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Paul E Deloughery's Answers

Scottsdale Probate Attorney.

Contributor Level 10

75 Legal Answers
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Attorney answers:

Breaking an irrevocable trust

Asked by a user in Ely, MN - almost 4 years ago.

If you mean can it be amended, the answer is probably "yes." You probably have a couple of options on that front. First, would be to look at what the trust document itself says. Second, see a local estate planning attorney about either filing a Petition for Instructions with the court, or seeing if Minnesota case law or statutes allow for this. (I used to practice in Minnesota, but I never ran into this issue.) If you mean can you get a distribution from the trust, the answer is "maybe." It...

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Attorney answers:

What type of paperwork do I need to get temporary guardianship of a child?

Asked by a user in Chandler, AZ - about 3 years ago.

You actually hit on the probable answer. Since you and your husband are not the parents, you can't get custody. And terminating the parents' parental rights is very difficult. If you want to leave in a couple of months, you had better start the guardianship proceeding right away. It will take about three months. Give a call if you want any help. Paul Deloughery. 602-443-4888. www.delougherylaw.com; www.azprobate.blogspot.com.

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Attorney answers:

Are heirs allowed to live in a deceased parent's house?

Asked by a user in Tucson, AZ - over 3 years ago.

No one is entitled to do anything with the house until a Personal Representative is appointed by the court. You did not mention whether there was a Will, so I am assuming there was not one. That means that all of you will need to agree on one of you to be in charge and be appointed as the Personal Representative. This will be a tall order to coordinate getting agreement among all of you regarding all of the issues. If ALL of you agree on one person, then the probate could be done informally...

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Attorney answers:

Vehicle purchase contract

Asked by a user in Mesa, AZ - about 4 years ago.

Common sense is going to prevail in this case. Even if the dealer is not able to gain possession of the truck for several months, he will ultimately win. At a minimum, the dealer will successfully claim unjust enrichment, meaning that you received something for which you did not pay and you are being unjustly enriched. And then he will probably get an award of his attorney's fees. The dealer will get a judgment against you, and that is really going to mess up your credit. In short, you need...

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Attorney answers:

My house is being condemned.

Asked by a user in Van Buren, AR - almost 4 years ago.

I don't practice in Arkansas, so I am only giving general advice. You were unclear on what the $35,400 repair estimate was for. That was not all for hail damage, or was it? To begin with, make sure you have a copy of the entire insurance policy (not just the declaration page). The policy will be around 20 to 40 pages long. You are going to have a number of insurance law issues that the policy language will help answer. First, does the policy obligate the company to pay "replacement cost" or...

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Attorney answers:

Does a lawyer have the right to pay himself with money that belongs to an estate w/o the consent of the Persoal Representative?

Asked by a user in Scottsdale, AZ - almost 3 years ago.

First, let me put this in some perspective. I am a probate attorney with ten years experience. I have tried both methods of assisting in the administration of estates/trusts -- both having the PR totally manage the estate funds, and having my office bookkeeper handle the funds. I have found that it is preferable for the law firm to totally handle the funds. By handling the funds, we are in control of paying creditors who need to be paid and denying claims for creditors who don't get paid....