- DivorceInitial Members. The rights and duties of members are described as is the process for making initial and additional contributions; the means by which membership interests are held (in percentage terms or as units); representations and warranties of members to one another; limits on members’ authority and liability; the admission of new members; and the issuance of membership certificates. There is also an opportunity to designate classes of membership interests—for instance, Class A and Class B. This can take several forms, but most often Class A members are “regular†members while Class B members have fewer rights. Class B members are defined as persons who gain membership or influence by some coercive means (execution upon a judgment, assignment of a membership interest in satisfaction of a debt, charging order, or contested divorce). Class B members have the right to receive notices and be present at meetings but they cannot vote. This structure attempts to assure that members do not wind up in a disastrous partnership with other members’ creditors or ex-spouses since these persons are usually seeking to dissolve the company or sell off its assets for cash.
- Child SupportPursuant to Property Code Section 42.001(b)(1), “current wages for personal services, except for the enforcement of court-ordered child support payments†are exempt “from garnishment, attachment, execution, and other seizure.†This includes severance pay. Note that wages are expressly exempted from the $60,000 family limit and the $30,000 single adult limit. Additionally, “unpaid commissions for personal services not to exceed 25 percent†of these limits are also protected.
- Adoption
- Guardianship
- Legal Separation(7) a transfer resulting from a decree of a dissolution of marriage, legal separation agreement, or from an incidental property settlement agreement, by which the spouse of the borrower becomes an owner of the property;
- Criminal DefenseThis article is designed to acquaint investors with basic rules and procedures involved in Texas litigation. For our purposes, “litigation” refers to the filing and prosecuting of a real estate-related lawsuit, or defense against one, in the Texas county civil courts at law or the civil district courts. We will not discuss divorce cases, criminal defense, or litigation in federal court.
- FraudThere is also an issue relating to the concept of “insurable interest.†What happens if there is a loss? Collecting on the seller’s insurance policy can be problematic since title to the property changed hands at closing of the wrap. The owner of record is now the wrap buyer-borrower, but the old policy names the seller-lender as loss-payee. Even if the seller agrees to make a claim on behalf of the buyer, the insurer may refuse to pay it, asserting that the seller no longer owns the property and thus no longer has an insurable interest. Worse, this could potentially be construed as insurance fraud.
- RobberyVirgil, although smaller in stature, compensated with an extra dose of meanness. He took up a life of petty crime including auto theft and aggravated robbery and, by the age of 25, had spent a total of three years in the prison at Hunstville, where—of all things—he decided to read up on the law. This included the law of adverse possession. As the parents were now deceased, Virgil became fixated on reclaiming the family land for himself. He was determined to get Bayou Bob (whom he now hated) off of it, so he could live happily with Sally Mae, his high school sweetheart, who was the only one who ever wrote to him in prison.
- Theft
- MisdemeanorsThere is certainly not an abundance of prosecutions in this area. Why? As with most criminal offenses, the district attorney would have to prove
- Identity TheftWe disclaim any responsibility for keeping any files (hard copy or electronic) for any minimum or specific period. In accordance with the Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act, hard-copy client files are shredded before disposal.
- Restraining OrderInjunctive relief (a temporary restraining order or temporary injunction) may also be requested after suit is filed. Injunctions are useful in preventing another party from taking certain action, such as foreclosure, that will cause irreparable harm to the applicant (Rule 680) for which there is no adequate remedy at law (i.e., an award of damages will not cure the prospective harm). A temporary restraining order (TRO) is a form of emergency, equitable relief that is good up to 14 days. A TRO is granted, if at all, after notice to both sides and a hearing. A temporary injunction (TI)—which is the next step in the process after the TRO expires—requires a more thorough hearing, usually a mini-trial, at which the applicant must show a likelihood of prevailing upon the merits at trial of the case. A TI usually remains in effect for the duration of the litigation. Finally, a permanent injunction may be granted as part of a judgment and is usually for an indefinite period. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code chap. 65.
- Money LaunderingThe Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an arm of the Treasury Department, is in the process of expanding its money-laundering regulations to encompass the entire U.S. real estate market. The legislative basis for this expansion is the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 which authorized FinCEN to implement rules and regulations in this area.
- Corporate LawI have utilized David Willis for corporate formation, consultation, and formalities over the years, including a recent new entity. Thorough and quick work, as always. Recommended.
- Business FormationBusiness formation attorneys are often asked why it is necessary to do anything more than file a bare minimum certificate of formation (on the brief secretary of state’s form) and leave it at that. Clients are often motivated by a desire to keep things both simple and inexpensive. They suspect that lawyers want to over-complicate projects with lengthy documents in order to collect higher fees. After all, in merry old England (from whence much of our law is derived), lawyers were actually paid by the word—this is true—and solicitors of the day were thus rewarded for creating long documents full of obscure verbiage.
- Business DisputesWe DO NOT get involved in real estate contract disputes unless we are the attorney on the entire transaction from contract through closing.
- Business TransactionsAnother possibility is to design an entirely custom contract suited to the specific circumstances, but this seldom happens since non-standard contracts tend to push residential agents and brokers out of their comfort zone. Custom contracts are much more common in larger commercial transactions.
