Important Things You Need to Know about Real Estate Planning

An estate plan is often overlooked by many. But legally, it is something that everyone must have in place. Real estate planning should be customized and best suited to your specific situation.

WHAT IS A REAL ESTATE PLANNING?

It refers to the management of properties and assets of the individual once he becomes incapacitated or deceased. Estate planning involves managing, preserving, and distributing an individual’s assets. The process includes several tasks such as writing a will, naming an executor and beneficiaries, arranging funeral services, and setting up a trust or making charitable donations. 

If your estate is located in Boulder, Colorado, the estate planning lawyer Boulder residents run to for legal advice will help you manage your properties or assets such as houses, cars, artwork, stocks, pensions, life insurance, pensions, and even debts.As owner of a real estate, you must seek the professional help of a Boulder estate planning lawyer for numerous reasons:

• Preserving the family’s wealth
• Financial support for the spouse and children upon his death
• Securing his next generation’s education, or
• Leaving a legacy through charitable donations 

Situations that Require the Services of a Boulder Estate Planning Lawyer

Preparing your estate plan should be treated as a serious task. Your estate plan must be comprehensive and complete to achieve your personal goals. A single mistake or missing signature in your real estate documents can be a reason for invalidation of the whole plan. 

Therefore, you must get the service of an estate planning lawyer Boulder property owners prefer for their expertise an expertise in this field. Additionally, you can consider hiring an estate lawyer if you find yourself in these following situations:

1. State Laws have specific rules for real state plans. Each State has a different Estate Planning Law, indicating what to have and not to have in a person’s estate plan. These rules may involve the people who are allowed to be a witness to a trust, will, or a medical or financial power of attorney. Additionally, designating a friend or attorney from outside the State as a personal representative is a common mistake committed by many clients.

• You are considering a DIY estate plan. Be cautious with any “one-size-fits-all” forms that you may stumble on the internet. All experts agree that this is not a wise move since estate planning does not work that way. Estate planning involves a detailed procedure before the State honors your estate plan. You won’t like your family to be in a situation wherein they won’t be getting what they’ve anticipated.

3. Other complex financial and medical situations such as:

– Having minor children

– Recent loss of a loved one such as a wife, husband, or another family member

– Having problematic children

– Owning substantial assets

– Recently divorced

– Having a taxable estate

– Possession of real estate in another State

– Owning one or more businesses

– Having a disabled family member

– Currently in a second or later marriage

– Don’t have any children

– Wanting to leave part of your estates to charity

COMPONENTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE REAL ESTATE PLAN

A comprehensive real estate plan is essential if you want to cover all the critical parts of your assets. For many, Trust and Will testaments are the most well-known components of a real estate plan. However, there are other essential elements that an estate plan must-have. 

Wills 

They say that Wills are only for wealthy people who possess substantial and significant assets, but this is a common misconception. Wills guarantee that the properties and support of an individual will be distributed based on his demands. It is a legally binding statement that the State or Federal law honors. You must create a Will to name a guardian for your minor children. However, wills alone cannot conclude a practical and comprehensive real estate plan. 

Trusts

A trust is a three-party fiduciary relationship involving the trustor, the trustee, and the beneficiary. The trustee (a bank or law firm) will hold the legal title to the property on behalf of the beneficiary appointed by the trustor. Additionally, your beneficiaries can save time and money when you establish a revocable living trust since it avoids probate. In this way, Trusts can limit estate taxes and other legal challenges. 

Durable Power of Attorney

Typically, the spouses are set to have a Power of Attorney on behalf of an individual. But in most cases, it is wiser to appoint someone who is trusted and financially savvy as your Power Of Attorney agent. Your estate plans must include this element since your assigned agent will act on your behalf for all the needed transactions. If you have a missing or invalid POA, the court might obtain the power to decide regarding your assets’ allocation. And that is an outcome you don’t want to happen.

Beneficiary Designations

Your estate plan must have designated beneficiaries to control where the money goes based on your preference. Your beneficiary designations should be up to date. Otherwise, the State or Federal law will dictate the beneficiaries for you. Most of the plans automatically allocate the money to the spouse or children. However, if you want others to get some of the funds from your plans, you must name them as one of your beneficiaries. 

Letter of Intent

A letter of intent might not be a valid document in the court’s eyes, but this document can be helpful, particularly during the probate process. A letter of intent will help the judge know your intentions and could be useful for allocating your assets if the will is considered invalid for some reason. This letter of intent is usually given to your executor or beneficiary. It may consist of other special requests like funeral details and arrangements.

