Douglas A Turner, PC

07/28/2025

Beware: Fraudulent Businesses May Be Using Your Address

A client recently contacted me after receiving unexpected business mail at his home. When we checked the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, we discovered that a business had registered using his address—without his knowledge or consent.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident.

According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), there's been a rise in fictitious businesses registering with random addresses—often residential homes or downtown hotels—where they have no actual presence. These fraudulent registrations can cause serious headaches for the unsuspecting property owners or legitimate businesses whose addresses are misused.

Why This Matters
If a fraudulent business registers using your address, you could face:
Legal and financial risk – Law enforcement or creditors may wrongly associate you with illegal activity.
Unwanted mail and subpoenas – You may receive collection notices, court documents, or tax correspondence not meant for you.
Reputation damage – Customers or vendors could mistakenly believe your business is connected to a scam.
Business credit or IRS confusion – Erroneous address records can interfere with your financial and tax identity.

What You Can Do
If you start receiving mail addressed to a person or business you don't recognize, take action:
Check the Colorado Secretary of State’s website to see if a business has listed your address.
Report the fraudulent registration to:
Colorado Secretary of State
Colorado Attorney General
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
And send an email to: [email protected]

Additional Protection: Lock Down Your Credit
To further protect yourself, consider freezing your credit with the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). This is free and can be done online. You’ll need to create accounts with each bureau. They may make it hard to find the free credit freeze option—but it’s there. Once frozen, you can temporarily lift the freeze when applying for credit, then re-lock it as needed.

07/13/2025

A new scam surfaces...

05/03/2025

Who Really Owns Your Home?🏡

Are you sure you truly own your home? In Colorado, there's a simple way to find out—by ordering an Ownership & Encumbrance (O&E) report.

An O&E report, available from a title insurance company, provides a snapshot of your property’s legal status. It includes the most recent deed in the chain of title, any recorded liens, and the legal description of the property. In the Denver metro area, this report typically costs less than $10. In mountain or rural areas, it may run between $30 and $100.

In most cases, the O&E is straightforward. But in our experience, roughly 1 in 20 reports reveals a problem.

Common Issues We Find

Deceased Individuals Still on Title:

If the property was held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, removing the deceased is usually a simple process. However, if the property was owned as tenants in common, it can be more complex and may require a probate proceeding.

Unreleased Liens:
Occasionally, a lien—such as an old deed of trust—was never properly released. If the real estate transaction was handled by a reputable title company and involved a recognized lender, resolving the issue typically involves working with the title company.

If the closing was recent, it’s more tedious than difficult. But if it happened years ago, the process becomes more complicated. That’s why it's crucial to keep your closing documents and title insurance policy in a permanent file.

How to Get an O&E Report
You can usually order an O&E report directly from a title company, although you may need to create an account. Our office can also assist and will add a $20 fee to the title company’s charge.

Keep in mind: understanding an O&E report requires some knowledge of real estate terminology and legal documents. An O&E is not insurance or a guarantee. If you need help interpreting your report, we’re happy to assist.

Colorado Estate Planning Attorneys. Wills, Trusts, NFA Trusts, Probate, Corporate, Real Estate.

03/01/2025

Evaluating NGO Effectiveness

🚨 The Problem With NGOs: What You Need to Know
Let’s cut to the chase—NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are a mixed bag. While they’ve transformed millions of lives, they’ve also been abused by a sneaky few. 😔 Unfortunately, the bad apples grab all the headlines.

The solution? Better oversight. Until then, it’s on YOU to dig deeper and ask the right questions before supporting any NGO. 🕵️‍♀️

🧐 Wait, What’s an NGO Anyway?
NGOs include nonprofits, and within that, you’ve got public charities (a.k.a. 501(c)(3) organizations). Here’s the deal:

✅ Donations to 501(c)(3) organizations are tax-deductible.

✅ These organizations have been around forever but got a major boost in the early 2000s thanks to government initiatives like faith-based programs. (Fun fact: This was a big push during the G.W. Bush era. Here’s a link.)

But here’s where it gets shady... 🌫️

Some of the super-rich figured out they could funnel wealth into private foundations (501(c)(3)s) instead of paying hefty taxes. This means they could hold onto power and keep their money out of the government’s hands. And while these setups have done TONS of good, they’ve also been used to skirt anti-corruption laws.

🕵️ How to Vet a Charity Before You Donate
If you’re donating to a 501(c)(3), do your homework. Not all charities are created equal, and some are downright sketchy. Here’s your roadmap:

1️⃣ Start with the IRS website:

👉 Search here. Confirm the charity is legit.

2️⃣ Look at their IRS Form 990:
If the charity makes less than $50,000/year, they probably filed a simplified Form 1023-EZ. These are rarely denied by the IRS and don’t give you much info. (You’ll need to ask the charity directly for financial data.)

If the charity makes more than $50,000/year, they should file a full Form 990. This is where the good stuff is: income, expenses, assets, and more.

💡 Pro Tip: Check out salaries, expense accounts, and where the money actually goes. Nonprofit ≠ no one’s making money. Some salaries are millions of dollars, and expense accounts can hide a lot.

3️⃣ Follow the money:

For smaller charities, you should easily see what the top players are making and how funds are spent.
For larger charities, you may need more detailed financial disclosures.

⚠️ Red Flags to Watch For

🚩 No transparency: If they can’t—or won’t—provide financial info, walk away.

