Number Two: If you have bank accounts and you wish to
avoid the hassle of probate court and you want someone to
receive those bank balances when you pass away, go to your
bank and ask for a Payable On Death account (POD account) or
a Transfer on Death account (TOD account).
Simply give them the names or name and addresses of the
person(s) whom you want to receive your bank accounts and in
what amounts (half, all, 20 percent.....etc..). That
information is added to your present accounts and...Voila!
It's done.
Number Three: If you plan to file a Chapter 7
bankruptcy (a fresh start), do not
take out any payday loans 90 days before you file because,
if you do, the payday loan people can protest and the court
has the power to have those payday loans stay with you even
though the other listed debts can be wiped out. The same
goes with using credit cards that close to filing a Chapter
7 bankruptcy.
Number Four: If you make out a will and you have
"problem" relatives whom you think will cause a scene and
hold things up, simply put into your will a simple, "in
terrorem" clause. This clause states as follows or something
similar: " I, upon consideration and due deliberation, give
the amount of one dollar to uncle Ray or my wayward son,
Demarcus and he or she (or they) are/is to receive nothing
further or additional from my estate."
This type of clause will stop a lot of nonsense from
happening if you have relatives who want to contest your
will thinking that they are entitled to something from you!
Number Five: If you are arrested and placed in jail,
beware of the "jail house snitch!" This is a person who is
either planted by the police in or near your cell so that
they can confess to the police (in return for leniency for
their case) that you told them about your case and that you
confessed to the crime. In jail, never, ever, ever discuss
your case with anyone except your lawyer. If someone asks
about your case, simply tell them that your attorney said,
"Mums the word!"
Number Six: If you do not qualify for a federal court
Chapter 7 bankruptcy or even for a federal court Chapter 13
Plan (paying back your creditors), consider filing a Toledo
Municipal Court Trusteeship. Simply take your recent pay
stubs and evidence that you are being threatened with a
garnishment to the basement office of the
trusteeship in the Toledo Municipal Court. They will set you
up with a modest repayment plan amount and this will stop
the garns. Tell 'em Lafe Tolliver sent you!
Number Seven: Want to transfer your home to someone
else but you want to still live there? Simple! In the deed
that will transfer the house to your relative or someone
else, simply insert that you have a "life estate" in the
home. That way you can still live there but ownership is
transferred to someone else. Note: make sure that they pay
the taxes and insurance on the property and do so with a
written agreement. No oral nonsense.
Number Eight: When someone passes away and he had
insurance policies on his life and in those policies he has
named beneficiaries, those policies do not become part of
his estate for probate purposes of calculation of the value
of the estate. Contracts, such as these, bypass probate and
the proceeds go directly to you, the beneficiary.
Number Nine: If you sue someone and do not know where
she is living but you have her last known address, you can,
for a cost, publish your lawsuit against her in the local
Legal News Newspaper for a determined number of weeks. After
those weeks are concluded, it is as if she received personal
notice of your lawsuit and you can continue to finish your
lawsuit against her without her protesting that she never
received notice of the lawsuit!.
Number Ten: If you are a landlord, or landlady, and you
have tenants who rent from you, make sure that you have
clauses in your rental agreement that ban:
(1) pets of any kind unless they are dogs for those with
sight disabilities (2) no fish tanks over five gallons in
size (ever hear of water damage to the wooden floors?) (3)
no illicit drug usage (4) no loud music after 9 PM and
before 8 AM (5) No waterbeds (6) no storage or parking of
any vehicles on the front or back lawns of the property (7)
No persons to live in the unit other than those noted on the
rental application (8) There is a charge of $50.00 each time
the landlord has to go to the property to allow entry into
the unit because the tenant lost or forget his key.
Number Eleven: To landlords: Always get the social
security number and date of birth from each applicant that
you rent to and run a credit check to make sure your
prospective tenant is not a tenant who bounces from property
to property because he or she does not pay the rent. If
they are not working, do not rent to them.
Number Twelve: If you are injured in a car accident or
are bitten by a dog or slip and fall in a store, never
accept a settlement offer from the offending party without
first having all of your medical care finished just because
the offending party wants to do a quick settlement. This
rash act will cut off your rights to any future recovery if
you are not yet fully recovered.
Unlucky Number Thirteen: If you gave your intended an
engagement ring with the understanding that it was a pledge
of true love and marriage was around the corner and the
engagement is broken off, you, under Ohio law are entitled
to the return of the ring from the lady who now has second
or even third thoughts. If she does not voluntarily part
with the ring, you can take her double talking self to
court! Who says love is blind!
So, there you have it. More freebies for my dear
readers. And remember, it is likely that where ever you go
in public, indoors or outdoors, there is a camera watching
you, so behave yourself this summer!
Contact Lafe Tolliver at
Tolliver@Juno.com
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