AND IF YOU ARE NOT AN INNOCENT OWNER  IT CAN COST YOU MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

 The Innocent Owner defense arises out of A statutory definition of “contractual relationship”. Congress defined “contractual relationship” to include real estate transactions, and then provided that an owner of contaminated property can establish a defense to CERCLA liability if (i) the property was acquired after the hazardous substance was disposed there and (ii) at the time of acquisition, the owner “did not know and had no reason to know” that the hazardous substance was disposed on the property. Further, an owner can establish that he or she had “no reason to know” only if he or she conducted appropriate due diligence prior to the acquisition.

Buying or purchasing a new home is the largest financial transaction many of us are ever involved in.  Though how stressful must it be buying a new home and selling an existing home at the same time.  Very!  However, there are a variety of steps one can take to minimize stress and insure an orderly transaction.

• Prior to entering into any brokerage agreement or contract consult with your prospective lender and outline your plan of action.  This will give you a good indication of whether your expectations make sense and whether you will qualify for the loans necessary for the intended transaction.

• If at all possible contract for the sale of your home prior to entering into any contract for the purchase of the new home.

• In any event, have an emergency plan in place if you end up needing temporary living quarters.

• Make sure any contract you’ve done contains a “post possession agreement”.

• When selecting an attorney to represent you, confirm that the attorney is familiar with these types of transactions and that an attorney will be available throughout the transactions to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

• Be wary of attorneys who offer low-ball fees and when one calls the office, they receive a tape-recorded message.

If you have any questions concerning either residential or commercial real estate, do not hesitate to contact a real estate partner at Solomon Richman P.C.

• 35 percent  maximum gift tax rate on assets in excess of unified gift and estate tax exemptions;

• Portability of a deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exclusion amount;

• The exemption for generation-skipping transfers is $5 million with a tax rate of 35 percent; and

• Due to sunset provisions, this new law expires at the end of 2012.  Therefore, without further legislation  gift, estate and generation-skipping tax exemptions will return to $1 million in 2013, with a maximum, gift estate and generation-skipping tax rate of 55 percent.

A family business can bring parents and children together with a common goal and interest. When it comes time to determine family business succession, the process can tear those same family members apart. Planning ahead for business succession arrangements can help make the process smoother. To more easily make a transition, early planning of an exit strategy is crucial.

Family members want to be involved in all aspects of the business. Presenting a completed succession plan to the parties involved can cause damage to the family dynamic. Involve successors and the current owners in the plan for a future changeover so that lifestyles and goals are taken into account. Family business succession can be an emotional decision-making time. Allowing the future of the business to be the ultimate goal of planning can help emotional issues take a back seat. Not everyone in the family may want to be involved but there may be a push for equality dealing with the monetary portion of the business. Thinking with a clear head while making rational business decisions can ensure a sense of fairness with continued success of the business. If emotional issues get too involved or if money matters are too complicated, planning may have to be completed by an impartial, outside party like an attorney or an accountant.

Once family business successors are chosen, it is important to make sure they are trained to run the business with successful goals in mind. Conducting this training in advance of the succession with hands-on experience in the business gives the entire enterprise a greater chance of surviving a changeover. By completing a few simple steps to prepare the family and successor for a business exit strategy, the business will be able to remain in family control with the goals of the original owners at the forefront of the operation.

Estate litigation can involve additional documents outside of a will including litigation against life insurance companies refusing to pay out the decedent’s policy to family members. Legal consultation with an estate attorney can help to alleviate and resolve this type of estate settlement issue as well. An estate attorney contacted by concerned parties will help prepare documents and have legal communications with the involved parties.

While the contesting of a will or related document may increase emotional tension in a time of grief, a probate litigator can help to examine the evidence, all documents, legal ramifications and circumstances. By binding family members to a legal decision, the contesting of the estate’s will becomes a legal manner that removes it from emotional decision-making. The probate period is enforced as the time period during which any related or other parties can file a claim to the deceased estate often through contesting the will’s contents. If that specified time period passes without a legal motion contesting the will, the estate will be considered settled with distribution of the estate to follow. By utilizing trust attorneys to navigate the legal channels of estate and will actions; involved parties can move forward after a death knowing that the documents have been carried out the best of the original intentions.

