Category: Property

The Firm Co-Sponsors A Free Disaster Relief Legal Clinic for South Georgia Tornado Victims

2/11/2017

Flier for free legal clinic in Albany, GA co-sponsored by Simmons Rogers, LLC and featuring Maya Simmons Rogers

On Saturday, February 18th, the firm will co-sponsor a free legal clinic at the historic Mount Zion Baptist Church of Albany, Georgia from 9 am - 12 pm for those impacted by the tornado and recent storms in South Georgia. Our very own, Maya Simmons Rogers, a native of Albany, Georgia, and other volunteer lawyers from Atlanta and Albany will be providing helpful information as well as free one-on-one consultations regarding legal issues that have arisen as a result of the natural disasters. This event is free and open to the public.

To register please email your name and number of guests, if applicable, to [email protected] or call 229-432-6837.

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Bridging The Gap: Gap Insurance Explained

1/25/2016

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Simmons Rogers Law Explains What is Gap Insurance

What is GAP insurance? Gap insurance is the name commonly used for “Guaranteed Auto Protection" insurance. Gap insurance is insurance you can purchase to protect yourself from having to pay the difference between the amount you owe on your car, SUV, or truck loan and your vehicle's current estimated value.

Many people believe that if their automobile is stolen or totaled, their collision and comprehensive insurance will cover the outstanding loan on the vehicle. Alternatively, when another party is at fault in a motor vehicle accident and the non-responsible party's vehicle is totaled, people believe the responsible party's insurance company will cover all costs, including the outstanding loan on the vehicle.

However, neither assumption is true. Even if you have comprehensive and collision insurance on your vehicle it only covers the vehicle's current fair market value. Likewise, if another person causes a wreck and is determined to be responsible for your damages, under Georgia law, the responsible party's insurance company is only required to compensate you for the automobile's fair market value.

What is a vehicle's fair market value? It is the vehicle's actual cash value. Many times, after an accident, people are unpleasantly surprised to learn the fair market value of their automobile is a lot lower than expected - partially because insurance companies generally low ball you when they make an offer and automobiles depreciate rapidly.

If your vehicle is stolen or you get into an automobile accident while you have an auto loan or you are leasing a vehicle, you can end up paying dearly for a vehicle you can no longer use. The difference between what you owe and what insurance will pay can be significant, especially if you had a zero/low down payment deal or you included the balance from a previous loan for a vehicle that was traded-in on your new auto loan.

For example:

You buy a new car for $25,000
You rollover $5,000 from an upside down trade-in
You make a down payment of $1,000 and take out an auto loan amount for $29,000
You make monthly payments of $300
You get hit by a reckless driver during the second year of ownership and the car is totaled
You still owe $23,000 on the auto loan
The fair market value of the vehicle is $16,000
So you are still responsible for $8,000 - the difference between the $23,000 you owe on your auto loan and the $16,000 fair market amount the insurance company will pay.

Gap insurance can protect you from these scenarios by acting as a financial bridge between the amount owed on the outstanding auto loan or lease and the automobile's estimated fair market value. Gap insurance can literally save you thousands of dollars. Your current auto insurance policy may already contain gap insurance. If not, you can purchase it through most large insurance carriers, or obtain it from companies that specialize in this insurance. Often times, the car dealership will offer gap insurance to you during the auto buying process. However, it is important to note that every gap insurance policy is different and there are limits on how much gap insurance will pay. Additionally, if you need to make a claim, you should be aware of the policy's terms and conditions to ensure that your claim isn't denied.

If a negligent driver hits you and your automobile has been totaled, it is important that you get the fair market value for your damaged vehicle because gap insurance only covers the difference between the fair market value and what you owe. If you don't get the full fair market value from the insurance company, you can still end up having to pay out of pocket for a vehicle you can't use. If you have been injured in a wreck while you were in your own vehicle, you will have a property damage claim as well as a personal injury claim. While some law firms only handle the personal injury portion of your wreck, after an accident, the law firm of Simmons Rogers, LLC will help you with both your property claim and your personal injury claim. To learn more about our firm visit www.simmonsrogerslaw.com. You can also contact us at 404-445-8146 or [email protected].

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Georgia Heir Property

7/29/2015

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The law firm of Simmons Rogers LLC and Maya Simmons Rogers discuss the importance of a will and heir property in Georgia.

You might be wondering what is heir property!?! Heir Property is defined as land held in common by descendants of a person who dies without a valid will or whose estate was not offered for probate (meaning it was not taken to probate court for administration). Heir property can also be created when a will leaves property to more than one beneficiary.

When a person dies without a valid will, the person dies intestate. All of the property owned by that person is considered intestate property. Intestate property typically passes down automatically to the qualifying heirs as tenants in common. (There are situations when the intestate property does not pass to all of the qualifying heirs but we won't cover them in this blog post.) Likewise, if a will leaves property to multiple beneficiaries, the beneficiaries own the land as tenants in common. As tenants in common, each heir owns a fractional interest in each piece of intestate property which gives each heir equal rights to use and possess the property.

While this may not seem like a big deal, when it comes to real property (i.e. land and all of the structures on said land) it is. When there are multiple heirs, owners, the heir property title is considered clouded. As a result, in order to do anything with the land all of the heirs must agree. However, unanimous agreement among heir property owners is rare. In Georgia, especially rural areas, heir property is a common problem.

The 5 biggest disadvantages of owning heir property are:

The inability to take out a mortgage or get other financing using the land as collateral because all of the heirs have to agree to take on the debt and be responsible for repaying the debt;
The inability to rent, lease, or even sale the land because no one has the authority to rent, lease, or sale the land without consent from all of the heirs;
The inability to actually use or possess the land like a sole owner could because every heir has the right to use and possess it simultaneously;
As members of each generation die without a valid will, the number of owners increases and the size of each heir's interest in the heir property decreases; and
The high risk that the property will be lost because of a forced partition sale (when a co-owner forces a sale of the property to get their share) or tax sale (if no one pays the taxes).

So what can you do to protect your family's heir property?

Have a title search performed on the property in question to determine ownership and the existence of any liens on the property;
Make sure that the city and county real estate taxes are paid and that someone is responsible for taking care of the taxes each year;
Make sure that you and all of your family members get valid wills prepared to limit the addition of more heir owners and the further dilution of each heir's ownership interest;
Keep a record of any expenses related to the property because depending on what the heirs decide to do with the property, persons who have paid more than their share of expenses may be entitled to reimbursement;
Construct a family tree to determine who the heirs are and include contact information for each heir when possible; and
Seek legal assistance if there are disputes over ownership, what to do with the land, etc.

If there is no heir property in your family, give your ancestors a standing ovation! Then do your part to ensure that heir property never becomes an issue in your family by hiring an attorney to draft a valid will for you as a part of a comprehensive estate plan.

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The Firm Co-Sponsors A Free Disaster Relief Legal Clinic for South Georgia Tornado Victims

Bridging The Gap: Gap Insurance Explained

Georgia Heir Property

Simmons Rogers, LLC

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