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.
- 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
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Free Consultation
Call for a free telephone consultation. - Credit Cards Accepted
- Ohio
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- English
- 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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- Cincinnati Bar Association
- - Current
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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
- Q. Can my neighbor demand the fence be moved based on her survey in Ohio?
- A: You might be able to assert rights to the fenced-in portion of the neighbor's parcel through "adverse possession," which requires 21 years of open usage of property in Ohio. But a court has to make that determination. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to consult a local real estate attorney who can review the survey and all the facts of your ownership, and advise you how best to respond to the neighbor.
- Q. Can I serve as executor of my father's will in Ohio despite my sister's claims?
- A: Any competent person can be named to be Executor, including an adult child. If you have the original signed Will, you begin the probate process by filing the Will with the Probate Court asking the court to appoint you as Executor, as specified in the Will. Your sister could file with the court to not have you appointed, and the court would decide. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local probate attorney to assist you.
- Q. Utility company ran a line on my property without consent; action options in Ohio?
- A: Don't dig up the line. Contact the utility company and ask them to document what allowed them to run the line, or contact a local surveyor to check if there is a blanket utility easement noted on a recorded plat allowing the utility to place lines "as necessary." If there is no easement, then discuss it with the utility company or use the Find a Lawyer tab to consult a local attorney for your options.
