Late fee assesement

Take a look at the language in your lease. Some leases say notices, including rent payments, are effective upon delivery or receipt. Some say they are effective upon mailing. In the absence of language in the lease, then the rent is "paid" when it is delivered, not when you send it and not when the landlord gets around to going to the mail drop to pick up his mail. There is no statutory or common law late fee. If it's allowed in the lease, then the landlord cannot charge one. Whatever the lease says, that's what applies. Most late charges don't apply until the 5th or 10th day of the month. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack