Music lovers, reeling from the recent news of Aretha Franklin’s death, have now found out that the “Queen of Soul” died intestate, without a will. This blog has previously addressed the matter of another musician, Prince, having passed away without a will and the legal repercussions. We will address the…
Recent news in Westchester County is that the Wal-Mart store in downtown White Plains is scheduled to close on August 10 of this year. Our blog has recently explored the legal issues relating to a store closing for good, especially where there is an existing lease. An interesting point regarding the…
News outlets have recently reported on the Will contest brought by the children of the late country singer Glen Campbell. This post will address the concepts of diminished capacity and undue influence and whether these concepts can potentially invalidate a Will in New York. In general, a person can make…
Prior blog posts have dealt with various aspects of foreclosed properties in New York State. This post discusses the possibility of a deficiency judgment being entered against the borrower. This can occur when the value of the property is less than the amount owed by the individual who signed the note and…
Last week’s blog post discussed legal issues relating to a foreclosure as it applies to cooperative apartments in New York State. To summarize, because cooperatives are considered shares in a corporation, and not real property, different legal procedures are necessary when an owner of a co-op defaults on her share loan…
Many of our prior blog posts have discussed foreclosures of real property. But what happens when the owner of a cooperative or “co-op” apartment cannot pay his share loan or maintenance? Although the term “foreclosure” generally applies to the taking of real property by a lienholder, a co-op owner does not…
Our firm is called upon to both defend and prosecute mortgage foreclosure actions. One of the first questions that should to be asked is who holds the mortgage loan, meaning the party who is entitled to bring the action. In most cases, it is an “institutional lender,” such as a bank…
Now that many of our clients are participating in the Spring housing market , repair issues have developed in several transactions handled by our attorneys . This post will address the manner in which such issues should be addressed in a contract. Most buyers will have a professional engineer inspect the premises prior…