A requirement that a witness or notary public sign a ballot envelope in a handful of states, including presidential battlegrounds North Carolina and Wisconsin, is tripping up some early voters By GARY D. ROBERTSON AND SCOTT BAUER ASSOCIATED PRESS | SEP 25, 2020 AT 11:23 AM RALEIGH, N.C. — As the pandemic prompts a surge in voting by mail, voters in a handful of states, including the presidential battlegrounds of North Carolina and Wisconsin, are facing a requirement that already is tripping up thousands — the need to have a witness sign their ballot envelope. A lack of a witness signature or other witness information has emerged as the leading cause of ballots being set aside before being co

Business Insider - Grace Panetta and Yuqing Liu Volunteer Dexter Hollier fills out postcards encouraging voters to mail-in ballots during the 2020 elections on August 15, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Most states will allow all voters to vote from home in this November's presidential election due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just five states — Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas — will require most voters to provide an excuse other than COVID-19 fears in order to vote by mail. If you're voting by mail this year, be sure to request your ballot now to ensure you get it well in advance of Election Day. Voters can already request their November mail ballots in every state. More

E-closings offer advantages to notaries, borrowers and lenders. September 15, 2020, 6:15 pm By Mary Ann Azevedo This article was written for FinLedger, HW Media’s new fintech focused news brand designed specifically for financial services professionals in banking, payments, insurance and proptech. Register for the FinLedger Daily Newsletter. The virtual notary services industry has become increasingly popular amid the COVID-19 pandemic as businesses have adopted remote signatures to adhere to social distancing protocols while closing on mortgages and other loans. Dealmaking in the virtual notary services space rose despite the pandemic. In July, DocuSign acquired Austin-based startup Liveoa

We get this question often. Here's the situation. Mom dies with a last will and testament leaving Dad the lifetime usufruct of her estate, and naming her children as the naked owners. Dad then decides to sell the family home. Do Mom's kids get any of the money from the sale? No. They don't. Dad's usufruct will continue over the proceeds of the sale. Mom's kids may have to sign to allow the sale to take place, but they are not entitled to any sale proceeds. This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. Please do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read on this site. Using this site or communicating with Rabalais Estate Planning, LLC, through

How to Deal with Small Successions under Louisiana Law Like most states, Louisiana has a special procedure for dealing with small estates (called successions in Louisiana). In some circumstances, a small estate can be distributed to the heirs or beneficiaries without court involvement. In other cases, a small estate requires some form of court-supervised succession in Louisiana. The application of the Louisiana’s small succession law depends on a two-part analysis: Does the estate qualify as a “small succession?” Can the estate be disposed of by a Louisiana Small Estate Affidavit, or will a court proceeding be required? What is a Small Succession under Louisiana Law? Louisiana law defines a