Shakopee Legal Blog

If someone is late on his or her vehicle loan payments, it could result in the bank taking possession of the car. After the car loan goes into default, the bank will contract a repossession man or woman to arrive -- usually when you least expect it -- and commandeer your car.

Your bank has the legal right to repossess your car if you become delinquent on your loan. However, there's one way to stop vehicle repossession: Filing for bankruptcy.

Many people have heard of condemned property, or eminent domain. That is the government's power to take or use privately owned property if it is for a "public purpose." Expansion of roads or construction of controlled access interchanges is generally considered a public purpose if conducted on public roadways. An example of one such project is that currently underway on Highways 169 and 41 in Scott County, Minnesota. Utilizing federal funding, Scott County is seeking to change access to U.S. Highway 169 by constructing overpasses and interchanges. To complete the project, Scott County will need to acquire and use adjacent property owned by private individuals and businesses.

There's always a new reason you can invent to avoid planning your estate or creating your last will. You may hope to add new members to your family or think about acquiring new assets in the next year or two, such as a vacation home. Surely, you tell yourself, it's better to wait to have that all handled before starting to create a will or estate plan.

In reality, your family and assets will always be in a state of flux. Babies are born, while other people leave via divorce or death. If you wait until nothing in your life is going to change to create a will, you won't ever get around to this critical task. If you plan to marry soon, have children or own substantial assets, such as a house, you should take the time to plan your estate now. You can always update it in the future.

Lots of small businesses forego counsel at their peril - not always because of conscious choice, but frequently out of naïveté. Owners and managers of businesses of all stripes often overestimate their personal talents in contracting by conflating their strong skills in negotiation and fostering business relationships, which they are often strong at, with strength in contract drafting - the process of reducing an agreement to an enforceable writing. One "cardinal rule" of negotiation is don't give your number first, that way you make the other side set the ceiling on the negotiations. However, a cardinal rule in contract making is the drafter starts at a position of dominance - there is a first strike advantage.