Job loss doesn't automatically relieve renter of one-year lease

Rising unemployment has made it impossible for many tenants to fulfill their lease obligations, but local rental laws dictate how the landlord must proceed when the rent can't be paid.

Q. I signed a one-year lease for a small home last November, but unexpectedly lost my job in January. My unemployment benefits barely cover half the monthly rent, and what little savings I had when I lost my job are almost gone. My landlord says she is willing to release me from the one-year lease agreement, but that I would have to keep paying the rent until a new tenant can be found. What would happen if it takes a long time to find a new renter and I run out of money beforehand?

A. Rental laws vary from one area to the next. But in most parts of the nation, landlords and apartment managers are legally required to make reasonable efforts to re-rent a home that is vacated by a tenant who breaks a lease. That includes cleaning up the empty property and advertising it in the same manner that the landlord would use to market other properties he or she may have available.

The landlord probably can insist that you keep paying the rent until a new tenant is found. If you run out of money first, the landlord likely would need to take you to small-claims court in order to recover any shortfall in the rental payments - though many owners won't waste their time to pursue a former tenant who clearly doesn't have any cash left (especially if the ex-tenant leaves quietly and with the home in good repair rather than vigorously fighting the case and purposely trashing the place). There are some other options that you might want to pursue. One would be to take in a boarder who could help with the rent payments as well as grocery costs and utilities. Another would be to simply sublet the place to another tenant, provided that your lease includes a sublet clause. Talk to your local rent-control agency or rental board to discuss these and other choices.

Q. What is the difference between a general contractor and a subcontractor?

A. A general contractor is a professional who is hired to manage and oversee a new-construction or remodeling job. He or she then typically hires various subcontractors - one to install the plumbing, another for the roofing and so forth.

According to various studies, owners who hire a general contractor rather than overseeing the work and hiring the subcontractors themselves add between 20 percent and 30 percent to their overall construction bill.

Q. My aunt and uncle in New York asked me to serve as the executor of their estate several years ago (I agreed), and said that they wanted to leave their home to me when they passed away. My aunt died last summer, and now my uncle wants to move to a retirement community in Florida. If my uncle sells the home and relocates, how will it affect the will that both of them signed many years ago? As executor of their estate, what do I have to do now?

A. Technically, you don't have to do anything now, provided that your aunt and uncle signed a typical will and final testament. Instead, your duties as executor won't begin until your uncle passes away, too.

Still, you and your uncle have some practical concerns that should be addressed today rather than later. Perhaps the most important is that he should revise the will to reflect any changes in his and your late aunt's wishes. If your uncle instead sells his current house without updating the will, you cannot inherit the property because the home would be owned by the new buyer and would no longer be under your relative's control.

Another issue: Should your uncle indeed move to Florida and then die with an out-of-date will, his new home and other assets would have to go through the normal probate process, through which virtually all wills must pass - a system that could take a year or two and would certainly cost thousands of dollars in attorney fees and other court-related expenses.

It would probably be better for your uncle to place the home and any other assets that he wants to leave you into a basic living trust, because such trusts are not subject to lengthy court hearings and instead can be passed quickly to heirs. Consult an attorney or estate planner for more details.

• For a copy of the booklet "Straight Talk About Living Trusts," send $4 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to David Myers/Trust, P.O. Box 2960, Culver City, CA 90231-2960.

© 2009, Cowles Syndicate Inc.