Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be […]
Category Archives: General Law
Legal-Ease: Why judges’ campaigns are so careful
Candidates face rules when campaigning, and in Lee’s opinion, the most difficult office to campaign for in Ohio is judge. Every person who runs for judge must attend a course that goes over all the rules that govern that person’s advertising to be judge. The requirements are strict, and can sometimes the rules can be paralyzing.
Legal-Ease: Facilitating purchases and sales
Buying and selling happens constantly in our society. Normally the purchaser gets some sort of documentation from the seller to prove that the purchaser acquired the item properly. A receipt evidences proper ownership for quite a bit of personal property. But for some items, such as items purchased at an auction or from farm implement dealers, the evidence of ownership is called a “bill of sale.” In real estate, the proof of ownership is called a “deed.”
Legal-Ease: Two types of mechanics’ liens
While there are two types of mechanics’ liens in Ohio, they’re not related to each other in any way. Traditional mechanics’ liens happen when a mechanic who works on motor vehicles repairs a vehicle, and the vehicle owner doesn’t pay for the repairs. The mechanic can then keep possession of the vehicle, and this is called a traditional mechanics’ lien. The other type of mechanics’ lien in the state of Ohio is a lien for labor or materials that were provided to an improvement project on real estate or a building. This is sometimes referred to as a real estate mechanics’ lien.
Legal-Ease: Is there a certain attorney that I must use?
Attorneys can normally be fired or hired for any reason at any time in client relationships. Clients can even terminate the attorney’s work in the middle of projects. But attorneys are entitled to be paid for the services they provided, even if the client terminated the relationships in the middle of a project.
Legal-Ease: Eyewitness testimony is sometimes unreliable
Sometimes memories of past events are blurry. While a person may believe they’re being 100% honest, sometimes eyewitness testimony is unreliable. Memories are often inaccurate, and sometimes photographs and other evidence can contradict eyewitness testimony.
Legal-Ease: Texts, trains and automobiles
Northwest Ohio regularly hosts plenty of trains, which many residents joke that they spend a large chunk of their time waiting on. Many people see the opportunity while waiting on train to pick up their phones and text or catch up on social media. In Ohio it’s illegal to text and drive, and this includes while waiting for a train.
Legal-Ease: Suing your own family for torts
Recent news of an aunt suing her nephew for a large sum of money because an assertive hug at his birthday party resulted in a broken wrist upset many people. But when the woman’s attorneys explained she wasn’t suing her nephew expecting the money, but rather was suing so that his insurance company would pay her medical bills, people became even more confused.
Legal-Ease: Starting and ending marriages
There are a number of laws in place in the state of Ohio in relation to starting and ending a marriage. Ending a marriage is often more complicated than starting a marriage in the state of Ohio.
Legal-Ease: Fairness in family business succession
Many residents in Northwest Ohio are small business owners, and often these small business owners want to pass their businesses on to their children. But passing on a family business to offspring can present a number of challenges.