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Questions Answered by Nicholas P. Weiss
1 Answer | Asked in Family Law for Ohio on
Q: my father passed away and did not list a beneficiary on his 401k. do his kids receive this benefit ?
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answered on Mar 6, 2024

His estate receives this benefit. The estate then disburses the funds in accordance with the will. If there is no will, then it is disbursed according to Ohio's intestacy statute. If he is unmarried, it is likely that the kids will take all of the funds.

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Ohio on
Q: What do I do as the beneficiary of a trust that I believe my mother, the trustee, is accessing without my knowledge?

My grandfather passed in 2017, I was 17 years old. I know that I am a beneficiary to a trust, as is my brother, but I was never given any information on the value or really how it works at all. Now, as a 24 year old, I still have not gained that knowledge. My mother avoids discussing it and... View More

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answered on Mar 4, 2024

Any beneficiary of a trust with a fully vested interest may seek a copy of the trust document and an accounting of the trust from the trustee at any time. If the Trustee refuses, the beneficiary may bring an action for an accounting against them. This is the beneficiary's remedy if the the... View More

3 Answers | Asked in Probate for Ohio on
Q: I am listed as beneficiary on my father’s will. It by name excludes my sister. Should I be concerned about her contestin

The will excludes her by name. She says dad told her that she would be taken care of. She claims she is getting an attorney. He has passed away.

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answered on Feb 14, 2024

Yes. Most wills include provisions that disinherit anyone contesting a will. In this case, she is already disinherited, so there is no downside to her contesting the will.

On the other hand, will contests are HARD. It is very difficult to prove either undue influence or lack of capacity,...
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1 Answer | Asked in Family Law and Child Support for Ohio on
Q: My child is over 18 and under my medical insurance. Separation agreement says we split medical expenses.

My daughter has anorexia and was diagnosed when she was 15. She’s been in a lot of treatment over the years. Last year she was in a treatment center that cost $15k out of pocket. My seperate agreements states we split medical bills. Does the splitting of medical bills stop when my daughter turned... View More

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answered on Jan 22, 2024

In general the duty to support goes to age18 or graduation from high school, whichever comes later. If she hasn't graduated you may be able to enforce payment. If she has graduated then she is no longer part of your divorce decree and he has no duty to support.

1 Answer | Asked in Child Custody and Family Law for Ohio on
Q: Shared legal custody and separate state parents. Daughter wants to move with father.

I have shared legal custody with my child’s mother. She lives in Ohio and I live in Pennsylvania. She is the custodial parent for school purposes as that is what we agreed upon initially during our original custody case when she was 5. My daughter is now 12 and wishes to move out here to... View More

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answered on Jan 11, 2024

This is a very fact specific question. It is possible, given your daughter's age, that a court would lend more weight to her wishes. However, she's been established in Ohio for seven years. A court is going to be hesitant to upend her like that especially if she is doing well academically in Ohio.

2 Answers | Asked in Employment Law for Ohio on
Q: Caregiver says her company will sue her for $1000s if she quits the company and I hire her . Is this true or possible?
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answered on Oct 19, 2023

It is likely that her contract with her company contains non-compete and non-solicitation clauses that would prohibit her from sniping clients from them. There is likely a liquidated damages clause in the contract that the company would use to prevent her from working for you directly.

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1 Answer | Asked in Landlord - Tenant for Ohio on
Q: If rental renewal was not given in lease form am I able to move with no penalty?

I have lived at my current rental property since June of 2020. We communicate with landlord via text. We have only seen him twice. Once when we viewed property. And another when we had a leak. He makes us do everything for maint. and he takes off of our rent. This year when we told our landlord we... View More

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answered on Aug 25, 2023

Text conversations would be enough to renew the lease at the new rate. If you left early you would be in breach.

1 Answer | Asked in Landlord - Tenant for Ohio on
Q: In Ohio does my niece need a court order to make her boyfriend move out?

My niece recently had a baby with her boyfriend. He’s lived with her for a little over one year now, but has become increasingly abusive. She wants him to move out. She lived there before they met, his name is not on the lease, there are no bills in his name. The only mail delivered there with... View More

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answered on Aug 8, 2023

Due to the length of time he's been living there, he transitioned at some point from a "guest", which doesn't need an eviction, to a "sub-tenant" who does.

As a practical matter, however, under these facts the likelihood of her getting in trouble for a...
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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law, Adoption and Child Custody for Ohio on
Q: Will biological fathers court paper interfere with my husband and I's adoption process?

My husband and I are going to be starting the adoption process, we have had our appointment for a few weeks now. However, bio father just filed a petition to the courts for shared parenting/paternity. Paternity was never established. Bio father has not supported our child for 1 year and 1 month... View More

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answered on Aug 8, 2023

You will in all likelihood prevail on your stepparent adoption. In Ohio, when a biological parent has failed, without reasonable justification, to provide support for over a year to a minor child, his consent is not necessary to proceed with the stepparent adoption.

There will be two...
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2 Answers | Asked in Elder Law and Family Law for Ohio on
Q: What to do when an elderly parent is no longer competent.

