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James Clifton is the founding member of The Clifton Law Firm, LLC and oversees the firm's multi-state practice. During the course of his career, James has focused primarily on real property, bankruptcy, wills, trusts, and estates. Additionally, he possesses vast experience in suits to quiet title, real property and commercial lending transactions, comprehensive contract formation, title insurance claims, will drafting, estate planning, and probate litigation.
On the weekends, James enjoys donating his time to the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation's Saturday Lawyer Program where he represents indigent clients on a pro bono basis. In addition, he represented Fayette County in the Georgia Attorney General’s state wide food drive, The Legal Food Frenzy. In the past, he has served as an elected member of the Executive Council of the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division and is a graduate of the prestigious Young Lawyer Leadership Academy. James is also a past president of the Fayette County Bar Association.
James is a member of the American Bar Association and its Real Property, Trust, and Estate Section. He is also an active member in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia and its Real Property Law Section, Bankruptcy Section, and Creditor's Rights Section; the Florida Bar and its Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section; the State Bar of California and its Real Property Law Section; the State Bar of Texas and its Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section; and the District of Columbia Bar and its Real Property Law Section.
In addition to the state licensures, James is licensed to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, and the United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit. On May 14, 2012, James was sworn into the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
- Bankruptcy
- Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Debt Relief
- Probate
- Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests
- Foreclosure Defense
- Real Estate Law
- Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Eminent Domain, Homeowners Association, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate, Water Law
- Landlord Tenant
- Evictions, Housing Discrimination, Landlord Rights, Rent Control, Tenants' Rights
- Estate Planning
- Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- FaceTime
- Google Meet
- Skype
- Zoom
- GoToMeeting
- Microsoft Teams
- RingCentral
- WebEx
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Free Consultation
All consultations are free. - Credit Cards Accepted
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Contingent Fees
For any accident or personal injury cases, we only get paid if you get paid. -
Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
We accept all major credit cards.
- California
- State Bar of California
- ID Number: 270535
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- District of Columbia
- District of Columbia Bar
- ID Number: 1004023
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- Florida
- The Florida Bar
- ID Number: 0064755
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- Georgia
- State Bar of Georgia
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- Texas
- State Bar of Texas
- ID Number: 24074043
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- 11th Circuit
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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- United States District Courts for the Northern & Middle Districts of Georgia
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- English: Spoken, Written
- Spanish: Spoken, Written
- Managing Attorney
- The Clifton Law Firm, LLC
- - Current
- Candidate for Georgia House of Representatives
- Georgia House of Representatives
- Candidate for Georgia State Senate
- Georgia State Senate
- Partner
- Consumer Attorney Services
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- Managing Attorney - Georgia Operations
- Albertelli Law
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- Law Clerk 2008
- Florida Coastal School of Law
- J.D. (2008) | Law
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- Honors: Graduated 17th in the class with cum laude honors; Governors Merit Scholarship Recipient
- Activities: Real Property, Trust, and Estates Law Society, Sports Law Society
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- University System of Georgia - University of Georgia
- B.S. (2003) | Psychology
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- Honors: Psi Chi National Psychology Honor Society
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- University System of Georgia - University of Georgia
- B.A. (2003) | Political Science
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- Honors: Hope Scholarship Recipient
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- Good Rating
- Avvo
- Peer Reviewed (5/5)
- Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Services
- Executive Council of the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division
- Elected Member
- Current
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- District of Columbia Bar # 1004023
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Real Property Law Section
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- Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation
- Volunteer Attorney
- - Current
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- State Bar of Texas # 24074043
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section
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- State Bar of California # 270535
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Real Property Law Section
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- The Florida Bar # 0064755
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section
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- American Bar Association # 01323032
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Real Property, Trust, and Estate Section
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- State Bar of Georgia
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Real Property Law Section, Bankruptcy Section, and Creditor's Rights Section
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- Notary Public
- Fayette County Clerk of Court
- Q. How does life estate work with 50% undivided interest, both life estate tenants in common are deceased.
- A: The two heirs of the single woman inherit her 50% of the property. The three heirs of the single man inherit his 50% of the property. Probate will be required for the man and woman for their heirs to take their portions of the property. The previous attorney was probably referring to the tax basis in the property and not the value that the heirs are entitled to. The tax basis of the property as it relates to capital gains tax is set at the death of the owner. If the two heirs of the woman who died in 1996 sold the property now, they would owe taxes on the difference between the value in 1996 when the woman died and the amount of the current sale. Schedule a free consultation to ensure the property ... Read More
- Q. If 3 people's names are on a deed and 1 of the persons lives there exclusively. Can the other two charge him rent?
- A: One co-owner cannot exclude the other co-owners. If they do, the other co-owners are entitled to a reasonable amount of rent from the co-owner who is excluding them. If they are unwilling to pay rent, your will have to file a lawsuit. You can force the sale of the property through a partition lawsuit. During the lawsuit, you can ask for an equitable accounting. During that process, the court will charge the co-owner who is living there exclusively a reasonable amount of rent. The court will also look at who paid taxes, insurance, maintenance, and other necessary expenses to credit that co-owner for paying them. Schedule a free consultation to protect your interest in the property.
- Q. When I sell my dad home he's deceased. Can child support in NY take areas owed by my brother and it affect my 50%.
- A: Child support services cannot take your portion of the inheritance. If it is not too late, your brother can renounce his portion of the inheritance leaving you as the only owner of the property. In that case, child support services would have nothing to go after. A renunciation needs to be filed within 9 months of your father's death. Schedule a free consultation to make sure your inheritance is protected.
