Legal-Ease: Trusts in Ohio

Trusts are set of rules related to assets. Trusts that can be changed are called revocable trusts, and trusts that cannot be changed are called irrevocable trusts. 

Up until very recently, trusts were necessary to avoid or decrease estate taxes. Trusts help people avoid probate for the assets in the trust. Trusts can also set up rules on how assets are used by heirs. Finally, trusts are used to gradually distribute assets to people who might struggle if given a large sum of money at once or who may have creditors who would try to seize money if it were readily available. 

Legal-Ease: He did it, and he did not do it

As O.J. Simpson has recently been in the news, some may have been wondering how he was found “not guilty” in his criminal trial but “liable” in a civil trial. 

The question can be answered by looking at the standard that has to be met to “win” a court case. The standard that applies to define winning a court case is called the “burden of proof.” The burden of proof was different in O.J. Simpson’s criminal case than from his civil case. 

Legal-Ease: Routes to recovery: Torts and contracts

Anyone can sue anyone else at any time, but that doesn’t mean that the lawsuit will be successful. The rights to recover money in civil lawsuits break into the categories of torts and contracts. 

If someone is injured, the person who caused the harm may have committed a tort. The other category of civil lawsuits is contracts, which is a mutual relationship among multiple people who have responsibilities to each other.