When families consider adoption, they have many choices and many decisions. Families can utilize a private adoption agency, where they can provide information to be included in a profile for birth parents to review and determine if that family should be the adoptive resource for their child. Private agencies charge a fee for their services. Families can also adopt through local social service agencies were children are placed because they are dependent. In those cases, no fees are paid to these social service agencies and instead, when children are placed for foster care, and/or adoption, often subsidies are paid to the family for the care of the child placed in their home. Both options result in adoption opportunities for many families, but it is always best to have a full understanding of the process. Whether a child is placed with a family for adoption privately, or through a local social service agency, here are ten questions you should ask at the beginning: Continue Reading Top 10 Things I Should Ask My Caseworker When Considering Adoption

Thank you to Chad Umble at LNP for another informative article regarding Pennsylvania liquor laws.  This one is concerning legislation pending in the PA House of Representatives that would impact the way that grocery stores and convenience stores could operate.

More specifically, the article highlights a bill currently being considered in the House’s Liquor Control Committee that would create a “customer convenience permit” which would enable those holding the permit to deny patrons the ability to consume alcohol on their premises, and also allow them more flexibility in terms of where they have to physically locate the beer and wine within their store.  It also proposes to remove some of the restrictions on how many ounces of alcohol can be purchased in any given transaction. As you might imagine, despite this being called a “customer convenience permit”, it is really a permit that was crafted solely by and for the grocery stores and convenience stores. As correctly pointed out in the article, Walmart is a major proponent of this bill and likely provided much, if not all, of the input on the bill as it was drafted. Continue Reading More about the Proposal for New Liquor Permits

This is a classic story of a divided association Board. Two Board Members think one way while the third Board Member disagrees. In this case, the two new Board Members made some criticisms of prior Boards. The single Board Member, who happened to be the Board President, was on the previous Boards being complained about. This is (unfortunately) not a unique story. The twist in this case is that the solo Board Member filed a defamation suit against the Association. I have had lots of people related to Associations – Board Members, property managers, contractors – ask me about defamation or libel law suits. This is one of the few times I have seen a case make it to Court.

The solo Board Member claimed that the other two Board Members made defamatory statements about him. He alleged that the statements lowered his esteem and reputation among the Board Members and the vendors who work with or for the Association. He said that the two Board Members’ statements caused people in the neighborhood not to associate with him and to “discount his authority as a Board Member.”  Continue Reading Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But Publically Criticizing My Actions as President of the Executive Board Will Never Hurt Me

Are you thinking about investing in Pennsylvania real estate? If so, forming a Pennsylvania limited liability company (LLC) has numerous benefits that will save you time and money in the future.

Here are the top five reasons why the LLC has become the entity of choice for investment real estate ownership in Pennsylvania:

  1. Realty transfer tax implications and timing

If you plan on owning real estate in an LLC, timing is critical to avoid paying Pennsylvania’s realty transfer tax more than once. Realty transfer tax in Pennsylvania is 2% of the value of the real estate.

You should form the LLC prior to signing the agreement of sale, and the party entering into the agreement of sale should be the LLC, not one or more of the individuals’ names. The reason for this is that Pennsylvania’s realty transfer tax law provides that a taxable event includes an assignment of an agreement of sale, which would trigger transfer tax twice.

Further, if you buy the real estate in your individual name and later wish to transfer the property into an LLC that is owned by you, you would also be required to pay realty transfer tax on that transfer.

Creating an LLC from the outset would avoid paying more tax than you are legally required to pay under the above two common scenarios.

  1. Limited liability protection for owners of the LLC

The owners (known as members) of an LLC enjoy limited liability for the debts and obligations of the LLC and the negligent acts of other members. A member’s liability is limited to the amount of his or her investment in the LLC, and their personal assets would be protected in the event causing liability. Continue Reading Why (and When) You Should Consider an LLC for Real Estate Investments

The Right to Farm Act protects farmers from being sued by their neighbors.  The RTFA says that a person cannot sue an agricultural operation for a nuisance arising out of a normal agricultural operation more than one year after the operation started or was substantially expanded or altered.  This one year limitation is a “statute of repose.”  That means that neighbors have no more than one year to bring a complaint, even if an injury or problem occurred after the year expired.  A recent case (Burlingame, et al. v. Dagostin) provided another victory for farmers.

In this case, a group of neighbors complained when a farmer began spreading liquefied swine manure (LSM) from its finishing operation onto their farm.  When I say “group of neighbors” I mean a big group.  I counted 83 Plaintiffs in the caption.  The Dagostins operated Will-O-Bet Farm since 1955.  In 2011, they switched from a beef farm to a swine finishing operation.  They received their CAFO permit and nutrient management plan approval in 2012.  They began spreading LSM in June 2013.  In May of 2014, a large group of the neighbors brought a suit for nuisance because of the odors of the manure.  Both the Trial Court and the Superior Court held that the Right to Farm Act did not allow neighbors to bring this action because the action was started more than one year after the agricultural operation started. Continue Reading Nuisance Claims Against Farmer Dismissed by Right to Farm Act

This past spring, I wrote a post about the permitting requirements for businesses and organizations that transact business within the spotted lanternfly (“SLF”) quarantine zone, which includes Lancaster County.  Since that time, we have entered the time of year where the SLF eggs have hatched and the large, red, yellow and brown winged insects have been seen flying around our area.

