Questions Answered by Vincent J. Bernabei
Q: My husband is disabled, receives Medicare with prescriptions cov. with Cigna. Five reimbursement checks bounced. Help.
Cigna did not coordinate their benefits with Nathan's primary insurance coverage through Regence. Cigna did not cover any copays for 3 years. We didn't quite understand the magnitude until speaking to our pharmacy and doing some investigating. We spent hours and hours collecting print outs from... Read more »
If you have received bad checks, you can recover from the company issuing the checks the costs of collecting the amount of the check, including attorney's fees, interest on the amount of the check which accrues at the rate of twelve percent per annum from the date of dishonor; and three hundred... Read more »
Q: 2017 divorce stipulates she pay for her car, 2018 cosign to help her lower payment, 2019 refi house but rejected because
cosigned new loan to lowers exwife car payments , mortage copmany says this voids divorce stipulation that she pay for car, and now rejected for refi on house anyway to fix this??????
The 2018 transaction does not void the divorce judgment. Your former spouse complied with the divorce judgment by refinancing the car debt in 2018. You effectively co-signed for a legal stranger, since you were under no legal obligation to do so. You may have some options, but you should contact... Read more »
Q: Nephew is 18 & in HS, been living w/me for 6 mos. His Dad won't give up being the custodial. How do I become custodial?
Yes he is 18 but he is still in high school & his dad claims he is the custodial until my nephew graduates.
You don't. Your nephew is an adult.
Q: G-parents died in 1976 with no wills, no probate was done. OR has unclaimed money (life ins policy). How can I claim?
Grandmother died 9/4/76, Grandfather died 9/20/76, 1 surviving son, whereabouts unknown, 1 deceased son, 1 granddaughter (me), 1 grandson, whereabouts unknown. Grandmother was beneficiary on life insurance policy, no secondary listed. No claim has been filed by creditor's for the unclaimed money,... Read more »
Assuming the funds are held by Oregon Department of State Lands, you will need to determine whether either or both of your grandparents had wills. If so, one or both of their estates may need to be probated, depending on the terms of the wills. If you are the daughter of their surviving son, you... Read more »
Q: what kind of lawyer will i need to represent my interest concerning my mothers last will
i will want a lawyer close to zip 97478
If your interest in your mother's will is contested, you will need a lawyer who has experience in probate and estate litigation.
Q: Dad left a will to include four beneficiaries. Dad sold house one month prior to death. Money was put in savings. Only 1
Child benefited from it. Is that legal?
More information is needed to answer your question, including whether the child who received the savings account was a joint owner of the account or a payable on death beneficiary of the account and what were the circumstances surrounding your father's decision to effectively change his estate plan... Read more »
Q: why would the opposing party not have to have accounting before the estate is out of trial?
The opposing party is not coming forward with accounting for unknown reasons and has also borrowed money from the estate without approval from the judge. The opposing party also had depleted the estate account and had to open another one giving an updated inventory and is somehow blaming their... Read more »
This is a common and unfortunate scenario when there is no comprehensive estate plan in place. If your mother and father owned their assets jointly while they were both alive, the surviving spouse will own everything when the first spouse dies. There is no estate and no probate for the first... Read more »
Q: My wife has constantly cheated the last 4 + years now she wants divorce. I’m on disability what options do I have
She had me move my mom in the house almost a year ago, now she’s trying to take the house and my mom and me have no where to go. Because of her infidelities I’m mentally emotional because of her and her cheating
Generally, your wife's cheating is not admissible in evidence in a divorce case. Oregon is a no fault divorce state, which means you cannot introduce evidence of fault to prove the reason for getting divorced. Your wife's cheating may be admissible if there is an adverse economic consequence that... Read more »
Q: I have sole custody of my 2 sons with autism and want to move out of state without my ex knowing.
Both my boys have autism, and my youngest is mostly non verbal. Something happened over at his Dad's that caused my son to have PTSD. If I say "Dad" in ANY context (in any convo to others) he turns white and panicks. Sadly he can't tell me why. I was granted sole custody of them both in the... Read more »
The answer depends on the terms of your judgment of dissolution of marriage. If it states you are required to give notice of your move, then you are required to give notice.
The decision whether to modify parenting time to permit the relocation of children hinges “solely on the best... Read more »
Q: I have a hand written will that all assets go to me, his wife but there is not a legal marriage license.
How do I complete probate? Our home and car are only in his name and it is under 100,00.00 in assets. Do his children have to do the probate or can, I. They all agree that the property is to be mine. We were married in Idaho under the common law.
