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.
Tag Archives: Lee Schroeder Lima News
Legal-Ease: Facts, alternative facts and optical illusions
In the legal world, facts are subject to a high level of scrutiny. When facts are important to a case, they will be disputed. The law is subject to interpretation as decided by judges, and in criminal cases and most lawsuits, juries decide the facts.
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: Lawyers showing farmers lots of love over corn class action lawsuit
In 2013, a decision over genetically modified organisms, known as “GMO,” caused a significant decrease in the price of corn in America’s markets. Two varieties of genetically modified seed corn created by the company Syngenta led to a stoppage on all U.S. corn exports to China, one of the biggest buyers of American farm crops.
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: Common business documents explained
Changes in business ownership or relationships will require a selection of documents that help outline the details.
Legal-Ease: Medicaid and marriage
Most of us will not know if or when we may need long-term care. Protecting family financial legacies while receiving Medicaid is complex.
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.
Legal-Ease: Becoming and remaining business partners
Adding owners to a business venture will almost always require considerations beyond just legal ownership. A variety of “non-legal” issues may include time allocation, value of each individual’s work and other relationships.
It is important to evaluate these considerations and effectively work the “non-legal” aspects into the business documents. This includes updating an entity’s operational requirements, adopting a new resolution, updating bills of sale and more.
Legal-Ease: Long documents a tradition that protect clients
Historically, meaningless words were added to legal documents to puff them up. It is now a cliché that attorneys prepare very long documents, even with all of the extra fluff removed. Legal documents are lengthy because short and simple contracts can leave clients unprotected and work against their interests.