Joseph Jaap
Legal services for families, businesses, and entrepreneurs.
Practicing law for over 29 years, Joseph Jaap assists clients with a wide range of legal issues, whether personal, family law, real estate, estate planning, or business, to develop and implement legal strategies that achieve client goals and that avoid or resolve disputes.
Joe advises clients about their family legal matters, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate, estate planning, divorce, child custody and support, guardianship, and other family issues.
His real estate practice includes both commercial and residential real estate, representing and counseling clients regarding purchases, sales, leasing, condominium development and conversions, condominium management and homeowner associations, construction contracting and construction project management, construction dispute resolution, and mechanic's liens.
Joe also provides general business representation to entrepreneurs and businesses advising clients about business formation, incorporation and joint ventures, contract negotiations, and asset purchases and sales.
He also helps clients resolve issues related to trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property, including clearance and registration of state and federal trademarks, copyright registrations, trademark and copyright infringement claim resolution, intellectual property asset transfers and licensing, trade secret protection, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and electronic commerce including Internet and domain name issues.
A Cincinnati native, after graduating from Purdue with B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering, Joe served on active duty as a Navy officer and nuclear power plant engineer on Navy nuclear-powered ships, and served aboard a submarine, cruiser, and aircraft carrier, and remains active with local Navy veterans on the board of the Cincinnati Navy League. After the Navy, Joe worked for several years as an engineer and was licensed as a professional engineer before obtaining his law degree.
- University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
- J.D. (1989) | Law
- Honors: Order of the Coif Academic Honor Society
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- Purdue University - Purdue University
- M.S. (1974) | Engineering
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- Professional Engineer 1986-2002
- State of Ohio
- Senior Reactor Operator 1982-1984
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Surface Warfare Officer/Nuclear Power Plant Engineer
- United States Navy
- Cincinnati Bar Association
- - Current
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- Ohio
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Free Consultation
Call for a free telephone consultation. - Credit Cards Accepted
- Real Estate Law
- Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Eminent Domain, Homeowners Association, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate, Water Law
- Probate
- Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests
- Estate Planning
- Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Trademarks
- Trademark Litigation, Trademark Registration
- Construction Law
- Construction Contracts, Construction Defects, Construction Liens, Construction Litigation
- Divorce
- Collaborative Law, Contested Divorce, Military Divorce, Property Division, Same Sex Divorce, Spousal Support & Alimony, Uncontested Divorce
- Family Law
- Adoption, Child Custody, Child Support, Father's Rights, Guardianship & Conservatorship, Paternity, Prenups & Marital Agreements, Restraining Orders, Same Sex Family Law
- Landlord Tenant
- Evictions, Housing Discrimination, Landlord Rights, Rent Control, Tenants' Rights
- English
- Q. Ohio Probate My mom, uncle and aunt inherited my Grandma's house. My uncle died without a will, no kids or wife.
- A: Yes, you and your siblings could be entitled to something of your mother's estate, depending on whether she has a surviving spouse. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local probate attorney to review the situation and advise you how best to proceed to sort out the estates for both your uncle and your mother, and your aunt in hospice.
- Q. Mediation and our marital home
- A: A mediator helps the two spouses reach a settlement outcome that both spouses agree is fair, or at least tolerable. But if each spouse is not fully informed of their potential rights and all the implications of the settlement, then that spouse might be at a disadvantage in agreeing to a mediated outcome. The mediator might not advise about all the rights a spouse has and various alternatives. Saving money by not having an attorney represent you might cause you to lose out financially. Having your spouse pay you the home equity and pay off the car, compared to receiving spousal support, might or might not be the best for you financially. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to consult a local Family ... Read More
- Q. My mom passed away a couple of months ago. Does her will need to be filed in probate for the contents of her house?
- A: Assets that have proper TOD designations are not probate assets. Personal property and other accounts or items without TOD could require her estate to be opened to transfer those items. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to consult a local probate attorney who can review the assets with you and advise you if the will must be filed.