Let me tell you about Title Attorneys

Source: Providence Journal ()

pmarcelo@projo.com

Source: Charlotte Observer ()

“HOG WILD,” by Cathy Pickens (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s Minotaur, 272 pages, $23.95.)

Don’t expect barbecue in this third outing of S.C. attorney Avery Andrews — the wild hog of the title is an escaped potbellied pig who eludes police throughout the book and provides a little comic relief from a series of grisly murders.

Charlotte author Cathy Pickens balances death with eccentric Southern charm and Chattooga River scenery. (As someone whose now overlooks a red-clay berm instead of dappled woods, I particularly enjoyed seeing the crooked developer get his just desserts.)

Source: Toledo Blade ()

While knocking out plaster walls during a bathroom renovation project, a contractor discovers a box that had been squirreled away.
Opening it, the contractor finds $25,000 in old bills. He calls the homeowner and she rushes home. More plaster comes down, more money is discovered.
They agree to some sort of split of the money, but then, as is so often the case when money is at stake, the deal falls apart and lawyers get involved.
Sound farfetched? This rough scenario was pulled from a recent Cleveland Plain Dealer story that chronicled the legal tussle between a Cleveland-area contractor and a homeowner.
The crux of the struggle is, who gets the dough. The $182,000 that was found could be worth around $500,000 because some of the bills are rare. Apparently it was hidden sometime before World War II by a previous homeowner.
Most of the friends and family members I polled believe the money should go to the homeowner, the rationale being that she owns the home and everything in it. Makes sense, right? If only it were that simple. A legal concept called “treasure trove” that dates back to the English common law through which so much of our own law flows may put the money in the hands of the contractor.
An old case from England that was cited by an Ohio appellate court in the 1940s says that “the owner of the soil whereon treasure is found acquires no title or right thereto by virtue thereof, as against the finder or the true owner.” So, it’s sort of like finders-keepers.
A few other Ohio cases discuss the concept of treasure trove, but seem to improperly apply the term to situations where property was lost or abandoned. In other words, the found money hadn’t been hidden away for a long period in a wall, mattress, piano, or hole in the ground.
Lost property and misplaced property each has its own rules. If I lose my iPod because it falls out of my pocket, whoever picks it has superior title rights to everyone but me, the true owner. It doesn’t matter who owned …

Source: Toronto Star ()

For Paul Reviczky, a 90-year-old victim of mortgage fraud, it’s the best possible ending to a two-year nightmare.

In a precedent-setting decision, Ontario superior court has taken another step toward protecting victims like Reviczky from being on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The court ruled this week that the Hungarian immigrant isn’t responsible for the $300,000 mortgage taken out on his home, after it was sold in 2005 without his knowledge.

"It hurt me mentally, I talked about it always," he said yesterday of the prolonged court battle. "Yes. I’m happy it’s over."

The decision is the first of its kind in the province since a landmark Court of Appeal ruling in February. That decision found that even a bona fide purchaser can’t legally buy property from a fraudster.

This decision expands on the previous one by finding that a $300,000 mortgage, obtained by the people who purchased Reviczky’s home, was invalid because the basis for the transaction was a fake power of attorney document forged by the fraudsters who sold the elderly man’s home.

The Star first reported on mortgage fraud more than a year ago in a series of articles, which exposed the practice and have lead to a cascade of changes beginning in Ontario’s Court of Appeal.

Justice John Macdonald’s ruling hands the weighty bill back to the mortgage dispenser, which is HSBC and its insurer.

Reviczky was awarded partial indemnity and is left to recoup legal fees and lost income from the rental property.

Even though Reviczky, hard of hearing but sprightly and lucid, is skeptical that the ruling will do anything to curb mortgage fraud, his lawyer Tonu Toome is happy with the most recent outcome.

