Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law

Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law Interesting, and sometimes odd, aspects of the law. My practice over the years has been extensive litigation in criminal and civil practice.

Over that past 10 years I have been concentrating on probate and estate planning as well as probate litigation. My office has 10 attorneys and together we can handle almost any legal situation for individuals and small businesses.

Outside my office window I just caught the sun cutting through the Great Miami River fountain in downtown Dayton creatin...
09/16/2021

Outside my office window I just caught the sun cutting through the Great Miami River fountain in downtown Dayton creating a rainbow effect. It brightened my afternoon.

EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIESOver the years I have progressively received more and more calls about Executors an...
09/01/2021

EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

Over the years I have progressively received more and more calls about Executors and Trustees not doing their jobs. It is very often a complaint that the beneficiaries are not getting their money, the real estate has not been sold, and especially, no one knows what is going on because the Executor or Trustee will not disclose any information.

An Executor is the person named by the decedent in the will to be the executor. The executor is responsible to accumulate all the decedent’s assets, pay all the decedent’s bills, and then distribute the balance to the heirs named in the will. This is all done through the Probate court and the probate court’s records are public records. Executors report to the Probate Judge

A Trustee is a person named by the creator of a private trust, to take care of all the trust assets and then make distributions to the named beneficiaries. A trust is normally administered outside of probate court and is not public. One of the primary goals of a trust is to stay out of probate court and keep all the dealings private. Trustees do not report to any judge but are governed by the Ohio Trust Code and are required to disclose financial information to the beneficiaries.

Both the Executor and Trustee have similar tasks and legal responsibilities. Their job is to do what the decedent told them to do in either the trust or the will. If they fail to do this the remedies are similar. A petition needs to be filed in the probate court stating that the executor or Trustee has failed in their duties, and said person needs to be removed and a new executor or Trustee be appointed.

I have had numerous cases like this and the causes vary.

Overwhelmed by the work load
Personal interests overshadow the responsibility
They just don’t care
They use the assets for their personal gain
Drugs and/or Alcohol

Trust and Probate beneficiaries have substantial rights, in Ohio and most other states, but few people are aware of those rights.

If you have a situation where a Trustee or Executor is not doing their job or refuse to provide information, call me. I will get the attention of the Trustee or Executor and get them back into compliance. If they fail, we can file with the court to have them removed as Trustee or Executor.

ADAPTABILITY, FLUIDITY AND GRACE IN THE COURTROOMBy: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law There is always something n...
05/15/2020

ADAPTABILITY, FLUIDITY AND GRACE IN THE COURTROOM

By: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law

There is always something new. I have been a trial lawyer for 4 decades. I have handled countless case in maybe 100 different courts, everything from homicides down to minor infractions. Yesterday I tried a case that I never imagined. It was not the subject of the trial but the “décor”. It is the first time I have tried a case in court wearing a mask. Not just me but everyone including the judge. It kind of throws your game off. Not only that, but the defendant was wearing a mask very similar to the one I posted. I thought at first the judge might say something but he just went with the flow. What could he really do? I know there is the generic no shoes, no shirt, no justice policy but I don’t believe any court has a policy on the subject matter of mask design, at least not yet. So we just fired through the trial with the defendant testifying from the witness stand, with her mask “teeth and nose” flapping away at me and the judge. The trial went on as if there was nothing new, just business as usual. One for the record books!

I hope you are all well.

Today I walked to the Court of Appeals to file paperwork. While waiting to cross the street, instead of waiting for traf...
04/08/2020

Today I walked to the Court of Appeals to file paperwork. While waiting to cross the street, instead of waiting for traffic to clear, I was waiting for traffic to show up.

A story from “Old School Lawyering”By: Peter R. Certo, Jr., Attorney at LawWhat if you found out you had to move out of ...
02/07/2020

A story from “Old School Lawyering”
By: Peter R. Certo, Jr., Attorney at Law

What if you found out you had to move out of your house, say within the next 30 days? That’s what I had to tell a woman in the early years of my practice, and neither she nor I were happy about it.

A woman, let’s call her "Sally", came into my office well before the internet existed (I know I am aging myself). She was married to “Harry” and was worried some bad things were going on and asked me to look into it. Since there was no internet I had to go to several courts buildings in the area and actually look in the old big docket books to do my searches. This search probably took the best part of a day instead of what I could do in 2-3 minutes now from my desk.

Well, I completed my search and then called her back to my office about a week later. I told her I found several judgments against Harry and Sally. In addition, I found a foreclosure action had been filed against them, her husband Harry had personally signed for the service of the foreclosure, including the papers addressed to Sally, and then did nothing. I then prepared myself for the substantial blow of bad news. I had to tell Sally the foreclosure was granted, the house had gone to a Sheriff’s sale and had been sold. This meant they no longer owned the house. At that point I told Sally she should be expecting an eviction notice very soon from the new owner.

