Are you using construction liens to your benefit? If you are a contractor, or a supplier of materials to a contractor, you have one of the most powerful collection tools at your disposal – the construction lien. If you are not paid by your customer, the law allows you to place a lien on real […]
The depressed real estate market has caused many people to consider buying or selling a home on a land contract. Before deciding on this type of transaction, it is important to first understand what a land contract is. What is a Land Contract? A land contract is simply a sale of real estate in which […]
Most people have at least one asset that includes a beneficiary designation (i.e, a life insurance policy, 401(k), IRA, annuity, etc.) It is important to remember that a beneficiary designation is the “trump card” and will overrule your will, your trust, or any other document that tries to direct to whom these funds are […]
Do you own your own business? Getting ready to start a new business? Wading through business legal documentation can be a daunting task, to say nothing of writing your own. If you’ve ever downloaded or purchased a CD of legal forms with the intent of drafting your own contract, please proceed cautiously. Many of these […]
Do you do business as a Michigan limited liability company or a Michigan corporation? Did you know that you need to file an annual report with the State of Michigan (and pay a small fee) in order to keep that company or corporation in existence? The State of Michigan sends reminders to business owners […]
Michigan’s depressed real estate market has caused many home sellers to consider becoming a landlord and renting their homes to tenants instead of trying to sell them. Before jumping into the role of a landlord, one needs to be aware that Michigan law is designed to protect tenants (who in the eyes of the law […]
There is an old expression in the law that “An oral contract isn’t worth the paper that it’s written on.” This is especially true for contracts that involve real estate. A contract to buy or sell real estate MUST be in writing in order to be enforced by a court. A lease lasting more than […]
Many clients like to plan their estate by making sure there are always a least two owners on a piece of real estate. That way, when one owner dies, there is no need to go through the probate court to have the property transferred; it simply passes to the survivor. This is simple enough to […]
Many people like to plan their estates by having two names on every asset. That way, when one owner dies, the asset automatically passes to the surviving owner, thus avoiding probate court. Once a person is added as an owner to an asset, that ownership takes effect immediately, and all owners have equal claim to […]
