How Bankruptcy Affects Co-Signers on Personal Loans, Auto Loans, and Credit Cards
The person who files bankruptcy may get protection while the person who helped them qualify for credit gets the collection call. That is the central risk for a parent, spouse, sibling, friend, or business partner who co-signed a personal loan, auto loan, or credit card. Bankruptcy can stop creditors from pursuing the debtor, but it does not... Learn more
Can Bankruptcy Stop a Creditor After They’ve Already Won a Lawsuit in Rhode Island?
A Rhode Island judgment can give a creditor stronger collection tools, including wage garnishment, bank attachment, judgment liens, executions, and post-judgment discovery. Bankruptcy may stop many of those collection actions immediately, but it does not erase every judgment or remove every lien by itself. A Rhode Island bankruptcy lawyer... Learn more
Estate Planning to Protect the Family Home From the Nursing Home and Other Creditor Claims
The family home is often the largest asset a person owns and the asset most likely to be handled incorrectly when nursing-home care becomes necessary. Adding a child to the deed, transferring the property for one dollar, or placing it in a standard revocable trust may create tax problems, Medicaid transfer penalties, or new creditor exposure... Learn more
Using Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts to Avoid Probate and Protect Family Wealth in Rhode Island
“A trust protects nothing it does not own.” That is the most common and costly misconception in trust planning. A revocable trust will not avoid probate for property never transferred to the trustee, and an irrevocable trust will not protect wealth when the settlor retains rights that defeat the intended legal separation. Probate... Learn more
Contesting a Will in Rhode Island: Undue Influence and Probate Litigation and Appeals
A will contest is not an appeal to fairness. Rhode Island law protects testamentary freedom, allowing an adult of sound mind to decide how property will pass at death under Rhode Island General Laws § 33-5-2. An unequal inheritance, unexpected beneficiary, or excluded relative therefore does not establish invalidity. The legal question is... Learn more
Filing for Probate, the Process, Who Decides, Filing the Estate Tax Return, and Handling Difficult Family Members
Who has the legal right to manage an estate in Rhode Island after someone dies? It is not automatically the oldest child, the closest relative, or even the person named as executor in the will. Legal authority generally begins only after the probate court accepts the filing and appoints an executor or administrator. Knowing the filing... Learn more
Inherited Property Disputes in Rhode Island: Using Partition Lawsuits to Resolve Family Ownership Conflicts
A will or probate distribution in Rhode Island can establish ownership, but it rarely creates enforceable rules for possession, repairs, rent, refinancing, or a future buyout. Once title passes to multiple family members, the dispute becomes a real estate matter as well as a probate matter. Rhode Island partition law provides several ways to... Learn more
Partition Actions in Rhode Island: What Happens When Co-Owners Cannot Agree on Selling Property?
A co-owner with a small fractional interest can bring an ownership dispute into Rhode Island Superior Court even when every other owner wants to keep the property. Joint ownership does not give one person an indefinite veto over another owner’s right to separate from the real estate. When negotiation fails, a partition action asks the court to... Learn more