Sally had no visible reaction. It seems she was already braced for bad news. She then got up, gave a heavy sigh, and said “well, at least now I know what to do”, and then she left.

I never heard from her again. I kept track of the news for anything related to a guy named Harry but never saw anything. Maybe they never found the evidence but I’m willing to bet there was some to be found. Out of all the bad news I have delivered to clients over the years this is in the top ten.

I just closed out my most recent anonymous lottery winner case. This is what the check from the lottery commission looks...
12/13/2019

I just closed out my most recent anonymous lottery winner case. This is what the check from the lottery commission looks like. It is very satisfying to receive checks like this. My client will be having a very Merry Christmas. Fortunately, my client has been in touch with financial counselors, which I always recommend, instead of self-handling large sums of new found money.

By the way, banks are very suspicious of these lottery trusts. They do not see them very often and have no set procedure. There have been substantial delays when using the bank preferred by the client instead of using the banks I have dealt with before. In this case I pretty much had to beat the bank into submission to get them to open the account and deposit the $1,800,000. I was so frustrated I wanted my client to choose another bank but the client did not want to do so. It is not often banks refuse to open an account, it was a very strange experience. Once they did agree to open the account and take the deposit I did not even get a toaster oven! I miss the old days.

The bank’s reluctance to take type of trust account is one more reason to use an attorney who has done this many times. If you have won an Ohio Lottery and wish to remain anonymous, please contact me.

11/01/2019

Good news: you’ve won the lottery! Now how do you find a lawyer who knows how to claim lottery winnings anonymously?

By: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law

If you win the Ohio Lottery and want to claim it anonymously, you really need to contact an attorney who has done this before. An attorney who:

* Knows how to comply with Ohio Lottery rules,

* Knows the “passive trust” documents used process the claim,

* Has dealt with the IRS in establishing these trusts,

* Has personally met with the banks to set up the necessary accounts,

* Has met with the lottery officials in Cleveland multiple times.

This is not the type of transaction you want an attorney to “look into” how it is done. There is too much money involved to risk mistakes.

I have represented a number of clients who have won the Ohio Lottery and wished to remain anonymous. I was surprised to find out that several clients had previously hired other attorneys only to find out the lawyer did not know about “passive trusts,” had not actually handled lottery claims before, and then dropped the ball.

After things fell apart the winners contacted me. Fortunately, since I have done this a number of times before, I got it settled for them efficiently.

Regardless of where you live in Ohio, I can help you. I have had clients from Cincinnati to Akron. Most of the work can be handled by phone and email. Eventually an “in person” meeting is necessary, but if you can’t come to me in Dayton, I will come to you.

If you live outside of Ohio and won the Ohio lottery, we can discuss the best way to handle this.

Good luck playing the Ohio Lottery!

As you may know from prior posts I am a Board Member of Rebuilding Together Dayton (RTD) http://www.rtdayton.org/ . Our...
08/23/2019

As you may know from prior posts I am a Board Member of Rebuilding Together Dayton (RTD) http://www.rtdayton.org/ . Our mission has been to keep the low income elderly and disabled in their own homes. We have rehabbed hundreds of homes in the Dayton area over the last 17 years.

Dayton was hit by multiple tornados on Memorial Day this year. The tornadoes hit mostly in distressed areas and many victims do not have homeowners insurance. RTD and many other organizations have sprung into action to assist in the tornado recovery. Today, Vectren, identifying RTD as a primary resource for the tornado victims, has stepped up to the plate and donated $300,000 to RTD to assist in these efforts. We are thrilled with the trust provided by Vectren and will strive our best to assist as many victims as possible.

Dayton has gone all out to prevent any violence during the K*K rally scheduled in dowtown Dayton tomorrow. Most of the d...
05/24/2019

Dayton has gone all out to prevent any violence during the K*K rally scheduled in dowtown Dayton tomorrow. Most of the downtown area has already been closed and barricaided.

WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A WILL CONTEST?By: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at LawI had a full trial, which is rare, on a will c...
05/03/2019

WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A WILL CONTEST?

By: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law

I had a full trial, which is rare, on a will contest this year and I will explain some of the case facts after I explain the nature of will contests.

A will contest is usually a legal challenge of a decedent’s last will and testament by an heir of the decedent who is not happy with the will which has been filed with the probate court. Most likely because the heir has been left out of the will or received a lesser portion of the estate than the other heirs.

The most common allegations are the decedent was not fully aware of their assets or their heirs, or that were not aware of what they were signing. Basically they were not legally competent to effectively sign the will. Most concerns will be heightened when the will was signed very close to the date of death, during a period of grave illness or a self-prepared will.

A will prepared by an attorney and properly executed and witnessed is very difficult to challenge. Most attorneys are very aware of family concerns and go out of their way to make sure all the legal bases are covered. The most vulnerable are self-prepared wills as these have more legal flaws.

