Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  Our main areas of practice include estate planning, wills, trusts, probate, business and corporate law, real estate, and general civil litigation.
• Business Formation
  John W, Hill, Jr. received his undergraduate degree in 1979 at Otterbein College, B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. His law degree is from Capital University in 1982. Mr. Hill was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1982 and the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio in 1984. Mr. Hill’s practice includes estate planning, probate, real estate, business formation and civil litigation. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section. Mr. Hill is also a member of the Delta Theta Phi Legal Fraternity and an alumnus of Eta Phi Mu Fraternity. Mr. Hill is a licensed aircraft pilot and a member of the Ohio Gun Collector’s Association. From 1978 to 1982, Mr. Hill was an accountant for Ohio Steel Industries, Inc. and since 1979, has been a member of its Board of Directors and Corporate Secretary.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Stephen S. DeWeese received a B.A. in History with honors from The Ohio State University, and his law degree, cum laude, from Capital University Law School in 1990, where he was a Law Review Notes Editor and a member of the Order the Curia. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1990 and the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio in 1992. Mr. DeWeese is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate law. Other areas of practice include general business, business formation and real estate law. Prior to joining Hill & DeWeese, LLC in 1991, Mr. DeWeese was a Judicial Law Clerk for Judges Miller and Hadley at the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals.  Mr. DeWeese became a partner of the firm in 1995. He is the current President of the Worthington A.M. Rotary Club and a member of the American, Ohio and Columbus Bar Associations, the Christian Legal Society, and the Worthington Estate Planning Council, where he sits on the board.
• Real Estate Transactions
  Real Estate Transactions often involve several steps and numerous legal documents. On top of that, the purchase of a home is often one of the most significant financial undertakings a person partakes in during their life. For these reasons, it is important for you to have an attorney involved in the process, drafting contracts (or at least reviewing them) and giving you advice about your legal rights and responsibilities.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Estate planning is important for many reasons. Saving money, providing for loved ones, avoiding probate, and gaining peace of mind are some of the many reasons to create an estate plan. Creating an estate plan can also help you to evaluate your financial situation and set financial goals that can help you live more comfortably later in life. In addition, the right estate plan should make administering and transferring your property upon your death easier on those closest to you.
• Wills
• Power of Attorney
  Estate planning involves not only preparing to transfer your assets to those you love or wish to benefit when you die, but making decisions about who will care for you and your property should you become incapacitated. It involves making decisions regarding the use of life sustaining treatment if you are in a permanently unconscious state. Sometimes, with larger estates, estate planning may involve making gifts during your lifetime to achieve estate tax benefits when you die. Estate planning is a process and your plan will require updating periodically when individual circumstances or the law have changed. Various estate planning tools and documents, such as Trusts, Wills and Powers of Attorney documents, are used to allow the process of transferring property to occur more smoothly upon ones death and make it easier for person’s close to you to care for you and your property upon your inability to do so yourself. The planning does not end when you leave your attorney’s office. Often, trusts need to be funded and accounts need to be renamed to achieve the results of effective estate planning.
• Probate
  Stephen S. DeWeese joined the firm in the Autumn of 1991 as an Associate, after being a Judicial Law Clerk at the Third District Court of Appeals of Ohio for 2 years. Mr. DeWeese became a partner at Hill Hill & Allison in 1995. Mr. DeWeese has been certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Specialist in the area of Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law for his expertise in this field of practice.

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy