I utterly agree with Mr. Oakley. The cost is so little to pay that it’s like pennies, and the cost of the screw up in today’s dollars would be in the range of $50,000 to $200,000, and that’s probably just the legal fees. Yikes.

You plainly need to file the newer Will, because it voids the older Will unless it is a codicil. I do not think this gives you a new case number, but it plainly requires a new petition and notices. This sounds complex enough that using a lawyer may help.

Your description is not sufficiently clear. The tenant broke the lease. Nevertheless, you chose to return the full deposit without deducting for the rent or brokerage damages. Now, the tenant is suing you? Regardless of whether I understood you, you need a lawyer to review the facts. Perhaps it is... View More

I have noticed that recording offices are way behind in many of my jurisdictions. Long before Covid, it was common for recording to take weeks or months, and recorder staff working remotely for two years has not improved that delay. The next step is to retain a lawyer to investigate whether a... View More

First off, let me quote my late, old professor of Business Law back at Penn. "Of course, you can sue. Any idiot can sue. All it takes is a pen, paper, and the filing fee … and on occasion a crayon is substituted for the pen. The question you are trying to ask is whether you can win."... View More

This reads like a DIY question representing a grave misunderstanding of Virginia probate law where some lawyer is going to make much more money straightening out the mess than he’d ever make avoiding it. Under Virginia law, the house in your fathers some name will pass automatically outside of... View More

If you find a private lender who would not require your personal guarantee and, often, security of your home co-signed by your spouse, you should hold that lender very close… or share his name with me. You will be completely liable on your project unless the lender is an idiot, and most hard... View More

And, your question is… ?

I agree with my learned colleague that this is safer as a lawsuit, but what you cannot do is ignore the encroachment.

The answer will depend on where your mother resided when she passed and where the land is located. In Maryland, you will need to open an estate to transfer the property from your mother to yourself or the buyers. The mortgage company is required by banking law to accept the heirs' payments,... View More

Yes, the bills have to be paid ... but not by you. The creditors may file a probate estate for the decedent and/or file a claim in an existing estate, and they may get paid from the estate assets. Far more rarely, if the medical treatment was "necessary," which medical treatment is... View More

There is no way to answer your question other than to review all the documents. I can, however, note that, like the First Amendment, the prohibition on ex post facto laws binds the federal government, not your condo board.

I must disagree with my learned colleague from Annapolis. You may sell, but there is a process involved. The process is called a Petition for Sale in Lieu of Partition, and, in it, you offer to prove that; 1) you are a co-owner; 2) the property cannot be partitioned, because, e.g., it is a house... View More

You can always decline an estate, but there may be much better ways to put property in the hands of your step-sister to avoid significant taxes. I assume your step-sister is from a union of your father with another mother, because if she is your mother’s daughter and your mother died intestate,... View More

I don't think there is much of anything a lawyer can do without getting involved in the situation and learning the personalities and the history. There are plainly things you can do, but many of them involve putting up a defense. At 71 and living with your mother, you may not have the... View More

The statute you have cited merely declares that you have to survive someone by 30 days to be treated as their survivor. If the sibling died before the decedent -- or within 30 days after -- then their children stand in their shoes for inheritance if intestate or otherwise per stirpes. If the... View More

Retain counsel to file suit for damages for trespass and to enjoin future trespasses, and have counsel send a no-trespass letter which will later support a criminal complaint for trespass. Don’t try doing this alone.

It is difficult to understand your posting, because your language skills are lacking, but you obviously have property rights in the house. It is settings like this where honest people like you get their property rights taken. You need to find the money for a consult with a lawyer who will examine... View More

I’ve never researched the issue, and it might be a fair bar review question, but it would be difficult to imagine a real life settling. Trespass is not presumed when entering on land for a legitimate purpose. The easiest horn book example is the door to door salesman or Jehovah Witness knocking... View More

It is impossible to evaluate this without re viewing the Settlement Agreement and the Deed, but the Settlement Agreement probably trumps the Deed if the Agreement is not ambiguous. This could be an example of saving nickels at the cost of dollars by doing a DYI divorce. One thing that likely helps... View More

Sounds like the crime of Threats, but I don’t cover much Virginia criminal code. You might just call the police. But, if we’re talking about civil law, we’d need to review your hotel contract. After Las Vegas, it’s very unlikely that you have no right to enter your hotel rooms after... View More