Why You Should Have a Digital Estate Plan: Estate planning has expanded beyond the traditional scope of wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. In modern times, significant part of our lives exists digitally. Your traditional estate plan likely does not account for what happens to your digital assets after death. A digital estate plan comes into play as a method for organizing your online information. Creating a digital estate plan provides access to information that your family can use to carry out your final wishes. When your loved ones can rely on a written plan that outlines the passwords for
Author: Maro Petkovich, Jr.
Mr. Petkovich serves as the firm’s managing partner. His practice centers on representing regional and national lending institutions. He also handles estate planning, successions, and personal injury matters on a routine basis.
Louisiana Special Needs Trusts Explained: Special needs trusts (SNTs) play a crucial role in the lives of loved ones with disabilities. The primary benefit of a special needs trust over a typical testamentary trust or living trust is that it won’t disqualify the beneficiary from certain government benefits, such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). However, navigating the legal intricacies of setting up a special needs trust can be complex, especially given the unique trust laws and regulations of each state. Medicaid and SSI are needs-based government benefits that have specific income and asset requirements that change each year.
Naming a Tutor in your Will is a Crucial Step: It’s difficult to think about the situation where a young child loses both of his or her parents, but this is the time when a tutor would step in to take care of the child. Naming a tutor is often overlooked when preparing a last will and testament, especially when someone writes their own will. In many instances though, naming a tutor is the main reason for writing a will. It is not uncommon for someone’s final wishes to coincide with the default laws of intestacy. For instance, perhaps a
Debt May Survive Discharge When a Debtor Fails to List a Debt in Bankruptcy: It is required that a debtor list all of his or her creditors and their most current address in the bankruptcy schedules. If they fail to do so, a judge may not discharge the debt. Listing all debts is required so that the court can properly notify the creditors by mail. Creditors have important rights in a bankruptcy, such as filing proofs of claim and objections, and not listing them deprives them of exercising those rights. If a debtor forgets to list a creditor on their
Why Having a Last Will for Separate Property is Crucial: It is common for married couples to acquire property prior to the marriage. This property is considered separate property. Because the order of succession is different for community property and separate property, it is imperative to know what will happen to your property if you die without a last will and testament. Often times, the intestate laws are in direct conflict with the actual wishes of the property owner. When that is the case, you should strongly consider creating a will as part of your estate plan. Classification of Property:
Section 8 Evictions Explained for Landlords: Many landlords choose to participate in the Section 8 program. Afterall, it offers the benefit of guaranteed rent subsidy payments. However, it may not always work out as expected. The tenant may stop paying their portion of the rent, seriously damage the property, or some other lease violation may arise. If it becomes necessary to pursue eviction, the landlord must follow not only state and local procedures for eviction, but also U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. As a landlord participating in the Section 8 program, it’s essential to understand and
Louisiana Law of Usufruct: Full ownership in Louisiana is broken down into three elements: (1) usus which is the right to use or possess a thing; (2) fructus which is the right to the fruits or income of a thing; and (3) abusus which is the right to abuse or dispose of a thing (either physically or juridically). Per La. Civ. Code art. 535, a usufruct is a real right of limited duration on the property of another. It combines the first two elements of ownership, usus and fructus. The person who truly owns the property is known as the naked
Self Help Repossession Notices are Often Targeted: The Louisiana Additional Default Remedies Act provides the “self-help” laws permitting creditors to repossess motor vehicles and motorcycles directly. This is a form of non-judicial repossession that creditors can do themselves. It can certainly save a creditor some court and legal fees, but certain steps must be carefully followed, especially if the creditor wishes to later pursue a deficiency judgment. Basic Requirements of Repossession Notices: A number of notices or letters must be sent to the debtor in order to properly effect a “self-help” repossession and to later be able to sue the debtor
Health Care Decisions without Medical Power of Attorney: If a person is unable to make decisions about personal medical care, some other person must provide direction in decision making. Many people create a medical power of attorney in advance of any anticipated physical problems. A power of attorney allows them to appoint an agent or representative to manage their affairs when they become unable to do so themselves. However, if there is no medical power of attorney in place and no judicially appointed tutor or curator, then health care professionals usually rely on the next of kin or even a close
How Attorneys Collect Foreign Judgments Across State Lines: Debtors often move across state lines. A judgment in one state is virtually unenforceable if the debtor does not hold property there or is not working there. When a debtor or assets are discovered in another state, collection attorneys must take extra steps to enforce a foreign judgment in that state. The United States Constitution requires that states give “full faith and credit” to the laws and court judgments of other states. Most states have therefore enacted laws that provide the procedure for enforcing an out-of-state judgment. However, the process varies widely