My 2 young children, my wife and I have lived with my elderly mother in her house (that she owns) for the past 5 years to help care for her, as well as the home. She has recently stopped taking her medications and seeing her doctor. She drives her car recklessly. (Has new, lrg damage to drivers... View More

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answered on Aug 4, 2023

Unfortunately this is likely a time to seek guardianship over your mother. If she is declining and isn't able to take care of herself, you will need to petition the probate court to obtain guardianship over her. If she refuses to see a doctor who can perform a competency exam, you will also... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Child Custody, Child Support and Family Law for Ohio on
Q: How can I file for my child’s fathers rights to be revoked in ohio

I have a daughter who is 18 months old. Her biological father is on the birth certificate but has not done Anything for her in over 6 months. Can I file for abandonment and have him removed from the birth certificate and his rights revoked? He is on child support and has not paid one payment. I... View More

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answered on Jul 25, 2023

If you are unmarried, he already has no rights. Ohio law does not provide for any custody or visitation for an unmarried father absent a court order. You don't have to do anything.

If you would like to strip him of any parental rights, the only way to do that is through a stepparent...
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1 Answer | Asked in Family Law for Ohio on
Q: What are the Grandparents Rights for visitation in Ohio, my husband and I have full custody.

My Husband and I went no contact with our children’s Grandparents due to a toxic environment, and the Grandmother threatening me in my house, and we felt the decision was best for our family and kids. The Grandparents watched the kids while we worked and it wasn’t a positive time all of the... View More

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answered on Jul 13, 2023

If you are married to the father of the children, the grandparents have no rights whatsoever. Not even to visitation. The only way they could get rights is if they seek full custody by establishing that both you and your husband are an unfit parent, an extremely high bar.

If you are NOT...
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1 Answer | Asked in Family Law and Real Estate Law for Ohio on
Q: Is dower rights still a thing in ohio on 2023? Any way for spouse to waive all rights to everything their name is not on

From the start of the marriage so that neight have to deal with it?

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answered on Jun 23, 2023

Dower is still a thing, unfortunately. A prenuptial agreement waiving claims to certain property will, as a matter of law, eliminate dower. However, as a matter of practice, most banks will not fund a transaction if the spouse does not waive their dower interest as part of the sale on the deed... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Contracts and Construction Law for Ohio on
Q: I would like to fire my contractor for not completing a job in a reasonable time frame.

We were told the job would be done in Feb 2023, It is now June and we are still being delayed and not scheduled. Our contractor has been "scheduling" dates to start for months but then reschedules the day before, most times without notifying us unless we reach out to them. I asked to... View More

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answered on Jun 8, 2023

Under Ohio's consumer sales practices act, it is a deceptive act for a supplier (the contractor) to allow 8 weeks to elapse without services being rendered. O.A.C. 109:4-3-09.

If the contractor messes this up, they are liable for three times your damages (amount paid) plus reasonable...
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2 Answers | Asked in Contracts for Ohio on
Q: If I signed a contract with a company for exterior home improvement, how long do they have to do the work?

The paper stated that I had three days to cancel.

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answered on Jun 7, 2023

Under Ohio's consumer sales practices act, it is a deceptive act for a supplier (the contractor) to allow 8 weeks to elapse without services being rendered. O.A.C. 109:4-3-09.

If the contractor messes this up, they are liable for three times your damages (amount paid) plus reasonable...
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1 Answer | Asked in Consumer Law, Contracts and Construction Law for Ohio on
Q: How long can a contractor take to bill me?

Had roof done on 5/5/22. City inspector found out they didn't have permit. They apparently have an issue with getting the permit and still do not have it. This has been over a year now. I have the money waiting to pay them and am of course willing to pay them if they ever get their legal... View More

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answered on Jun 6, 2023

They can bill you whenever. If there was a written contract then they have six years from the last date of work performed to bring a claim against you for non-payment.

If they were required to get a permit, and didn't, then you have a strong claim under Ohio's Consumer Sales...
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2 Answers | Asked in Contracts, Divorce, Family Law and Banking for Ohio on
Q: In OH marriage can debts obtained by one person affect the other and...

..if so can you do anything to keep each person isolated having having any tie to any debts/mistakes by the other during the marriage.

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answered on Jun 2, 2023

There are a few parts to this question. Debt incurred by a spouse alone will not, generally, expose you to liability from the creditor, even during marriage. This debt, during divorce, may be considered marital debt, and it is possible that some or all of the debt may be apportioned between the... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Cannabis & Marijuana Law, Car Accidents and Employment Law for Ohio on
Q: what happens if im driving a company vehicle and im not high but weed is in my system and someone hits me or i hit some1

i usually only smoke like one bowl a day and if i get a medical card will i be ok no matter what

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answered on Mar 29, 2023

It is illegal to smoke marijuana in Ohio. This is true even if you have a medical card. Your employment is also not protected from the use of marijuana even if you have a medical card. Marijuana in your system will likely be determined to be a contributing factor in any accident.

1 Answer | Asked in Child Custody, Civil Litigation and Family Law for Ohio on
Q: I am being harassed over text. Should I take action?

My coparent and his wife continuously harrass me over text. They attack me, my character and parenting style. No threats of harm have been made. I do not respond to these messages yet they continue to send them. I don't block their number because my son lives in their household during... View More

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answered on Mar 27, 2023

If you don't have an existing custody order, I'd recommend pursuing one and making a condition of the order being that everyone uses a third-party messenger service, like Our Family Wizard, to communicate. The benefit there is that anyone, including the court or GAL, will have instant... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Contracts for Ohio on
Q: Are both parties required to provide a mailing address to make a contract valid and enforceable?

We are trying to contract with an illustrator. Our CEO is insistent that we require the illustrators physical mailing address for the contract to be valid, the illustrator is only offering us his email at this time.

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answered on Jan 27, 2023

It can be valid without an address. I agree with your CEO though that you should require a physical mailing address in the contract. If the contract is breached and you need to sue then you will need their address to start the lawsuit.

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