What Is A Quiet Title Action? A quiet title action represents an equitable proceeding whose purpose is “to establish superiority of title in property.” Ownership of a parcel of real estate is not an absolute concept. A lawyer will typically associate “ownership” of land with having the legal rights to the “highest quality estate which a person can have in [a parcel of] real estate.” This is commonly known as “fee simple title” to the parcel in question or a “fee simple estate.” American Land Title Association describes “fee simple” as follows: Generally speaking, it means unqualified ownership of land with unqualified power of disposition. Unqualified ownership does not mean that such ownership cannot be subject to outstanding encumbrances and interests of a lower quality than fee simple. A person may hold a fee simple title to real estate, but… Read More
What Is Foreclosure? In simple terms, “foreclosure is the legal process by which a lender attempts to recover the amount owed on a defaulted loan by taking ownership of and selling the mortgaged property.” - Investopedia In foreclosure situations, your home gets auctioned off to the highest bidder. Sometimes, the house gets sold for more money than the liens against it. This extra money is called foreclosure surplus funds. What Are Surplus Funds? If you haven’t been able to keep up with your mortgage payments or taxes and your house is foreclosed upon and sold at auction for more than the debt amount against it, you are entitled to those surplus funds. Let’s say, for example, that you own real estate with a mortgage owing of $80,000 that is foreclosed upon. The bank, at auction, gets a purchase price of… Read More
Don’t lie about your injuries Insurance adjusters are savvy investigators. He or she can, and will, find every claim and every medical record in your name. They will use Google and your social media accounts to spy on you. They will hire private investigators. If you are caught in a lie the consequences can kill your claim or lawsuit. Many insurance companies have provisions in their policies that will void claims for providing false information. If your case goes to court, you will lose favor with the jury if it is shown you attempted to mislead. It can be tempting to lie when confronted with seemingly contradictory information. But the truth is, recovery is a process. Some days will be better than others or perhaps you took more pain medication on a certain day. It is always better to provide… Read More
#1 Do Not Give A Statement If you receive a call from an insurance adjuster, keep in mind that anything you say can and will be used against you. Even simple answers to simple questions can be misconstrued or taken out of context. It is best to simply and politely inform them that you have nothing to say at this time. Let them know that you are taking all medical advice and following all doctor’s orders and will contact them through your attorney at the appropriate time. They likely will not be happy with this reply and will press for cooperation, but stick to your guns. You are under no obligation to give a statement to an insurance company. #2 Seek And Follow Through With All Recommended Medical Care An insurance company’s defense strategy will be to cast doubt on… Read More
You may be tempted to assume that having received a traffic ticket in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in your injury necessarily precludes your filing a claim against another party. Such is not the case. Traffic citations, along with police reports, are common documents in personal injury cases. These documents are often much less decisive than you might think. It may surprise you to know that traffic tickets and police reports are of not much evidentiary value to your personal injury claim. A traffic citation may give some guidance to adjusters as to how the accident occurred, but in a court of law it really is just a hearsay document. The fact of the matter is that tickets and police reports really don’t prove anything. They are, essentially, someone’s (a police officer’s) guess as to who did what at… Read More
You are getting ready for a court case, either representing yourself or talking to your lawyer about things that you think the court should know. Documents or information submitted to the court are called evidence. There are rules about what types of things the court will actually consider. These rules are governed by Federal and State laws. We will be discussing what evidence can be presented as governed by the Federal Rules of Evidence—as most of the states follows some version of the Federal Rules—and the Rules of Evidence in Kansas and Missouri. There are six basic things that courts look at when deciding if they can consider a piece of evidence. These six things are simply a beginning, and not a comprehensive list. Nevertheless, these six questions are a good starting point for a very basic introduction to evidence… Read More
Witness Testimony Tips In Kansas And Missouri Court You have a hearing or trial coming up. Please review this non-exhaustive list the night before your court date and again in the minutes leading up to your court date. These rules will assist you in providing the court with testimony in the most professional way possible. Judges and juries are very perceptive, and this list was created out of a decade of observing witnesses that either lost their case, or severely damaged their case by violating the below rules. You will not win your case by following these rules. However, violation of these rules will likely be very detrimental to the outcome of your legal proceeding: Dress nice but do not overdo it. Males should wear slacks and sport coat. Women may wear dresses, skirts or slacks. Coats for women look… Read More
In any financial arrangement clearly defined expectations can be critical. It is always wise to make sure that these agreements are formalized in some sort of written document, reviewed and signed by all parties involved. Many of us appreciate the hand shake deal, but when dealing with agreements involving real estate, written documentation reduces mis-understandings and protects all parties in the event of problems. Furthermore, the negotiation process helps develop communication between the parties and allows discussion of things that might not otherwise be considered. Hat Are The Common Types Of Farm Lease Agreements? Cash Rental One of the most common types of farm leases are CASH RENTAL agreements. In other words, the tenant pays a flat rate per acre of land that they are farming. The tenant farmer assumes all of the risk, and reaps all of the rewards.… Read More
Home owners’ associations (“HOA”) require certain and specific governing documents. As a resident in an HOA, you are entitled to access to these documents. Understanding them can help you realize not only your obligations but your protections. Most states have laws that govern the formation of home owner’s associations. Kansas has the Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights. It is contained at K.S.A. 58-4601 – 58-4623. Declarations Of Covenants, Conditions And Restrictions One of the first and most important documents to understand is the Declarations of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (“CC&R”). This document contains agreements that run with the land, which means they transfer with land ownership. In other words, a planned association developer creates these agreements or restrictions that are part of the purchase of the property for residential use. Once you sell the property, these same restrictions… Read More
Appraisal Fraud You recently received an appraisal on a home, and something does not seem right. The value is too high and out of whack with comparable purchases in the area. Worse still, there was a suspicious relationship between the broker, lender, and the appraiser. Perhaps you received the value of an appraisal as part of a divorce. An inflated appraisal is the linchpin of the property flipping schemes and many predatory loan schemes. Sky high appraisals are often used as evidence in many different court cases. Mortgage brokers secure inflated appraisals to persuade lenders to extend loans larger than the borrower’s income and assets justify. The consumer ends up saddled with a mortgage that may exceed the value of the home, making it impossible to refinance or to sell the home except at a loss. An appraiser may be… Read More
