Samuel J. Levine  was featured in the The Palm Beach Post as a new associate at Sachs, Sax and Caplan.  Learn more about Samuel  including how to work with him here: https://ssclawfirm.com/samuel-levine?view=employee&id=45        

The Sun Sentinel featured founding partner Peter S. Sachs as he calls on municipalities to prevent another surfside disaster   Read more below   

Meet the four new attorneys and the rest of our experienced team https://ssclawfirm.com/experienced-attorneys  

Attorney Daniel Kaskel discusses transfer taxes with the Dallas Morning News. Read more below on what you need to know when selling your property.         

    Attorney Peter Sachs featured in Palm Beach Post discussing club initation and golf memberships. 

"Invest: Palm Beach 2021," which provides an in-depth review of the key issues facing Palm Beach County’s economy, was recently released earlier this year. The report features the exclusive insight of prominent business and political leaders who provide an in-depth look at what makes the region’s economy tick and the challenges that remain.  Our own Founding Partner Spencer Sax is featured as a leading legal voice: “We are bullish on Palm Beach County and its legal sector. We knew baby boomers were going to retire and we knew that was going to be good for the economy, for the real estate market and for the legal market but COVID has really sped that up. The success of our national economy has afforded people the opportunity to buy second homes and it has also accelerated the move of people from out of state to our state. The more people and businesses move to Palm Beach County, the more need there will be for legal services. We were bullish about that trend even before the pandemic.” Want to know more about Palm Beach County? Here are some interesting facts our legal services team in Palm Beach County found: Palm Beach County by the Numbers from Discover the Palm Beaches: Two Downtown Convention Districts, each with 1,000 walkable hotel rooms350,000 sq. ft. of Convention Center space78 degrees average year-round temperature17,000 guest rooms county wide200+ hotel rooms county wideTwo accessible railways, high speed and regional routesThree miles from Palm Beach International Airport to the Palm Beach County Convention Center20 miles from Fort Lauderdale International Airport to the Boca Raton CityWide Collection3,200+ restaurants200+ cultural institutionsLargest hotel meeting space: 146,000 sq. ft.160 golf courses15+ resort-style hotels2 James Beard award-winning chefs Palm Beach County Interesting Facts and Figures from Palm Beach County’s Official Government Website: County History A U.S. Army fort built in Jupiter in 1838 is believed to be the first permanent non-Native American settlement in the area. The fort was followed by the first civilian residents who cared for the Jupiter Lighthouse beginning in 1860.In the late 1800s, the Jupiter and Lake Worth Celestial Railroad and Henry...

Sachs, Sax Caplan, through its land use team, is proud to announce that on November 30, 2021, its client, Affiliated Development Group, was chosen as the approved developer for the mixed use project that is to be the centerpiece of the resurgent downtown Boynton Beach. As a mixed-use project with 236 apartments, it establishes the neighborhood of “E Bo,” that is, “East Boynton Beach.” The project will include relocating the iconic Hurricane Alley restaurant and well as working with a host of existing business and residents in providing basic services to the area. A substantial number of the apartments will be affordable units pursuant to local regulations. This project fits with the work the land use team did in connection with the new Boynton Beach City Hall and saving the historic Boynton Beach High School which is on its civic campus. Sachs Sax Caplan looks forward to additional challenging opportunities rebuilding the neighborhoods that others might consider passed-by. Working in those area empowers sustainable growth as well as adding to the supply of affordable housing. Please reach Michael S. Weiner, Esq. for your land use needs.

The consequences of the tragic Champlain South Tower collapse in Surfside, Florida continue to be felt for many condominium associations and unit owners within the thousands of condominium and cooperative communities throughout Florida. For many older condominium and cooperative buildings in Florida and for those that expect significant expenses for deferred maintenance or which may have large special assessments anticipated or already in place, borrowing money to purchase units in these buildings is likely to become much more difficult. On October 13, 2021, Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) issued Lender Letter (LL-2021-14), titled Temporary Requirements for Condo and Co-op Projects, imposing new “temporary” rules and restrictions pertaining to Fannie Mae’s purchase of loans from primary lenders on the secondary market. For the most part, these new requirements go into effect on January 1, 2022. The details and complexities of the secondary mortgage market are beyond the scope of this column. However, suffice it to say that without assurances that the mortgages backing the loans given by primary lenders (banks, credit unions, etc.) will be purchased on the secondary market (particularly by Fannie Mae), most primary lenders will not be financing home purchases. Under the new requirements, any loans that are secured by units with “significant deferred maintenance” or buildings that have received a directive from a regulatory authority or an inspection agency to make repairs due to unsafe conditions are not eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and will remain ineligible until the required repairs have been completed. Further, any loans for units in buildings that have failed to pass local regulatory inspections or recertifications are, similarly, ineligible for purchase (e.g., the “40-year recertifications” required in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and, recently, the 30-year recertification in the City of Boca Raton). Under the new requirements, “significant deferred maintenance” may mean any of the following: 1) full or partial evacuation of the building to complete repairs is required for more than seven days or an unknown period of time (unlikely for most buildings); or2) the building has deficiencies, defects, substantial damage, or deferred maintenance that:a. affect the safety, soundness, structural integrity,...

