Ohio Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

You have no obligation to prove that the accounts were POD.  Accounts which are held POD pass outside the Will and are no business of the executor. This is different from any guardianship estate which you may have administered as guardian under court supervision.  That account is usually transferred to the decedent's estate account. If the situation is more complicated than this, you may want to consult with your guardianship attorney.... Read More

Whether a parent can be paid for providing services to a disabled child varies with the Medicaid and Medicaid-waiver services which the disabled child is receiving and with the parent's eligibility based on work eligibility, training requirements and whether the payment is made directly or through a home health care agency which employs the parent.  Please contact a local lawyer focusing on special needs planning.  You can find one through the website of the National Academy of Elder [and Special Needs] Law Attorneys (www.naela.org).... Read More

I am so sorry. Please report this to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the state Attorney General and to private organizations working in this area such as Long Term Care Consumer Coalition, Justice in Aging and the American Bar Association's Commission on Law and Aging.  You may also want to contact Andrews Kurth, a law firm collecting information and considering suits in this area.  It is a mounting problem.... Read More

Like anyone else, you have a right to see the Will in the court records once it is filed for probate.  But there is no forced inheritance by children in the United States.  Your father had a legal right to not include you in his Will.  You get nothing.  The only exception, in some states, is for a child born after the Will was written when the Will refers to all the deceased's children in addition to naming those who had been born.... Read More

There is no restriction on getting married while waiting for your naturalization interview. (I assume that you did not immigrate through marriage and are applying under the three year rule). You can apprise the naturalization examiner of your change of circumstance with documentation of the marriage (marriage certificate) at the time of interview. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

While these vary from state to state, it is far too early for you to expect anything.  Among the bills which must be paid before anything is distributed is the 2020 federal income tax.  The 2020 federal income tax return cannot be filed until 2021.  In some states a beneficiary is entitled to request an accounting 15 months after the executor is appointed but not entitled to request the court to replace the executor unless there has been no distribution for 24 months after the executor is appointed.... Read More

Only your grandmother can change your grandmother's Will.  Take the documents to a probate attorney who practices in the county in which your grandmother lived and died to see what can be done.   The approach depends both on how much time has elapsed and whether your mother changed your grandmother's Will or changed how she administered the estate as executor of that Will.... Read More

As executor, you are also responsible for filing your father's final tax return and for paying those creditors who come out of the woodwork.  As your probate attorney may have advised you, it can be hard to claw money back once it is gone.  You will be personally liable for these expenses if you cannot.  Please note that this would be only a partial accounting and an initial distribution.  There is no way for anyone on this listserv to determine if/when the house will sell, what the net proceeds might be and whether they are likely to cover anticipated and unanticipated future expenses. Beneficiaries all want "their" money the moment someone stops breathing.  That is no reason for the executor to wind up holding the bag.... Read More

I assume that your promissory note didn't include a chocie of forum provision, in which case it depends on whether New York can exercise jurisdiction over him.  Given that he entered itnot a contract to perform in New York (i.e. to make payments to a New York resident) iit probably can.  Sue him in NY.  However, assuming that you did not include an acceleration provision in your contract (i.e. if you default in any payment, the rest becomes immediately due), you can only sue hom for the amount he owes at that time, however many months' arrears that is.... Read More

A controlling interest is not the same as ownership.  Company B stock belongs to Company A, not to whomever may have a controlling interest in Company A.  (1) Company B shares are part of the overall appraised value of Company A. (2) Because Company B stock belongs to Company A, not to whomever may have a controlling interest in Company A, unless the operating agreement provides otherwise, Company A retains ownership. (3) The co-owners can use stock, rather than cash, to buy out the decedent's interest in Company A only if (a) the operating agreement so provides and (b) the decedent's estate is willing to accept stock instead of cash. Please hire a local probate lawyer experienced in settling estates involving small companies.   This is not a DIY project.... Read More

Move.  Unless you have a written lease, you are a guest.  No eviction notice is required. In some states, probate attorneys have a listserv or a Facebook group.  You can ask an Ohio probate attorney to post a notice that s/he is looking for the Will of (the deceased's name). In some states, the local probate court will accept the Will for safekeeping.  You can ask the probate court in the county in which he died whether they do this and, if so, whether they have his Will.... Read More

If you are a US citizen, you can sponsor her for a fiancé visa immediately provided you have physically met her within the last two years. If you have met only online that does not count. Alternatively you could travel there marry her and then she could process at the US consulate for a spousal visa. The fiancé visa is taking less time as of now. ... Read More

Need a little more information here. It is extremely common to will the house to the surviving spouse, or have it transfer out of probate. If the only person who was harmed by not having rent paid was the surviving spouse, you're going to have a hard time establishing that you are entitled to a portion of the rent that should have been paid by the daughter.    If the house is supposed to go to someone else, then someone should step in as the new executor and complete the probate. The new executor would be able to evict the daughter.... Read More

I recommend filing in the county where the business is. This is because of the venue requirements in the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure which generally favor suit in the same county where the wrongful act took place. Venue is proper in:  1) The county in which the defendant resides; (2) The county in which the defendant has his or her principal place of business; (3) A county in which the defendant conducted activity that gave rise to the claim for relief; (4) A county in which a public officer maintains his or her principal office if suit is brought against the officer in the officer’s official capacity; (5) A county in which the property, or any part of the property, is situated if the subject of the action is real property or tangible personal property; (6) The county in which all or part of the claim for relief arose; or, if the claim for relief arose upon a river, other watercourse, or a road, that is the boundary of the state, or of two or more counties, in any county bordering on the river, watercourse, or road, and opposite to the place where the claim for relief arose; (7) In actions described in Civ.R. 4.3, in the county where plaintiff resides; ( 8) In an action against an executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee, in the county in which the executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee was appointed; (9) In actions for divorce, annulment, or legal separation, in the county in which the plaintiff is and has been a resident for at least ninety days immediately preceding the filing of the complaint; (10) In actions for a civil protection order, in the county in which the petitioner currently or temporarily resides; (11) In tort actions involving asbestos claims, silicosis claims, or mixed dust disease claims, only in the county in which all of the exposed plaintiffs reside, a county where all of the exposed plaintiffs were exposed to asbestos, silica, or mixed dust, or the county in which the defendant has his or her principal place of business. (12) If there is no available forum in divisions (C)(1) to (C)(10) of this rule, in the county in which plaintiff resides, has his or her principal place of business, or regularly and systematically conducts business activity; (13) If there is no available forum in divisions (C)(1) to (C)(11) of this rule: (a) In a county in which defendant has property or debts owing to the defendant subject to attachment or garnishment; (b) In a county in which defendant has appointed an agent to receive service of process or in which an agent has been appointed by operation of law. ... Read More

To change the child's last name all you need is for the father to receive notice of the proceedings through the probate court, where you would file the request to amend the birth certificate. If you wanted the father's parental rights terminated, you would need to seek a stepparent adoption. Lack of contact for a year is a means to establish abandonment that will allow the court to grant the stepparent adoption.... Read More