Private law: Good advice isn’t expensive – it’s included in your membership

It’s not just about working conditions that Tekna’s lawyers can help you with. In the private law department, lawyers Anna Elisabeth Nordbø and Hege Rutgersen are ready to advise Tekna’s members on what is smartest in their particular situation.

Tekna Private Law provides advice and guidance on:

• Family, inheritance and probate, including prenuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements and future powers of attorney, wills
• Tenancy law
• Purchase and sale of real estate, including construction of housing
• Purchase and sale of chattels, including car and boat
• Agreements on craftsman services
• Various questions about real estate, including neighbor relations, questions about housing cooperatives and condominiums, questions about right of way and other rights in real estate
• Compensation, insurance

Tekna attorney Hege Rutgersen

– The only types of cases we do not provide advice and guidance on are criminal cases, tax and duty questions, immigration law, and conflicts with the public sector. These are large and complex legal areas that we do not have specialised competence in," says lawyer Hege Rutgersen. “If we receive such cases, we refer the member to contact lawyers who have specialised in these legal areas.

As we receive a very large number of inquiries to Tekna Private Law, we also reserve the right to reject cases that are particularly extensive or complicated. Where, for example, Tekna members are against each other in a case, we also limit our offer to provide general information to avoid a conflict of interest.

Unlike Tekna’s employment lawyers, Anna and Hege do not take cases to court. Tekna Private Law is an advisory service. By advice and guidance, we mean assessment of and advice on handling cases and self-help. Tekna Private Law does not act externally as the member’s lawyer. We do not create specific agreements or other documents, and do not communicate with opponents and others on behalf of the member.

– We are happy to help members with advice and legal assessments, but we do not have the opportunity to take a case, for example about inheritance or child distribution, to court. We also do not write contracts or powers of attorney, but we help you read over drafts you have, or interpret the existing will.

Often it is precisely advice and guidance that is needed when you are in an uncertain situation,” says Anna Elisabeth Nordbø.

– And it is best if the members contact us before they get into a conflict. With a good contract basis, many disagreements can be avoided.

Typical questions

Below you will find the most common questions, and what you should prepare before you make contact. It pays to send over all relevant documents when you first email, so the process goes much faster. Note that the processing time can be more than 14 days when there is a lot of traffic. Contact the lawyers at [email protected]

• Inheritance and will
• Buying and selling property
• Cohabitation contract
• Future power of attorney
• Family law
• Craftsman services
• Buying and selling chattels
• Tenancy law

Inheritance and will:

All too often, inheritance settlements create discord in families, and the lawyers receive questions daily about how this can be avoided. There are often three issues that come up:

• Help to prepare a will.
• Consent to undivided estate.
• Questions related to the execution of inheritance settlements.

If you have drafted a will, you are welcome to send it for review. The same applies if you are in the middle of an inheritance settlement and are wondering how to practically carry it out. When the lawyers receive relevant documents right away, they can help with good answers more quickly.

Buying and selling property:

Three questions are recurring when it comes to changing housing:

• Help to read through a draft purchase contract.
• Assessment of deficiency after purchase of property.
• Guidance in connection with complaint.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to buying and selling is that bids are binding. Therefore, Tekna’s lawyers cannot cancel a purchase, but they read through the purchase contract and provide feedback on it. They can make an assessment of deficiency in the purchase of a property, but here it very much depends on where the problem lies. If other in-depth knowledge in the field is needed, the lawyers will have to refer you further. Remember to send over written documentation when you make contact, so it is faster to get an overview of the situation.

Cohabitation contract:

Have you bought a house with your partner? Then it pays to get a cohabitation contract in place. All too often, one realises the need for it when the mood has soured - and then it may be too late to agree on things that are otherwise not difficult.

Future power of attorney:

A future power of attorney can be wise, but not everyone knows the term. In short, it is a private law alternative to ordinary guardianship. The future power of attorney gives you greater opportunity to decide who will take care of your personal and financial interests the day you yourself cannot take care of them.

Tekna’s lawyers have created their own template, which you as a member can have sent. We help you read over your draft.

Family law:

There are often two questions that come to Tekna’s lawyers when couples break up:

• How will the financial distribution be in case of divorce/breakup?
• What rights do I have?

Some also have questions about what rules apply to the children in case of a breakup:

• What does shared parental responsibility mean?
• Should the children have shared residence? Or should one have the main care and the other have a right of access?
• What is meant by the child’s best interest?

Craftsman services:

The most common questions when it comes to craftsman services are:

• What do I do when the craftsman does not complete the assignment?
• Must I accept an invoice for a higher amount than we agreed?
• The work is not well enough done - what can I demand?

Buying and selling chattels:

Both when buying and selling chattels, problems can arise:

• The buyer is dissatisfied and wants to reverse the deal - must I accept that?
• What can I do when the car/sofa/PC I bought does not meet the standard?
• How is the cancellation of a purchase carried out?

Tenancy law:

One of the most common topics Anna and Hege get on the table concerns tenancy law. Either in advance of contract conclusion - or when it has gone wrong between landlord and tenant:

• What can the landlord determine in a lease and what is not allowed?
• Is the landlord free to increase the rent?
• Is the landlord’s termination legal?
• Questions regarding claims against the tenant after moving out?
• Questions about non-payment of deposit?

For members:

Call our legal assistance

Our attorneys give Tekna members answers when they need them, responding to their questions on the challenges they’re facing in either workplace or private law.

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