The handwritten will should be submitted to the probate court to begin the probate process, along with a petition. If the fair market value of the real property (home) is less than $200,000 and the fair market value of the car and other personal property is less than $75,000, you may be able to... Read more »
Q: If served a restraining order and what the petitioner said is not true. Along with pulling a 15 year old child into it
A court may issue a Family Abuse Restraining Order “upon a showing that the petitioner has been the victim of abuse committed by the respondent within 180 days preceding the filing of the petition;” that "there is an imminent danger of further abuse to the petitioner;" and “that the... Read more »
Q: My grandpas ex wife is A beneficiary on an annuity He divorced her Bc she committed fraud on his accounts what can we do
My grandfather was married to a women for a few years. He told us she was stealing from him and using his retirement money. He divorced her in 2006 but as executor I see she is a beneficiary on an annuity. I am ready to inform her, however, I feel that the reason of the divorce and state of their... Read more »
Depending on the express terms of your grandfather's General Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, the beneficiary designation may be revoked and the former spouse's ability to access the annuity may be restricted. Also, it is possible that he notified the annuity company of a change of beneficiary... Read more »
Q: My friends mom was named in a will to distribute monies to her 3 adult kids. No money has been received by them.
She keeps having excuses last one being check hasnt cleared. It has she has been spending money and she has no income from anything but the inheritance. She is a heroin addict and the kids think its gonna be spent by her. What can they do to have her replaced
You may consider filing a court petition to have the personal representative removed. The petition should be filed in the probate case. The court will grant the petition if the personal representative has commingled estate money, such as using estate funds to pay for her own personal expenses.... Read more »
Q: My fiance' and I purchased our house one month before marriage. Now, 10 years later, he says he put more money in.
Can he get back the money he put in, even if we were married for ten years? We are in Oregon.
The court's ultimate responsibility in dividing marital assets in a divorce proceeding is to make sure that the division is just and proper under all the circumstances. You have not provided enough details for an attorney to provide an informed response to your question. Without knowing all the... Read more »
Q: Does a widow in Oregon have survivorship rights even though only husbands name is on deed to house?
They were married 9 years, lived together 2 years before that. She has lived in home with him from date of purchase. His estate is very small. Husband left no will. She has to go through probate if no survivorship/common law/Tenant by entirety.
If only the deceased spouse's name is on the deed to the home, the surviving spouse must initiate a court probate proceeding to have ownership of the home transferred. The surviving spouse has certain claims to a deceased spouse's estate, but the deceased spouse's estate will have to go through... Read more »
Q: Just trying to find out on a judgement/settlement i received,if and how to collect on it.Superior court judgement
Was referred to by original attorney to hire collection attorney. I was molested by my teacher. Judge ordered 500,000 judgment with the teacher himself being the debtor or one ordered to pay. Dont know anything on how or if this can be recovered
You will need to begin enforcement action, including wage and bank garnishments, seizure and sale of real and personal property, if any, owned by the debtor. If the debtor transferred property to others in an attempt to avoid the judgment debt s/he owes you, the recipient of the property may also... Read more »
Q: I was hit by a car while riding my bike. The driver was at fault. My question is, will the fact that I was on meth
Will me being on illegal drugs at the time of the accident ruin my personal injury case?
Your meth use probably does not ruin your personal injury claim. Your meth use reduces the value of your claim but without more information, it is difficult to say how significant that reduction will be. You should consult with an attorney right away.
Q: Would it be better for me to just keep our house and not asked for half of his 401(k)?
My husband and I have been married for almost 34 years and he has decided that he is not happy so he moved out. He told one of our daughters that he would give me the house because he felt that I would not get enough from his 401(k) and that I would have to pay taxes on that. I was a stay at home... Read more »
Assuming the net values of the home and the 401(k) account are approximately equal, your spouse's proposal makes sense. There is much more to it than that though, and I encourage you to consult with an attorney in your area who handles divorce cases. Generally, in a long term marriage, the assets... Read more »
Q: I was recently in a Car accident where a driver was using the special left turn lane as I was exiting a parking lot
One this day it was very sunny and dry, I was stopped at a parking lot exit waiting for southbound lane traffic to allow me to turn on to a special left lane turn so I could merge on to the northbound lanes on the other side, the traffic on the southbound lanes stopped and wave me on to get on the... Read more »
The ticket was for a traffic infraction and cannot be used to prove fault. Even so, the other driver's insurance company is bluffing. You should arrange for your insurance company to pay all of your medical expenses and lost wages, if any. You should contact an attorney who can assist you in... Read more »
Q: What forms do I need to fill out and what process do I need to go through to gain guardianship of my 10 year old son?
I have had my son here with me since June 16th. He was only supposed to be with me until July 5th but his mom asked me to keep him longer as their home situation has changed and she had no where for them to live. She is currently homeless and staying with family. At this time it is getting closer... Read more »
If this is your son, you need a custody order. If there is already a custody order in a custody or divorce decree, then you should file a petition to modify the custody order. Usually, that has to be done in the same court that entered the custody order. If there is no prior custody order, then... Read more »
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