With joint tenancy, two individuals can own property together, sharing both ownership and the obligations associated with the property. For instance, if they have a mortgage, both are responsible for the payments. While they may create informal agreements—such as one...
Leasing a commercial property is often a challenging process due to the variety of lease types, detailed agreements, the need for negotiation and other important factors. Even more concerning is the fact there are so many potential pitfalls along the way. Even so,...
Mediation is a popular alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method and is particularly effective in helping parties reach mutually agreeable solutions without the expense and formality of court proceedings. If you are considering mediation for resolving a business...
You're probably familiar with the old saying, "Don't burn your bridges." Unfortunately, some disputes escalate to a point where preserving any sort of relationship is lost. Before letting a conflict with your business partner turn into a lawsuit, you may want to...
Parents often experience sibling rivalry when their children are young. Ideally, the children outgrow this as they get older and go on to have a strong relationship. But this isn’t always the case. In some situations, sibling rivalry will last into adulthood. It may...
Homeowners sometimes can’t afford to make their mortgage payments, but they can’t get out from under their home easily because they owe more than the home is worth. One option that might work in these cases is to sell the home as a short sale. A short sale occurs when...
You’re ready to sell your home – but you have a problem: You need the money from the sale to set up in a new place. Since many homeowners have the vast majority of their money tied up in their property, this isn’t an uncommon issue. Even if you intend to rent, it can...
A life estate is a legal arrangement that allows property ownership to be divided between two parties: the life tenant who creates the life estate and the remainderman. Such an arrangement can be beneficial for many, enabling them to retain use of the property while...
Estate planning is associated with several myths. And one of them is that one has to be rich to have a will. It's not uncommon for people to postpone estate planning because they believe their estate is not "big enough." So, how wealthy should one be to draft an...
Earlier this year, a new federal law went into effect, requiring many businesses to disclose information about their owners and report it to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. Once filed, the information then goes into the...
