Thordsen Law Offices

MAYBE YOU CANNOT BE EVICTED FOR NONPAYMENT OF RENT? GOVERNOR NEWSON SIGNS BILL TO PREVENT EVICTION OF TENANTS FACTS... Governor Newson enacted statewide protections through next year for tenants struggling to pay rent amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. More than 8 million Californians have filed for unemployment since mid-March and advocates fear a massive eviction wave as both tenants and landlords have lost income . These are some of the items that bot Landlords and Tenants need to know about the new law. The new state law bans evictions based on unpaid rent between March and August and requires tenants to pay 25 percent of their rents between Sept. 1, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2021 to prevent court-ordered evictions AND file a declaration under penalty of perjury that the inability to pay is due to the pandemic. Tenants have 15 days to provide the declaration from the moment a landlord hands them a notice to pay rent or vacate The new law does not wipe out unpaid rent and landlords can pursue that debt in civil court starting March 1, 2021. The law also requires landlords to give tenants written instructions about their rights, including materials in the tenant’s native language. Under the Ellis Act, landlords may evict tenants to remove a unit from the rental market. Landlords need to notify tenants at least 120 days in advance.(ab1436) MORAL If you are a tenant with rent problems read this carefully. If you are a tenant it takese an average of at least 25 days from the day you get notice to pay the rent or quit to evict you. The landlord may even be willling to pay you to move under certain conditions. If you suffered injury on the property you may be entitled to other compenensation as well. Herman Thordsen Attorney at Law (888) 667-8529 THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY IF YOU WOULD LIKE LEGAL ADVICE.

A friendly reminder that now more than ever it is an important time to make certain you have an estate plan in the event something happens to you - or to make certain your existing documents are up to date and/or remain valid.

As the Coronavirus rages on we feel it is worth it to repost our current community outreach notice in that we are providing simple Advance Healthcare Directives and Powers of Attorney to California and Nevada residents.

FAILURE TO LET PARENT TAKE CARE OF CHILD AT HOME COSTS EMPLOYER DEARLY A compliance action by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has led Mitchell Machine Shop based in Greencastle, Pennsylvania to grant paid sick leave and pay back wages to an employee who requested leave to provide child care due to a coronavirus-related school closing. The agency determined that the employee was entitled to receive paid leave at two-thirds their regular rate of pay for up to 12 weeks under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) (usdol7720)

Are you concerned an elderly loved one is being abused? Abuse can take many forms including physical or financial and can happen with either another family member or a care home. The cases are very different in terms of proof and protection. Linked below is a resource for those that might want to look into the matter in the event they discover the problem. Bear in mind that if you wish to sue to protect someone that in many cases (particularly with financial elder abuse) th...e cause of action dies with the loved one; thus if you do not act before they pass away there may be no way to recover the estate. Alternatively, items such as health care directives and powers of attorney can help protect a loved one but they must meet specific thresholds and criteria to be enforceable, less they appear as a means to elder abuse themselves. Contact our firm if you would like to know more. https://elderabuse.org

Hire a trusted estate planning attorney to discuss what type of trust is for you. We have seen clients asking us to revise their trust only to discover it is irrevocable and cannot be revised. This happens to many clients who download trusts from the internet not realizing that trusts require very specific drafting for very specific tasks that change what level of flexibility you will have with your estate plan in the future. Possible reasons for irrevocable trusts include;... Asset protection Qualified Personal Residence to protect your home Trusts created in divorce or legal separation Estate value crossing tax thresholds Be careful what you have drafted as you may be stuck with it in the future.

Have you inherited a vehicle from someone who lives out of state. Bear in mind that registering it in the State of California is not always your only step. Removing the vehicle from the state it is located in often has its own set of procedures that need to be followed including possibly getting a moving permit, surrendering the plates and possibly even the drivers license of the person to whom the vehicle belonged. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/04/htvr9.pdf

THIS IS FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WOULD LIKE TO TRANSFER PROPERTY WITHOUT GOING THROUGH PROBATE COURT FACTS The TOD (transfer on death) deed allows an owner of residential real property to name one or more beneficiaries to receive the property when the owner dies, thus bypassing the need to probate the estate. There are some specific criteria, however, that a person should be aware of when considering recording a revocable transfer on death deed.... The real property must be a single family home or condominium unit, or a multiple residence of not more than 4 residential dwelling units, or be a single family residence on no more than 40 acres of agricultural land. A revocable TOD deed must be signed and dated before a notary public to be effective and valid. The transfer on death deed must be recorded within 60 days or less from the A Transfer On Death Deed may be a great option for a person whose only date it is signed. The transfer on death deed can be revoked by the transferor at any time. MORAL Be certain to follow all the legal requirements in order for this to be valid. If you feel you would like assistance contact Sean Thordsen at (657) 845-4014.

