It's the Law

My uncle left me a condominium in his will. I just found out the condominium has a mortgage on it. Will I have to pay the mortgage or will the estate pay it off before I get the condominium? Full story »

Q: I made an offer to purchase some property. The husband and wife owners signed the contract, but made changes. The husband brought me the contract. I made additional changes and the husband and I both signed it. Now, the sellers refuse to close. Can I sue for specific performance? Full story »

Q: I found a condominium that I really liked, but it went under contract just before I made an offer. The owner and I agreed to enter a backup contract. Closing under the earlier contract has been extended three times. Can I force the owner to sell to me? Full story »

Q: I got a judgment against someone that owes me money. Then I found out the judgment is not automatically paid and we do not imprison people for failure to pay debts. I know this guy has a lot of money in the bank, so how can I get it? Full story »

I am paying child support for my three children. One of my children turns 18 soon and I plan on reducing my payment by one-third. My ex-spouse tells me I have to go to court to do that. Can’t I not automatically reduce the payment? Full story »

Q: I am ready to sign a contract with a builder. He has a clause in his contract that states he is not liable for any damage or injuries to me or anyone on the property with my permission, including but not limited to negligence, gross negligence, strict liability or intentional conduct by the builder or the builder’s officers, directors, owners, employees and successors, representatives and assigns. Is that enforceable? Full story »

Q: My wife and I were previously divorced. We had a marital settlement agreement in our divorce case. We later remarried and are now getting divorced again. Is the settlement agreement from our first divorce still binding? Full story »

Q: I have a tenant that stopped paying rent. He tells me I cannot just throw him out. Is he right? Full story »

Q: I sued someone and got a judgment that states the defendant owes me thousands of dollars. He has not paid me. How can I force him to pay the judgment? Full story »

Q: I am selling some property on my own. I wrote up a contract with a buyer and we now disagree on what the contract means. How will this get resolved? Full story »

Q: I loaned a friend of mine some money a long time ago. He never seemed to have any money, so I did not try to collect the debt. Last week, he won the lottery and I want my money. He claims the statute of limitations prevents me from collecting. What does that mean? Full story »

Q: Last week I took a parasail ride. The operator required me to sign a form entitled “release and waiver,” releasing the operator from liability in case I got hurt. Are those releases enforceable? Full story »

Q: A friend of mine said he recently had his attorney prepare a trust for his grandchildren. He was really excited about taking care of their college education, but he did not explain how the trust would work. Can you give me an explanation? Full story »

Q: I have a contract with a builder. The certificate of occupancy has been issued and the builder claims I now must pay everything due under the contract. The problem is there are defects in construction, some of them major, that I want fixed before I make final payment. Who wins this argument? Full story »

Q: I have a property that has gone down in value. It is now worth less than the mortgage. I have a buyer who will pay the appraised value, but that is less than the mortgage payoff. My Realtor has convinced the lender to accept less than full payoff and we are proceeding to closing. I think this might affect my credit, but will it affect my income tax return. Full story »