Law Firm Carolinas and two of its attorneys have been named to the 2020 US News Best Lawyers in America. Jim Slaughter has been recognized by Best Lawyers in the practices of Community Association Law and Real Estate Law. Keith Black has been recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice of Family Law. Law Firm Carolinas is again the only firm in North Carolina with a listing of “Community Association Law.”
Author Archives: Administrator
Hurry Up and Wait – What If My Closing Is Delayed?
A typical real estate transaction is complicated and has many moving parts. In plainest terms, many parties have to come together, ready and willing to move forward at one time, for a real estate transaction to close. Nearly every aspect of real estate transactions has increased in complexity, and despite advances in technology, delays are still common. When a delay arises, one of the first questions asked is: “What are my rights?” Some may wonder if a delay is a breach of the contract. More often than not, a delay is not necessarily a breach of the contract, … Continue reading
New Firm Facebook Page
Law Firm Carolinas has a new Facebook page where you can keep up with firm activities, read recent blogs, and find out where attorneys are speaking (and includes a photo from this morning’s Piedmont Education Breakfast where Steve Black spoke on Declaration Amendments: Pandora’s Box)? The new page can be found at www.facebook.com/BlackSlaughterBlack. We ask that you follow it, like it, and share it!
Could Your Last Will and Testament be Ambiguous?
New North Carolina Court of Appeals Case The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a new opinion today in the area of Estate Administration in the case of Brawley v. Sherrill. In this case, the Will provided for an estate to pass equally to Zoe’s two children but if either of the children predeceased Zoe that either his or her share shall go to Zoe’s grandchildren. One of Zoe’s children, a son, predeceased her so the question presented to the Court was does the deceased child’s share go to his children or to all of Zoe’s grandchildren and not just the … Continue reading
Who’s Responsible for HOA/Condo Assessments When a Homeowner Dies?
In North Carolina when a homeowner dies, his or her real property passes immediately to the heirs under a Will or if there is no Will, under the Intestate Succession Statute. This means that as soon as the homeowner dies there is immediately, by operation of law, a new owner. The real property is not a probate asset and therefore does not pass as such. Except for limited exceptions, this means that typically the “estate” is not the new owner. The question then arises, who is responsible for paying the community association assessments/dues? Since the heirs inherited the property immediately … Continue reading
Can I Enforce an Out-Of-State Judgment in North Carolina?
We live in a country where individuals and corporations transact business, enter into agreements, make purchases, and travel or move from state to state on a regular basis. Sometimes, these out-of-state interactions go south – a company or individual breaches a contract or a driver causes a collision and injures another person – and a lawsuit is filed. What happens if a defendant lives in or moves to North Carolina, but the judgment was entered in another state? Or, if the defendant has real property or other assets in North Carolina? Can a judgment obtained in another state be enforced … Continue reading
I’m Just Buying a Home… Why Does a Judgment Against Me Matter?
When a client is purchasing a home, my primary job as an attorney representing the buyer is to research the chain of title for the property and to make sure that no one can, as I like to put it, “come out of the woodwork and claim an interest in the new home.” I explain this to clients during the closing by stating that before they own the home, their seller owned it, and someone else before them, and so on. We call this the “chain of title.” When those owners owned the property, they had the power to affect … Continue reading
United States Supreme Court Case Involves North Carolina Trust Beneficiaries
North Carolina Department of Revenue v. The Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust. This month the United States Supreme Court decided a case that involved North Carolina trust beneficiaries. The question asked was whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permitted North Carolina to tax the income of a trust just because the beneficiaries live in North Carolina. The Supreme Court answered no. Under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, North Carolina (or any state) has the authority to tax a trust if the trust has “minimum contacts” with the state. North Carolina DOR took the … Continue reading
Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite!
