Member Articles

By: Will Hellams For years, estate tax planning for couples has included the use of credit shelter trusts, also known as bypass or family trusts, to take advantage of the first-to-die spouse’s estate tax exemption. O ...

By: Arnie Spevack When a borrower requests a commercial loan for a new business or a business acquisition, lenders frequently require the borrower to secure the business loan with a mortgage on a personal residence. Th ...

By: David Kay What can you as a business owner do to protect your business or maximize its value if you lack the voting power to control the business? Entrepreneurs enter into 50/50 ownership situations, or worse, for a ...

By: Alison Rind A recent 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case reminds lenders that it is incumbent upon the lender to verify the income stream before extending credit based on rental income. In Wells Fargo Equipment ...

By: Michael Smith In most commercial loan transactions, a lender will secure a loan by filing a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) financing statement to perfect its security interest in the borrower’s personal property. ...

By: Brad McCullough One of the more ubiquitous idiomatic phrases used in recent years has been, “It is what it is.” In three consolidated cases decided last month by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the Court turne ...