Shooting the Breeze in Contract Law
Certain contracts have to be written…others can leave you swinging in the breeze. You do not go into business with someone you think you are going to have to sue, but remember, misunderstanding is a quick remedy to friendship, especially with a spoken contract. A contract requires four things: 1. An offer 2. An acceptance 3. Consideration 4. Legality (do not make a contract to do something illegal) You can make a contract on spoken words, though certain contracts, like real estate transactions, have to be in ink in order to be enforceable. (Marriage is also unenforceable without a written contract.) However, just because it is not in writing does not mean it will not wind up in court. In some cases, the existence of a contract may be proved, though it may be more difficult (or impossible) to determine what the terms of that contract are (or were). If you are shooting the breeze about doing business together with someone, go ahead and write it down. Then you both have a record to refer back to, and specified remedies if there is a breach of contract. Keep your friends close and your friends-you-have-contracts-with even closer! Read More
Foreclosure Prevention – Stay Where You Are
It is more difficult to hit a moving target; however, in foreclosure prevention, you may be better off to stay where you are, depending on your circumstances. So you have got your expenses estimated, income recorded, and figured out the equity in your home. You open a dialogue with your loan servicer, document your communications with the servicer, creating a paper trail of follow-up letters responding to oral requests, and meet all deadlines. If you move, you may jeopardize your qualification for assistance, depending on the program. Just because your finances are not in a happy place does not mean it is time to get out the moving boxes. Furthermore, if you rent your home, you may disqualify yourself from homestead advantages as the status changes from primary residence to investment property. Make sure your plans align with your circumstances and your goals. You could wind up costing yourself more money while you are trying to save your house. Before you take a misstep away from your home, be aware of the consequences and how they will affect your situation now and in the future. Seek good legal counsel if you do not understand the terms your loan servicer offers, [...] Read More
Commercial Appeal to Dealing with Debt
When you cannot pay your bills, you get depressed. When you get depressed, you go to seminars. When you go to seminars, you feel like a winner. When you feel like a winner, you go to Vegas. When you go to Vegas, you lose everything and have to sell your hair to a wig shop. Do not sell your hair to a wig shop…there are other ways to deal with debt. Being in the red is the new black for many Americans. Those who spent big thinking their smart phone afforded them to order “endeeve” salad, or those who relied on debt to stabilize their expenses as wages dropped widened the gap between the 1% and the other ninety-nine. Meanwhile, the rich get richer and the have-nots have less. Whether you are behind on your mortgage or slouching into credit card debt, there are legal choices. Consulting an attorney could save you money and credit. Do not sell your hair if you do not have to. Seek competent legal guidance instead. Read More
Memorial Day
Thanks to those who have given their lives in the past so that “We The People” may carry forward the freedom and justice our country enjoys. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day. Read More
Breach Delivery & Contracts
Contracts are made to be broken. In some cases, you are better off to go through with the contract than to back out, but not always, depending on the circumstances. “Breach” is not necessarily a bad word. Contracts are terminated in three ways: 1. They are completed. 2. They are breached by one party. 3. They are breached by both parties. If you have done your due diligence ahead of time, then you know how to terminate the contract without breach, and what the consequences are if it is breached. The contract specifies the remedies to breach of contract. Know what the terms are if you back out when you go in. If you are unsure of the results in the various scenarios, consult competent legal counsel. As an attorney, I would rather get paid for conflict NOT to happen later. Furthermore, if you are wondering who reads the fine print of a contract, the answer is that lawyers always do. Read More
Chemotherapy or Jail Time & the ‘Cure’ to Foreclosure
Which would you rather have: cancer or credit issues? One Florida woman tried to have the best of both worlds by faking serious illness to cure her home foreclosure. There are a lot of foreclosure treatments available, from prevention to very hard money medicine, from legitimate programs backed by the government to shady craftsmen of credit fixes, but calling in sick on your mortgage debt did not work for a Florida woman who now has 364 days in jail plus 18 months probation. She raised more than $19,000 telling friends and co-workers she had cancer, and used $14,000 to keep her home out of foreclosure. Forget negative equity—now she is habituating in the Big House in a gated community where every happy hour is surrounded by bars. There are other resolutions to foreclosure, many of which are far more legal and ethical. Consult competent legal counsel before you decide to make yourself sick over foreclosure. Read More
People’s Law School Today: ‘How Can You Avoid the Need for Guardianship?’
You do not have to have a law degree to make it through a legal process, but sound legal advice could be beneficial to the outcome…and good legal advice can be free-er than you think. Check out the People’s Law School presentation, “How Can You Avoid the Need for Guardianship?” today at 4:00 p.m. at the Southeast Branch Library. This FREE legal class is open to all and presented by St. Johns Legal Aid. For information on Legal Aid, visit http://www.jaxlegalaid.org/stjohns.html. Read More
Money Talks…And Credit Speaks for Itself
Your credit is the elocution of your purchasing power. It communicates with lenders whether or not you are a good risk and what kind of rate they should offer. The higher your credit score, generally the more likely you are to be approved for a loan and the better the rate you can get. Eliza Doolittle started with bad credit. She said ‘Aoooow’ and ‘Garn’ and sold flowers in the street; however, Henry Higgins’ phonetics lessons helped her articulate what she really wanted…and get it. Good credit is the buy-word for loan qualification and better rates on loans and certain insurances. To improve your marketplace fluency, pay your bills on time, pay down outstanding balances, and stay away from new debt. The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain…and home, auto, and student loans go to mainly those on the higher plain of credit scores. Read More
What To Expect…In Foreclosure
Over 14.5 million copies of What to Expect When You’re Expecting are in print, and the movie opens today. This perennial publication has been the would-be mothers manual through the oldest form of the human condition and continues to guide new generations into existence. Foreclosure Defense does not necessarily carry the same entertainment value, but lets you take a pregnant pause in the legal proceeding to pursue an alternative delivery of your financial fate. Florida has well over 300,000 foreclosure cases backlogged, and the State is expecting up to nearly 400,000 more by 2016. Not all of those homeowners will have an alternative resolution, but it could be to the homeowners’ credit to research the options with competent legal counsel. Foreclosure typically lasts more than nine months and can be fraught with more Braxton Hicks worries than true labor. From the inception of loan default to foreclosure eviction, a defense attorney should be able to offer an intimate guide to the process and stages of foreclosure so you know what to expect and what choices are available. Remember to breathe. Read More
Wise Men Say: Therapeutic Divorce
Only fools rush in…divorce can take longer. Divorce can be an epic blood sport, or it can be over and done with in about a month. Therapeutic Divorce offers unhappy couples greater involvement in the negotiations (instead of leaving it up to a Judge to decide) and keeps the proceedings out of public record. Therapeutic Divorce is an alternative to the traditional courtroom drama. Done through mediation, it gives both sides greater opportunity to mold the agreement. You can have a court battle if you want to, but if you are ready to sit down and take the necessary steps to complete the procedure, then it can be done without dragging out legal billing. When the love is gone, it is only math. Divorce is not just for the wicked. Therapeutic Divorce allows both sides to continue doing what they are good at—whether it is being a good parent, a good employee, etc.—while they work out the details of a difficult situation. Read More