In business agreements a written contract is essential so that all parties clearly understand what the project entails.

As you create a professional business contract, you may wonder what items are imperative for your business’s success.

The top five contract items that should be included in the document include all aspects of the project’s completion from start to finish. These items may seem like obvious inclusions to a business contract; they are items that will protect your business interests in the future as you fulfill the contract. While your business is eager to start the project, a written business contract is key in ensuring success and continuity for the project.

The first set of items that you should include in your business contract is the basic information about the timeline for deliverables and the specific products or services that the contract includes. In that initial section, you should also include the contract parties and the date of the contract. These contract items help to clarify start and end dates for the project on paper so there is no question about these crucial dates and times.

Payment terms and details are the next imperative elements in a business contract that works to service all parties fairly. By including this information, you ensure that your company gets paid on time and for the correct compensation amount. A third top item for any business contract is the inclusion of information about who in your company takes responsibility for any problems, issues and status reports.

A fourth important item in a business contract is to outline all necessary disclaimers to protect your company from errors or omissions.

Finally, a business contract needs to explain cancellation and notice terms in the occasion that the project doesn’t reach completion. By including these simple five items in your next business contract, you can ensure a fair contract that also outlines for any issues between the contract parties.

If you have any thoughts or questions we’d be happy to discuss them with you. Just call us at the phone number on our “contact Us” page.

Always use a real estate lawyer when purchasing property.

The process of finding a real estate attorney can seem daunting at first. The first step to take in finding the right real estate lawyer for you is to determine what type of real estate they should specialize in. Different categories of real estate law can include residential, commercial, industrial, farm and landlord to tenant specializations. A real estate attorney that works with home sellers and buyers may have different experience than an attorney specializing in rental agreements.

Because the real estate legal process can be a lengthy one, potential attorneys should be carefully screened for expertise in the specific branch of real estate law. Examining the attorney company website can help potential clients determine if past clients are similar and for any testimonials of successes. To further solidify the reputation of the attorney firm, clients can also look for articles that outline successes and business practices of the chosen real estate attorney. Word-of-mouth and personal recommendations can also go a long way in researching a real estate attorney.

If a potential client of a real estate attorney has special circumstances or requirements of the attorney, they can check in advance to see if the firm meets their needs. Conflicts of interest or language barriers can be crucial items that might eliminate a real estate attorney from the list of potential partners. Finally, clients looking for a real estate attorney should consider their basic needs. Real estate attorneys handle two branches of real estate legal issues; litigation and contracts. Filing a suit with success would necessitate a real estate attorney specializing in litigation while a simple purchase or sale would lead towards a contract real estate attorney. Choosing a lawyer that meets a potential clients needs can be simplified with a little research before the initial contact point between the two parties.

A third mistake that costs new business owners unnecessary capital are marketing missteps. An immediate creation of marketing materials like brochures and business cards can be an unnecessary expense that will be repeated as the business changes.  New business owners should wait a few months to produce any print materials until after they have more fully defined their business and developed a logo and branding message. While it may be appealing to hire a company to create a business website and domain name, there are many options for free websites to easily get a basic business website online. Creating their own website content and brand messaging initially can help companies an online presence without large marketing expenditures.

A  fourth mistake new business owners experience is not defining their product or services clearly to their target audience.  Marketing efforts should be in line with the business’s offerings and clearly defined solution answers. The fifth mistake that new business owners commit is the expectation that techniques that have made Business X a success will work for them. Giving up on the business when traditional marketing methods don’t work or the business doesn’t immediately succeed is a final new business mistake to avoid.

New business owners who work to avoid these common mistakes can work towards greater success.