When a business is a party to a lawsuit, they are almost always represented by an attorney whose client is not so much the owner or manager of the business, but the business itself. While the attorney and either the owner of the business or their representative are making most of the strategic decisions, it…
Unless you work in real estate, you’ve probably never heard of heirs land and the complicated problems it can cause when the person who thinks they own the property wants to use it as collateral in a transaction or sell it on the open market. Heirs land, quite simply, is land that passed via intestate…
For those not regularly involved in litigation, the court’s schedule can seem both mysterious and slow. In some jurisdictions, the process can be as laborious as getting all the parties together for a scheduling meeting where the clerk of court sits down with a notebook and coordinates the date. Thankfully, most courts have moved beyond…
When you think of estate planning, you may not think about prenuptial agreements and how they interact and impact your estate. However, they have increasingly become an important part of estate planning as lawyers must make sure plans take into account existing prenups and outline where such documents should be created in the future. A…
Sanctions are one tool courts can use to keep attorneys and clients in line when they are not complying with the court’s rulings or abusing the legal process. While generally a last step, issuing sanctions can be a powerful tool to get someone’s attention, punish wrong-doing, and even set a precedent for an entire industry.…
Death is often unexpected and can come while someone is busy with their lives, caring for family, running their business, and even when they’re working on a lawsuit. Sometimes, after someone has passed away, their assets or their passing itself becomes the object of a lawsuit. So how is the estate involved in these lawsuits…
When you have a case pending before the court, the last thing you want to do is frustrate a judge and get reprimanded or even sanctioned for discovery abuse. Cooperating with the discovery process can be costly, time-consuming, and stressful, but it’s an important part of the legal process. What is discovery abuse and why…
An important part of the probate process is when the personal representative gathers all the assets of the deceased person and organizes them for the court. The court then reviews the assets and debts of the estate and the named beneficiaries and assets are moved on so that they belong to the beneficiaries or to…
Cases settling on the courthouse steps are a common occurrence and something attorneys and court personnel often handle. However, for the layman expecting to go to trial, the fact that a settlement occurs right as the trial is about to occur can come as a surprise. There are many reasons this can occur, but here…
Many larger estates focus mainly on creating trusts that allow testators lots of flexibility in how they direct their assets as well as some tax benefits in passing significant assets to beneficiaries. However, in conjunction with setting up a trust, your estate planning attorney will have you create a pour-over will to work with your…