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“Will they take my house?” That is the single biggest question we hear from clients in regard to Medicaid. Medicaid is a state and federal combined program that allows qualifying individuals access to skilled nursing care, or long term care, in a nursing home facility. In order to qualify for this type of Medicaid coverage in Florida, an individual must first qualify medically, meaning they must need substantial assistance with their activities of daily living and a nursing home is the most appropriate placement for such care.

For any Community Association, an essential component that the Board of Directors must look to establish is a collections policy that will help support the…

At our Condominium Association, how do we know whether we need a review or an audit for our year-end financial report? Are we allowed to have a vote to waive that report every year?

What will happen to all of your online accounts, cloud data and saved passwords after you die? Who has control over these digital assets? Unfortunately, the law has not kept pace with the speed of the digital age and the answers to these questions lie in a grey area. Many term of service agreements that users agree to by simply registering with a website prohibit third parties from accessing information. Also, criminal laws prohibit someone else from using your password.

Question: Does an owner have a right to see the accounts receivable for every member of the Association?

ANSWER: Yes. The Statutes for every type of community association provide that all of the financial records of the association are part of the Official Records and are available for inspection by any member of the association.

With the excess of information at everyone’s finger tips, sometimes making any decision seems more complicated these days. Choosing the right lawyer in Florida for your needs is no exception. We are no longer flipping through the yellow pages or relying on radio ads to determine who to turn to if we have a legal problem. Instead, we turn to internet searches and the volumes of information that comes up on our screens. But how do you know if the first lawyer on the list is the best, or merely the one that paid the most to have their website pop-up first? What information should you be looking for when determining which lawyer will meet and may be even exceed your needs?

A couple of Board members resigned last year because they were angry about a Board decision. Now, they are running for the Board again. They are investors, and are only concerned about protecting their investments. Is that a conflict of interest? Do we have to put them on the ballot?

A recent appellate court decision serves as a useful reminder of the issues that may arise and need to be considered in enforcing and interpreting recorded covenants that impact the use of real property, such as a declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions for a subdivision. In the case of Leamer v. White (issued on January 27, 2015), Florida’s First District Court of Appeal was asked to interpret a use restriction at issue in a dispute between neighboring owners of townhomes, one of whom had installed a lighting system that may have potentially impacted the other neighbor and their lot without first seeking the requisite approval for the lighting system from an architectural review board as set out in the recorded covenants for the property.

Most people have at one time or another been a tenant in a residential property. Security deposits for the lease of a residential property are not uncommon in Florida. Such deposits are typically paid to landlords to be held as security for damage that may caused to the property by the tenant or in the event of the tenant’s failure to pay rent.