🚩 Board control: Most NGOs are run by a Board of Directors, not members. Check how those directors are chosen and who’s really in control.

🚩 Government-funded NGOs: These can be tricky. Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out who’s benefiting financially.

💡 The Bottom Line
There’s no magic formula for spotting a “good” charity. Some operate on shoestring budgets; others spend big on salaries and operations. Neither automatically makes them good or bad.

👉 Your job? Know your charity. Ask the tough questions. Do the research.

Because at the end of the day, your dollars should go toward making an actual difference—not someone’s hidden agenda. 💙

01/30/2025

🔥 Hearing whispers about fire victims in Los Angeles struggling with insurance claims on homes held in trust?

It’s surprising, but here’s the deal: when your home is in a trust, not keeping your insurer in the loop can lead to major headaches—like delays in payouts or even coverage issues.

Why Put Your Home in a Trust?

A trust isn’t just a fancy legal tool. It gives you:

✔️ Privacy

✔️ Asset protection

✔️ Avoidance of probate hassles

But here’s the catch: if your insurance doesn’t reflect the transfer to the trust, you’re setting yourself up for trouble.

So, What’s the Fix?

👉 Make sure your trust is listed on your insurance.

Ideally, the trust should be named as an additional insured alongside you, the homeowner. Some insurance companies might not agree to this, but most in Colorado will. Just know that coverage for an “additional insured” isn’t as robust as for a “named insured.”

Does It Change Based on Property Type? Yep, and here’s how it usually shakes out:

🏡 Your Home: Homeowner = Named Insured | Trust = Additional Insured

🏢 Rental Property: Trust = Named Insured | Others with interest = Additional Insured

🏢 LLC/Company Property: LLC = Named Insured | Manager (or others) = Additional Insured

☂️ Umbrella Policies: Trust may be listed as a second Named Insured

Pro tip: These rules don’t just apply to homes. Boats, cars, art, guns—any insured property transferred to a trust needs this same attention.

Don’t Roll the Dice 🎲 on Your Coverage! When transferring property to a trust (or any entity), talk to a qualified insurance expert. The fine print matters, and getting it wrong could cost you big time.

✨ Protect your assets. Protect your peace of mind

01/15/2025

Should you hold your residential real estate in a trust or an LLC? Trusts may be emerging as the better option. Here is why.

Over the last 20 years, LLCs became the preferred way to hold Colorado rental real estate because the LLC provided privacy and limited liability at little additional expense or hassle. Starting several years ago, rules and fees surrounding LLCs began to change.

Today, LLC filings require disclosure of the individuals causing the articles of organization to be filed. Annual filing fees have increased from $10 to $25. Delinquent filings are $100. While currently on hold, the federal Treasury required filing beneficial ownership information on most LLCs else face fines and prison. Almost every legislative session now, Colorado legislators attempt to pile on additional fees to real estate held in LLCs.

We can expect further erosion of LLC benefits, increased disclosure requirements, and increased fees. Trusts, on the other hand, require no secretary of state filing fees, do not require disclosure, and are not the subject of additional taxation.

But trusts are expensive and require detailed estate planning, right? Not necessarily. A basic real estate trust can be a short, simple document. The trust can be designed to provide stand- alone asset protection or can be amended in the future to become the primary estate planning trust. Consider with your next residential real estate purchase whether title should be taken in the name of a trust.

10/31/2024

Colorado Prenuptial Agreements

Colorado recognizes prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements. A spouse can waive virtually all rights except child support. The question is, should they?

Most prenuptial agreements start with both spouses waiving all rights to the other spouse’s property whether that property is acquired before or during the marriage. The spouses also waive any right to spousal support (alimony) although a court can modify that waiver if unconscionable at the time of divorce. My shorthand rendition is “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours and never the two shall meet.” This often ignores reality. Under the best of circumstances, our life stories start with good health, uncomplicated pregnancies, physically and mentally healthy children, and then in our later years decline, disease, and death. Some never have the luxury of good health. Many experience difficult or no pregnancies. Many have children somewhere on the spectrum with one or both parents making significant sacrifices along the way. That prenuptial agreement executed at age 25 probably does not consider what occurs on the way to age 50+.

Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions and no easy conversations. There are particular areas that are easier to address than others. For example, inheritance and family money. Sometimes, a prenuptial agreement will only address inheritance and family assets, leaving everything else acquired during the marriage to be divided in the case of divorce. Another example would be waiving all rights upon death. A waiver of all rights upon death means that the spouse has no right to inherit from the other spouse including any statutory inheritance rights granted under Colorado law. While this may be appropriate when death occurs shortly after marriage, it may not be appropriate later in life after many years of marriage.

To be enforceable, prenuptial agreements must have certain language and disclosures. Finances must be fully disclosed. The agreement must contain explicit statutory language making it abundantly clear what rights are being waived. While separate legal counsel for both spouses-to-be is not required, it is mandatory in our office.

A prenuptial agreement is only the start. If the assets agreed to be kept separate are not kept separate, the agreement may be difficult and costly to enforce. Separate or multiple trust agreements can be helpful because the trust keeps the property separate. The fact that this agreement exists should not be forgotten because it is probably enforceable even though it is decades old.

07/30/2024

Be sure to read your trust documents carefully to know the differences between trustees and beneficiaries. Watch this 2 minute video overview.

07/04/2024

Happy 4th of July. Just a reminder not to set off fireworks on your head.

A man in Rhode Island died earlier this year after reportedly setting a firework off on his head, which police are now investigating.