June 2015 Archives
In furtherance of this responsibility, ILS will conduct a series of public hearings in each of the nine (9) judicial districts outside of New York City to solicit the views of county officials, judges, institutional providers of representation, assigned counsel, current and former indigent legal services clients and other individuals, programs, organizations and stakeholders interested in assisting ILS in establishing criteria and procedures to guide courts when determining eligibility for mandated legal representation in criminal and family court proceedings. The first of these hearings will be in Syracuse, New York on July 9.
For more information, and instructions for providing written or oral testimony, go to: https://www.ils.ny.gov/files/Eligibility%20Public%20Hearings%20Notice.pdf. Please feel free to contact me (or any member of the ILS staff) if you have questions about the hearings.
Take good care,
Angela Olivia Burton, Esq.
Director of Quality Enhancement, Parent Representation
New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services
80 South Swan Street, 29th Floor
Albany, New York 12210
Desk: 518-474-4859
Cell: 518-491-0094
Fax: 518-474-0505
At the closing, the Title Closer is entrusted with transmitting by over-night delivery the payment in full satisfactory to satisfy the mortgage in full, at the risk to the Title Closer of these funds being insufficient to satisfy the mortgage, in full, at the further risk of the Lender returning these funds back to the Title Agency as being insufficient to satisfy the mortgage, with the clock continuing to run on a per diem basis, at the risk to the Title Closer in having to go in pocket to make up the difference, so as to not cause the mortgage to satisfied late, causing a late fee to be imposed as against the mortgagor, as well as a "black mark" on the mortgagor's credit report.
For this task, the Title Closer is paid what is referred to as a "pick up fee". This is a fee paid to the Title Closer, not for the ministerial task of placing the check in an over-night envelope, but instead to serve as a "quasi-insurer" to ensure that all of the above tasks are fully executed on, to full completion, at the risk of potentially costing the Title Closer a small fortune for failing to execute on all, and I do mean ALL, of these above tasks.
For this, in an effort to save a Seller the pickup fee charge of 275.00, more or less, the Department of Financial Services wants to eliminate this charge, thereby preventing a Seller who must pay off his or her mortgage at a closing from having to pay this charge.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/home
This archive from the Legal Information Institute is an excellent and frequently updated database concerning the activities of the U.S. Supreme Court. Readers may like to start with the Most Recent Decisions. Selecting any case navigates to a page featuring the Syllabus, Opinion, Concurrences, and Dissents of the Supreme Court's most recent deliberations. In addition, readers may scout the Current awareness section, which examines decisions, orders, and case updates by date, as well as an Archive of decisions, which can be browsed by topic, author, and party. The site also features an excellent search function. For instance, typing "gay marriage" returns half a dozen important cases, including the landmark 2013 decision, United States v. Windsor, in which the court held that restricting marriage rights to heterosexual couples was unconstitutional.
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"Ever wonder what "parenting classes" have to do with child safety? Ever wish that child welfare workers would use plain language in describing their investigation? Ever been frustrated at a hearing in which the parent has met all of the conditions in the reunification plan, but the parties can't assure the Court that the child can be safely returned?
If your answer is "yes" to any of these questions, this publication was written to assist you. Through a unique collaboration, the National Resource Center for Child Protective Services and the National Child Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues have produced a document which not only answers these questions, but is targeted at taking the mystery out of assuring child safety."
http://parentattorney.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/the_guide.pdf
Hat tip to:
Angela Olivia Burton, Esq.
Director of Quality Enhancement, Parent Representation
New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services
80 South Swan Street, 29th Floor
Albany, New York 12210
Desk: 518-474-4859
Cell: 518-491-0094
Fax: 518-474-0505
This is a link to the New York State Land Title Association's advocacy page where you can view NYSLTA-produced guidance on the proposed regulation, which can be used as a head-start on any comment you may wish to make: http://nyslta.site-ym.com/?page=MemberAdvocacy
The SAPA period for commenting upon Regulation 208 (11 NYCRR 227) ends on June 22, 2015.
This rule interprets and implements Insurance Law section 6409(d) by delineating certain expenditures
that, when provided by title insurance corporations or title insurance agents to "current or prospective customers" as an inducement for title insurance business, are prohibited by the Insurance Law. The rule mandates new reporting requirements to exclude all prohibited expenditures from the rates, thereby ensuring that these expenditures do not contribute to excessive rates. The rule further sets parameters with respect to ancillary charges, ensuring that title insurance corporations and title insurance agents do not charge consumers in New York improper and excessive closing costs .
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The proposed regulation prohibits "pick up fees" for closers. This should add to the cost of closings and delay transactions.
