Imagine that a listing agent meets with a property owner about potentially listing the owner’s property for sale. During the meeting, the owner reveals that he recently signed and recorded a deed transferring the property to his daughter. Can the...
An often overlooked technique when it comes to family planning is the interfamily loan. For a number of years, the primary focus with respect to transfers between family members was the potential tax for gift and estate tax purposes which could be...
The Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) is a powerful shield protecting military servicemembers against overreaching by creditors. The United States Supreme Court has opined that the SCRA should be read “with an eye friendly to those who...
Over the last several years, we have seen a significant, perhaps even a sea-, change in the estate planning environment. For many years, practitioners were focused on transfer taxes as the tax rates were high and the exemptions were low. Then,...
We are now in an environment where we have far greater options when transferring property than was the case thirty years ago. In addition to the traditional probate process, either with or without a Will to heirs, we currently have a variety of...
Developments across the country in recent years put into question the financial viability of establishing mitigation banks that provide compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to waters of the United States that are permitted under Section...
Beyond doubt, Erin Andrews was emotionally injured by the conduct of Mr. X when he surreptitiously altered Ms. Andrews’ hotel room door peephole so that he could video her o’natural and then publish the video on the internet. Ms. Andrews was a...
Perhaps no individual litigant will be more affected by the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia than former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. The Governor’s appeal to the United States Supreme Court from his “corruption” conviction is...
A condominium developer in Northern Virginia avoided liability for fraud under common law and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act by engaging in “puffery” rather than misrepresentation of facts. That was the conclusion of the United States...
What happens when a person signs a deed or deed of trust purporting to convey property that he does not own? The Virginia Supreme Court considered that question in the complicated case of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company v. Arrington, decided...