Ask Standard Legal: Law Questions & Answers for FREE

Payments against a mortgage need to be made by someone, be it parents or child, if either party wants to keep the Deed to the house. [ Read More… →]

The Will language itself should provide the instruction on how and to whom the assets should be distributed. [ Read More… →]

A Last Will & Testament may contain language that forgives indebtedness owed to the decedent by a third party, even if the indebtedness is confirmed through a written Promissory Note.

But if the holder of the Promissory Note is not a beneficiary of the assets of the estate, another solution is used. [ Read More… →]

Such a question would be decided upon solely by the judge overseeing the Probate Court case. [ Read More… →]

A Land Contract can be sold or assigned to a third party purchaser — assuming that the terms of the Land Contract itself permits such an assignment or sale. [ Read More… →]

Once a General Business Partnership Agreement is written and the business established, most contractual business should be done thereafter under the name of the General Partnership. [ Read More… →]

A “Special” Warranty Deed is used in limited circumstances and, in most cases, it limits the nature of the title transferred. [ Read More… →]

The Probate Court will review each Last Will and Testament document presented before it, and make the determination as to which Will is valid and in force. [ Read More… →]

A Last Will and Testament does not need to be sealed, nor remain sealed, to be legal and valid.

Standard Legal suggests that SEPARATE Power of Attorney documents be created for and signed by each person individually — even for long-time married couples. [ Read More… →]

If property is not properly transferred to a Living Trust (known as “funding” the trust), then the property must be administrated by a probate court in order to be property distributed to the heirs. [ Read More… →]

Only property that is wholly owned by the decedent at the time of his or her death will be handled by a probate proceeding, regardless of any provision in a Will. [ Read More… →]

“Ask Standard Legal” cannot state if an existing Power of Attorney document is still valid after the death of one of the persons named “Attorney-in-Fact”. A full review of that document would be required to see if any provisions of the document address what happens should one of the named Attorneys-in-Fact dies.

Information regarding a Trust typically can be obtained from the person named as Trustee — but the Trust document may prevent disclosure of the terms of the Trust if the person making the inquiry is not a named beneficiary. [ Read More… →]

A Lease Agreement is a contract that is open to negotiation between the landlord and tenant. The only ’standards’ in a Lease Agreement are those required by local and state governments. [ Read More… →]

Generally, if a Trust is a Revocable Trust and the grantor(s) is (are) still alive, then the property in the Trust (i.e., owned by the Trust) remains Trust property until the stated action within the Trust calls for distribution. [ Read More… →]

Of course, Limited Liability Companies are state-based constructs, so state law would apply to any answer.

Also at issue is the ability of a minor to enter into contracts or take other actions to bind the LLC, as many contracts entered into with minors and third parties are void or voidable.  A person who is under the age of majority may have insufficient legal ability to sign the Articles of Organization, thereby requiring an adult “organizer” to execute the Articles.

Let’s examine a specific state example. [ Read More… →]

A Lease Agreement can be drafted to provide for the termination of a tenancy upon the happening of a given event. [ Read More… →]

The signature of the attorney-in-fact must simply designate that the attorney is acting in a capacity on behalf of the principal. [ Read More… →]

In general, and assuming that the original debt is listed on the debtor’s bankruptcy petition and schedules and that the debt itself is otherwise subject to discharge, the purchaser of the debt would be subject to any discharge order received by the debtor through the bankruptcy case and the debt would not be collectable. [ Read More… →]