the attorney-in-fact and any USA bank, financial institution, local/state/federal government, courts, etc. [ Read More… → ]

Short answer, yes: the Trustee administering a bankruptcy case is permitted to take a tax refund that is paid to the debtor from the IRS (as well as any State tax refund).

The theory is that such refund is an asset of the debtor that can be used to pay creditors.

But there is one consideration, however. [ Read More… → ]

Remember, ‘Ask Standard Legal’ was created to respond only to ‘questions of fact’ for the legal topics listed at the left. So it follows that we cannot respond with suggestions on how a person might structure something or how to proceed; that’s the very definition of legal advice.

You can certainly create an LLC at your discretion with any members you choose to involve. Details about the formation of an LLC can be found here. You might also wish to review the “BUSINESS LAW AND INCORPORATION ARTICLES” at our Standard Legal Law Library to see if an LLC is the best structure for your needs.

But we simply cannot advise you (or even make suggestions) as to the tax or estate issues related to such a decision, or even whether an LLC would function in a certain capacity. In pro se (i.e. “self-help”) law, these are the very types of decisions that must come from the individual “helping themselves”.

If you want or need legal advice, find an attorney. If you need to have a discussion of options on how best to proceed, find an attorney. Unless YOU yourself are 100% certain of the structure you wish to create and the end results of those decisions, find an attorney. To find a local attorney for FREE who specializes in either Estate Planning or Business Law, visit Standard Legal’s Attorney Finder page.

To consider making such a critical long-term financial decision based on some free advice you receive from a faceless person at a legal forms website truly is a bad idea…

Absolutely. One commonly used phrase in a Will (that may have unintended consequences over time) is: “If one of my children predecease me, then their share goes to his or her siblings equally.” [ Read More… → ]