Legal Lowdown

Whether your “business” consists of renting out your second home or whether your hobby of selling trinkets online has blossomed into a full-time enterprise, at some point you may be ready to move onto other things or simply call it quits.

Predicting where the real estate market is going is difficult. I came across the following: Einstein dies, goes to heaven, and asks the first man he sees, “Excuse me. What’s your IQ?” The man replies, “180.” Einstein says, “Great! We can talk about astrophysics!” Einstein then sees a woman and asks the same question. “My IQ is 150,” she replies. “Great!” says Einstein, “we can talk about current events!” Einstein sees another man and asks his IQ.

This week’s column continues a discussion of “legalese,” the strange language lawyers sometimes use. You may have heard, “What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer... an offer you can't understand.” Two legal terms I am often asked about are “per stirpes” and “per capita.” These usually come up when someone is reviewing a last will and testament or filling out a beneficiary designation form for an account.