Before you start knocking down walls and get knee deep in home improvements, make sure you have all of the required building permits. Obtaining a building permit involves completing an application with plans for the improvements, and paying a fee. Even seemingly small home improvement projects may require a building…
So your landlord just got slapped with a housing violation – what does that mean for you as a tenant? Can you stop paying your rent altogether? If you live in New York, not so fast. Although your duty as a tenant to pay rent is dependent on the landlord’s…
A Florida Court recently affirmed a significant award of punitive damages against a law firm in a legal malpractice case, raising the question: could this happen in New York? See Young v. Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., No. 4D09-4869 (Fla. 4th DCA May 23, 2012). In the Young case, the plaintiff…
(Update-COVID Response-June 23, 2020-Nyack)- A few years ago, farm to table eating became a “thing,” now it is even more important because of the COVID response of homeowners to staying in place. Everywhere you look in suburbia gardens are going in, chickens are being tended, honey bees added to back…
Surrogate Courts in New York may require a probate bond – also called an “executor bond,” an “administrator bond,” or a “trustee bond” – when an individual is appointed to handle the distribution of a deceased person’s estate. The bond acts as a guarantee that the estate’s debts will be…
The New York Times recently ran an article highlighting the myriad of legal obstacles gay couples face in raising a family together. For example, although many states allow a second mother to be listed on a child’s birth certificate, when a same sex married couple travels to a state that…
So maybe your will was drafted a while ago or you are just starting to put together your important papers in anticipation of getting a new will. You’ve considered all the basics: who gets the house, the cash and stocks, and who will take care of your children, but have…
In February 2011, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (including New York) handed down a decision that should have every attorney dotting their “I’s” and crossing their “T’s.” In Fischer & Mandell LLP v. Citibank, 632 F.3d 793 (2d Cir. 2001), the court affirmed summary judgment against a…
In your search for a home in New York State (Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam, Ulster, Westchester County), you may have come across listings that say that the annual taxes include STAR – what does that mean for you as a potential homebuyer? The STAR exemption, which is the New York State…
Forced place insurance is an insurance policy taken out by a lender or creditor when a borrower does not carry insurance on an asset. For example, if homeowners with a mortgage do not carry property insurance, the bank servicing the mortgage will buy a policy on the homeowner’s behalf and…