Blog
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“Home Sharing” – is it a problem in your community?
North Carolina has seen a surge of online “home sharing” in recent years. Companies such as HomeAway, VRBO, and most notably, Airbnb, have faired remarkably well in a current business/political climate that mostly tolerates peer-to-peer rentals, home sharing, and the like. While on its face, home sharing is touted as an industrious solution to overpriced, overcrowded hotels and resorts, communities throughout the state find themselves in an interesting position when confronted with enforcement Read more...
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Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – Estate Planning Impact
On December 22, 2017, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the most sweeping federal tax reform in more than three decades. Commonly known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”, this new federal law has major implications for estate planning. The 2017 Act is effective for tax years beginning in 2018. Most of the provisions of the 2017 Act, however, including those with estate planning implications, are scheduled to expire on Read more...
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Prepare (Some) for Mediation
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process used in lieu of formal procedures, where a neutral mediator attempts to help the parties come to a mutually acceptable agreement. The mediator can facilitate negotiations, review positions, exchange offers, point out the best and worst possible outcomes, etc. It is mostly an informal process, but typically follows a general pattern of holding an opening session where all parties and their lawyers are present and then Read more...
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Mediation Before Litigation?
The landscape in civil litigation was changed forever when the mediated settlement conference became a mandatory part of civil superior court cases in North Carolina. Most lawyers share the sentiment that the change was for the better, although not all of them thought it would turn out that way. Given the cost to appropriately litigate (or arbitrate) a civil case, should the landscape be changed again by increasing the use of the pre-litigation Read more...
