Should I transfer my home to my children?
By Atty. Sean J. O’Brien
Dautrich & O’Brien Law Offices
Articles and Resources
Do I need a will if I am married?
By Atty. Sean J. O’Brien
Dautrich & O’Brien Law Offices
The short answer is yes. Many people believe that if you die without a will, everything you own goes to your surviving spouse. Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania, if you die without a will, your estate must follow the intestate succession statutes. The intestate succession statutes control the disposition of your assets. The statutes provide that the share of the surviving spouse (depending on if there are children) can be as little as one-half of the intestate estate.
Do Not Pass the School Bus
By Atty. Michael D. Dautrich
Dautrich & O’Brien Law Offices
Everyone has seen a school bus at some point or another on the roadway stopped to pick up or drop off children. On the roads in Berks County, school buses can present challenges to motorists while stopped to pick up or drop off children. School buses are equipped with the following visual signals to tell drivers the school bus is about to receive or to discharge school children: amber visual signals, red visual signals, and stop signs and stop arms. Most people should know it is illegal to pass a school bus when the red visual signals are in use and the stop sign or stop arm is extended from the school bus.
Traffic stops and suggestions to avoid them
By Atty. Michael D. Dautrich
Dautrich & O’Brien Law Offices
There are an ever-increasing number of traffic stops in Pennsylvania, including in Reading and Berks County. Police officers regularly use equipment violations such as items hanging from the rearview mirror, obscured license plates, non-functioning headlights, tail lights, or brake lights and missing sideview mirrors as reasons to stop vehicles. They also use window tint violations as reasons to conduct traffic stops. Bear in mind that simply because the tint was installed by the factory or by a prior owner does not mean it is legal in Pennsylvania, especially on the side windows. If the police cannot see inside the vehicle, rest assured they are stopping it for illegal tint.
Shapiro signs guardianship legislation into law
BY BILL O’BOYLE
THE TIMES LEADER
WILKES-BARRE
Sen. Lisa Baker on Friday said guardianship is a meaningful way to provide protection and assistance for individuals no longer capable of handling their financial, legal and treatment circumstances.
“However, we have been alerted to cases where individuals have been victimized by guardians who are not properly trained or operating under sufcient supervision,” Baker said. “Such fraud cannot be tolerated.”
Legislation sponsored by Baker, R-Luzerne County, and Sen. Art Haywood, D-Philadelphia, to safeguard the dignity of adults in need of guardianship, was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Josh. Shapiro.
