News

We love our lakes. A few of us are fortunate enough to own a lakefront cottage. And millions rely on state, county, and local parks. But many of us who can’t afford our own lakefront cottage but live near the water treasure a nearby “road-end”. These roads that were laid out all the way to

When I grew up on the north side of Holland, my school for four years of my life was Beechwood school. Beechwood was a pretty old school. In fact, at one time, my mother even attended Beechwood. However, Beechwood no longer exists. Instead it is an open space/parking lot owned by Pfizer. Pfizer is the

A decade or so ago, before Michigan’s “one state recession” and the more recent depression, the State “streamlined” the process for local units of government to take real property if the owner did not pay property taxes. Finally, the State has followed with an installment plan arrangement to help qualifying owners keep their property. The

Families with a disabled minor child are usually vigilant about setting up a plan that will care for and protect the special needs of their child. These families understand the value of setting up a special needs trust that will receive the child’s inheritance upon the parents passing. But special planning is also appropriate for

The local economy remains very strong and businesses continue to grow. I find these are good times for business owners to determine whether they’re protected against risks that could cause major distress to their company. One of them is not having an ownership agreement (also known as a shareholder, buy-sell, or operating agreement) that adequately

For those of you preparing to buy a house or refinance an existing one, you get to be pioneers. Or guinea pigs. Really both. You see, new federal regulations have taken effect that change the way home loans are handled after October 1. Before mortgage lenders had to provide a good faith estimate of closing

Homeowners associations and condominium associations are usually organized under Michigan’s Nonprofit Corporation Act. Condominium associations are also subject to the Michigan Condominium Act and the master deed, condominium bylaws, articles of incorporation, association bylaws of the condominium, and any rules the association has adopted. Homeowners associations are usually bound by a declaration of covenants, conditions

A question that often comes up with clients who conduct their business through a limited liability company (which is most of our business clients, these days) is how to most efficiently add money to the business. By default, many people assume that making a capital contribution to their LLC is the “normal” method to add

Even if your nest is recently empty or down one bird – a mother’s job is never done. Your 18 year-old is now classified as a legal adult. But, we all know, even if your child doesn’t, that your guidance is still key to their success. Be the one to give your child a push

A question that often comes up with clients who conduct their business through a limited liability company is how to most efficiently add money to the business. By default, many business owners assume that making a cash “contribution” to their LLC is the normal and most efficient way of doing it. Under Michigan law, each