December 1st, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
A Living Trust may seem like a complex legal document that is designed only to help well-off individuals preserve family wealth. However, they can also be an incredibly helpful tool for estate planning that families of every size and economic background can use as a way to avoid probate and ensure that beneficiaries receive certain assets. [...]
December 1st, 2023 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
For homeowners or landlords who have a Mortgage Deed on their property, it is common to end up struggling with the monthly mortgage payments for many reasons. Some of the most common reasons include a tenant who stops paying rent, poor cash flow associated with the property, losing a job, suffering from an economic downturn during the pandemic, or other personal financial hardships. [...]
July 20th, 2023 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
With renting continue to increase in popularity as property ownership remains out of reach for many, it is crucially important that tenants be well informed and know their rights and responsibilities as a renter. This way, they are able to handle disputes with their landlords and ensure that they receive the fair treatment that they deserve. [...]
May 12th, 2023 - Category: Consumer Issues
Traveling by air is usually a quick and convenient way to get to your destination. However, things can go wrong and flights can get canceled, tending to lead to headaches and inconvenience for travelers. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
From finding a new job in another state to returning home to care for a sick family member to taking the big step of moving in with a new partner, many people find themselves in a situation where they need to cancel their existing lease so they can move somewhere else. Unfortunately, many landlords are reluctant to cancel existing leases, since that puts them in the position of potentially losing money while they look for a new tenant to fill the space. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
There are two parts to every divorce. The first part is the termination of the marital relationship itself by a court decree. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
There are two parts to every divorce. The first part is the termination of the marital relationship itself by a court decree. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
A Prenuptial Agreement, commonly known as a "prenup," is an agreement entered into before marriage that sets out what happens to assets and liabilities and lays out any spousal support obligations or waivers if a couple divorces or one of the parties dies. Marriage laws stipulate certain defaults upon death or divorce, but a prenup is an easy way to modify those defaults. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
All parents are required to support their children, either by maintaining custody or paying support to the parent who does have custody. Child support is a monthly allowance that is paid from one parent to the other to help cover the child's expenses. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
Even for parents who are no longer married or romantically involved, child custody and visitation are complicated issues only if both parents want custody of the children. If the parents can agree on who gets custody, the judge will almost always accept their decision without second-guessing it. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Daily Life
Traveling with children, whether for winter or summer vacations, school or church field trips, visiting grandparents or other relatives for a long weekend, or going with a choir or band to perform, can be a great experience for kids and families. Children traveling abroad continues to become more common as we embrace living in a global community with myriad cultures and opportunities for learning. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
Estate planning is usually thought of as a luxury reserved for the very wealthy with lots of resources to give away. However, estate planning can be beneficial for most people. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
Once a Last Will and Testament is made, it is good until you die, change it, or revoke it. If you make a will today and die fifty years from now without making any changes to it, the property will be distributed according to the will you made a half-century earlier. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
A last will and testament, otherwise known simply as a will, is a way to dictate how your property and affairs will be handled after you die. All wills are different and what you include in your will depends on what property you have, whom you want it to go to, the dynamics of your family and friends, and many other factors unique to your particular situation. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
Many people feel intimidated when confronted with the task of planning for their future by creating an estate plan. However, having an up to date estate plan is one of the most loving things a person can do for their family. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
Although they are both essential estate documents with similar names, last wills and living wills serve entirely different purposes. As such, it's important to think of these documents as two distinct parts of a comprehensive estate plan. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Daily Life
A child travel consent form is an important document used when a child is traveling alone, with only one parent/legal guardian, or with an authorized group to show any authorities or other interested parties that the child is traveling with the consent of their parents. The letter acts as an explanation and proof to any border officials, law enforcement, or other authorities who may be concerned that the parent or guardian not present with the traveling child is aware of the situation and consents to the child's travel without them. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
Issues surrounding children can often be the most contentious and difficult to resolve during the process of divorce or separation. When parents separate or divorce, the term "custody" serves as shorthand for "who lives with and cares for the children" under the divorce agreement or child custody agreement. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
