Special needs planning in North Carolina is an important estate planning consideration for any family with disabled or elderly members. The most prominent tool used in special needs planning is the Special Needs Trust (“SNT”). An SNT is designed to preserve assets for a beneficiary without jeopardizing their eligibility for means-tested government programs such as Medicaid and Social Security Disability. The trustee of an SNT has the discretion to distribute income and principal for needs not covered by government programs but is prohibited from making distributions that supplant the services covered by those programs. This allows the SNT to supplement … Continue reading
Do You Love Your Pet to Death? Let’s Talk Pet Trusts and Other Honorary Trusts in NC
In North Carolina, under N.C.G.S. § 36C-4-408, pet trusts are a legally recognized means to ensure the care of one or more designated domestic animals or pets that are alive at the time the trust is created. Such trusts are valid and the assets in the trust must be used exclusively for the benefit of the designated animals. The statute explicitly prohibits the conversion of any portion of the principal or income of the trust for the use of the trustee or any other purpose that does not benefit the designated animals. Your first question may be: how are such … Continue reading
What is a Ladybird Deed?
The term “Ladybird deed,” also known as an enhanced life estate deed, was popularized in Florida in the 1980s. The name comes from Florida elder law attorney Jerome Ira Solkoff, who used the name of former First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson in his educational materials to illustrate the mechanics of the deed. The name has since been attached to the concept, despite the fact that President Johnson likely never used a Ladybird deed to transfer property to his wife. A Ladybird deed is an estate planning tool that allows a property owner to transfer ownership of the property to another … Continue reading
What is a Medicaid, aka 1% Deed?
Throughout my practice, what is colloquially known as a Medicaid or 1% deed has proven to be a viable and popular tool among practitioners and clients alike. In this blog, I will discuss the mechanics behind this technique and the aspects that are often misunderstood. While preparing a general warranty deed can sometimes be a straightforward legal service, the nuances and considerations involved in a Medicaid deed are complex and frequently overlooked. Unfortunately, I have observed many general practitioners offering Medicaid deeds as a service due to the seemingly simplistic nature of the task. Additionally, there is often conflation among … Continue reading
“The Language of Meetings” Grammar Girl Podcast
“The Grammar Girl” (Mignon Fogarty) has an award-winning podcast that is also one of the longest running — almost 20 years! She is an author of numerous books as well as a New York Times bestselling author on writing tips. Her Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing is a five-time winner of “Best Education Podcast.” In this episode, she has me on to discuss the meaning of and interesting history of some words associated with meetings, including To find “The Language of Meetings” episode, visit The Grammar Girl Podcast or search “Grammar Girl” wherever you get your … Continue reading
Liability for Fallen (or Threatening to Fall) Trees
This year, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and other storms which have affected our region, we are frequently asked who is responsible for cleanup or damage from fallen trees. This blog won’t address Hurricane Helene issues directly, as this would require an in-depth discussion of insurance and complicated issues involving FEMA, State, and local government. Information on that can be found in Jim Slaughter’s recent blog, Legal Tips for HOAs and Condos Following a Natural Disaster. Instead, this blog seeks to address the more common scenarios that come when trees fall from one property to another and cause property … Continue reading
North Carolina Hurricane Helene Resources Sheet
Earlier this month we shared information on Legal Tips for HOAs and Condos Following a Natural Disaster, which included links to past association articles as well as online resources. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) has prepared a three-page handout on state, local, and federal resources that might assist those impacted by Hurricane Helene. The document includes guidance on: The North Carolina Hurricane Helene Resources sheet can be found below. CAI will be posting and updating the document as more information becomes available, but said we could share in hopes it is of help.
Legal Tips for HOAs and Condos Following a Natural Disaster
Whenever a natural disaster strikes–whether hurricane, flood, tornado–our office is inundated with calls from HOAs and condo associations on how to move forward. That’s a difficult question to answer globally, as no one size fits all. Community associations vary. Condominiums, townhomes, and single family homes are owned differently and have different responsibilities. Governing documents, such as declarations or bylaws, also have different wording on who is responsible for maintenance of certain items. As a result, while this article can’t provide legal advice for a specific association, here are tips to consider. (1) Prevent further damage. Almost without exception, associations are … Continue reading
Collections, Force Majeure and Other Contractual Considerations Post-Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene’s impacts and devastation are still being assessed, but we are already hearing from community associations in the Western part of North Carolina about catastrophic damage to dwellings and infrastructure. Now the focus is simply on restoring access to working phones, power and water, and making sure that association members are safe with access to emergency services. Soon, however, we will begin the arduous task of damage assessment and rebuilding. All of this will take enormous amounts of money. We are already receiving questions about whether associations should impose some type of moratorium on collection of assessments from owners … Continue reading
Are You Considering Law School? A Lawyer’s Perspective after 25 Years of Practice
As someone who has been a lawyer for 25 years I can tell you that law school can be one of the best decisions you make because of the wide variety of opportunities it can create for you. If you have looked into law school and are on the fence, I would suggest you go for it. The skills you’ll acquire like critical thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to communicate effectively will serve you well in any career. A law degree opens doors to more than just traditional legal practice. Many lawyers transition into business roles and become executives, entrepreneurs, … Continue reading
Are You Handling Your Consent Calendar Right?
