Probate is a legal process that occurs after a person passes away. It involves the transfer of the assets of the deceased to the beneficiaries and creditors. If there is a will and it names an executor, the executor will be responsible for seeing that the terms are carried out throughout the probate process. The executor must identify and inventory the assets and also have them appraised. This process can take anywhere from a few months to a year. The executor may have to sell vehicles, land, securities, artwork or other property to pay any cash bequests - or pay off any debts left by the deceased. The executor could be a relative or an unrelated person. He or she could ask the lawyer who drew up the will for help with the legal necessities of probate. The cost of the lawyer will be paid directly by the estate of the deceased.

If the deceased did not leave a will, or if an executor is not named in the will, then the probate court will frequently assign the responsibility of handling the probate process to a relative; such as the spouse or child, or to the person who inherits the bulk of the assets of the deceased. This person is called the administrator. If a probate proceeding is not required, the court will not appoint an administrator. Instead, the family members and friends of the deceased will choose a person to serve as an informal administrator.

The probate process has several phases. The executor or administrator must prove the validity of the will and deliver it to the local probate court. The will can be validated with a written statement made under oath by the two witnesses to the creation of the will. The executor or administrator must also present the court with information on all of the property and debts of the deceased and the beneficiaries. Then creditors are informed of the death of the deceased. Creditors usually have six months from the notification of the probate to collect any money that is owed to them.

They must recover the money from the estate and not the heirs. The estate tries to settle these debts out of the available assets. If any assets are left, they are distributed to the beneficiaries. If all of the debts cannot be paid off, then the court decides how to use the available assets to pay off the debts. The heirs are not legally obligated to pay off any remaining debts of the estate. If the deceased did not leave a will, the state laws will decide how the available assets are distributed to relatives. The heirs and the beneficiaries are also notified about the probate proceeding. This is the time when objections to the will are usually made. The objections can be due to accusations that the will was drawn up while the deceased was mentally unstable, or that the will is a forgery.

There are situations where probate is not a necessary action. One situation is when the deceased leaves behind very few possessions which can be distributed to beneficiaries without any judiciary supervision. If there is any money account or property that is jointly owned, then the remaining co-owner will get the money account or property by default.

By: Michael Russell
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Probate.

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An Oral Contract is as legally binding as a Written Contract, the issue with an Oral Contract is in proving its existence. To begin, the existence of a Written Contract is fairly obvious, either there is a writing or there isn’t. An oral contract, by definition, does not have a writing to support its terms, conditions or even existence. So how can we prove that it exists? One way is to use witness testimony. If A and B enter into an oral agreement, and C and D are present at the time the oral contract is made, C and D can be used to prove the existence of the oral contract. Their testimony that they heard the terms of the agreement will be sufficient to prove the existence of an Oral Contract.

Course of Conduct is another way to prove the existence of an oral contract. Let’s assume that X offers to buy a radio from Y for $50. Y accepts and hands the radio to X, who then gives Y $50. The parties’ course of conduct indicates that an oral contract existed. If the radio were defective, or if Y changed his mind, he could not say that a contract did not exist. Another example of Course of Conduct would be your typical neighborhood newspaper delivery. For the most part, the newspaper boy delivers a newspaper to you and you pay him on a weekly basis. There is rarely a written agreement with the newspaper boy to deliver newspapers. You simply tell him, “please deliver a paper to me, and I will pay you”. If the newspaper boy delivers newspapers to you for a few week, and you pay him, an oral contract exists based upon the parties course of conduct. After this time, if the papers are delivered and then you refuse to pay, you cannot allege that there is no contract. The Course of Conduct indicates that an Oral Contract exists.

Credibility of the parties is another factor in proving the existence of an Oral Contract. Suppose that Patron walks into a local restaurant and orders a plate of spaghetti. When Patron orders the spaghetti, an offer is made by Patron to pay for a plate of spaghetti. When the server brings the spaghetti to Patron, an Acceptance occurs and a binding oral contract is made. Credibility comes into play where the Patron then refuses to pay for spaghetti, saying “I never agreed to pay for this, I thought it was free”. All of you can see that is an incredible statement. Should that type of matter go to court, a judge would look at the credibility of the parties in regard to the situation and likely find that an oral contract was formed. If you reconsider the spaghetti scenario, though, you can see where an oral contract would be just as legally binding as a written contract. If a lawsuit were to arise out of the patron’s failure to pay, any court in the land would find the existence of the oral contract based upon credibility.