Healthcare Power of Attorney (HCPA)

HCPA is created to specifically designate a spouse or a family member regarding important health care decisions once an individual becomes incapacitated. This type of POA is critical since your assigned agent will make these essential decisions on your behalf.

Guardianship Designations

This element of a real estate plan is critical, particularly if you have underaged children. This part is often overlooked, but the court might designate other family members that you wouldn’t select as guardians without guardianship designations.

A real estate plan is important because it can help to instill order if an owner of a real property dies or becomes incapacitated. It’s the best way to ensure that the assets you have worked so hard for will be handed down to deserving individuals.  

Child Custody in Colorado: Important Facts You Need to Know and Understand

From a legal point of view, child custody refers to the right to take care and control of a child or children. If couple having children decides to separate, child custody and visitation rights will most probably be one of their most contested concerns. Other related issues may also be taken into consideration when resolving child custody issues. These are the issues involving the child’s education, health care, and religion.

 

The state of Colorado typically favors joint legal custody of children, but should you decide to take custody of a child or children, you need to petition the court to grant you legal and practical rights to be the child’s caretaker and guardian, of course with the help of an able child custody attorney like the lawyer Bolder Colorado folks rely on.

 

Before you make your first move to get custody of a child, you should know some important things Colorado courts consider when determining child custody. Understanding the law can help you to lessen unreasonable demands or assert what you think is a legal right when seeking custody of a child.

 

1. The state always considers the child’s best interests

 

The courts in Colorado have only one thing in mind when addressing child custody conflicts: The best interest of the child. As parents, your preferences about parenting time and other issues is second only to your child’s welfare. It’s the main concern of the court all throughout the proceeding. In order to determine the best interest of the child, the court will consider these factors:

 

• The child’s wishes
• The parents’ wishes
• The child’s relationship with each parent and other figures
• The child’s capability to adjust to a new home, school or community
• The physical and mental health of people involved

 

2. Embarrassing the Other Party isn’t a Ground for Winning Child Custody

 

Hotly contested child custody cases can compel one or both parents to divulge embarrassing acts of the other. They do this in an attempt to get the sympathy of the court and win custody of the child as a result.

 

But this is not the case in Colorado courts. They strive to remain consistent with the state’s stand to put the child’s welfare above all other things. Colorado courts generally consider embarrassing incidents irrelevant unless it manifests a danger to the child’s emotional or physical well-being.

 

3. Colorado courts favor joint custody

 

There are Colorado child custody laws that regulate the rights and responsibility of parents to care for their children. But the state strongly encourages both parents to be involved in the rearing of their child or children even if they are not in good terms as a couple.

 

The state of Colorado values the meaning of a relationship between each parent and child unless one of the parents exposes the child to physical or emotional danger.

 

As a parent, you should strive to get along with your child’s other parent to be able to spend time with your son or daughter. Being hostile to the other parent or belittling him/her in front of your child could work against you as far as the court is concerned.

 

4. Child custody and child support are two Different things in Colorado

 

Child support is determined partly by the number of overnights awarded by the court to each parent based on the parenting plan. But it is the only element that relates child custody to child support. If the other parent stops providing child support, you can’t withhold the child. In the same manner, if you withhold the child, the other parent cannot stop providing child support. Remember, the main concern of the state is the best interest of the child.

 

If you or your child’s other parent fails to comply with your mutually agreed parenting plan, the best solution to resolve the issue would be to consult a proficient child custody lawyer like the Boulder attorney Colorado residents trust.

 

5. Colorado prefers a mutually upon parenting plan

 

To determine parental responsibility of spouses involved in a child custody case, the court usually recommends one of two ways. These are:

 

• Hold an evidentiary hearing to establish the best interest of the child, or
• Approve a parenting plan you and your former spouse have mutually agreed upon

 

Both of these approaches are fine but if you want a way that is more flexible and convenient for both parties, the second recommendation would be a better option.

3 Strategies To Effectively Handle Divorce In Colorado

Image Source

According to the US NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics), Colorado is one of the top 25 states with the highest divorce rates at 3.3 per 1000 people. Divorce is not an easy thing to go through, but following a set of steps can help you handle it with as little stress as possible, and by hiring the best divorce attorney Boulder CO could offer, the process becomes all the easier to navigate.

1. Gather All Of Your Financial Information

It is crucial to figure out your finances before coming to the divorce law firm, so it will be easy to assess your current financial situation.

As a general rule, you should gather the following:

• Bank statements for one year, for every account.
• Tax returns for the last three years
• Payslips for the previous three months
• Current bills and debt
• Other mandatory financial disclosures

Make two to three copies of everything and keep the original.  Then, be sure to black out your SSN and account numbers except for the last four digits before giving copies to your counsel and the other party.

