Author: Jim Flynn

Back in June, the Colorado Court of Appeals had to decide who would end up owning a nearly new 2021 Ford Bronco after the owner of the vehicle, Leonard Liebe, died of COVID on Jan. 1, 2022. Shortly before his death, Liebe made it clear in various ways, including a video recording, that he wanted…

A few months ago, I bought a new car. I did this because my previous car had a rattle I couldn’t get rid of and the only solution, I finally decided, was to trade it in for something else. This transaction (which did solve the rattle problem) served to remind me how complicated the laws…

A notice of lis pendens is a legal document you might not be familiar with but may occasionally see referenced in a news report. “Lis pendens” is Latin for “pending lawsuit.” (The law still uses Latin from time to time, giving lawyers a chance to show off.) Therefore, logically enough, a notice of lis pendens…

A document usually included in an estate planning package is a financial power of attorney. So what is a financial power of attorney? Well, it’s a document you sign and have notarized that causes one person, called the “principal,” to appoint another person, called the “agent,” to act on the principal’s behalf within the scope of…

It’s not uncommon for someone to make a will and then decide they no longer like the asset disposition plan stated in the will. The best action to take in this circumstance is to make a new will that clearly states that all prior wills are revoked. But sometimes that person isn’t quite ready to…

Every so often, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sues a consumer financial services company it thinks has engaged in unfair practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act. (This statute is part of the multi-hundred page financial services industry reform legislation passed by Congress in 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection…

On July 28, the California Bar Association, which regulates lawyer conduct in that state, announced that the law licenses of some 1,600 lawyers were being suspended. (Even in California, which has 195,000 lawyers, this was a lot of lawyers to be sanctioned on the same day.) The misconduct leading to these suspensions was a failure…

The Colorado General Assembly went on a landlord/tenant legislative binge this year, passing at least eight bills affecting residential leases in various ways. A few weeks ago, I told you about the fair housing for pets law — House Bill 23-1068. This law, which, among other things, limits pet security deposits and extra rent charges for…

There are many reasons why you might choose to pay for goods or services using a credit card instead of cash, a check or a debit card — convenience, record keeping, kids in college, etc. One such reason comes from a little-known provision of the federal Truth In Lending Act. This provision allows you to…

In 2018, at age 76, Aretha Franklin died without a formal will. She had, however, created two handwritten documents dealing with the disposition of her assets, one in 2010 and one in 2014. This led to a lawsuit involving three of her four sons. (The fourth son is subject to a legal guardianship and apparently…