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- Proposed New Regulation 208 (11 NYCRR Part 227) (PDF Format)
Title Insurance Rates, Expenses and Charges
- Notice of Proposed Rule Making (PDF Format)
- SAPA (PDF Format)
- Summary (PDF Format)
Date Published in State Register: May 06, 2015
Contact: Ellen Buxbaum
The EPA was directed to set standards for radioactive materials under Reorganization Plan No. 3 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Both Programs will also be available via webcast. Please register for the Programs at http://ww2.ca2.uscourts.gov/cle
Dates/Venues:
****Northern District of New York: Thursday, June 4, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
James M. Hanley Federal Building, Jury Assembly Room, 100 S. Clinton St., Syracuse, NY 13261
R.S.V.P. by May 29, 2015 for Northern District of New York Program
****Eastern District of New York: Thursday, June 18, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Theodore Roosevelt U.S. Courthouse, Ceremonial Courtroom, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, NY 11201
R.S.V.P. by June 12, 2015 for Eastern District of New York Program
Please see the revised information available here: http://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/sites/nynd/files/pdf_cle.pdf
Integrated loan disclosure forms & samples
These are downloadable versions of the models and samples that were published in the rule.
Loan estimate
Blank model loan estimate fields annotated to show rule citations
Blank model loan estimate form that illustrates the application of the rule's content requirements (en Español)
Blank model loan estimate that illustrates the application of the optional alternative tables for transactions without a seller (en Español)
Sample of completed loan estimate for fixed rate loan
Sample of completed loan estimate for interest only, adjustable rate loan (en Español)
Sample of completed loan estimate for refinance (en Español)
Sample of completed loan estimate for balloon payment (en Español)
Sample of completed loan estimate for negative amortization (en Español)
Closing disclosure
Blank closing disclosure with fields annotated to show rule citations
Blank closing disclosure that illustrates the application of the rule's content requirements (en Español)
Blank closing disclosure that illustrates the alternative disclosures and modifications permitted for transactions without a seller (en Español)
Blank closing disclosure that illustrates disclosure provided to seller
Blank page 2 of closing disclosure that illustrates modifications to closing cost details
Sample of a completed closing disclosure for fixed rate loan (companion to sample loan estimate above) (en Español)
Sample of a completed closing disclosure for refinance (companion to sample loan estimate above) (en Español)
Sample of the completed closing disclosure for refinance transaction where the closing costs have increased in excess of the good faith requirements
Sample of a completed closing disclosure for refinance in which the consumer must pay additional funds to satisfy the existing mortgage loan securing the property and other existing debt to consummate the transaction
Sample page 3 of closing disclosure (summaries of transactions) for disclosure of consumer funds from a simultaneous second-lien credit transaction
Sample page 3 of closing disclosure (summaries of transactions) for disclosure of funds paid outside of closing
Other blank forms and samples
Blank model form for the written list of settlement service providers
Sample of written list of providers you can shop for
Sample of written list of providers you cannot shop for
Blank model form of the escrow cancellation notice
Go to CFPB page for complete information, including access to webinars.
Do you have clients living abroad? With the June 15 filing deadline for Americans abroad fast approaching, the IRS has launched three new online videos and expanded other online resources to help taxpayers, especially those living abroad, meet their U.S. tax obligations.
Three new videos are now available on the IRS YouTube page, and several more of interest to taxpayers abroad will be released in coming weeks. Now available are:
- International Taxpayers--Filing Requirements. Learn about the requirements for filing an individual income tax return including income limits while living abroad.
- International Taxpayers--Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Find out who is eligible, what income qualifies and how to claim the exclusion.
- International Taxpayers--Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This video helps non-U.S. citizens determine if they need an IRS-issued tax reporting number, known as an ITIN, and how to apply for one.
THIS IS MY ghost gun. To quote the rifleman's creed, there are many like it, but this one is mine. It's called a "ghost gun"--a term popularized by gun control advocates but increasingly adopted by gun lovers too--because it's an untraceable semiautomatic rifle with no serial number, existing beyond law enforcement's knowledge and control. And if I feel a strangely personal connection to this lethal, libertarian weapon, it's because I made it myself, in a back room of WIRED's downtown San Francisco office on a cloudy afternoon.
I did this mostly alone. I have virtually no technical understanding of firearms and a Cro-Magnon man's mastery of power tools. Still, I made a fully metal, functional, and accurate AR-15. To be specific, I made the rifle's lower receiver; that's the body of the gun, the only part that US law defines and regulates as a "firearm." All I needed for my entirely legal DIY gunsmithing project was about six hours, a 12-year-old's understanding of computer software, an $80 chunk of aluminum, and a nearly featureless black 1-cubic-foot desktop milling machine called the Ghost Gunner.
The Ghost Gunner is a $1,500 computer-numerical-controlled (CNC) mill sold by Defense Distributed, the gun access advocacy group that gained notoriety in 2012 and 2013 when it began creating 3-D-printed gun parts and the Liberator, the world's first fully 3-D-printed pistol....
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When: July 9, 2015; 2 p.m. (Eastern)
How: Register for this event. You will use the same link to attend the event.
Learn about:
- Uniforms and clothing allowances
- Other types of compensation
- Payment of awards and prizes
- Professional licenses and dues
What else: Don't forget to register for these webinars:
Backup Withholding and Form 1099 Miscellaneous
- June 25, 2015; 2 p.m. (Eastern)
- Register
Taxability of Fringe Benefits Part Two: Commonly Provided Fringe Benefits
- June 11, 2015; 2 p.m. (Eastern)
- Register
If you have any questions or comments, please send us an e-mail.
