Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Condominiums & Common Areas
Real Estate Law - Adverse Possession
I recently started Real Estate Law Class, and I have learned some interesting things so far. There are many ways to acquire property, one of the ways is through adverse possession. The legal definition of Adverse Possession is the legal taking of another person's property by meeting the requirements of the state statute, typically open and continuous use for a period of five to twenty years.
How adverse property works is a person unlawfully takes possession of a house, like a "squatter". They make their residence at the property for a certain amount of years. Depending on the laws of the state, that person could become the legal owner of the property when the statute of limitations has expired. At that time the "squatter" becomes legal title owner of the property, and the original owner loses ownership of the property.
Some states have different laws on adverse possession, some require that the person that takes the property unlawfully to have continuous possession of the property for 5 - 20 years. If there is multiple periods of possession of the property in order to satisfy the requirement of the law, Tacking of periods of adverse possession may be allowed if there is evidence between the party to be contractual or blood relationship.
By Tacking periods of adverse possession, the party members would meet the requirements necessary to gain legal title to the property. By taking adverse possession of the property the party would not have any kind of paperwork, or deed to the property. So if the party member would ever want to sell the property, they would have to bring an action to court, known as a Quiet Title. By bringing a Quiet Title action, the person is challenging the whole world, to come forward if they want to challenge the party member's ownership of the property. The party that took adverse possession of the property would have to provide affidavits or witness accounts on how long the party member had continuous possession of the property. They would also have to provide the nature on how they acquired the property. If no one comes forward, and the evidence determines that the adverse possessor should be deemed owner of the property, then the court will rule that the person become legal title owner of the property, and they will have legal ownership of the property.
Tacking: A term applied especially to the process of establishing title to land by adverse possession, when the present occupant and claimant has not been in possession for the full statutory period, but adds or "tacks" to his own possession that of previous occupants under whom he claims.
Quiet Title: A proceeding to establish the plaintiff's title to land by bringing into court an adverse claimant and there compelling him either to establish his claim or be forever estopped from asserting it.
How adverse property works is a person unlawfully takes possession of a house, like a "squatter". They make their residence at the property for a certain amount of years. Depending on the laws of the state, that person could become the legal owner of the property when the statute of limitations has expired. At that time the "squatter" becomes legal title owner of the property, and the original owner loses ownership of the property.
Some states have different laws on adverse possession, some require that the person that takes the property unlawfully to have continuous possession of the property for 5 - 20 years. If there is multiple periods of possession of the property in order to satisfy the requirement of the law, Tacking of periods of adverse possession may be allowed if there is evidence between the party to be contractual or blood relationship.
By Tacking periods of adverse possession, the party members would meet the requirements necessary to gain legal title to the property. By taking adverse possession of the property the party would not have any kind of paperwork, or deed to the property. So if the party member would ever want to sell the property, they would have to bring an action to court, known as a Quiet Title. By bringing a Quiet Title action, the person is challenging the whole world, to come forward if they want to challenge the party member's ownership of the property. The party that took adverse possession of the property would have to provide affidavits or witness accounts on how long the party member had continuous possession of the property. They would also have to provide the nature on how they acquired the property. If no one comes forward, and the evidence determines that the adverse possessor should be deemed owner of the property, then the court will rule that the person become legal title owner of the property, and they will have legal ownership of the property.
Tacking: A term applied especially to the process of establishing title to land by adverse possession, when the present occupant and claimant has not been in possession for the full statutory period, but adds or "tacks" to his own possession that of previous occupants under whom he claims.
Quiet Title: A proceeding to establish the plaintiff's title to land by bringing into court an adverse claimant and there compelling him either to establish his claim or be forever estopped from asserting it.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Different types of contracts
Implied-in-Fact contract, is a contract that is implied through action, and there is alot of room for talk to determine if it is Enforceable. these are the elements that make an implied in fact contract:
- The plaintiff provided property or services to the defendant
- The plaintiff expected to be paid by the defendant for the property or services and did not provide the property or services gratuitously.
