Probably one of the biggest complaints I’ve been getting recently from landlords is that their tenants are running their electricity and gas all day and all night, and the landlord is getting a crazy PG&E bill. The typical question I get is how to force a tenant to pay the bill. Even worse, some landlords [...]
More and more trust documents are being created due to an aging population. I’m seeing increasing problems administering trusts with provisions that allow family and loved ones to reside in a property included in the trust. Problems that commonly occur are payment of home expenses, exclusive possession of the premises, and downright disagreements among the [...]
I see these stories time and time again—adult children acting like spoiled brats and misbehaving in their own parents’ home. Whether it’s not wanting to clean up after themselves or, even worse, a drug addiction that’s going downhill and the child refusing help, the parents are living day in and day out with an unhealthy [...]
There is generally only one conversation that children never want to have with their parents, and that is long-term planning. You may see the signs already—an aging parent is having a hard time handling the basics of independent living such as getting dressed or keeping food in the house. Or it might be that dad [...]
I see this a lot lately. With the high values of real estate, more unmarried couples are purchasing property together. There are countless reasons why couples purchase real estate together. It’s a great investment both for income and appreciation, and it offers an affordable place to live so money is not just being thrown away. [...]
I never would have thought I would be talking about this problem, but I have come across it recently. Some mortuaries and funeral homes are holding a loved one’s remains—not for safekeeping because no one claimed the remains, but because the family isn’t able to pay the balance due on the mortuary bill. For many [...]
I was reading yet another sad story about a family that set up a sloppy estate plan. The plan involved a mother and four children. The mother had a bank account with roughly $400,000 in it, and she was going to split the cash into four equal shares. However, for lack of better judgment, the [...]
I recently read a legal post from a resident of San Bruno asking lawyers what he should do about a very low-hanging high voltage power line that was running through his property to supply power to a neighbor’s building. The man said someone could touch the line by hand. Have no fear, this situation can [...]
I came along another legal question that asked the Million Dollar Question: “I am selling my house and I wanted to know if I need to disclose that my neighbor is a nuisance.” The writer was complaining about her neighbor who operates a home business and gets on the phone at 5:30 AM. She loves [...]
For those who like the scent of fresh air and the warmth of the sun when drying your clothes, you no longer have to fear your HOA or your landlord. California passed legislation last year that went into effect on January 1, 2016, as Civil Code sections 1940.20 and 4750.10, that you can hang your [...]
