Yearly Archives: 2007
One More Time: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch!
One More Time: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch! Anyone over age 55 is a favored target of vendors selling everything from vacation homes on North Carolina golf courses to “really hot” investment “vehicles.” A favorite method is to invite you to participate… Continue reading
BBC&B Welcomes Rod Fluck
BBC&B Welcomes Rod Fluck We are pleased to announce that Rod Fluck has joined the firm as an associate in our real estate and commercial department. Rod received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Princeton University in 1993 and later attended the Dickinson School… Continue reading
What to do if You are Involved in a Car Accident
What to do if You are Involved in a Car Accident Traffic mishaps are an inevitable and unfortunate fact of life. If you find yourself in one, we offer some guiding principles you should consider. A proper reaction can reduce injuries and costs as well… Continue reading
Transfer Tax Exemptions
In most parts of Pennsylvania there is a 2% transfer tax on real estate transfers, with 1% going to the state and 1% to the local government. The tax rate is higher in the City of Philadelphia, amounting to 4% of the total purchase price. … Continue reading
Section 1031 Exchanges
As an increasing number of people are coming into newfound wealth, they are looking for ways to invest it. The volatility of the stock market during the past few years (especially the bursting of the tech-stock bubble) has caused investors to look for different investment… Continue reading
Queen’s English: Fewer or Less?
Consider: “I have been able to survive with fewer calories and less advice”. Fewer and less are adjectives which refer to something diminished and are broadly synonymous, but they are not to be used interchangeably. To determine which is proper, we must look to the… Continue reading
When Municipalities Overreach
Municipal bodies occasionally try extreme measures. The city of Hazelton recently adopted a severe immigration policy that brought it instant notoriety nationally in that it was more restrictive than anything in the country. (The law has been stricken by the courts, though the issue is… Continue reading
Real Estate Property Taxes: Guaranteed Inequities
Taxation has always been the bane of our existence. It is never popular in any form, though we may acknowledge that it is the lubricant without which governmental mechanisms cannot function and that it is one of life’s “necessary evils.” Constitutions which authorize the levying… Continue reading
Have You Considered Your Estate Plan Lately?
Estate planning: Next to a root canal, it is something most of us avoid studiously. Even though some time ago you may have planned your estate with a will, “durable” power of attorney, and advanced health care directive (“living will”), you really should go to… Continue reading
Elective Shares
In today’s society, estate planning is becoming more sophisticated. One aspect of this sophistication involves the manner in which a decedent leaves his assets. An individual may have an interest in a family business that he does not want to pass to his spouse (because… Continue reading