Richard Scott Alagood’s Answers

If you are the attorney-in-fact of your father, you owe him a fiduciary duty to act in his best interest and not your own. As such, your conveyance of property to yourself under a POA of which you are the attorney-in-fact may very well subject you to future litigation over whether or not you fulfilled your fiduciary duty, and any transaction in which you have engaged in self-dealing in breach of such duty may be overturned. If your father wants you to have the real property and not your...

It depends on the particular fact situation. There are instances where a quitclaim will convey your father's interest in real property. However, there are many others where his interest, if any, may not be conveyed through the use of a quitclaim. Quitclaims are not favored in Texas, and unless there is a legitimate reason not to use a Deed, such as a Warranty Deed, Special Warranty Deed, or Deed without Warranty, I would be careful in using a quitlclaim to transfer title to real estate....

Anyone can physically file a lien claim if they have signed and notarized paperwork and pay the applicable filing fee. The real question is whether or not such party is legally entitled to the lien claim. If the lien filing is "fraudulent", then the filing party may face minimum civil penatlies of $10,000.00 in addition to any other damages caused by the lien filing plus attorney's fees. As always, the proper filing of a lien claim is dependant on numerous factual determinations. Also, just...

I concur with the preceding opinion. You'll need to get a copy of your insurance policy. Also, the policy will require that certain notice be provided to the insurance company before you take any action to resolve any claims. It's important that the terms contained in the policy be followed. Contact with the insurance carrier should be made quickly. If you don't feel like you can handle it, then hiring an attorney may be helpful in ensuring compliance with the policy terms, and in...

Filing a lawsuit to foreclose the lien claim in a Court of competent jurisdiction and venue is your next step, if you have a valid lien and are within the statute of limitations. However, there are several issues of concern that must be first addressed, such as whether you have a valid contract which allows you to claim a lien against a homestead, whether you sent all of the required notices, and whether you are a general vs. sub contractor on the project, just to name a few. You should...

It depends on who you did the work for. If you did it for a Tenant, then the lien would be considered residential. In that instance, your lien claim would only attach to the Tenant's interest in the property, that being a leasehold interest. Once the lease terminates, so does your lien claim. If you performed work for the apartment complex owner, manager, or other agent, then it would be considered a commercial claim. If you are unsure, then I'd suggest with complying with all residential...

Unfortunately, the answer(s) to these questions are extremely complicated and may involve federal as well as Texas state law. I suggest that you immediately begin contacting attorneys who practice in real estate and bankruptcy law. You can search Lawyers.com and the State Bar of Texas attorney referal service as places to start to look for attorney's who may fit within your budget. Good luck.

If the lease is written and provides for the recovery of attorney's fees to a prevailing party, then you can recover your reasonable and necessary attorney's fees in the Judgment if you incur those fees and prevail in the suit. If your lease is not written or doesn't have an attorney's fees provision, then take a look at Section 24.006 of the Texas Property Code. However, you must be cautioned that if you send the notice required by Section 24.006 and you do not prevail, then the Tenant may...

The answer to this question is very fact specific and complicated. Caution should always be taken in attempting to terminate a lease under Section 92.056. Section 92.0561 only relates to a Tenant's ability in certain situations to make repairs and then deduct the cost of such repairs from any rentals owed to the Landlord. Section 92.056 does allow a Tenant to terminate a lease in certain specific situations following multiple notices to the Landlord without any repairs by the Landlord. Care...

There are several things that may assist you, including but not limited to retaining payments otherwise due your contractor under the contract (if allowed), complying with statutory retainage, bonding around the lien, issuing a joint check, demanding release of the lien, and other potentially available remedies depending on your particular circumstances. However, mechanic's lien issues are extremely complicated and always require a full and complete review of all facts, contracts, documents,...