2. Communicate With Your Partner Throughout The Process

Understand what you and your spouse can agree upon.  It will take a lot of effort not to let emotions get in the way, but you have to do your best to handle this stage of the process without a hitch.  You have to sit down together and discuss parenting time, division of assets, and debts, and how the two of you handle the divorce together.

Don’t let your lawyers communicate for you.  Resolve any non-legal issues with your spouse by yourselves, and try to be civil for the sake of the children.  It helps ease the pain when you have both parties who are still willing to be parents for their children regardless of the marriage.  If it is virtually impossible to have this conversation, then you can start communicating first through E-mails.

3. Get All Agreements In Writing

Ideally, you have a divorce attorney who will assist you in drafting your separation agreement and parenting plan.  Do not sign any agreement without talking to a lawyer.  A divorce lawyer will go over the agreement and review the financial information so you will not be bound to any agreements made in mediation, which turns out to be heavily lopsided.

Conclusion

You are not required to get an attorney, but going through the divorce process without one poses serious risks.  You might get into an agreement that might trample your rights as spouse and parent without you being aware of it.

There might be differences between what the law entitles you, and what you agree to with your spouse. Having the best divorce attorney Boulder locals trust ensures that your best interests are well protected and that the settlement agreement is fair, and is based on your accurate financial records.  Aside from that, divorce is a complicated process.  You have to know how things work – like child custody and support, property division, spousal maintenance, etc.

The investment in turning to a trusted divorce law firm will reap benefits today and in the years to come.  In this most emotional point of your life, it pays to have someone who can be your ally, advisor, and advocate.  A divorce attorney can give you the peace of mind that comes from his/her commitment to protect you and your children.

Most Common Issues Landlords Get from Tenants

Renting out a house or property may look so simple but for landlords, it really depends on how one manages the business. While this is covered by landlord-tenant law, landlords can actually face a number of problems which can lead to a series of conflicts with their tenants. It wouldn’t be much of a disappointment if the tenants are not the cause of the problem but if they did initiate it, the situation would be frustrating to landlords because this will compel them to find legal remedies to avoid violating tenants’ rights.

 

Here are some of the most common problems can possibly get from their tenants:

 

1. Late Payments

 

This is the most common issue landlords tackle from time to time. Most rental agreements require tenants to pay rent on or before a specific date plus a certain grace period of between three and five days. Despite this provision, many tenants fail to pay on time repeatedly. This breach of agreement can give the landlord sufficient leverage to file a case for eviction.

 

2. Conflicts with Security Deposit

 

More often than not, tenants assume that they can pull out and be cleared from their rented property leaving their security deposit as payment for their last month’s rent. On the contrary, landlords have the legal right to demand last payment and withhold the security deposit until the property is inspected and declared free from damage. It is really up to the landlord to consider security deposit as payment for last month rent. As landlord, you must make this provision clear from the start to make sure that there is mutual understanding between you and your tenant.

 

3. Disorderly Conduct

 

As we all know, not all tenants are the same. While many are disciplined and considerate of other people’s rights, there are just some that are disrespectful and abusive to the point that they think they have the right to get too loud and noisy and do whatever they like with your property. These are irritating not just to the landlord but to other tenants as well. It is always good to investigate the background of applicant-tenants before giving them a place in your property. If a tenant happens to display disorderly conduct, you must document it to put every possible infraction on record. You can use it as evidence should you want your tenant evicted in the future.

 

4. Violation of Rules

 

Most landlords establish rules for tenants to follow and many of those are actually trivial like keeping garage doors closed, not allowing pets, proper garbage disposal and prohibiting loud noise. These rules are logical and easy to follow. If some tenants don’t follow these, how can they follow stricter property rules? This is a problem landlords should address before they happen – by furnishing each tenant a copy of his/her property rules at the start of the contract and letting them aware each time a violation is committed.

 

Managing a property is after all not an easy job. To minimize problems, you must be proactive. Address issues immediately before they get worse. Document violations and inform the erring tenant about it. If a tenant keeps on violating your terms and conditions habitually, you should contact an experienced real estate lawyer for possible solutions.

image credit: geralt (pixabay.com)

Child Visitation Rights – What You Might Want to Know

Child visitation law is the law that regulates the rights of parents who do not have custodial rights – to visit, spend time with or take temporary physical custody of the child for a limited period of time. Child visitation is a regular parent-child event that is determined and scheduled by state courts.

