Legal-Ease: Do I need a trust?

Trusts can be thought of as contracts. They allow people to impose rules on inheritances, minimizing or eliminating estate taxes, if necessary. The “trustee” of the trust can distribute the property owned.

Legal-Ease: What is in a name?

Choosing a business name is a seemingly simple yet vital decision. The name must be “legally distinguishable,” as determined through a variety of rules and overseen in Ohio by the Ohio Secretary of State. Sometimes, additional trade names are necessary for a business.

Legal-Ease: I lost a loved one; now what?

The first step to saying goodbye to a family member involves taking your time to suitably grieve and be together with family and friends. One of the practicalities following a loved one passing away is hiring an attorney to help sort through and change ownership of assets.

Legal-Ease: Important documents and where to keep them

Over time, most of us accumulate a variety of important legal documents. Birth certificates, vehicle titles, social security cards, wills, deeds to real estate, life insurance policies, tax returns and other various records begin to pile up. Some of these can be easily replaced. For others, the original holds special legal value and should be kept secure.

Legal-Ease: Components of a good farmland lease

Many landlords and tenants could benefit from better farmland leases. Sometimes, the seemingly simple act of defining each party may be more complex than one assumes.

More complicated agreements such as “hybrid leases,” which contain elements of cash rent and crop-share, rely on formulating payments based on yield and crop prices. Other basic items such as lease duration or payment schedule could create pitfalls if both parties have not clearly established them. A good farmland lease will address these concerns, among others.