- The defendant was given an opportunity to reject the property or services provided by the plaintiff but failed to do so
There was a case Wrench LLC v. Taco Bell Corp. Rinks and Shields created the "psycho chihuahua" it was a cartoon character, whey they promoted, licensed, and marketed through their company, Wrench LLC. In a New York licensing convention two Taco Bell employees (a vice president, and a creative service manager.) The taco bell employees were interested in the psycho chihuahua character, and took some material with them back to Taco Bell HQ. Taco Bell asked Rinks and Shields to create ads, and art boards. Taco Bel and Rinks and Shields presented to Taco Bell that to use a real dog, and manipulate the dogs mouth with computer graphics. They also presented Taco Bell with a scenario where the chihuahua dog passed by a female chihuahua dog to get to the tacos. Taco Bell did not enter into an express contract with Rinks and Shields or Wrench LLC. Immediately after that Taco Bell hired an outside Advertisement agency, Chiat/Day and three months later a commercial that featured a live acting chihuahua dog that passes a female chihuahua dog to get to a man sitting on a bench who is eating Taco Bell. Taco Bell never paid Wrench LLC, Rinks or Shields, for the chihuahua idea, So Wrench LLC sued Taco Bell for recovery damages for breach of implied in fact contract. The decision of the court found a proper cause of action against defendant Taco Bell for breach of implied in fact contract.
So the moral of the story is, If you intend to get paid for a service that you provide, and you do not get paid, even if you did not sign any kind of contract, you can sue for Implied-in-Fact contract.
Express Contract: An oral or written words; an oral agreement.
Quasi Contract (Implied-in-Law Contract): The equitable doctrine that allows a court to award monetary damages to a plaintiff for providing work or services to a defendant even though no actual contract existed between the parties.
Bilateral Contract: A contract entered into by way of exchange of promises of the parties, a "promise for a promise" For example: Party A states to Party B "I promise to buy your bike, If you promise to buy my bike".
Unilateral Contract: A promise for an act. for example, Party A states: If you paint my wall by a specific date, I promise to pay you $3000.
The difference between Bilateral and Unilateral Contract is that Bilateral is a promise for a promise, and Unilateral is a promise for an act.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Portfolio
Purchase & Price Agreement
Sarah Smith (seller) agrees to sell and deliver to Kelly Henry (Buyer) who agrees to purchase a one-carat square diamond ring, the buyer also acknowledges that the ring has a slight flaw. Seller Agrees to accept and Buyer agrees to pay for the total sum of $800 (eight-hundred dollars) on this Day August 5, 2008
AGREED AND ACCEPTED THIS 5TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2008
By: Buyer _________ and Seller ___________
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Wills Trust and Estates
Hello, Today I am gonna be talking about What I've learned so far in Wills Trusts and Estates Class of situations in life that could arise, that I was not aware of. When someone passes away, if they dont have a will or a trust, all of their property has to go through Probate Court, which could be very expensive, and stressful. Because the purpose of probate court, is to figure out who of the decedents family will get what? Now Property is divided in to two categories, Real & Personal. Real Property is Buildings, fixtures, and rights to air and land. Personal Property is Cars, Money, and so forth. Personal Property is broken further by Tangible and Intangible Property. Tangible Property is things that you can move physically like cash, cars, furniture. Intangible Property are considered to be Bank Accounts, and Saving Accounts. Intangible Property is broken down Even more by Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property has three types, (1) Copyrights, (2) Patents, and (3) Marks. I will get into details about Intellectual Property in a later Blog.
Now before I continue, As a student that I am, I have enough information about Wills & Trust that could go on for Pages, and Pages. I will provide information about what I have learned in segments. Now there are many ways that you can make sure that your family gets the property that you want them to have. They are: Gifts, Title Transfers, Wills, and Living Trusts, Trusts to name a few. The Gift method is the most common method of transferring property during life from a donor to a donee without consideration. There is a tax imposed on a Gift, and its tax free up to $675,000(back in 2001, which might be the current cut-off point).
Title Transfer is another way to transfer property with minimal estate taxation, there are five types of ownerships which I will get into another time. Another method is by having a Trust or a Living Trust. A trust is when you transfer your property to a trust and upon death, the Trust takes ownership of the property. A living trust is a trust established by a person that takes effect during his or her life. This is another way to avoid estate taxation, but a trust may have its own tax consequences. Remember Consult with an Attorney when wanting to make a Will or a Trust. This is just the basics, and it only gets deeper from here. Thank You for reading my blog, I will be sure to update periodically. Bye
Now before I continue, As a student that I am, I have enough information about Wills & Trust that could go on for Pages, and Pages. I will provide information about what I have learned in segments. Now there are many ways that you can make sure that your family gets the property that you want them to have. They are: Gifts, Title Transfers, Wills, and Living Trusts, Trusts to name a few. The Gift method is the most common method of transferring property during life from a donor to a donee without consideration. There is a tax imposed on a Gift, and its tax free up to $675,000(back in 2001, which might be the current cut-off point).
