Posted in Condominium & Homeowner Association Law

It has been roughly a decade since the Great Recession began and fortunately the U.S. economy has rebounded significantly since the late 2000s.  During the recession, community associations experienced a record number of delinquencies and mortgage foreclosures.

Posted in Estate & Personal Planning

Let’s start off with what happens if you do not have a Will. If you die without a will (this is called dying “intestate”), your property will be distributed to your heirs according to a formula fixed by law.

Posted in Condominium & Homeowner Association Law

One of the most effective self-help enforcement measures that exists for both Condominium and Homeowner Associations is the power to tow improperly parked vehicles from association-owned or common element property.

Posted in Estate & Personal Planning,IRS & Tax Information

It is recommended to periodically review your estate plan to determine if there are new planning opportunities of which you can take advantage.  Below are three tips as you move through 2019:

Posted in IRS & Tax Information

Calendaring important IRS and tax authority deadlines can save you a lot of headaches at tax time.  To avoid paying penalties and other tax consequences, keep a calendar and plan for tax deadlines with your accountant, attorney, and other members of your professional team.  The below items are a few examples of important tax deadlines:

Posted in Real Estate Law

Florida imposes sales tax on rental payments for the lease of commercial real estate. The 6% state-level tax was reduced to 5.8% for 2018. The Florida legislature passed another law to further reduce the state-level rate to 5.7% for occupancy periods beginning on or after January 1, 2019.
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Posted in Estate & Personal Planning

With the new year around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about what you have been avoiding and go ahead and tackle it. Estate planning is typically one of those things we avoid because it is uncomfortable. Experience practicing in estate planning tells me that there are very few things in life that are certain, but we all know that one day our passing is one of those things.  So, what better time to begin your estate planning, than at a point where the possibility seems distant.

Here are just 5 reasons to stop putting it off:

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Posted in Condominium & Homeowner Association Law

Condominiums and Homeowners Associations often participate in mediation either as part of a lawsuit or as an attempt to settle a dispute prior to litigation. Most Board Members have never participated in a mediation and usually have questions about mediation and the mediation process. Here are some basics about what a Community Association should expect when facing an upcoming mediation.

What is Mediation?

The first thing to understand about mediation is just what it is and what it isn’t. Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process where a neutral third-party (the Mediator) works with the Association and the other party to try to resolve the parties’ differences in a way that both sides can agree to. It is essentially a conversation, where each party shares their side of the dispute, and the Mediator tries to help them reach an agreement. A mediation is not a trial or hearing, and the Mediator is not a judge or jury. Instead, the Mediator facilitates the discussion about the sources of the dispute and the possible resolution. The benefit of mediation is that the parties are in control of the possible resolution so that it is not decided by a judge, jury, or arbitrator. In order to encourage the parties to be open and work together towards a settlement, the mediation is confidential, and nothing said or presented at mediation can be used against a party later or shared with anyone else.

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