Author Archives: jeshuatlauka

Investment Property Owners/Managers must be active at the State Capitol.   On March 18 House Bill 5415 was proposed.  You can check it out here   As far as proposed legislation goes, this is probably the most uncomplicated bill I have seen in a long time.   It would provide that  a “Demand For Possession”Continue reading “Michigan Real Estate Law Update: Evict by E-mail?”

  I had a client call me recently.  His father passed away and left him and his siblings a large amount of real estate to share equally. My client wanted me to draft some deeds since  he and his siblings all “had already decided who gets what” What my client was referring to, is thatContinue reading “Estate planning, Real Estate, Family and… Any Place For Lawyers?”

I recently met with a client at my office – her mother recently passed away.   My client had no siblings, she alone was scrambling to figure out what she needed to do to wrap up her mother’s estate. Mother had died without any estate plan, the largest asset that mother owned was her home.Continue reading “The Words You Use In Real Estate Documents: They Matter.”

      Today I attended the Economic Club of Grand Rapid’s Luncheon at the JW Marriot. For those of you in the business community in Greater Grand Rapids, I would highly recommend that you check out getting a membership. The Econ Club always hosts top notch presenters and is a great place to connectContinue reading “If You Think Money Can’t Buy Happiness, Try Giving Some Away-Michael Norman”

I was recently presented with a “trust document” that I have never seen before.   My client asked me: does this document protect me from creditors and having to pay taxes?   My first thought when posed with the question was “I can’t see how”   Then, I looked at the “trust” document itself.  Continue reading “Avoid Illegal Tax shelter Scams: Corporation Sole”

I have a few business clients who are out of state corporations. They have never set foot in Grand Rapids, Michigan. However, thanks to technology so much of business can now be done virtually. There isn’t much that can’t be done with a computer, internet and phone. The same can obviously be said with yourContinue reading “Business Owners: Pitfalls of Doing Business over State Lines”

A couple of Michigan real estate law updates:   But first, a Pennsylvania proposed law would ban municipalities from penalizing tenants or their landlords when residents make legitimate 911 calls. See the ABAJournal for more details. Apparently this law is in response to a local ordinance that authorized police to force tenants out of their apartments after threeContinue reading “Real Estate Law Update: Crime Victims Could Sue Local Govt. for Evicting Them?”

I recently posted a guest blog article on Grand Rapids Area Professionals For Excellence about contract pitfalls that small business owners can run into. You can check it out by clicking here       I’d be happy to hear – have you ever found yourself signing a contract without reading it, and then laterContinue reading “Lesson for Small Business Owners: It Pays to Carefully Review Your Contracts”

I had a client talk with me about a real estate matter he had been dealing with. He entered into a purchase agreement to sell some real estate he owned. The buyer couldn’t  obtain financing within the time period spelled out in the purchase agreement, and so, my client decided not to give him anyContinue reading “Real Estate Law: What Does it Mean to Slander Someone’s Title?”