Lawyers come in many different shapes and forms, and many legal proceedings call for their assistance. This ranges from construction to buying and selling a house or business to writing one’s own will. A real estate lawyer or real estate attorney may help a person with the paperwork of buying and selling a house, and also protect a current homeowner from legal issues that the previous owner might cause. Meanwhile, someone who wants to buy or sell a business such as a dental practice or others might want a business lawyer by their side, and a business lawyer will make sure that the transaction is smooth and fair. Such things may be possible to do without a business lawyer, but without one, there may be complications further down the road. Hiring these attorneys can make any legal proceeding smoother, faster, and more productive. This is true even when writing a will, as an estate lawyer may lend their expertise.
Buy or Sell a Business
A business is typically a privately-owned item, excepting collectively-owned businesses such as some modern American farms or utility companies. Such socialized businesses indeed exist, but for the most part, a business lawyer will be hired by someone looking to buy a privatized one. This may range from a doctor’s office or a dentist’s office to an actual law firm or something similar. Both the buyer and the seller may have legal assistance with the transaction, since it certainly won’t be simple for either party. On the seller’s part, it’s important to hire professionals who can examine the business and evaluate its value, and this is something that the seller’s business lawyer will take into account. The buyer, meanwhile, will have a business lawyer to help make sure that all ownership and liabilities are transferred to them, and that they truly own and run the business.
Buy or Sell a House
Something similar might be done when a house is being bought and sold. That is, a house currently owned by someone. The seller will have an appraisal done on their property to determine its value, and that may include making use of CMR work, or comparative market analysis, to create a fair price for that property. The homeowner may also hire a real estate lawyer to allow the complex paperwork of selling their house to go through smoothly, and the buyer may have a similar lawyer of their own by their side. In particular, after someone has bought a home, they may discover that the previous owner is attempting to claim that property as their own for tax purposes. The current owner may make use of a real estate lawyer to deal with that complication.
An Estate Lawyer
Not to be confused with a real estate lawyer, an estate lawyer will help a client write a legally binding and clearly written will and testament. A person’s estate is the sum of his or her possessions and money, including all bank accounts, owned vehicles, houses or vacation homes, and even a privately owned business. The problem is that many American adults, even those over 50, do not even have a will of their own written at all. Why not? Some Americans believe that their estate is too small to bother writing a will for, and others are simply procrastinating and end up forgetting to write one at all. However, a person’s estate may suffer some abuse if they pass on and there’s no clearly-written will to protect it, so an elderly or even middle-aged American is urged to find and hire an estate lawyer.
Such a lawyer will coordinate with their client and create a legally binding, clearly written will that describes the client’s exact wishes with their money and property (the estate) after they pass on. What could happen? Without a will, the person’s estate may be seized by any creditors they have, such as any party they received a business loan from. In other cases, dishonest family members might try to take too much for themselves. To prevent such abuses, a will will be in place to fairly distribute items and money as the deceased intended, and protect it from creditors. Trustees may be appointed for family members younger than 18.