Had the mortgage been declared valid, Reviczky would have had to spend more time and money trying to get the Land Assurance Fund, a provincial body which attempts to financially right real estate wrongs, to pay up. …

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer ()

The most interesting chapter about the 2007 Eagles season won't be one you'll find in the team's media guide next season.
Where you'll find it instead is in Philadelphia magazine, which rolled out a news release yesterday touting its January cover story. In an exclusive interview, Andy and Tammy Reid tell their side of the tragic off-the-field saga that began with the arrest of two of their sons in separate incidents last Jan. 30.
Garrett, 24, and Britt, 22, each have received 23-month jail terms for various offenses. Garrett is expected to face more charges for smuggling pills into the Montgomery County prison.
Both boys made several courtroom visits, culminating with a Nov. 1 sentencing hearing during which Common Pleas Judge Steven T. O'Neill lectured the parents for their parenting skills gone amiss.
Amid an up-and-down season for the Eagles in which many surmised that the coach's focus was (or should be) elsewhere, he and his wife have been silent about how their sons went astray and about the subsequent effects of their behavior on themselves and their family.
The Reids have three younger children - all teens, two girls and a boy. Andy took some time off from the Eagles before the April draft to deal with his issues at home, and his first request to reporters upon his return to work was for patience and understanding, and for no questions to be asked about his boys. Reporters have obliged.
In the interim, Andy said in a statement released by the Eagles yesterday, he and his wife "have struggled with the proper way to handle our family's personal situation in a public platform."
It was a situation, he added, that other families struggle with, an awareness heightened by the "outpouring" of correspondence he said they have received since the news broke and morphed into a national forum. Speaking out, he said, provides a chance "to have …

Source: International Herald Tribune ()

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.: After decades of corruption — bribes, scandals, a videotaped sex romp used for blackmail, a former City Council president who went to prison with his middle finger raised high — Atlantic City is hiring someone to keep an eye on itself.

Mayor Scott Evans said Thursday he hopes to get a former U.S. attorney, FBI agent or retired judge to serve as “chief legal and integrity officer,” a newly created title.

With five of his nine predecessors busted on corruption charges, Evans shouldn't have trouble finding someone familiar with the problem.

“I think it is clear that our government has not done an adequate job in the past of policing itself,” the mayor said.

“Spending a few extra resources to lure a good person and hire additional staff will pay off big by cracking down on waste and fraud,” he added.

Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said it couldn't hurt.

“Based on what we've seen for too many years, it's probably something Atlantic City could use,” he said.

The city's 11 casinos — by far the dominant industry — have called municipal corruption a serious threat to future growth, and say they need stable, honest government in order to continue to attract new investment. At least four companies plan to invest a total of $9 billion here on casino-hotel projects over the next five years.

Evans took office after the city's latest political debacle in which former Mayor Bob Levy admitted lying about his Vietnam War service to fatten his veterans' benefits check.

Levy will be sentenced in February. Four of his eight predecessors also were arrested on corruption charges.

And until a few weeks ago, three out of nine members of last year's City Council were either in prison or under house one was recently released from prison after serving half of a 10-month sentence for taking bribes.

One …

Source: Austin American-Statesman ()

By Jane Greig
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

In 11 days income tax returns are due. Even if you have filed a return or an extension, now is a good time to organize your personal records.

The April 15 tax-filing deadline reminds everyone that managing a household is akin to running a small business. Record keeping is an essential part of that management. Readers routinely ask me how long records should be kept and how to dispose of them. How long should the utility bills be kept? What about the receipts for the ligustrums you planted last spring? And junior’s diploma? Grandpa’s death certificate?

Readers, grab a trash can or paper shredder and sturdy file box (preferably a fireproof one), it is time to play store or shred.

Generally you should keep copies of your tax returns and supporting documents for three years, advises Ken Vargas, spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service.

It is the taxpayer’s job to prove which dollars are taxable and which are not. You need documents such as check stubs, receipts, bank statements and deposit slips to support your case.

If you are audited, then you will need the previous six years of returns (that translates to seven years including the current year). Sorry to mention that “A” word but relax, fewer than 1 percent of taxpayers are audited.

Other “documents” should be kept for longer periods. The receipts for landscaping plants? They are documents of home improvements you have made. Maintain a file on anything relating to the purchase or sale of assets (such as your home) indefinitely or a minimum of six years after the sale of a property or investment.

