Ask DrewDevil your legal questions

[DrewDevil]

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Drew,
1) Do you need a retainer to answer my question?

2) Is NT!'s back-to-back banning of quickfetus anti-Semitism?

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1) Yes, $3,000 should work.

2) No comment; we will reserve our testimony for the hearing.

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LOL. In regards to #1, I did not know if you saw my question earlier in the thread or if it was simply unanswerable in a general sense. I googled some stuff but it was still somewhat murky. If you missed it, I welcome your thoughts, but if it's overly broad in scope I understand.

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Oops, no I just missed it.

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My grandfather died without a will and the property was/is in his name. My grandmother is now in hospice and has been in nursing home for ~8 years. She is of sound mind but she is fading fast. Is there a legal maneuver to retroactively get the property transferred into the childrens' names as this was my grandfather's (and grandmother's) intent? Does it automatically go to my grandmother once he died? I don't think anything has been legally done since my GF's death.

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You will have to check your state's "intestacy" statutes to determine what happened to your grandfather's property when he died. In Texas, for example, if a person dies intestate, then 1/2 of his property goes to his spouse and 1/2 in equal shares to his children, IIRC.

If your grandmother is still with it, she should either sign a will asap or a power of attorney granting control of her financial affairs to someone else, with either instructions on how she wants her property disposed of or just trusting that the person with the POA will act as she would have wished.

If your grandmother either loses her faculties OR dies before she makes one of these arrangements, there could be a huge mess in sorting out the estate. If the estate is sizable and the heirs don't see eye to eye, you might even see conflicts arising before her death, if one heir seeks to declare her incompetent and/or challenge her competency at the time she signed the POA, etc.

[J.A.K.]

Thanks! The georgia law says that the surviving spouse always shares (the intestate estate) with the issue, with a fixed dollar amount.

What does this mean?

(Last question I promise)

[DrewDevil]

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Thanks! The georgia law says that the surviving spouse always shares (the intestate estate) with the issue, with a fixed dollar amount.

What does this mean?

(Last question I promise)

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Here's what I find in the Georgia Code:

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GEORGIA CODE
Copyright 2007 by The State of Georgia
All rights reserved.

*** Current through the 2007 Regular Session ***

TITLE 53. WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES
CHAPTER 2. DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1 (2007)

§ 53-2-1. (Revised Probate Code of 1998) Rules of inheritance when decedent dies without will; effect of abandonment of child

(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section, when a decedent died without a will, the following rules shall determine such decedent's heirs:

(1) Upon the death of an individual who is survived by a spouse but not by any child or other descendant, the spouse is the sole heir. If the decedent is also survived by any child or other descendant, <u>the spouse shall share equally with the children</u>, with the descendants of any deceased child taking that child's share, per stirpes; provided, however, that the spouse's portion shall not be less than a one-third share;

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So, if grandfather died with grandmother and 2 children living, it would be

1/3 grandmother (must be at least 1/3)
1/3 child #1 (or if child #1 deceased, then his descendants split that 1/3 equally)
1/3 child #2

Make sense?

[J.A.K.]

Yes. You are awesome thanks! There are 4 children. The property is still listed in GF's name and I will assume the code means that only 1/3 of the property can be used to backpay medicare and the other 2/3 belong to remaining 4 children.

[Misfire]

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I may have explained this badly, but the sign she had was mounted to the face of the building and had to be removed for the remodel. It definitely would not flatter the remodel that has been done, and I think the landlord is exercising his "right to approve the sign".

I also think he's trying to take advantage of her, however.

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The LL's right to approve the sign does not mean he gets to pick a sign and then T has to pay for it (unless that's what the lease says). All he can do is say no when T presents the old sign to be re-mounted. I agree he's trying to take advantage of her.

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Since he already approved the sign, can he really just decide later that it's no longer approved?

[CallMeIshmael]

If someone makes a semi-joke post on an internet message board about ranking people based on posting ability, and then someone commits suicide upon learning he ranks 10th, is that person in any way accountable?

This is for a friend.

thanks

[Misfire]

Captain Awesome,
I was stopped on the sidewalk the other day by a police officer who told me I was wearing an "offensive" t-shirt and he threatened me with a citation. Does the first amendment not protect my wearing an "offensive" shirt?

[DrewDevil]

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Captain Awesome,
I was stopped on the sidewalk the other day by a police officer who told me I was wearing an "offensive" t-shirt and he threatened me with a citation. Does the first amendment not protect my wearing an "offensive" shirt?

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The first amendment does protect you.

[DrewDevil]

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I may have explained this badly, but the sign she had was mounted to the face of the building and had to be removed for the remodel. It definitely would not flatter the remodel that has been done, and I think the landlord is exercising his "right to approve the sign".

I also think he's trying to take advantage of her, however.

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The LL's right to approve the sign does not mean he gets to pick a sign and then T has to pay for it (unless that's what the lease says). All he can do is say no when T presents the old sign to be re-mounted. I agree he's trying to take advantage of her.

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Since he already approved the sign, can he really just decide later that it's no longer approved?

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Probably. Check the lease.

[DrewDevil]

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If someone makes a semi-joke post on an internet message board about ranking people based on posting ability, and then someone commits suicide upon learning he ranks 10th, is that person in any way accountable?

This is for a friend.

thanks

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First Amendment baby! Your "friend" is safe.