Posts made in November 2023

How to Navigate Lease Termination Amidst Family Changes

When you’re writing your Letter of Intent to termination of lease agreement by tenant letter, in reference to residential real estate, it’s helpful to consider the many possible challenges in this process from a practical sense and an emotional standpoint. Since terminating a commercial lease can be extremely complex, this discussion will focus on the a) emotional impact of writing a letter of termination and b) the significance of terminating a lease for residential real estate as it relates to family law issues. This is a completely separate issue from terminating a commercial lease which may have many different legal terms.

To begin with, let’s define what a Letter of Intent to terminate the lease agreement by tenant is and the how it is a necessary tool for any landlord or tenant in any situation. A Letter of Intent to terminate lease agreement by tenant is written when a tenant wishes to vacate a property. These letters are very common and generally used with all types of leased real estate, whether this pertains to a lease on a home, a commercial building, retail store or various other forms of real estate property. There are a few common circumstances which may prompt a termination of lease, including the following: In the sphere of a divorce, there are additional situations which may warrant a decision to terminate a lease.

To give an example, if a husband and wife are living in the same home or leased property, it is likely that at least one of the individuals will need to find new accommodation immediately following separation. The spouse who is moving out of the home will need to end the lease in the form of filing a letter of intent to terminate lease agreement by tenant. If children are involved, it is equally important for the spouse who is leaving the house to quickly remove them in order to prevent the court from appointing a custody order that simply awards custody of the family home to the individual who is still residing in a real estate property. In particular, this can be a very big issue in a high net worth divorce or one involving a considerable amount of property.

There are several ways in which a Letter of Intent to terminate the lease agreement can be nuanced and this can ultimately differ depending on whether a person is filing this for residential or commercial real state. For example, if you are breaking a lease for commercial property, you will need to take care of the issues regarding the business and vacate the office or store in which you had been operating. In the case of a residential real estate property, the only way to get out of the lease may be to pay the next month’s rent and an additional month or two, if necessary. This may also involve returning the keys and conducting inspection of the property in order to determine if there was any damage done to the real estate property.

Exiting from a lease can be an emotionally difficult task, whether this involves familial restructuring or not. In the case of a divorce or separation, if children are involved, it is important to remove them from the property unless absolutely necessary. On another note, you may need to take care of the property for several weeks before you are able to meet with a partner or sign a new lease elsewhere. This can be a challenging time for both parties and can put a damper on the potential for amicable negotiations.

To begin with, if a spouse is vacating a property in which they were residing during the marriage, they must maintain a current address and ensure that their rent is covered by themselves or a joint account until such time that they have an orderly transition into a new property. It is certainly possible to handle all transfer actions out of court, whether this relates to residential real estate or commercial real estate. However, in some cases it becomes necessary to involve the court. In the case of a residential real estate property, this is particularly true in a high net worth divorce – an issue which is discussed further in this article.

For more information on lease agreements and tenant rights, you can visit HUD’s Tenant Rights page.

Understanding Oregon Break and Lunch Laws: A Guide for Family Law Clients

Over the years, I’ve become acutely aware of a legal area that intersects with many of my family law matters but that many of my clients are unfamiliar with. This area concerns oregon break and lunch laws in the workplace. Although it’s not usually a central issue in divorce or other family law matters, the information below is invaluable to anyone in a negotiation with an employer that involves employment time.

Under Oregon law, the following rules apply to break periods:

  • An employee who works three hours or more is entitled to a rest period of at least 10 minutes.
  • An additional 10 minutes of rest time is due if the employee works through lunch without taking a meal time.
  • Employees can’t give up their right to a rest period.
  • Employees can’t be made to work during a rest period.
  • Employees must be allowed to choose how their rest time is taken, including whether it will be taken in one block or several.

Oregon’s break laws require everyone who works a minimum of three hours to receive a rest between any working period. The exception to this is for workers whose duty to work is for less than twenty-four hours, who are not provided a rest period between duty assignments. The federal law differs from Oregon’s law by being less specific in its designation of employer duties. Unless the break is designated as paid, unpaid rest breaks are recommended to last for no longer than 20 minutes. A rest period of 20 minutes works well within the totality of an eight-hour workday.

The federal law renders mandates for employers to grant workers a 30-minute duty-free meal period, provided that the worker remains at the worksite and is allowed to leave the work site during this timeframe. Again, the federal law is different than the state law in that it specifically states that no payments of wages are to be made during the break. While Oregon state law states that rest periods are to last for 10 minutes, there is no stipulation on how often these breaks must take place. As long as workers receive the benefits of their unpaid time-off rights, employees can decide when and how they want these breaks taken (as long as the breaks take place within the allotted points of rest).

The most critical point of law is that contracts can’t be made that stipulate that the employee must forgo his or her right to a rest period. The strict regulations of Oregon’s unpaid meal periods and paid rest periods shine a bright focus on the importance of this aspect of a contemporary work life. For example, if you are a parent just beginning to negotiate a custody plan for your children and your plan is expected to include child care before or after school, understanding the law can prepare you for a meaningful discussion of the places and situations where child care is likely to be needed. Maybe you are applying for alimony in a divorce and have flexible hours at work. If your hours are too inflexible to allow you the time to seek employment outside the home, knowledge about unpaid meal periods may give you leverage in negotiations with your spouse’s attorney. Perhaps you have a flexible schedule, so seek more time in custody. Knowledge of Oregon’s break laws can help you plan for a better work life and also make you a more effective negotiator during family law proceedings.

Many parents with very busy work schedules often cite the difficulty of arranging time with children while on the job. Yet, these parents frequently do not really understand how Oregon law is designed to allow them to maximize their time spent with their children. Busy parents with flexible work schedules are more likely to have the opportunity to participate in as much of their children’s lives as they would like. Understanding the law allows a parent to balance the many facets that Texas law places on parenting coordination with a parent’s legal right to be available to children on a daily basis.

For more information on labor laws, you can visit the U.S. Department of Labor.