SENIORS CHECK OUT YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR, BEFORE GIVING UP YOUR MONEY On May 22, 2020 Paul Horton Smith, 56, was federally charged with wire fraud. Smith was taken into custody after a criminal complaint was filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Riverside. According to federal prosecutors, from at least 2013 to the present, the defendant allegedly operated Northstar, a closed annuity provider offering ...contracts with purported guaranteed returns of 5% to 6% annually, unaffected by swings in equities. A subsidiary business run by Smith was called Planning Services Inc. Smith advertised himself on his website as a chartered senior financial planner and also conducted free seminars via Planning Services at various locations around the Riverside area, where he discussed estate planning, trust creation to protect assets and other financial matters, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement. Smith solicited some of his victims at seminars. Prosecutors allege Northstar was little but a shell company, functioning to conceal the defendant’s scheme of gathering a circle of unwitting investors, paying the ones on the back end with funds placed in his care by investors on the front end. Court papers offer examples of what happened to the roughly 75 alleged victims, including a 70-year-old woman who went to church with Smith and turned over $175,000 for him to invest. Bottom of Form Instead of investing the victim’s money, Smith transferred her funds to other investors, and he used her money to pay off the other investors’ tax bills with the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. An 86-year-old woman who took the defendant into her confidence gave him $169,000 from a property liquidation to invest, but Smith allegedly used the bulk of the funds pay another investor who had purchased an annuity contract earlier, according to prosecutors. Investigators uncovered upwards of $10 million allegedly transferred to Smith over a seven-year span, though it’s suspected the alleged scheme stretched back farther, according to court papers. (mynrels52120) Check out your financial planners before retaining them to invest your money. Financial advisors should be registered with the State of California.

Are you a victim of sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking? Did you know you can obtain a change of name order in California without publication of your identity, address or whereabouts in order to change your name? Under California's "Safe at Home Program" (different from "stay at home orders" under the coronavirus) victims under this program have a separate means to obtain a name change in order to help protect themselves from abuse. This procedure is very specific and only certain individuals can apply.

While the use of background music is very clear with regards to copyright, the law is also infamously behind technology. The article does raise an interesting point with regards to watching tiktok, youtube and other media by a streamer with their respective audience. The closest guidance to this article is the New York case of Hosseinzadeh v. Klein https://www.documentcloud.org//3946577-Hosseinzadeh-Klein- Which details reaction videos and the level of commentary that ma...y need to be reached in order to declare a video fair use. https://kotaku.com/after-massive-dmca-takedown-twitch-strea

The Transfer on Death Deed is a simple way to transfer real property to other family members upon death. However it may not be a proper substitute for a trust as the transfer on death deed comes with drawbacks and limitations depending on multiple factors including: 1. Marital status 2. Debts 3. How title is presently held... 4. Where you live You should be very careful before executing one of these deeds and speak to an estate planning attorney before hand to see if a transfer deed is right for you.

FTC ALERTS CONSUMERS THAT NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES ARE TAKING STIMULUS CHECKS FROM MEDICAID PATIENTS On May 15, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission issued an alert to consumers to be on the lookout for nursing homes and assisted living facilities that are requiring residents who are on Medicaid to sign their stimulus checks over to the facilities. The FTC says that states around the country have received reports of nursing homes and assisted living faciliti...es claiming that stimulus checks count as resources under the rules of federal benefit programs that must be used to pay for services. The FTC notes that this is not true, and encourages consumers to check with loved ones who receive Medicaid and live in these facilities, and to file a complaint with their state attorney general if they or a loved one have experienced this issue. The FTC makes clear that nursing homes and assisted living facilities may not seize stimulus payments from residents simply because they are on Medicaid. (ftc51520) This could amount to criminal conduct so if you are aware of someone on Medicaid that has had their stimulus check taken from them, REPORT IT. The matter may reach a state of financial elder abuse for which the nursing home or assisted living facility may be liable. Be certain to contact an attorney to protect the rights and safety of those in such facilities.

We have had many calls for estate plans lately and fortunately as the article states it is not necessary to meet your attorney in person for an estate plan, Sean Thordsen previously made phone appointments for couples that had conflicting schedules. There are difficulties with notaries but a properly drafted estate plan can help compensate for that at the moment in case the worst happens before the trust is notarized.