Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 1 - 15 of 15
Can you imagine paying over 18% in interest on your home loan? It is true! If you financed a house in 1981, that would be the going rate. That rate seems outrageous today, as a 15-year mortgage is 2.7% APR and 30-year is at 3.4% APR. Is now a good time for you to refinance, due to these low rates? The answer is YES for multiple reasons. There are historical reasons, Florida-real-estate specific reasons and math to back up the decision! Let's start by looking at a brief history...
What can your company do to prepare for the 2021 IRS Mileage Rate? Does your company reimburse its employees at the current IRS Mileage Rate? The IRS has just released the standard mileage rates for 2021. Yes, one would think that they would think at least a mere month, but no! The rates are typically updated only during December for the following year! The mileage rate has changed for 2021 to 56 cents per mile from 57.5 cents per mile in 2020. Yes, I agree, the one-half of...
I remember my excitement a few months ago, when I received the call. A mere 16 hours from that call, I was getting to do my First (unlikely my last) paramotoring flight, the purest form of flight for a human! I was SO Excited! I had been trying to do this for two years! Several people made that day possible. It started with Evan Purdy, for planting the seed in my mind two years ago. Next was Terri Awesome Miller for facilitating and inspiring. And, best of all, Bob and Eric...
In Law School, one of the first things we learn is why our U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights (the first ten Constitutional Amendments ratified in 1791) is critical to the United States. The First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution guarantees Freedom of the Press. This right was so important that it is in the First Amendment! Freedom of the Press is critical to our U.S. way of life; it plays a vital role in informing citizens about public affairs, monitoring the actions...
Yes, it's true! It was at "Dark Sky Party," an annual event at our very own Bok Tower Gardens! In addition, it was an amazing day including attending mind-expanding lectures on Black Holes, the future of Space Exploration, & Life on The Space Station! Oh, and the telescopes! So much to see! I met Story Musgrave, M.D. He is 83. He is an American physician and a retired NASA astronaut. He is a public speaker and consultant to both Disney's Imagineering group and Applied Minds...
Many people still have the wrong impression that living trusts are only for high-wealth people. While it is true that persons with large estates have added tax benefits, the general premise that living trusts should only be used by persons with big estates is wrong. The revocable living trust is a useful and popular estate planning vehicle for persons with more or less than the federal estate tax floor amount representing the amount of assets required before federal estate...
My lawyer friends who specialize in trademarks or criminal law, have had a relatively smooth switch to practicing remotely while social distancing. Some of these lawyers always work remotely, and have given up on bricks-and-mortar. Clients, other lawyers and professionals moved from face-to-face to the telephone and Zoom. Courts are convening via teleconference, including for adoptions and first-appearance criminal hearings. Switching to a fully remote practice is not easy or...
Buying a house is an exciting time! There's the thrill of it, and also the "to do" list that seems longer than the lot line. Even on a normal day, buying a house is a big deal. But during a global pandemic, no day is normal. A key concern you may have is you be able to record the proof of your new home ownership - - being able to get the deed recorded. I have been doing real estate law in Florida for nearly 30 years. There have been times when things were slow, due to economic...
Life is full of unexpected happenings. Like all good and bad things, death is also a part of life. Florida residents should acknowledge this reality and plan in advance. It ensures that a person's estate will be distributed among the relatives and friends, according to the decedent's will. Make 2020 the Year you "see clearly with 2020 vision" to making your will and estate plan crystal clear. There are times when prolonged legal issues surrounding estate administration occur,...
Many people think wills and estate planning are only for seniors! Not true! Every student who just graduated from Lake Wales High in 2019 needs to think about estate planning. In my 30 years' experience as an attorney, when it comes to estate planning, there are many excuses people use in order to convince themselves that an estate plan is not quite necessary at whatever point in their lives currently. These excuses usually are avoidance tactics -- avoidance tactics that are...
Last year, Florida Law was amended to provide that documentary taxes do not apply to a deed that conveys homestead property between spouses, if the only consideration for the conveyance is the amount of a mortgage and if the deed was recorded within one (1) year after the date of the marriage. The Law applied to conveyances from one spouse to the other, from one spouse to both spouses, or from both spouses to one spouse. The 2019 legislative change further amended the statute...
As a business and estate planning lawyer, I have represented Lake Wales and Polk County residents and businesses for nearly 30 years. I find that local residents have a misperception that identity theft only hits individuals. Thieves are targeting businesses like yours for quick and easy profit, with devastating consequences. With consistent survey estimates of 8 to 12 million identity theft victims annually, there is no question that criminals have found consumer identity...
Lake Wales residents should have an estate plan, but estate plans can be difficult for the uninitiated to draw up. There are so many mistakes that people often make in the realm of estate planning. Sometimes these are due to lack of information, other times they are due to the abundance of bad information available on a Google search, social media or by word of mouth. This article will review a few of the mistakes that I have seen in my three decades of practicing law that...
Come out to the Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Saturday, Feb. 23 from 7-10 a.m. for the Lake Wales Kiwanis Club's all-you-can eat breakfast of pancakes and sausage. The church is located at 644 S. 9th Street in Lake Wales. As part of the pancake festival activities, other events will run simultaneously with the breakfast, including a 20-family garage sale, silent auction and plant sale. A live auction will be held at 10 a.m. for golf opportunities, weekend trips, an airboat...
What do you think of when you hear the words "El Salvador"? Crime, gangs, earthquakes, a long war, refugees? But, El Salvador has a surprise, and it is none of the above. It is gourmet food! I am a "country counter" avidly trying to reach my personal goal of visiting 150 countries. I am at 107 currently. But to be truthful, El Salvador was not on the top of my list of countries I wanted to visit. It was not that I did not want to go there, it was just that I had not thought...
