Blog
Helping Out Our Furry Friends
December 7, 2018 By: Jennifer D. Caggiano
Helping Out Our Furry Friends As the cold weather approaches our area, pet owners in Syracuse should be aware of the new legislation passed in June of this year which stipulates that an animal shall not be left outside for more than two hours below 30 degrees or above 90 degrees. The legislation, known as…
Read moreI’ve Been Summoned for Jury Duty. Now What?
October 4, 2018 By: Christopher A. Powers
What do you think of when you hear the words “jury duty”? To many people, the term “jury duty” brings to mind a civic obligation; a 2017 survey by the Pew Research Center Survey found that roughly two-thirds of American adults believe that serving on a jury “is part of what it means to be…
Read moreWhen Commercial Leases Don’t Mean What They Say
February 9, 2018 By: Barry M. Shulman
So you’re presented with a Commercial Lease, say a business retail tenant in a shopping center. You’re perhaps a Landlord, or a Tenant. You carefully review all of the terms and have no problem with their clarity. They’re explicit and unambiguous. What you might not realize is that there can be a third and silent…
Read moreOnline Privacy 101
February 5, 2018 By: John J. Sierotnik
Although we may not be conscious of it, nearly every action we take online involves sharing some amount of information with a website or its advertisers. Because of this sharing of information, most sites on the Internet have a lengthy document somewhere on the site, frequently written in legalese that they call a “Privacy Policy.”…
Read moreNew Tax Bill Drastically Changes Treatment Of Alimony
January 15, 2018 By: Jillian DiLaura McGuire
For the last seventy-five years, a spouse paying alimony (also known as “maintenance” or “spousal support” in New York and many other jurisdictions) has been able to deduct the alimony award from his or her tax return each year. Likewise, the spouse receiving the maintenance has the obligation to include the total amount of alimony…
Read moreEstate and Gift Law Changes under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
January 15, 2018 By: Ryan T. Emery
The new legislation signed into law on December 22, 2017 has significant estate planning changes. The federal estate, gift and generation skipping tax exemption amount is now doubled to $11.2 million per person. This exemption is portable between spouses. The new legislation also increased the annual gift exclusion amount from $14,000 to $15,000 as of…
Read moreHow to Break Up with Your Service Provider
October 20, 2017 By: Mary Anne Cody
Have you ever tried to end a service contract only to be told your request is too late, as the contract you signed contained an automatic renewal provision?
Read morePurchasing Property with a Lease
October 12, 2017 By: Barry M. Shulman
Often when purchasing a company, certain assets pose issues not easy to discern. For example, a Purchaser can buy real estate through a purchase contract and perhaps even personal property such as furniture and furnishings, fairly easily. When purchasing real estate, title insurance can be ordered, surveys re-dated, and abstracts renewed. Information on mortgages can…
Read moreThe Federal and New York State Tax Advantages of Long Term Care Insurance
July 10, 2017 By: Ami S. Longstreet
If you have looked into purchasing long term care insurance, you know that it is an expensive proposition. However, there are some tax advantages related to the premium payments for long term care insurance. If you are an employee and itemize your deductions, you can deduct a portion of your long term care insurance premium…
Read moreNine legal concepts that affect your investment if you make a non-controlling (minority) investment in a business.
June 1, 2017 By: James H. Nicoll, John J. Sierotnik
Investors who make a non-controlling (minority) investment in a business must contend with a variety of legal issues as they negotiate the structure and terms of their investment. Below is a brief overview of nine legal concepts with which every minority investor should be familiar. Priority Returns. Companies are often structured to provide preferred or…
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