Legal-Ease: Will Lake Erie sue you?

The residents of the city of Toledo voted that Lake Erie and its watershed, which includes Allen County and any county adjacent to Allen County, can sue any business or government that causes harm to Lake Erie or fails to undertake protective action of Lake Erie. This law is largely symbolic designed to show that Toledo wants less pollution in Lake Erie and is not likely to be enforced. 

If LEBOR were to actually be enforced, it could immediately affect all businesses in northwest Ohio. 

Legal-Ease: Four planning frameworks

A good lawyer’s advice is important for good outcomes in life, business and death. There are four primary frameworks to begin to prepare for life changes. 

First, identify the special financial gifts you want to give upon your death. Second, percentages can be used to distribute assets. Third, specific assets can be earmarked for certain people. Finally, many people will mix and match the frameworks, so good organization is key. 

Legal-Ease: Caring for adult children with special needs

When children with intellectual and developmental disabilities become adults, unique challenges can present themselves.

If the adult with a disability is mentally competent as a matter of law, he or she may be able to sign powers of attorney that name family and friends as agents. If the adult is not legally competent mentally to sign powers of attorney, parents or other members of the family should undertake a formal guardianship proceeding.

Legal-Ease: Eviction steps for residential property

Residential properties have many rules to govern the relationship between the tenant and the landlord. Laws have been put into place to ensure that tenants are properly protected. Many of the protections concern what provisions can or cannot be included within a lease. 

Legal-Ease: Earning, keeping and expanding trust

Trust is the basic foundation of human interaction. Lee is regularly asked by landlord clients what type of person they should seek as their property managers and tenants. His answer is always the same: trust. 

Our legal system is set up to create or at least maintain trust so that business and commerce can operate. Trust is also guaranteed to be kept throughout durations of business transactions through the use of legal documentation. 

Legal-Ease: Caution with corporations

Before LLCs were legally able to be established, the practical ways to organize businesses was to establish either a corporation or limited partnership. 

Limited partnerships are cumbersome to maintain are are confusing when compared to LLCs. 

There can be some legitimate reasons for a new business to organize as a corporation instead of an LLC for tax purposes. When organizing a new business, caution should be exercised to be sure that the business is being established in the best way possible. 

Legal-Ease: More than one way to avoid probate

Contracts are typically enforceable in courts if they’re not honored. Generally, a property owner may have a contract that explains what happens to property when the property owner dies. Each properly prepared contract will provide oversight and enforceability in regards to property ownership changes. 

However, without a contract there is no oversight between the people involved in changing the property’s ownership. Without a contract, the court must provide oversight. 

Legal-Ease: Warranties and out-of-business retailers

When a business closes, its commitments are typically canceled along with the business itself. So, for example, a retailer that closes down may have the ability to walk away from its property lease. This applies to contracts with other vendors as well. 

Among contracts that a business may walk away from upon closure are warranties. Warranty liability for closed businesses usually will break out into two categories. 

Legal-Ease: Three tools to use five years before nursing home

Financial obligations for someone who needs to live in a nursing home or assisted living facility can be immense. Even in-home care can cost hundreds of dollars per day. 

The average time of a stay for a person in a nursing home is 835 days. That would translate to a total cost of $250,000, so for many people, it’s necessary to plan for the cost of long-term care. 

Typically, planning for long-term care expenses involves planning to become eligible for institutional Medicaid. 

Legal-Ease: Close enough, legally speaking

In some instances, “close enough” is legally sufficient, especially since perfection is not possible in every aspect of business or life. 

A good example of this is with real estate documents that are several decades old. Names that sound the same but are spelled differently can sometimes considered to be the same.