 

Child visitation is often associated with legal disputes especially if the parents do not agree on the visitation terms or schedule. In this case, the parties should ask the court to step in to decide. But even if the court has already issued a decision, a parent may still find the schedule inappropriate or detrimental due to certain circumstances. This can trigger another conflict that will compel the aggrieved party to ask for an alteration of the schedule.

 

Because child visitation dispute is an after-effect of another conflict between the child’s parents, this subject often depicts a picture of a hostile emotional atmosphere. A failed romantic relationship is often the cause of the animosity that former lovers feel for each other. This makes child visitation a big issue for both parents. This most often affects the child who is caught in the crossfire as an innocent victim.

 

How Courts Settle Child Visitation Disputes

 

When a family court settles a child visitation dispute, they usually base their decision on the best interest of the child. This is a standard that almost all courts of every state uphold. The “best interest of the child” standard refers to the emotional, physical and developmental welfare of the child involved in the dispute. The court makes this disposition especially if in it finds that the dispute or the disagreement regarding the visitation springs from the personal concerns of one or both parents. The standard is intended to get the parents’ attention and let them focus on the well-being of the one who is most affected by the conflict – the child.

 

Child visitation laws are based on a lot of factors that are associated with the best interest of a child. When deciding child visitation cases, family courts consider certain factors. These include each parent’s financial capability to support the child, their emotional ties to the child, and each parent’s capability to provide the child with a safe and nurturing environment. Courts also make sure that visitation schedules don’t affect or disrupt the child’s educational and social support structure.

 

How Visitation Rights are obtained

Child visitation rights are sought by non-custodial parents. The first step towards obtaining a child visitation order will depend on whether the parties are already involved in a family law case. In this scenario, the non-custodial parent who seeks visitation rights should prepare a motion for visitation and file it in the case at hand.

 

Both parents should agree that the request for visitation is appropriate so that the process can sail smoothly.

 

If a family law case does not exist, the parent asking for a right to visit should initiate one. If the parents are bound in marriage, the non-custodial parent can file a request as a part of a divorce or separation case. If the parents are not married, any of the parties can file a petition to determine custody and support. Fathers who bring up these cases should establish paternity. They are also required to show proof that they are providing satisfactory child support. The father should satisfy these two requirements to convince the court to consider the merits of his quest for visitation rights.

 

Child visitation is an important family matter but it is highly dependent on the degree of cooperation and understanding of both parents towards each other. If as a parent, you are involved in a family law conflict, you could be caught in the midst of confusion especially if you are caught in a hostile atmosphere. When this happens, you should make things easier for you. Make sure that the court sees your point of view by hiring a legal family law expert like the divorce lawyer Boulder Co residents like to call.

What are the Legal Grounds for Divorce?

photo credit: Jo Christian Otherals (flickr.com)

Divorce refers to the dissolution of marriage. It is the termination of a marital union and putting to a stop the legal duties and responsibilities of the spouses involved in the marriage. Dealing with divorce can be daunting and stressful. Yet many marriages have ended in divorce. Does it mean that it’s so easy to dissolve a marriage? What are the legal bases for filing a divorce case? These are the things this article is trying to expound. Please read on to get some answers.

 

There are only three reasons for a spouse to apply for divorce.

 

1. The Couple has Been Living Apart for at Least One Year

 

Living apart does not only involve physical separation but the husband and his wife actually living separate lives; and they don’t intend to to be part of each other’s lives anymore.

 

The intention to live separate lives can be manifested by the following:

 

• Couple live in separate rooms
• Absence of sexual relationship
• Cease talking to each other
• Living separate social lives
• The couple stopped eating together, buy groceries separately, and don’t perform any household chores like laundry as husband and wife

 

2. Cheating (Adultery)

 

Adultery refers to the act of having a sexual relationship with someone other than your spouse. In this case, only the aggrieved spouse or the one who was cheated on is given the right to file for divorce. But if he or she forgives the other for the act, then adultery can no longer qualify as a reason for divorce.

 

3. Physical, Psychological or Mental Abuse

 

Physical abuse refers to the act of physically inflicting hard or pain to a spouse. This can be in for form of beating or sexually abusing a spouse.

 

Psychological or mental abuse on the other hand can come in the form of verbal harassment or insults, humiliations, threats or having an affair. For cruelty or abuse to qualify as a reason for divorce, the aggrieved spouse must show proof that the abuse is intolerable and it would be difficult for her/him to continue living with the other.

 

It should be noted that only the mistreated or abused spouse can use physical or mental abuse as a ground for divorce. Furthermore, if the mistreated spouse forgives the other’s cruelty and abuses, then cruelty can no longer qualify as his/her basis for applying for divorce.

