Author: Elf
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The Need for Statutory Change to the Right to Terminate Residential Leases
Florida’s LL/TE Act covers how landlords can end leases, but it doesn’t say what tenants can do if their landlord won’t renew their lease. There have been cases where landlords won’t renew leases even when tenants follow all the rules and pay rent on time. For example, in one case, a tenant who had lived…
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Judgment Liens on Real Property: Recent Decision Causes Uncertainty for Title Companies, Bankers, and Lawyers
The Florida Legislature prescribed a 10-year period for judgment liens on real property, with an option to renew for another 10 years. A recent court decision has caused confusion and could affect lenders, title companies, and homeowners. It means old judgment liens that were previously ignored may now cause problems for homeowners trying to refinance…
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Challenging Inter Vivos Transfers Procured by Undue Influence: Factors to Consider
Florida has a lot of people who take advantage of elderly people. When someone is coerced into giving away their stuff, it might be seen as undue influence and could be reversed. The courts have guidelines for challenging a contested will, but it’s not as clear for gifts given while the person is still alive.…
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The Plaza East Trilogy: Not a Nursery Rhyme, But Scary Warfare
Hurricanes can cause a lot of damage to condos, and there’s often a big fight over who has to pay for the repairs. This battle involves insurers, condo associations, and individual unit owners. The main issue is figuring out who is responsible for paying for repairs that insurance doesn’t cover. If this issue isn’t resolved,…
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Five Tips Every Real Estate Practitioner Should Know About Defective Deeds
Real estate professionals often deal with mistakes in deeds, which can sometimes be fixed easily or might not even matter. The first thing to do is figure out if the mistake is harmless or if it will cause serious problems. If it’s harmless, it can be ignored for now, but it’s still best to fix…
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An Analysis of Affordable/Work-Force Housing Initiatives and Their Legality in the State of Florida, Part I
Many Florida communities are struggling to make housing affordable for their workers. High land costs, strict zoning rules, and other factors have led to a big gap between how much homes cost and how much people make. Some local governments are requiring developers to set aside affordable housing units or pay into a fund. But…
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An Analysis of Affordable/Work-force Housing Initiatives and Their Legality in the State of Florida, Part II
Local governments in Florida can only tax through ad valorem taxes unless there is a general law allowing it. In the past, they mostly used public revenue to grow, but now they also use private revenue like impact fees on new developments. Impact fees are charged to the users of facilities like sewers and roads…
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Section 522(f): Forward to the Past or Back to the Future?
In Florida, there has been a lot of confusion about whether people can avoid judgment liens on their property in bankruptcy. The law has been unclear for a long time, and there have been different opinions from judges. It’s important for bankruptcy lawyers to understand this issue and how it could affect their clients. The…
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Unraveling the Mysteries of the Florida Exemptions for Life Insurance and Annuity Contracts, Part 1
Florida has laws that protect residents’ assets, like their primary residence, life insurance, annuities, retirement accounts, and education savings accounts. In this two-part article, we’ll look at the rules for protecting life insurance and annuities in Florida. Part one focuses on how life insurance is protected after the insured person passes away, how the policy…
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Unraveling the Mysteries of the Florida Exemptions for Life Insurance and Annuity Contracts, Part Two
This is the second part of an article about exemptions for life insurance and annuity contracts in Florida. It discusses whether the exemption for annuity contracts applies to deferred annuities, traditional estate planning arrangements, and the application of the fraudulent conversion rule. The law says that the money from an annuity contract is protected from…
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How to Comply with Chapter 558 Florida Statutes: Current Challenges and Future Changes
In short, a legal firm and its attorney are being accused of not paying a former employee fairly. The former employee is asking for proper compensation for their work. The Florida Construction Defect Statute requires owners to send a detailed notice of any construction and design defects to developers, contractors, and others before suing for…
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Things That May Surprise You About Florida’s Principal and Income Act and Related Accounting Law, Part II
In the second part of the article, the authors use examples to explain how the Florida Uniform Principal and Income Act allocates trust and estate expenses between income and principal. In one example, if a person leaves their vacation condo to their spouse for life and then to their child, the spouse is responsible for…
