What are Letters Testamentary?

An individual who has been named as a personal representative or executor in a will has a number of important duties. These include gathering the deceased person's property and transferring it to the beneficiaries through a court-supervised process known as probate. In order to initiate this proceeding, the executor must first obtain...
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Common Types of Will Contests

The most basic estate planning tool is a will which establishes how an individual's property will be distributed and names beneficiaries to receive those assets. Unfortunately, there are circumstances when disputes arise among surviving family members that can lead to a will contest. This is a court proceeding in which the validity...
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Can You Sue City Hall?

Many individuals mistakenly believe that they cannot sue city hall, but this is not the case. Under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, town, city, county and state governments were once protected from most lawsuits. Today, those rules have been scaled back to some extent, and the government can be held responsible for...
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Insurance Bad Faith

If you or a loved one is injured in an accident you may be entitled to compensation which usually means dealing with an insurance company. Although insurers have an advantage because they have teams of attorneys and experts, the law requires insurance companies to treat claimants and policyholders fairly. While there may...
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How to calculate estate tax

In order to predict how much your estate will have to pay in taxes, one must first determine the value of the estate. To determine this, many assets might have to be appraised at fair market value. The estate includes all assets including real estate, cash, securities, stocks, bonds, business interests, loans...
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Strict Product Liability

If an individual is harmed by a purchased device or product, damages may be recovered under strict product liability. The plaintiff, however, must be able to prove several things in order to prevail in suit against a distributor, manufacturer, or retailer. Generally, the product must have been “in an unreasonably dangerous condition”...
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