You will need to make a claim in the deceased's probate estate, assuming there is an estate. If the account has a beneficiary and there is no estate, you may be out of luck. Consult legal counsel if the check is big enough to be worthwhile.

You can look up the resident agent at SDAT, since it was likely updated when the entity filed annual reports, or you can serve an officer, or you can serve SDAT if there is no resident agent, or you can move the court to grant substitute service. You start by reading the rules of civil procedure.... View More

Consult NC counsel. You probably have substantial rights.

Interesting situation… and that’s not the kind of thing you want to hear from your lawyer. But, there may be an easier approach. Here’s the bad news: their status as squatters probably doesn’t matter unless you can get the cooperation of the title owner through his estate or through... View More

You need to consult a Puerto Rican lawyer of title agent. While the notarial seal of another US jurisdiction is likely to be honored, the jurisdiction where the land lies will have transfer rules, filing requirements, and tax protocols to follow.

The answer will depend on the law where your brother was domiciled when he died. If he was living in Nevada, you need a Nevada lawyer. In all likelihood, by the most common intestate succession framework, his primary heirs are his spouse (whom you don’t mention) and his issue (the daughter).

You need to look carefully at the disclosures and the advertising as well as all other correspondence to look for misrepresentations. There are several categories of cases, but you aren't in the easiest of them. It's not going to be an easy latent defect case if the cracks are very... View More

Have you asked your siblings or (step-)mother or other relatives if there is a Will or someone is filing probate? Did he have assets, and should you file as Administrator? A consult with a lawyer discussing your situation might be helpful, and, if that lawyer opens the estate, you’ll be repaid... View More

You can ask politely and be ignored; or you can document the evidence, send a demand letter, and sue.

Set up a trust. It won’t be hard, but it’s not a DIY project. Get Virginia counsel.

There are often opportunities for tax savings as well as better planning in this sort of setting, but much depends on what the trust says. I see you are across the border in York, PA. I can refer you to someone, but you need a Pennsylvania admitted trusts and estates lawyer.

There is no reasonable way to evaluate your position without reviewing the trust document to determine the trust instructions and, potentially, formation issues and breaches of fiduciary duties. Schedule a consult with a qualified lawyer.

Of course you can challenge the Will. It is not an easy process, but if there was undue influence, lack of capacity, or the signature isn't genuine, those are all grounds to caveat the Will. You will have no chance of success without legal counsel, and you will almost surely need to pay... View More

You might want a consultation with a Virginia lawyer to review the matter, but if the house was owned by dad and step-mom by entireties, and dad died first, the house belonged solely to step-mom when she died. I would think in a second marriage, the parties would title their home better, use a... View More

There are a couple answers, and some of your fears are unfounded. The likely easiest is to file for separate maintenance and a landlord-tenant action to evict if needed. You do, however, need counsel to get all the facts and plan an appropriate strategy.

The contract is the last version that you both signed. Your earlier drafts don’t matter except to explain the contract. You need a lawyer to review your contract.

The only way to get a competent answer to this is to review the deeds and the survey. If I assume that the water cut off is in the utility easement, then the utility has the permanent right to access that cut-off on your property within their easement as often as needed. The cost of changing that... View More

You are going to need a WV lawyer, and I am only licensed in Virginia as well as DC and Maryland. Nevertheless, you can't sue for damages unless you are damaged, but your husband can give her a proper notice to stay off the land if he owns it and she does not. As to unlicensed advertising of... View More

Property generally does not descend as you are anticipating. There is generally no right to a specific 1.5 acres or $30,000. What you have — assuming you are a common co-tenant of the whole by descent— is the right to partition or to sell in lieu of partition. That requires a settlement or a... View More

It depends on what the contracts you signed said. Either read them yourself or retain counsel to help you understand them. It's not a bad idea to read them before you sign them, too.