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When someone dies, people often assume there must be an estate to deal with. But sometimes, after looking through the person’s finances and property, the family discovers there really isn’t anything that needs to go through probate. The tricky part is proving it. Simply saying “they didn’t own anything” may...
Discovering that your contractor has botched a project or vanished with your hard-earned deposit is every property owner’s nightmare. The natural first reaction is to call the police, only to often be told, “This is a civil matter.” But is it always? While standard delays and subpar work belong in...
When two people are named as co-executors of an estate, figuring out how much they can get paid can raise a lot of questions. Does the estate pay one fee and split it between them? Do they each get paid separately? And how much can that amount actually be? Florida...
Thinking about putting a mobile home on your parents’ property? If there’s enough space on the land and your parents are okay with it, you might assume you can simply bring in the mobile home and get settled. Unfortunately, property rules don’t always work that way. There are many things...
Hiring a contractor is supposed to make your life easier, not leave you staring at an unfinished project for weeks wondering what happened. You agreed on the work, paid your deposit, and expected the job to move along. But now the deadline is getting closer, or maybe it has already...
Putting up a new fence or sorting out a yard project means you need to know exactly where your land ends and your neighbor’s begins. Professional surveys cost serious cash, so trying to get your hands on the survey your neighbor already paid is a smart shortcut. Property surveys are...
Choosing an executor can feel a little tricky when you do not have close family members to turn to. The good news is that your executor usually does not need to be related to you. You may be able to choose a trusted friend, lawyer, professional fiduciary, business associate, bank,...
An irrevocable trust might sound like something that’s set in stone forever. After all, once a trust is called “irrevocable,” it’s easy to assume there’s no way to change it, let alone bring it to an end. But that’s not quite how it works. An irrevocable trust can end in...
An unlawful detainer can be stressful for a landlord when a tenant decides to fight the eviction. The good news is that tenants do not automatically win these cases. If you have a valid reason for the eviction and follow the required steps, you can put yourself in a strong...
It sounds surprising at first. You open your mail or check your county’s property tax records, and instead of seeing your own name as the payer, you notice that CoreLogic paid your property taxes. If you’ve never dealt with the company before, it’s easy to think something is wrong. The...