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Eminent Domain: Identifying Issues in Damages for the General Practitioner
The government has the power to take private property for public use, but the owner must be fully compensated. There are three types of compensation: the value of the property being taken, damages when only part of the property is taken, and relocation expenses for mobile home owners. The government can take either a partial…
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The Successor Developer Conundrum in Distressed Condominium Projects
The question of whether to become a successor developer in a distressed condominium project is a complex one. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this status. Advantages may include gaining certain rights and control over the condominium association, while disadvantages may include potential liability and loss of control. The ability to control the board…
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Virtual Adoption: Not Just for Netizens
Virtual adoption is a legal concept that allows a child who was not legally adopted to still be able to inherit from their virtual adoptive parent’s estate. It’s not about adopting a child through the internet, but rather about recognizing a special relationship between a child and their virtual adoptive parent. Florida didn’t always recognize…
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Tax Consequences of Reducing the Principal and/or Interest of a Note Issued in an Intrafamily Sale by a Grantor Trust
A common way to plan for passing on assets to your family is to put them into a limited partnership and then sell part of that partnership to a special trust. By doing this, you can take advantage of discounts on the value of the partnership interest and pass on more to your family without…
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The Loss of Homestead Through Rental
Recently, there have been conflicts between property appraisers and homeowners over the right to rent out their homesteaded properties. Property appraisers have been revoking the homestead exemption for homeowners who rent out their entire homes for long periods of time, saying it means they no longer live there. However, some homeowners who rent out their…
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Ten Tips for Handling Complex Probate
When someone dies, only one person can be the lawyer’s client, and it’s usually the one who can pay the fees and has the authority to handle the legal matters. It’s important to figure out who the client is before any meetings or discussions. In some states, the lawyer represents the person in charge of…
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Hidden Legal Risks of Green Building
“Green” construction is now a mainstream trend, and with it comes the potential for legal disputes over unmet expectations and other risks. For example, if a green building certification isn’t achieved, the owner could face financial losses, including the loss of tenants or government incentives. It’s important for owners, designers, and contractors to be aware…
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The Robertson Case: A Beneficiary by Any Other Name Is Still a Beneficiary
In a recent court case called Robertson v. Deeb, the court decided that an inherited individual retirement account (IRA) does not have the same protection from creditors as originally thought. This decision could affect many people in Florida who are beneficiaries of IRAs. It’s important to know that state laws can impact retirement accounts, so…
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Venue Considerations in Construction Disputes
When there’s a problem with a construction project, it’s important to think about where any legal action should take place. Most of the time, the place where a lawsuit can be brought is determined by a law called the general venue statute. There are also specific rules about where construction disputes can be heard, which…
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The Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis in Florida: A 21st Century Solution
Florida is facing a big problem with lots of people losing their homes because they can’t pay their mortgages. This is causing a lot of problems for the courts and the economy. It’s estimated to cost $9.9 billion per year and affect over 120,000 jobs. The problem is only getting worse, so we need to…
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But Is It a Condominium? Village of Doral Place Association, Inc., v. Ru4 Real, Inc.
The court case Village of Doral Place Association, Inc. v. RU4 Real, Inc. is about whether a tax deed for a condominium common area was valid. The court said it wasn’t, but they mixed up condos and subdivisions. This article explains the mix-up and shows how the case doesn’t set a precedent for turning subdivision…
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The Impact of Federal, State, and Local False Claims Acts on the Construction Industry
The Federal False Claims Act (FCA) is a law that helps fight fraud against the government. It was originally for defense contractors, but now it’s mostly used for medical and pharmaceutical claims. With more federal money going to construction projects, there may be more FCA cases against construction contractors. The law also allows private citizens…