Title Transfer is another way to transfer property with minimal estate taxation, there are five types of ownerships which I will get into another time. Another method is by having a Trust or a Living Trust. A trust is when you transfer your property to a trust and upon death, the Trust takes ownership of the property. A living trust is a trust established by a person that takes effect during his or her life. This is another way to avoid estate taxation, but a trust may have its own tax consequences. Remember Consult with an Attorney when wanting to make a Will or a Trust. This is just the basics, and it only gets deeper from here. Thank You for reading my blog, I will be sure to update periodically. Bye
Friday, November 11, 2011
Contracts & Property Law
Hello Everyone, Its been a while since I last blogged, but since my first day of Paralegal School, Our class has gone through four Quizzes, and I lost count of how many homework assignments I have completed. Out of all the classes I have, I have to admit that my interest is drawn more towards Contracts & Property Law. Don't get me wrong I like all my classes that I have, Its just that I find that Contracts Law has so many factors that grabs my attention. What I have learned about that class is that, everyone will sue for just about anything and everything.
What I have learned from the Contracts Law Class is that in order for you to get into a contract with someone you need to have the following conditions: (1) Agreement, (2) Consideration, (3) Contractual Capacity, and (4) Lawful object. What those four things mean is that the Offerer needs to present the Offer to the Offeree. The Offeree now has the option to either make the contract by either Agreeing or Rejecting the contract. If the Offeree wants to make adjustments to the contract that is considered to be a Counter-Offer, and now the Offerer has the power to either Accept it, or Reject it. All of the parties have to have what is called Contractual Capacity, which means that the person has to be able to recognize the situation they are getting themselves into, and that they cannot be Adjuged Insane, Intoxicated, a Minor, Insane- but not Adjuged and so forth and so on. The list of people that cannot enter a contract, does not mean that they will not enter into a contract. Those kind of contracts cannot be enforced or is an unenforceable contract.
Furthermore on the unenforceable contracts, what that means is that those kind of contracts can be void, even if the contract was breached,or if the contractual duty was not fulfilled, they cannot be sued. I will continue speaking about Contractual Capacity in my later blogs. The contract has to have a Lawful Object, meaning that the object or the duty that is to be performed has to be legal, if the object is illegal, it cannot be enforced in the courts. This is just 1% of what I have learned from the classes so far. There are so many things to consider before getting into a contract, and so many things to protect yourself while in the contract, but the thing is you gotta read the contract carefully before agreeing to it. Good Night Everyone, and Be Safe.
What I have learned from the Contracts Law Class is that in order for you to get into a contract with someone you need to have the following conditions: (1) Agreement, (2) Consideration, (3) Contractual Capacity, and (4) Lawful object. What those four things mean is that the Offerer needs to present the Offer to the Offeree. The Offeree now has the option to either make the contract by either Agreeing or Rejecting the contract. If the Offeree wants to make adjustments to the contract that is considered to be a Counter-Offer, and now the Offerer has the power to either Accept it, or Reject it. All of the parties have to have what is called Contractual Capacity, which means that the person has to be able to recognize the situation they are getting themselves into, and that they cannot be Adjuged Insane, Intoxicated, a Minor, Insane- but not Adjuged and so forth and so on. The list of people that cannot enter a contract, does not mean that they will not enter into a contract. Those kind of contracts cannot be enforced or is an unenforceable contract.
Furthermore on the unenforceable contracts, what that means is that those kind of contracts can be void, even if the contract was breached,or if the contractual duty was not fulfilled, they cannot be sued. I will continue speaking about Contractual Capacity in my later blogs. The contract has to have a Lawful Object, meaning that the object or the duty that is to be performed has to be legal, if the object is illegal, it cannot be enforced in the courts. This is just 1% of what I have learned from the classes so far. There are so many things to consider before getting into a contract, and so many things to protect yourself while in the contract, but the thing is you gotta read the contract carefully before agreeing to it. Good Night Everyone, and Be Safe.
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