The existence of an oral contract can be more difficult to prove in a different type of scenario. Imagine a scenario with P and Q. P and Q are complete strangers. P approached Q and offers to buy a Corvette from Q for $1,000. Q laughs, and says “sure”, then drives away in the Corvette. If P attempts to enforce what he feels is a binding oral agreement, will he succeed? He will have a very difficult time proving that a contract exists. There is no writing to show the agreement. There is no prior course of dealing between the parties. There were no other witnesses to this alleged conversation. Credibility becomes an issue here, along with believe-ability.

As you can see, the difficulty in enforcement of an oral contract lies in the parties' ability to prove what the terms of the contract were. Absent proof of the terms of the contract, a party may be unable to enforce what it believes to be a firm contract. Evidence, such as witness testimony, prior dealing of the parties, course of conduct and credibility of the parties are some factors that may play into the enforcement of an oral contract. If sufficient evidence can be established that the parties orally entered into a contract, the terms of that contract will be enforced. If the proof is strong, then an oral contract is just as binding as a written one. The question at hand lies with the sufficiency of that oral evidence.

By: Greg Artim
Greg Artim is an Attorney based in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. For more information on related legal issues, please visit his website at http://www.gregartim.com.

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Let’s start with basic contract law. In order to have a Contract, there must first be an Offer. The “Offer” can be an offer for a good or a service or almost anything else for that matter. In Example 1, A offers to by a car from B for $1,000. In example 2, X says to Z “If you pay me $50 I will paint that room”. Clearly both of those statements are Offers. For the most part, the Offer will be along the lines of someone promising to do something, buy something or give up something.

The next step in Contract formation is called an Acceptance. The Acceptance regarding the above scenarios would be B’s reply “Yes, I will sell you my car for $1,000" or Z’s reply “Yes, I will pay you $50 to paint the room”. Take note that a Counter-Offer will not act as an Acceptance, but rather as a Rejection. Referring to the above scenarios, B says “I will sell you my car for $1,200 instead of $1,000". This is a rejection of the initial offer, and becomes a Counter - Offer to A. A must now choose to Accept or Reject B’s Counter - Offer. If A rejects the Counter - Offer, the Original Offer is no longer on the table. The process must begin again.

The third aspect of Contract formation is called Consideration. Consideration means that something of value must be exchanged. The Consideration in the car scenario for A would be receiving the car. The Consideration for B would be receiving the $1,000. Consideration in a Contract must be mutual, that is, both parties must receive something of value. Take note, that the value need not be equal or necessarily fair. A can offer to buy B’s new Corvette for $1,000. If B Accepts, then a Contract will be made, even though it should be obvious that this is not a fair deal. That sums up Basic Contract Principles.

By: Greg Artim
Greg Artim is an Attorney with offices located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more answers to your Contracts or other legal questions, please visit his website at http://www.gregartim.com/contracts.htm.

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The Magnuson-Moss Act is also known as the "Federal Lemon Law". It is a very broad law that covers many types of products. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects consumers who purchase any product that costs over $25 and comes with a written warranty. This can include an item as small as a radio, and an item as large as an RV. The other caveat to the Magnuson Moss Act is that the product must be solely for personal use, such as a Television or the vehicle that you drive to work. The Act does not apply to Commercial Use products, such as a roofer's work truck or the professional landscaper's lawnmower. If your personal use product suffered a substantial defect while under the original manufacturer's warranty, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is similar to many states' Lemon Laws in many regards. I practice law in Pennsylvania, so I can say that it is very similar to the Pennsylvania Lemon Law. The Magnuson Moss Act provides for a free replacement of the defective product or a full refund of the purchase price, and further provides for recovery of all associated costs including Attorney fees. If the purchaser can show that the product suffered a substantial defect or non-conformity during the warranty period, and the manufacturer was unable to remedy that defect after a reasonable number of attempts, (in Pennsylvania, the number is three (3)) the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act will provide the choice of the aforementioned relief to the purchaser. The Magnuson-Moss Act is an act that was designed to ensure that manufacturers (of any product) who offer a written warranty on that product abide by and honor the terms of any warranty that they give. In practice, Lemon Law Attorneys have used this Act very successfully in Pennsylvania to protect purchasers of defective cars, trucks, vans, SUV's, motorcycles and RV's. If your vehicle has suffered a defect while still under the original manufacturer's warranty, you may be entitled to a full refund or free replacement, plus free legal representation.
By: Greg Artim
Greg Artim is an Attorney based in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He handles Lemon Law and Breach of Warranty matters in all of Pennsylvania. Visit his website at http://www.pittsburghlemonlaw.com.

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