Clair Law News and Articles

Don't Give Your Children Your Home in An Attempt to Avoid Probate

Many of our clients wish to transfer title to their home in an attempt to avoid probate, save the home, and avoid nursing home expenses. Adding an adult child to your home deed, or giving title to your home outright, is usually not a smart thing to do. Yes, transferring your home to your adult children while you are alive might avoid probate (at least for that asset), but gifting your home also can result in a unnecessary tax bill and put your house at risk if your adult children get sued, divorced, or file for bankruptcy.

Retirement Accounts - New Rules for Your Financial and Estate Planning

In January of this year, the rules governing retirement accounts changed significantly. As a result of the passing of The Secure Act, there are long-term changes you might wish to consider to your financial and estate plan.

Stretch IRAs will be abolished going forward. Most of our clients who inherited an IRA on or before December 31, 2019 were able to stretch the distributions over their life expectancy. This was the “Stretch IRA.” For our clients who are inheriting retirement accounts after December 31, 2019, this opportunity to use the “Stretch IRA” will no longer exist.

Changes to Your Offer to Purchase 2020

Starting January 1, 2020, a new WB-11 Residential Offer to Purchase will be available for real estate purchases in Wisconsin. While reviewing the prior 2011 WB-11, the Real Estate Examining Board wanted to make transactions easier and have clarified language for the parties reading and preparing the documents. While there are many minor changes to the document, we have outlined three of the most notable below.

Beware of Wire Fraud

May 16, 2019

BEWARE! Wire transferring money on real estate transactions could cost you your life savings. We continue to advise our clients in residential real estate transactions, and in commercial real estate transactions, that they should be extremely careful about putting personal information (such as social security numbers and bank accounts) in any emails, and when they are wiring funds to an attorney’s office, a real estate agency, or a title company.

Not a Debt Collector

March 22, 2019

Clair Law is not a "Debt Collector" when representing financial institutions in foreclosure actions.
The United States Supreme Court on March 20, 2019 ruled unanimously in the case of Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP that a business engaged only in nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings is not a "debt collector" under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Dying Without a Will? Leave a Legal Mess

December 10, 2018

It is estimated that anywhere from 50% to 70% of adult Americans haven’t taken the time to have a basic estate plan. Do you? If you don’t, what are your excuses for not having a basic estate plan in place?

If you don’t have a basic estate plan, you might have something in common with celebrities, such as Prince, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Howard Hughes. All of them failed to plan ahead and have a simple Will or an adequate estate plan.

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The comments and opinions expressed in the blog are intended for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Reading or using the information in the blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Clair Law Offices, S.C. or any of our attorneys.  The law is constantly changing and therefore the blog may contain dated material. For current law and how it relates to your particular facts and circumstances, consult Clair Law Offices or another qualified attorney licensed in your state.