 

These are important things that you must bear in mind to be able to qualify for divorce. You must remember however that divorce may not be the best solution to your problem. You should consider alternatives like counseling or spiritual renewal to save your marriage and keep your family intact. But if you think divorce is the only way to keep your sanity in place, you may seek the expert advice of legal professionals like the divorce lawyer Boulder Co residents prefer.

The Most Important Things You Must Know Before Applying for Divorce

If you think you have a problem with your marriage, you must always remember that divorce or separation may not be the best solution. `When you decide to put an end to your marriage, it will be the beginning of something that can cause so much stress not only to you and your spouse but to your children who are the real victims of this event.

 

When a divorce proceeding takes place, everyone involved will have to face changes and adjust it in their lives. More often than not, these changes spur emotions that can interfere with your ability to think, understand and make decisions. Before deciding to put an end to your marriage, you must be sure to understand what you and everyone involved are about to go through.

 

1. Nobody “Wins” in a Divorce Case

 

Many people think that divorce is an arena where they can beat their spouse in the process. Divorce is a process. It is not a contest. If there’s anything you and your spouse are not able to settle or agree on, the law will do it for both of you in the fairest way possible.

 

Instead of fighting to win, you should consider the consequence of a court battle. It certainly involves thousands of dollars in cost and it can surely affect your finances. In your attempt to win a court battle, your children may suffer in the process.

 

2. Important Decisions Need Thorough Analysis and Evaluation

 

When you are in a divorce process, you will be faced with lots of life-changing decisions such as selling your family home. You should take time to evaluate certain aspects involved in a divorce process. Don’t be impulsive in making decisions just to put an end to certain issues. Remember, you are not the only one who will suffer the consequences of hasty decisions.

 

3. You Want a Divorce – Your Kids Don’t

 

When a relationship turns sour, it’s easy for both spouses to say hurtful things to each other in the presence of their children. You may not know it, but the children are the ones who are hurt the most by the heated exchange. In fact, it can leave a lasting psychological effect on them.

 

If your mind is set on a divorce, it would be a good idea for you to seek counseling for you and your children. This can help to make you understand your priorities as well as your children’s emotional and psychological needs.

 

4. Other People’s Divorce Success Stories are not Yours

 

When friends learn that you are filing for divorce, some people may volunteer to give you advice of what should happen in your case. You should not take these seriously. The information you get may be wrong or misleading. Remember, every divorce is unique and they have different issues. You should not base your decisions on someone else’s experiences. Listen to your lawyer and other professional advisers instead – they base their advice on the real merits of your case.

 

5. Forget the Past and Move On

 

Being obsessed about the bad experiences you had with your spouse will prevent you from making wise decisions concerning issues at hand. This can work against the best interests of your family. In order to be on the right track, you should forget the past and focus on what’s ahead. Work with your spouse in order to get results that would work for the best interest of all parties involved.

 

6. The Court is not always the Best Option

 

If you think that bringing your divorce case to court is the best way to resolve the matter, you should think again. When a divorce case ends up in court, you will be spending thousands of dollars. It even has a tendency to deplete the very resources that’s the subject of your discord. Divorce cases can be resolved in alternative ways. This includes mediation and collaborative divorce processes.

 

In mediation, a neutral third party facilitates face-to-face negotiations between you and your spouse in order to work out mutual agreements. A collaborative divorce happens when the spouses hire a collaborative attorney, a divorce coach, a child specialist, and a financial consultant to help them resolve the case without court intervention.

 

 

An out-of-court divorce settlement has its own benefits. It enables divorcing spouses to make their own decisions for the good of everyone involved especially the children. But not all divorce cases can be settled out of court because there are instances when the court is the only means to resolve an issue. This is especially true if domestic violence or financial assistance is involved in the case.

 

7. Honesty is the Best Policy

 

This means you must be honest to your lawyer. Provide him or her with all the facts of your case to enable him or her to analyze it carefully and give you the right advice. Hiding something from your attorney may do more harm than good.

 

8. A Properly Documented Inventory of Valuable Household Items Can Work for You

 

Avoid disputes over valuable household items such as furniture, wine collection, furnishings or an expensive work of art. Do an inventory of these items and document it properly.

 

• take individual photographs of big items and group or set photographs of small items

 

• capture the date the photograph was taken by using the front page of of a daily newspaper which serves as your “time stamp,” this eliminates any doubts that the photo was taken an an earlier date

 

• store your photos in safe place

 

• create a list of all items including details such as location and estimated value

 

9. Understand the Law

 

To be able to make the right expectations regarding your case, you should understand the law. The best way to do it is to consult a competent divorce lawyer like the attorneys at Shepard Law. They can certainly guide and help you make reasonable expectations about your case.