The Consent Calendar A recent trend, particularly among governmental bodies and REALTOR® organizations, is to include a category of business on the agenda known as the Consent Calendar or Consent Agenda (or sometimes called a Unanimous Consent Agenda). The purpose of this category, which is often near the beginning of the meeting, is to handle all noncontroversial items at one time. For instance, a Consent Calendar heading might be placed in the order of business near the beginning of the meeting and include on it the approval of the minutes. Other routine, administrative matters that are approved at each meeting … Continue reading
Update on The Corporate Transparency Act: Tips for Managers and Board Members
As of today (September 3, 2024), the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) (see What Is the Corporate Transparency Act and Why It Matters to Your Association and Board Members) remains unchanged and still requires registration of certain information by almost all boards of directors of HOAs and condos with FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). Below are links to updated videos on CTA requirements for managers and board members. CTA Video for Community Managers CTA Video for Sharing with Board Members For reference, the FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information page can be found at https://fincen.gov/boi. Feel free to share. If you have questions about the CTA … Continue reading
David Wilson Named CCAL Fellow
Congratulations to Law Firm Carolinas’ partner David Wilson, who has been named a Fellow in CAI’s College of Community Association Lawyers! The College, which was created in 1994, recognizes excellence in the practice of community association law. Of the thousands of attorneys who work with homeowner and condominium associations in the US, there are fewer than 200 current CCAL Fellows. As a past national CCAL President, I can say without reservation that David reflects the high standards of professionalism, professional involvement, and passion for community association law the CCAL designation was created to spotlight. David’s practice has been 100% HOA/condo law in both North … Continue reading
Why Are Our HOA/Condo Bylaws So Bad?
The HOA/condo attorneys at Law Firm Carolinas are regularly asked to create or to amend association bylaws. On any given day, different attorneys are working on edits or even complete rewrites of association bylaws. Before getting into why that is so often necessary, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. Here are the governing documents most all associations have (or need to have): With that background as to the different documents, let’s focus again on why bylaws so often don’t seem well crafted for a community association. The primary reason we are so often asked to assist with … Continue reading
When Is an HOA or Condo Rental Restriction Unreasonable (Part II)
As attorneys, we are regularly asked by homeowner and condominium associations to assist with restrictions on rentals, whether complete or percentage bans, restrictions on short-term rentals, or limiting corporate rentals. (See past articles, including HOA/Condo Rental Restrictions, Corporate Owners & Institutional Investors and Short-Term Rentals in North Carolina and South Carolina HOAs and Condominiums). In February of this year, the NC Court of Appeals struck down a condominium rental amendment as unreasonable. (When Is an HOA/Condo Rental Amendment Unreasonable?) Yesterday, August 6, 2024, the NC Court of Appeals again visited the issue of whether a specific declaration amendment restricting rentals is reasonable. … Continue reading
Conveying the Common Elements: What you need to know
It doesn’t really come up often, but there are times when the Association may want to convey some portion of their common elements to a third party. There could be various reasons for this, including but not limited to, a land swap with a neighboring community, changing Lot boundaries, as part of a negotiation in a condemnation proceeding, etc. How common elements are conveyed is dependent on the age of the community and whether or not we are talking about the common elements of a planned community or a condominium. NCGS § 47F-3-112 states, in part: “(a) Portions of the … Continue reading
Why Wait till After the Meeting to Write Meeting Minutes?
Whether following Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised or standard parliamentary practices, meeting minutes tend to be fairly short. That’s because minutes are not supposed to be a record of what members SAID at a meeting, but what was done. (See A Minute on Meeting Minutes or this Minutes Outline) But if compiling the minutes after a meeting is still bothersome, there are ways to move much of the effort to before the meeting. (If you wonder how you can describe what happened at the meeting PRIOR to the meeting, stay with me.) Meeting Minutes Template Minutes are fairly formulaic. … Continue reading
There Is No “Next Order of Business”
The humorist Will Rogers once said “It isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble, it’s what we know that ain’t so.” I’ve shared several recent articles (Why the Chair Never Asks for Old Business and Banish the Phrase “I So Move” from Meetings) on what meeting attendees are certain SHOULD be done, but “it just ain’t so.” One phrase you often hear in meetings is the chair making reference to the “next order of business,” as in “The next order of business is . . . .” As suggested by the name, the “order of business” is the … Continue reading
Banish the Phrase “I So Move” from Meetings
A prior article examined Why the Chair Never Asks for Old Business. Let’s take a look at another phrase that’s used too often in meetings when it should be avoided–“I so move.” Sometimes at a board or membership meeting following the remarks of a member or a committee report, the speaker or another member will say “So moved!” or “I so move.” For only 2 or 3 words, few phrases can lead a business meeting into more confusion and trouble. For organizations that follow Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (12th Edition), the phrase “I so move” only appears once. And that’s in … Continue reading
Huge Jump in Condominium Insurance Premiums
Here’s an interesting (and frightening) insurance article from The Wall Street Journal. The report seems available on the subscribers’ only site as well as generally online, so here’s a link that should work: Big Jump in Insurance Costs Strikes Condos. One association’s insurance renewal went up four times with 12 carriers refusing to even quote a policy, likely due to the many recent natural disasters and higher rebuilding costs. Industry statistics show average condo insurance increases of 20% with some being 300% to 1,000%. And such increases come on the heals of some states requiring greater expenditures by condominiums as … Continue reading