Other records that are good to store are lifestyle records — credit card statements, utility bills, regular household all of which might come in handy in the case of a divorce. Keep these records …

Source: Florida Times-Union ()

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida could have mermaids on the payroll under a tentative plan to turn Weeki Wachee Springs into a state park, although Hernando County officials also are interested in taking over the troubled attraction.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole on Tuesday told Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet the attraction’s owners signed a letter of intent to donate it to the state.
“Can we keep the mermaids?” Crist asked.
Sole told him they would become state employees, but he added “We’ll need to create a new position title.”
Unless that’s done, they’d probably be classified as park rangers, said department spokeswoman Sarah Williams.
Weeki Wachee Springs opened 60 years ago about 50 miles north of Tampa, making it one of Florida’s oldest tourist attractions. Known as much for the performing mermaids as its natural beauty, it is enmeshed in a legal dispute that has threatened its continued operation.
“It’s one of the great natural wonders of Florida,” said Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Cabinet member. “But it’s not been managed particularly the way we’d like it in the last few years.”
The deal hinges on further negotiations with Weeki Wachee Springs LCC, which operates the attraction, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which owns the property.
The proposed state takeover would settle lawsuits the company and district have filed against each other, both alleging contract violations.
“There is no definitive agreement,” said Weeki Wachee spokesman John Athanason. “We can back out of this letter at any time.”
Weeki Wachee officials also want to see what Hernando County proposes, Athanason said. He said the attraction owes a debt of gratitude to local residents for help in rescuing it.
“We want to do what’s right for this attraction and what’s right for the citizens Hernando County,” Athanason said.
The attraction fell into disrepair under a previous owner and was donated …

Source: The Capital Times ()

Dear Editor: I am an estate planning attorney
in Madison. My law firm represents all kinds of families in their
life and estate planning. I read Deb Price’s recent column, and I
write to concur, wholeheartedly, with her conclusion.

No matter the exact makeup of a family
constellation, LGBT or otherwise, couples must plan for their
incapacitation and death. And that does not mean simply filling out
a template will and power of attorney that they find on the
Internet. In fact, in some cases, for instance LGBT families with
children, such documents can do more harm than good.

Couples should invest in an experienced
attorney and expect more than just documents. They should expect an
attorney to prepare individualized documents for their family, to
guide them through beneficiary designations for retirement accounts
and life insurance policies, to help them title their property to
avoid unnecessary probate fees, and at the end of the process to
remind them to inform the appropriate people of the documents and
the location of the originals. The $3,000 estate plan Price
referred to is worth nothing if the relevant people don’t know
about, can’t find, or don’t have access to the documents when they
need them.

If an LGBT couple has children, estate
planning becomes even more important. Such families need to execute
nominations of guardian and various authorizations for their minor
children, carefully drafted to not contradict a nonlegal parent’s
rights to the children. And if a partner has no legal rights to the
children, the first step in his or her estate plan should be
seeking to establish legal parentage. The same advice applies to
unmarried heterosexual couples: The establishment of paternity must
be part of the life and estate planning process.

All families with minor children also need to
establish minor support to avoid the children’s inheritance
being placed in a burdensome guardianship of the estate.

Gift tax planning …

Source: Cincinnati Enquirer ()

INDIAN HILL - Michael Schwartz didn’t realize how many people adored him.

“Looking down at the funeral, he wouldn’t have believed all the people who came and the wonderful things they were saying,” said his wife, Carolee Schwartz.

“He was involved with people a lot, loved to have people around,” said his daughter, Wendy Donohue of Boston. “Besides, in his various interests, he’d meet someone new every day just crossing the street.”

The former mayor of the city of Golf Manor, he was the youngest to hold the position at that time, and served from 1973 to 1980.

During his tenure, cable television was brought to Golf Manor, and according to his family, Golf Manor led the way for Hamilton County to get cable television.

On the last day of his term, Mayor Schwartz showed appreciation toward his employees by creating a holiday, “Mayor Mike Schwartz Appreciated Being Mayor Day,” giving all city employees the day off.

His family credits his decision to run for office and caring attitude, to his quality of innocence, which came from his father.

“His attitude came from the inspiration of his father,” said his son, Andrew Schwartz of Columbia Tusculum. “He was an idealist, always believing the best about everyone.”

Mr. Schwartz, a lawyer and musician, passed away Dec. 7 at Hospice of Cincinnati, Blue Ash, after battling lung cancer. He was 63.

According to Wendy, he enjoyed success because of five pearls of wisdom: “Be a good listener. Don’t be petty. You can’t change anyone other than yourself, but you can control how you react to them. If you have something nice to say, say it. And give your children what they need to accomplish anything they desire.”

Born in North Avondale, Mr. Schwartz moved to Roselawn as a child and graduated from Woodward High School.

He was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu while attending Ohio State University, and graduated in 1966.

“He was very much a frat guy,” according …