Bed bugs have become a growing area of concern for planned communities across the country. Although no community is immune, bed bugs are most commonly found in single-family homes, condominiums, and hotels/motels. Because of their ability to travel from location to location, bed bugs can easily spread and infest multiple areas. This makes condominiums, townhomes, and single-family residences the perfect target for these tiny pests. You may be wondering how and why bed bugs are of importance to homeowners associations. I will be the first to admit that Board members and managers rarely seek advice regarding pest prevention. After all, … Continue reading
New Challenges in Cyber Security for Real Estate Transactions
The manner by which real estate transactions are conducted has changed a great deal over the past several years. Deals that were formerly completed entirely using ink and paper, are now becoming electronic, particularly when it comes to the movement of money. The cashier’s check was formerly the preeminent mode for moving funds from one account to another for a real estate transaction. This generally worked well and, excepting the occasional story about a fraudulent check, there were relatively few problems. The most noticeable downside to checks, from the perspective of a party to the transaction, was that the movement … Continue reading
South Carolina Tax Liens – 2019 Statutory Changes
The practice of searching title to South Carolina real property may be changing soon. Governor Henry McMaster recently signed a bill allowing for the creation of a statewide filing and indexing system of liens imposed by the South Carolina Department of Revenue that will take effect on July 1, 2019. Currently, state tax liens are filed with the office of a county’s Register of Deeds, Register of Mesne Conveyance, or Clerk of Court. Once the new system is implemented, liens will instead be filed in a statewide registry that will be publically accessible and searchable online. The most significant result … Continue reading
Common Misconceptions for HOA or Condo Board Members
Do you serve on the Board of Directors of a Community Association? If so, here are some common misconceptions that can cause problems for many boards— Meeting Minutes. Does your board keep minutes of its meetings? If not, then your board should. Second, your board meeting minutes should be a record of what was done at the meeting, not what was said. There is no need to record everything that is said. Instead, simply record actions that were taken by the board (i.e. approved budget, approved new landscaping contract, etc.) Quorum. Quorum is the minimum required number of directors that … Continue reading
Real Property and Medicaid Estate Recovery
When a person age 55 or older is the recipient of Medicaid, Medicaid tracks all of the money spent on the person’s behalf. While a Medicaid recipient can hold on to his or her home while alive, at the recipient’s death, Medicaid will place a lien on the recipient’s estate. This is known as Estate Recovery. The lien is typically placed on the Medicaid recipient’s home which then must be sold to pay back Medicaid. Clearly this disrupts many people’s plan of passing their real property down to their loved ones. There are some exceptions—times when Medicaid does not place … Continue reading
Jim Slaughter Recognized for Pro Bono Service
Attorney Jim Slaughter was recently recognized by the Greensboro Bar Association for his pro bono work by being named to the Herb Falk Society. The Herb Falk Society honors Bar members who have performed 75 hours or more of pro bono service hours during the year, which includes free or reduced legal services to clients and activities to improve the legal profession. This is Jim’s 7th year of recognition. His is pictured here with Judge Teresa Vincent, 2019 President of the Greensboro Bar Association.
Change in the Law – North Carolina Year’s Allowance
As of January 2019 the Year’s Allowance in North Carolina has been adjusted. For a surviving spouse there is an increase in the statutory allowance from $30,000.00 to $60,000.00. The Spousal Allowance is intended as a type of stop-gap; a means of meeting the immediate needs of the surviving spouse when he or she is widowed and presumably assets may be tied up during the estate administration. The $60,000.00 Spousal Allowance is authorized by statute to provide for necessities. It may only be paid from the personal property of the Decedent and not from real property. With the exception of … Continue reading
Marital Rights in North Carolina Real Estate
Occasionally sellers of real property, or borrowers in refinance transactions, are confused upon being informed their spouse is required to sign certain documents at closing. It’s not uncommon for closing attorneys to receive inquiries wondering “why do they need to sign? They’ve never had anything to do with this property!” While it’s certainly possible to purchase and hold property individually, a married person generally needs to involve their spouse in some manner when selling or refinancing North Carolina real estate. The concept of marital rights in real property descended from English common law principles designed to benefit the surviving spouse … Continue reading
New Year, New Taxes: How the New Year Could Affect North Carolina Property Taxes
The beginning of the year is often filled with thoughts of the future, personal resolutions you want to keep, and the hope of spring being just around the corner. The last thing you want to think about is property taxes. However, in many North Carolina counties, the New Year may also bring with it higher property taxes. In North Carolina, real property taxes are based on the value of real property on January 1st of that year. Theoretically, that means that the value of your home or real property as it stands on January 1st is the value on which … Continue reading
Buying Property at Foreclosure Sales
So, are you thinking of purchasing property at a foreclosure sale? Perhaps you think that you can make a lot of money buying a house in foreclosure, and then flipping it. Certainly some people do very well doing just that. HOWEVER if it looks too good to be true, then it likely is. Before you bid in a foreclosure sale, there are several things to consider. First, understand how foreclosure sales in North Carolina work. The foreclosure sale is going to be set for a specific time between 10 am and 4 pm on a day the courthouse is open. … Continue reading
Inheriting Real Property and No Deed to Show For It.
When you find out that you have inherited real property, a reasonable assumption might be that a deed is forthcoming. After all, when we buy real property we get a deed to show that we own it. However, with inherited real property in North Carolina, there is no new deed. It may seem counter-intuitive but it is the practice. The reason for this is because real property passes immediately upon death in North Carolina. Therefore, you owned the property as soon as the person who left it to you died. Of course, if the person who died has a lot … Continue reading
Decking the Halls in Your Homeowner’s Association
The fall and winter holiday months are the perfect time to show your holiday spirit. Regardless of which occasion is your favorite, this time of year draws homeowners to the holiday aisles filled with décor of all kinds. In fact, a recent study revealed that the value of United States imports of Christmas lights alone totaled $463.2 million in 2017.[1] It looks like everyone is eager to spread the holiday cheer. But, before you turn your home into a scene straight out of Christmas with the Kranks, you should make sure your homeowner’s association doesn’t have any prohibitions on the … Continue reading