Wisconsin Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Assuming that the petition is not approved, and you have only filed once, you would not be considered a multiple filer. The instructions to the I-129F form define who is considered a multiple filer: 1.     You are filing this petition on behalf of your fiancé(e) and you previously filed Form I-129Fs on behalf of two or more fiancé(e) beneficiaries; or 2. You are filing this petition on behalf of your fiancé(e), you have previously had a Form I-129F approved, and less than two years have passed since the filing date of your previously approved petition. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

The answer to your question lies in the language of the trust.  What does the document say about replacing the trustee or providing an accounting?  Most trusts provide that an accounting must be provided by a successor trustee at least annually. Has your sister provided the beneficiaries with an accounting?  If not, you may be able to file an action to ask a judge to order the Trustee to provide the beneficiaries an accounting.  That should at least provide you with information about the assets.  Also, most trusts provide language that dictates how to replace a trustee.  If the trust allows the beneficiaries to vote on whether to replace the trustee that may be the way to go in order to have a new trustee in place that will provide the required information.  If five years have gone by without any communication from the trustee regarding the distribution of the assets, you will want to retain the services of an attorney to explore whether to file an action to force the trustee to provide this information to you and the other beneficiaries.  ... Read More

It is my practice, and that of many estate planning attorneys, that a trust be witnessed by two persons that are unrelated by blood or marriage to the grantor, as well as being notarized.  If the orginial trust was witnessed by two people and notarized, I would follow that and have the amendment witnessed as notarized as well.  ... Read More

My first question would be why does the grantor not have a copy of their own trust?  If for whatever reason they did not retain a copy, they have a legal right to demand one.  The drafting attorney has a legal obligation to give a copy of a document that they drafted to their client.  I would recommend the grantor request a copy in writing from the drafting attorney.  If a copy is not furnished within a couple of days, the grantor should contact the Office of Lawyer Regulation for guidance on how to proceed.  ... Read More

What does your lease say?  In general, whatever it provides is what you are obligated to do.  For example, if the lease provided that you would have to pay for the landlord's therapist as part of your rent, you would be obligated to do so.  If you have no written lease, you are obligated do do whatever you agreed to, but bear in mind that if you have no written lease you are probably a month to month tenant, meaning that the landlord doesn't have to rent to you beyond the end of the month.... Read More

It's truly hard to say. The police and District Attorneys have a tremendous amount of discretion in what to charge and very little incentive to get it right. If law enforcement contacts you, provide the names of the witnesses. But DO NOT TRY TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF. Hire an attorney on a precharge basis to represent you in any conversation with the law. Often in those conversations, they are not trying to get to the truth. They are trying to get enough information to charge you. If they think you did it, you won't be able to explain your way out of it. They are talking to you in the hopes that you will say something incriminating. ... Read More

With the limited facts you have provided, I would recommend asking the attorney you have in for your divorce proceedings. However, usually any inheritance a person receives would be considered their separate property.  This would mean that if someone inherits money or property from someone, that is a gift to them and is their separate property.  Accordingly, anything a person inherits usually is separate property and therefore, not taken into account if that person later divorces.  This may change if the person co-mingled the money with community property such as depositing it a joint checking account.  If they kept it in it's own account, it would stay separate property.  This is why I would recommend speaking with your divorce attorney so that you can determine how to treat an asset such as an inheritance.  ... Read More

You asked if you can resell a product, which frankly has nothing to do with your situation.  No, absent a contract which gives you the right to do so (I assume your promissory note doesn't provide for this), you can't sell someone else's property just because you claim they owe you money.  You have to sue your debtor and, assuming you win and obtain a judgment, and he doesn't pay the judgment, you can then avail yourself of a number of different procedures to get your money, including auctioning off his property to pay the debt.... Read More

In general, all property that has been properly moved into a Trust will avoid probate.  It appears that your parents trust was in SC.  You first step would be to contact a SC attorney who handles Trust Administration.  This can be any attorney, it does not have to be the attorney or the law firm that drafted the trust.  A Trust Administration attorney can provide you with the information and/or guidance that you need to settle your parents' estate.  ... Read More

