Posts written by buteralaw

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

How Sweet It Is (But for Sour After Taste?)

A fascinating drama is unfolding in the federal District Court in Philadelphia involving the makers of sweeteners Equal (manufactured by Merisant) and Splenda (manufactured by McNeil Nutritionals). McNeil had adopted the advertising slogan for Spenda that it is “made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar”,… Continue reading

How Do You Spell Zoning Relief?

Whether you are a major real estate developer ready to build 300 new homes or a homeowner with a quarter-acre property who wants to build a deck in the back yard, there may come a time when you need some sort of zoning relief. In… Continue reading

One Advantage of a Limited Partnership

When starting a business (whether it is forming a business based out of your home, opening a small “mom and pop” store, or establishing a business where you buy and sell real estate), choosing the type of business entity to form (for example, an “S-Corporation”… Continue reading

Subprime Lending

  Subprime Lending       Subprime lending, also known as second chance lending, is the practice of making loans to borrowers who have a credit history that makes them unqualified for market interest rates. A subprime loan is one that is offered at rates which… Continue reading

What is Partition?

  What is Partition?       The proverb “all good things must come to an end” is often all too accurate in a world where personal and business relationships sometimes end acrimoniously.  Such bitter endings may cause many problems, such as where the parties own… Continue reading

Ashes to Whom?

  Ashes to Whom?       Under the Pennsylvania Divorce Code, the principle from which all else departs is that at the end of the relationship the assets that have been acquired by the couple during their marriage are to be divided equally (subject to… Continue reading