Recently, I have been seeing more and more information about the SLF and the harms it can cause to local agriculture. Almost every day, I see neighbors posting that they have seen SLFs on their properties and wondering what they should do to get rid of them. (If you’re wondering, too, click here to read the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s guide on how to eliminate or control SLF adults).  Just this morning, Warwick Township, where I live, reported that SLFs have been seen in various locations throughout Warwick Township. They also posted an interesting story map on how the SLF made its way to Pennsylvania.

The good news is that the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is offering 31 in-person SLF permit classes through the end of the year. If your business or organization is required to obtain a permit, or if you are simply interested in learning how to curb the threat the SLF poses to our community, you can sign up for the free two-hour class at the Lancaster Farm & Home Center.

Laura McGarry is an attorney at Russell, Krafft and Gruber, LLP in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Penn State Law and provides legal counsel to individuals and businesses in Lancaster and surrounding communities.

If you are asking yourself this question, the answer is absolutely yes, you should seek the advice of counsel about whether a Prenuptial Agreement is a good idea for you. Let’s face it, the era of everyone getting married right out of high school and acquiring all of their assets and liabilities together during the marriage is long gone. Chances are, you already have assets and liabilities going into your marriage, or maybe it is even a second marriage, and you really need to understand the impact your upcoming marriage will have from a legal standpoint.

I realize that prenuptial agreements are often regarded as unseemly. But they get an unfair rap. A prenuptial agreement is just the legal document that outlines the understanding of both spouses as to how they wish to maintain their assets both during the marriage, and in the worst case, upon a divorce. It simply codifies the intention of the parties going into the marriage as to how they will keep both separate and joint assets, and treat debts, so that it is perfectly clear how the division of assets and liabilities is to take place upon a divorce. It is often used as part of an estate plan for a second marriage. In fact, just like if you die without a will, without a prenuptial agreement, your marital assets and debts are divided pursuant to the law. Most of us don’t want the law to decide for us what happens with our assets after we die, so we undertake estate planning and sign documents such as Wills in order to control the distribution of our assets. A prenuptial agreement is no different– it puts you in control of what happens to your marital estate upon divorce or death.      Continue Reading Do I need a Prenuptial Agreement?

Great article from John Stoner, Partner at RKL! We often have the pleasure of working with John on behalf of our mutual clients and he is truly an expert when it comes to business advisors. His article also highlights the need for business owners to take a look at their performance and critically evaluate themselves and their business, not just in times of turmoil, but also when things are going well. Too often, experts (especially attorneys) are brought in when there is a problem that needs to be fixed or when things reach a breaking point, but it shouldn’t be that way. We understand many owners don’t see the value in spending time and money with their accountants and attorneys unless there is a specific problem that they identify and need help resolving. However, a little forward-thinking and some regular analysis can go a long way in ensuring the long-term health of your business and avoiding problems before they start.

We take great pride at Russell Krafft and Gruber in being a part of your team of trusted business advisors so that we can provide advice in good times, and give you the tools to avoid the bad.

One of the questions I am asked most frequently from condominium and homeowner Association boards (and managers) is whether the Association is liable for injuries that occur on the common elements? The answer that I always give is that an Association is only liable for an accident on the common areas if they knew of the problem and failed to take reasonable care to make the common area safe. The recent case of Hackett v. Indian King Residents Association reinforced this answer.

In this case, a resident of the Association slipped and fell on some branches on a common area sidewalk. The branches fell only hours before she slipped on them. It was dark when the resident fell, so she could not see the branches that caused the accident.  Continue Reading Association Not Responsible for Resident’s Slip and Fall Accident on Common Areas

Thank you to Chad Umble for another informative article about the changing landscape for PA liquor licenses.  I’m sure there are many who read the article and wonder why the PLCB doesn’t just increase the number of available licenses or create a different kind of license for grocery stores and convenience stores to alleviate the pressure on the restaurants.  The answer to that question is neither simple nor clear, but I can give you some thoughts on why those options are unlikely to occur.

First, simply issuing more licenses would involve a change to the liquor code in Pennsylvania, which would have to pass through the legislature.  It is not as simple as the PLCB simply saying that the quota should be updated or more licenses should be issued.  Any time a bill is introduced regarding changes to the liquor code, it usually generates a lot of attention from many industry groups.  The Brewer’s Association, Restaurant and Lodging Association, Tavern Owners Association, the Malt Beverage Distributors Association, and more recently the Convenience Store Council and the Food Merchants Association, all are trade groups that are impacted by even small changes to the liquor code.  Each of these organizations represents members in various aspects of alcohol sales in the state and any change to the liquor code often impacts each of these groups very differently.  As a result, when liquor bills are advanced in the house or the senate, enormous pressure is placed on our legislators to recognize the interests of these various groups and not change the landscape to hurt any particular industry.  What often happens as a result of this is little or no change.  Continue Reading More about the Cost of Lancaster County Liquor Licenses