In Ohio, the technical legal standard for the trial court to determine is whether the testator had sufficient mind and memory: (1) to understand the nature of the business in which he was engaged; (2) to comprehend generally the nature and extent of his property; (3) to hold in his mind the names and identities of those who have a natural claim on his bounty; and (4) to be able to appreciate his relationship to the members of his family.

In my case the decedent had 4 children all in their 60’s. One of the decedent’s sons lived with dad for about 10 years prior to his death taking care of his many very serious medical conditions. This was not light work but very demanding care 24/7. Keep in mind that had not the son lived there dad would have been in a nursing home long before his death. Due the care given, dad was able to stay at home without going to a nursing home. Two years before dad died he went to an attorney to do a new will and other estate planning documents. The will favored the caretaker son to the exclusion of the other 3 children. He also went to his brokerage account office and changed the transfer on death designation (TOD) to the caretaker son. Later dad passed away.

Needless to say, the 3 excluded children challenged the will and the TOD. They subpoenaed about 7 years of medical records, 10 years of financial records and dad’s attorney’s file. Depositions were conducted of all the children, dad’s lawyer and dad’s treating physician. The court complaint accused the caretaker son of every negative act possible. The litigation went on for a year and a half ending with a 3 day trial. The challenge to the will and TOD failed. Fortunately the caretaker son took dad to regular doctor visits, and audiology visits. The court heard testimony from the doctor, the audiologist, the attorney who prepared the will, the brokerage folks and a good neighbor. In addition, there were no irregularities in the 10 years of financial records. The very expensive challenge failed.

The lesson is, the more documentation and witnesses available the better, do not prepare your own will, make sure there are people willing to verify the above stated legal factors, and perhaps do a brief video just talking with the person to show their level of competence and lack of pressure. Don’t do a “legal” oriented video, just a casual conversation. I hope none of you get into this situation because it tears families apart.

MICHAEL COHEN BEFORE CONGRESS – TO BELIEVE OR NOT TO BELIEVEBy: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law Many say Cohen canno...
02/28/2019

MICHAEL COHEN BEFORE CONGRESS – TO BELIEVE OR NOT TO BELIEVE

By: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law

Many say Cohen cannot be believed now because he admitted to lying to congress and has a conviction for the same thing. Therefore, he cannot be believed.

Virtually every law enforcement agency in the United States, State Prosecutors and United States Attorneys, use admitted criminals, liars and convicted felons as a basis for, further investigations, to obtain valuable information, search warrants and use as witnesses in court proceedings. They all vouch for the credibility of these informants when it advances their cases.

Convicted criminals still in their prison uniforms testify every day in courts against their co-conspirators and competing criminals. Juries routinely use the information provided by these witnesses to convict the defendants who may be on trial. The reason juries trust other criminals, especially those who have already been convicted and/or sentenced, is because as the prosecutors argue, “Why would they lie, they have already been convicted and sentenced”. This is especially true where the informant/witness has “voluntarily” entered a guilty plea instead of going through a trial. They admitted they were wrong, they are now doing the “right thing” and are telling the truth.

That sounds a lot like where Michael Cohen is. He voluntarily entered a plea and has already learned his prison sentence.

All members of Congress know this goes on every day in courts. Without the information and testimony of other criminals the conviction rate for State Prosecutors and United State Attorneys would drop significantly. I have never heard of any State or Federal elected official advocate for preventing “bad guys” from testifying against other “bad guys”. We will never hear that because that’s how the system works. To argue that Cohen should be given no credibility at all, especially with his unique position of knowledge and access to information, is nothing more than political posturing. We need to collect that information, use it prudently and see where it leads.

OHIO LICENSE REINSTATEMENT AMNESTY PROGRAM– (driver license reinstatement)By: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law As of ...
01/04/2019

OHIO LICENSE REINSTATEMENT AMNESTY PROGRAM– (driver license reinstatement)

By: Peter R. Certo, Jr. Attorney at Law

As of January 31, 2019 Ohio will start a 6 month (ending July 31, 2019) amnesty program for many Ohioans whose licenses are under suspension. It does not cover all license suspensions but it will affect many of them. There are 25 specific suspension listed in the program. The most common ones are;

Operating without proof of insurance
Nonpayment of a judgment
Repeat traffic offender (12 point suspensions)
Failure to appear
Failure to stop after an accident
Reckless operation

The applicants must have completed all court-ordered sanctions (payment if fines, court costs, etc.), and the suspension must have been in place for at least 18 months. There is not yet any guidance as to who will qualify for a total waiver of fees or simply a reduction.

The BMV currently has a program available where reinstatement fees can be paid off on a monthly basis. You license would be reinstate as long as you continue making the required monthly payments. This program does not include court fines or costs, just the reinstatement fee itself. This program is already in effect and will not be affected by the new amnesty program termination date of July 31, 2019.

The BMV has the process for making the application posted on their website which is:

https://www.bmv.ohio.gov/susp-fees-amnesty.aspx

Address

1 S Main Street, Ste 1590
Dayton, OH
45402

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

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+19372231201

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