- Limited Liability CompaniesSeries limited liability companies are a focus of ours. Many of the new companies we establish are series LLCs because of the simplicity, economy, and flexibility associated with being able to hold multiple assets in the same LLC but in separate compartmentalized series.
- Construction Contracts
- Intellectual Property
- Unfair CompetitionThis chapter does not give a registrant a right to use the assumed name in violation of the common or statutory law of unfair competition or unfair trade practices, common law copyright, or similar law. The filing of a certificate under this chapter does not in itself constitute actual use of the assumed name stated in the certificate for purposes of determining priority of rights.
- Non-compete AgreementIf the transaction closes, a legitimate concern of the buyer is that the seller may set up shop nearby and continue in the same line of work. Accordingly, the purchase and sale agreement should usually contain a covenant by the seller not to compete with the buyer. Courts have upheld non-compete agreements so long as they are reasonable in duration and in geographical scope. What is reasonable? Like so much in the law, it depends. In the Houston area, for example, there are three large counties (Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery) that vie for the metropolitan area’s business. Therefore, any meaningful covenant not to compete would include these three counties.
- Severance Agreement
- Real Estate LitigationCopyright © 2019 by David J. Willis. All rights reserved worldwide. David J. Willis is board certified in both residential and commercial real estate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. More information is available at his website, http://www.LoneStarLandLaw.com.
- Construction LitigationWe do not review new construction contracts. Trust transactions or other complex transactions may incur additional fees. In such transactions, just reading the documents will use up most of the available hour, two hours may be required. Additional time is at our posted hourly rate of $450.
- Real Estate TransactionsIn a sub2 transaction, an investor-buyer takes title but makes no promises (either to the lender or to the seller) about assuming the existing debt. As with all real estate transactions, it matters if one is the buyer or the seller when it comes to drafting the legal documents.
- Easement
- Land Use and Zoning
- Personal InjuryContingency fee contracts (no up-front cost to the client), usually available from personal injury attorneys involved in insurance litigation. We do not offer these.
- Estate PlanningTexas adheres to the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act which makes partition among heirs a special case not subject to the ordinary rules. If at least 20% of the aggregate interest in property is held by persons related to one another, then Property Code Section 23A.003 et seq. will govern any attempt to force a sale. The law was designed to avoid loss of family property and homestead wealth among poor and minority communities who have been historically less likely to execute wills or do estate planning. The result could be numerous heirs holding ownership in widely varying percentages, only some of whom might live on the property. Others might be difficult or impossible to locate. Investors would take advantage of this situation by acquiring a small ownership stake and then asking a court to force a partition, resulting in a sheriff sale at a price that was usually well below market.
- WillsAttorneys often face co-ownership issues when advising on inheritance and probate avoidance. Inheritance in such cases may be determined by express language in a deed or a last will and testament, or in the absence of either, by intestacy provisions of the Estates Code. In some circumstances, a co-owner may have no survivorship rights at all, so assumptions should be avoided. “Why do I need a will?” many a husband has asked his wife. “We’re married. You’re going to get everything when I die.” Well, maybe. See our discussion below.
- TrustsOur firm creates living trusts for the homestead, trusts for investor-owned properties, and trusts designed to achieve anonymity and asset protection.
- Power of AttorneyAdditional documents such as an assumption agreement may also be needed. If the buyer is an investor, some sort of authority-either a special power of attorney or a property management letter-should be secured so that the investor can obtain payoff information upon resale.
- ProbateActions involving probate court are not discussed in this article. These would include probate of wills, appointment of a personal representative of the estate, administration of intestate estates (no will), and the small estate affidavit process described in Estates Code Chapter 205. This article will only discuss affidavits of heirship as a means of resolving issues so that the underlying real property may be sold to a third party with a policy of owner’s title insurance. Other processes and procedures relating to estates and heirship property fall more properly into the category of probate law rather than real estate law.
- BankruptcyOur focus in this article is on Texas law, not rules or exemptions under federal or bankruptcy law. It is worth observing, however, that bankruptcy rules are tougher on debtors than Texas law. Generally speaking, if a debtor can stay out of bankruptcy, hunker down, and maximize Texas state protections, that is usually the preferable course.
- ForeclosureThe essential features of an assumption are that the buyer (1) takes title to property by assumption deed (usually with a vendor’s lien) that contains either general or special warranties; and (2) promises to pay the balance of the indebtedness being assumed, a promise that may or may not be secured by a deed of trust to secure assumption (which gives the seller a non-judicial foreclosure remedy in the event of default).
- Tax LawReal Estate Law & Asset Protection for Texas Real Estate Investors, a 600-page book that is continually in production as it is updated every two years. He also writes extensively on these subjects (there are over 50 full-length articles on our website). In addition, Mr. Willis attends several advanced seminars on real estate and asset protection across the country each year. Given this commitment, it simply not feasible for Mr. Willis to be an expert in other areas – tax law for example, which requires continuous and diligent attention to changing IRS regulations. Yet we are routinely expected to function as a professional tax advisor. This is unrealistic. It is our expectation that clients will consult a qualified CPA separate and apart from the real estate or asset protection advice given by our firm.