Evictions can be a convoluted and complicated process as there are many misconceptions about what the landlord can and cannot do related to this process. An eviction must always start with the landlord giving the tenant an eviction notice. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
Children often form close emotional bonds with their grandparents. Families can experience rifts and divisions for many different reasons such as divorce, the death of a parent, addiction issues, or incarceration. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
Most grandparents cherish the time they are able to spend with their grandchildren and find the building and maintaining of those relationships vitally important. In nearly all 50 states, grandparents have certain rights concerning seeking custody or visitation with their grandchild when circumstances otherwise get in the way. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
When it comes to a landlord/tenant relationship, one of the most important elements is the Residential Lease Agreement. A lease provides a roadmap of the tenancy, outlining in detail the rights and responsibilities of both the landlord and the tenant. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Leave Requests
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), provides important rights to employees who need to take time off from work in order to attend to personal or family needs, also known as family or medical leave. In addition to federal FMLA, many states have enacted their own family and medical leave laws, which cover more workers or provide better benefits than existing federal laws. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
Most tenants moving out of a rental property are interested in getting their security deposit as soon as possible, either to use the money to pay for a deposit for a new rental or to use as part of a down payment to buy a house or condo. Unfortunately, some landlords drag their feet and try to delay returning the security deposit for as long as they can get away with. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
More and more couples are choosing to live together or buy property together prior to getting married, or, in many cases, instead of marriage altogether. Getting married involves a couple entering into a legal contract with each other that outlines the many rights and responsibilities that come with marriage and dictate the couple's future, whether that include separation or death. [...]
April 23rd, 2023 - Category: Legal Proceedings
Alternative Dispute Resolution, also known as ADR, is the use of methods such as mediation and arbitration to resolve a dispute rather than litigation. ADR is a way to settle disputes without having to engage in an often long, confusing, and complicated court process. [...]
July 29th, 2022 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
Most people are familiar with the concept of getting a loan during the process of buying a home, using the purchased home to act as security for the loan of the money used to purchase it. However, depending on the state and the preferences of the lender, a deed of trust or a mortgage deed may be used. [...]
July 28th, 2022 - Category: Marriage, Divorce and Family
As court systems become more and more backlogged with cases and the cost of legal representation continues to increase, divorce mediation has continued to grow in popularity as an alternative to the court process for divorcing couples. Divorce mediation involves the use of a neutral third party to facilitate and guide a couple in deciding what's best for all parties involved. [...]
June 18th, 2021 - Category: Daily Life
Imagine the following scenario: a friend or family member has asked you for money to buy a car, make their rent payment, or help pay an overdue bill. You're okay with providing the loan, but you aren't sure if you need a formal document. [...]
December 16th, 2020 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
Living with roommates can be a truly amazing experience. If you live in a big city like New York, or Los Angeles, or Chicago, sometimes your roommates become your family. [...]
December 15th, 2020 - Category: Work and Employment
These days, it's not very common to start at one job in your teens and twenties and then stay there for life. Although generations prior might have done that, today's workers are more likely to move between workplaces, either to continue to progress their career or simply because they want different things. [...]
October 31st, 2020 - Category: Daily Life
Is it better to buy or lease a car? These days, with so many options, it can be hard to know what the best choice is for you. [...]
October 30th, 2020 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
A Roommate Agreement may seem like a significant formality for something that usually isn't that formal - after all, people live together all the time without having a written agreement between them. Especially for those individuals who shy away from lawyers and legal documents, a Roommate Agreement can seem not only unnecessary but also like it's a big hassle. [...]
October 29th, 2020 - Category: Daily Life
Many people that decide to sell their vehicle focus on one thing: the asking price! Often, vehicles are sold so that we can buy new ones or to make a little extra cash on a car that is no longer being used. [...]
October 29th, 2020 - Category: Daily Life
Selling a car can be both a really fun thing to do and also a really stressful thing to do. Although most of us sell our old cars when we're ready to purchase or lease a new one, it can be a lot of work to prepare everything needed for the sale and find a good buyer. [...]
October 29th, 2020 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
If you're leasing a property and something goes wrong, who has the duty to fix it? In general, who has a duty to maintain the premises in good condition? [...]
October 29th, 2020 - Category: Housing and Real Estate
As a landlord, one situation you never want to find yourself in is chasing down your tenants for rent. Many landlords rely on their rent payments as a form of income, so when a tenant falls behind on their payments or refuses to pay, it can be a real headache. [...]
