Ohio Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

I'm a little confused by the question. This was a property that you won? As in a game show? Do you mean that you purchased the property at auction? If this was purchased at a foreclosure auction then you absolutely purchased it in its as-is condition and that's the risk that you bear. ... Read Answer

Unfortunately, there is no civil cause of action for online harassment that does not rise to the level of physical threats. There is a criminal statute, R.C. 2917.21, which governs online harassment, which you may qualify for if the contact escalates.As to sending a letter in response, an attorney can certainly mail a response, and this may have some effect, but know that the threat of civil litigation by an attorney from her is incredibly small.... Read Answer

Well, the insurance company may be in breach of its settlement contract.  But your question gives no indication of the time delays involved. That is important.  How long ago did you settle?  Did the attorney give notice to the BMV, and if so when?  There is a pandemic and things are slow due to reduced staffing and remote work. So you need to determine where the holdup lies.    You can contact the attorney's office for information, but you may need a little legal help if you don't get any results. You have a right to your driver's licence and excessive delays are inexcusable.    I have 40 years of practice in this area and would be glad to offer you a limited representation arrangement to get this done. Just let me know.   Jim Schuller, Attorney 5740 Park Center Court, Toledo, OH 43615 419-535-0311... Read Answer

You probably can't yet have the case dismissed. That only happens when you file a motion to dismiss the complaint and there isn't enough information here to determine whether that can succeed. What you can probably do however is move for a default judgment. That's when the other side does not timely answer, and you win because they failed to do so.   There are service requirements that make default tricky, so as always check your court's local rules to see what their requirements are for default judgment. The Court could also have an active tolling order due to covid that could make this difficult. Check to make sure that the time to answer for the other side hasn't been postponed.... Read Answer

The process begins like any other divorce and both the business and the house are treated as assets of the marriage, what's called "marital property." The goal of the divorce is to equitably (not EQUALLY, equitably) divide the marital property the unwind the divorce as best as possible.   The complication with going concerns as part of the marital property is that every asset has really only three options. 1) Buy the other out; 2) Sell the asset and split the equity/profit; 3) continue to jointly own the asset as individuals. Of the three, courts prefer the first two options and really dislike the third option.   However, at the end of the day the court is just looking to come to an equitable conclusion. If you and your spouse can come to an agreement as to how you will split (or not split) the marital assets the court will likely approve it.... Read Answer

You can petition the court or reasonable visitation or custody under these facts. Grandparents, generally have no rights to visitation or custody for an intact family (married spouses). They may obtain rights when it is in the best interest of the child in other circumstances. These include the type of circumstances you are describing wherein custody is held by another grandparent and they are not using their parenting time.   I recommend filing a petition for an allocation of rights and responsibilities under the existing parenting order to assert a claim for grandparent visitation.... Read Answer

Potentially. If you had a home inspection and moisture or mold was noted then you probably don't have any way to force the seller to do anything. If they claimed the mold problem was fixed, you had an inspection and it came up empty, and they KNEW that the problem wasn't fixed, then you may have a cause of action. Real estate law is very tiled in favor of home sellers as opposed to home buyers under Ohio's doctrine of caveat emptor ("buyer beware"). In most cases, only active fraud or concealment is enough to create something you can sue over.... Read Answer

A handwritten will, sometimes referred to as a holographic will, is lawful in Ohio. However, the will must still undergo the formalities of a will to be valid, AND should you need to probate the will out-of-state, a minority of states will not accept a handwritten will. Best practices, even in Ohio where a handwritten will is allowed, is to have the will typewritten and then executed with the required formalities. As with typewritten wills, the will must be signed by the person making the will (the “testator”) or by some other person in the testator’s conscious presence and at the testator’s express direction. Yes, a will can be signed by someone else and still be valid. There also must be two competent witnesses, above the age of 18, to either the will signature or to the testator’s acknowledgment of the testator’s signature. The witnesses don’t actually have to witness the signing for the witness requirement to be valid, the testator simply has to tell him that the testator did, in fact, sign the will and show them the signature. Like a typewritten will, handwritten wills may be deposited in the office of the judge of the probate court in the county in which the testator lives. This can be done before or after the death of the testator, and with or without applying for probate of the will. A note of caution on handwritten wills, however. While the will may be valid, that doesn’t answer the question as to whether a court will allow the will in as a matter of jurisdiction. Just because it is handwritten doesn’t mean that you can avoid the normal rules of a court’s jurisdiction. A will shall be admitted to probate: (1) In the county in the state in which the testator was domiciled at the time of the testator’s death; (2) In any county of the state where any real property or personal property of the testator is located if, at the time of the testator’s death, the testator was not domiciled in this state, and provided that the will has not previously been admitted to probate in this state or in the state of the testator’s domicile; (3) In the county of the state in which a probate court rendered judgment declaring that the will was valid and in which the will was filed with the probate court. State ex rel. Lee v. Trumbull Cty. Probate Court, 83 Ohio St.3d 369, 372, 700 N.E.2d 4 (1998) (R.C. 2107.11 “addresses the jurisdiction of probate courts to probate a will”). So, yes, you can still have a handwritten will in the State of Ohio, it just has to comply with all of the other formalities of will execution. Recall best practices, though, in making the will. If you don’t have to have a handwritten will, don’t do it.... Read Answer

If you have been overbilled and paid over 10k then this is a simple breach of contract action. Any civil litigator would be able to take it. A note of caution, due to the relatively low value most attorneys would not take this on a contingency basis and would require an hourly fee to file the suit, which could cut into your recovery substantially.... Read Answer

Yes, you can leave her the house, but there will still be a lien on the house for the amount of the unpaid mortgage loan. In the event you pass, the bank will assert the debt against your estate. She has the option of taking on the mortgage if she wants to continue living in the house, or selling the house and paying off the mortgage with the proceeds.... Read Answer

It sounds like paternity was never established and that's why you aren't getting anywhere. You will need to file to establish paternity, which you will need to do through your local CSEA office. After paternity is established, you can move for custody and parental rights and responsibilities through the juvenile court.... Read Answer

This is going to depend on the language of the lease. While he can't record inside your premises, recording the door itself is likely permissible. If he has language in the lease about excessive guests then he may be able to begin an eviction. It is more likely that he is attempting to establish that there are other people living there, which would likely be a breach of the lease.... Read Answer

Most race-based discrimination is based on employment discrimination or a failure to accommodate in a place of public accommodation based on race. Someone generally misidentifying you as the wrong tribe would not fit into one of these (or other categories) and you would not have a cause of action under Ohio law.... Read Answer

It's not illegal because of coronavirus, but he does still have to follow court procedures and go through an eviction process. He can't just throw you out. That would be considered "self-help" which is illegal in residential leases.The good news is that the courts are essentially on lockdown right now for evictions. He may be waiting a while before he gets an actual court date.... Read Answer