Andrew M. Jaffe Attorney at Law 2375 Covington Rd, Suite 315 Fairlawn, Ohio 44313-4358 (330) 983-4842 attorneyjaffe@aol.com www.LawyerJaffe.com     Thank you for contacting me concerning your need for an Internet attorney.  I would be happy to discuss your questions on the phone.  We can schedule a call for most any afternoon (Eastern time) including weekends.  There is no charge for this initial consultation and it is covered by attorney/client privilege.  Dealing with Facebook/Instagram has become impossible, even for lawyers.  They do not answer our email. I suggest you set up your own business website. You can still market on social media and then direct people to your website. You will want to discuss your situation with a lawyer in more detail. Many lawyers on Avvo offer a free phone consultation.... Read More

A person can only sign a Financial Power of Attorney if they are lucid, ie. can understand what they are signing and why.  If the person is lucid, have her sign a POA as soon as possible as once her condition has deteriorated, she will be unable to do so.  At that time, the only option will be to file for a conservatorship over her financial affairs.  To be on the safe side, if there are questions about a person's mental state, you can have their doctor examine them and provide a short letter that on a certain date the patient was presented with a POA, understood the ramifications of signing it and did in fact want to sign it.  I would err on the side of caution to avoid any appearance of influence in this regard.  ... Read More

First, if the 1099 designation is correct, you are an independent contractor, not an employee.  Second, yes you can sue the distributorship for breach of contract, and many states also have statures requireing timely payment of compensation, which may include the right to addditional compensation (e.g. double or treble damages) and/or reimbursement of attorneys fees.  I don't know if WI has such a statute.  There's no guarantee that you'll win, but if you have a written contract which doesn't say anything about needing to be there for the install to earn the commissions, your chances are probably pretty good.... Read More

First, I'm sorry for your loss.  I know it must be hard trying to grieve your loved one and then have to deal with this.   The short answer is that if you are not an owner of a home, or are not on a lease, you have no legal right to occupy the home after the death.  Although you had permission to live there from the owner, he is now passed and that permission has expired.     The long answer is that you did have permission to occupy the premises.  If you refuse to move, the owner of the house must file an eviction action to force you to move.  This would be the only legal way for the owner to force you out.  Yes, the new owner of the house should give you 30 days notice to move.  But the question is, who is the legal owner now?  Has a probate action been filed?  Once a probate action has been filed, the Personal Representative can provide you with that notice and request that you move in 30 days or you may be subject to an eviction action.  The hard part is that you don't know how long it will take for the ownership of the house to be determined.  My suggestion would be to start looking for another place to live now.  If you find one, let the sister know that you will be moved out within 30 days.  An alternative would be to let her know that you plan to find another place and ask her to agree in writing that you will move out within 60 days.  That may buy you more time, however, I feel whichever avenue you decide to take, the end result will be the same, that being you have no legal right to live there and must vacate the premises.  ... Read More

In short, no.  Your son will only have control over the account that he has ownership in.  If there is a judgment against him, the holder could seize that account to pay it, but not any of your other accounts, IF you are not liable on the judgement.  However, it can work the other way if you are a joint owner.  For example, the account would be considered an asset of yours so if you owed someone money and they received a judgment for it, they could seize your son's account to pay the judgment.  ... Read More

You should find a lawyer who handles fiduciary litigation and expect to be required to pay the money back.  It was never yours to spend, whatever your circumstances.  You may also face removal as personal representative, a civil suit for fraud and conversion (converting the estate's money to your own) and possible criminal charges for theft.... Read More

What gobbledygook!  Ordinarily a Durable Power of Attorney gives you authority to access someone's finances to pay for his care.  Being nominated means just that:  the person would prefer that the court appoint you.  Usually a person with valid Medical and Durable Powers of Attorney does not need a guardian, which a court must appoint.... Read More