Peter S. Sachs, a Founding Partner and Chairman Emeritus of Sachs Sax Caplan P.L. answers questions regarding how vaccine mandates could potentially impact condo associations. “I live in a senior community. Can I ask employees of the community about their vaccination status? Obviously, we prefer to have vaccinated employees at work here, in the clubhouse, and elsewhere. Is it legal for us to ask or require this of the management company?”— Paul, Boynton Beach “Don’t take this upon yourself; speak to your management company. It would not be appropriate for a resident to inquire of an employee directly regarding vaccination status. It is a private matter. However, the board of the association or community may require the management company to certify that all of its employees on-site will be vaccinated as of a date certain as a matter of policy and contract between the association and the management company. The community at large may then rely upon the certification of their vendor, the management company.” “I have organized a luncheon for leaders of the hospitality industry at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 8. On the official invitation, I added a clause as follows: “COVID-19: For the safety of all attendees, vaccination cards will be required.” There will be no more than 52 attendees due to the capacity of the dining room in the hotel. By asking for vaccination cards, am I facing legal issues because of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s new law? Could the hotel be held liable in addition to myself?” — Ron Stevens, Boca Raton “You can’t ask people for their vaccination cards because of the new Florida law that prevents businesses, schools and government agencies from requiring people to show documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccinations before gaining entry. The only exception is health care facilities. If you require the vaccine card as a condition of entry, you run the risk of being fined $5,000, and the hotel also could face a penalty. The hotel may have exposure. The reader may want to have the event catered at a private home rather than involve the hotel, which likely would have concerns if it knew...

Palm Beach may tighten inspection requirements to ensure high-rise buildings are safe in the wake of the Surfside condominium collapse. Zoning Director Wayne Bergman has drafted a building recertification proposal expected to come before the Town Council in January. Bergman outlined the draft in November at a building structure safety seminar co-sponsored by the Palm Beach Civic Association and Citizens’ Association of Palm Beach. About 50 people, primarily residential building managers or board members, attended the event at the South Fire Station. On June 24, the Champlain Towers South, a 12-story residential building in Miami’s Surfside neighborhood, partially collapsed, killing 98 people and injuring others. Bergman was part of a 40-member Palm Beach County task force formed to examine building safety measures after the Surfside disaster. But the county in October decided to hold off on creating its program to regularly inspect high-rise buildings, deferring instead to state lawmakers who will meet in January. Miami-Dade and Broward counties require examinations of buildings when they turn 40 years old. After that, it’s every 10 years. But Palm Beach County doesn’t. Bergman says that the City of Boca Raton is the only municipality in Palm Beach County that has adopted an inspection program in response to the Surfside disaster. Boca Raton is requiring high-rise buildings to be inspected at 30 years of age. Bergman, who is also the town’s building official, is proposing that Palm Beach implement a building safety inspection and recertification program for all “threshold” buildings after they have turned 25 years old. Threshold buildings would be defined as those greater than three stories or 50 feet in height. Bergman recommends the 25-year threshold for Palm Beach because of the proximity to the ocean environment. Saltwater intrusion degrades rebar, which is the steel bar or mesh used to reinforce concrete or masonry. He says that staffing would be needed to administer the program if the council approves the plan. The town would need to hire a structural engineer to assist with town reviews of the building safety reports. Ordinances would have to be amended to implement the program, establish fines for...

A mandated reinspection program for aging condos and high-rises in Palm Beach County is an absolute necessity, a vast majority of county influencers surveyed by Palm Beach Poll agreed, and it might have the best chances of success in the hands of local governments.  The June 24 collapse of Champlain Towers South in the Miami-Dade County town of Surfside sparked a national reckoning by local governments over the need for timely inspection programs for aging buildings.  Five months later, the city of Boca Raton remains the only municipality in Palm Beach County to enact a reinspection program. Highland Beach is considering a similar program for its town. Reacting to the tragedy that killed 98 people, the Palm Beach County Commission enlisted the local municipal league to come up with countywide inspection rules.  Miami-Dade and Broward are the only two counties in Florida that require regular inspections of aging high rises. In light of the fatal condo collapse in Surfside, Fla., (Miami-Dade County) in August, do you think such a program in Palm Beach County is necessary? But in October, commissioners decided to delay any mandates and wait to see what the Florida state legislature comes up with within its session next year. The thinking was that new state rules would supersede local measures. “I don’t want our residents to think that if we take it slow in implementing a grandiose scheme for having reinspections and recertifications that we’re going to be doing anything to put their lives in jeopardy,” county Commissioner Robert Weinroth, who was named county mayor in November, said in October.   “I don’t want to see us put a system in place that is going to be so cumbersome that it’s going to miss the mark,” he said.  Weinroth’s district includes the county’s barrier islands from South Palm Beach to Boca Raton. Those communities have 300 condos that were built before 1990, according to research by The Coastal Star, a newspaper that covers those communities. But nearly 75 percent of the 297 influencers who participated in the November Palm Beach Power Poll, felt the county commission should have done...

Q. “I’m a yoga teacher in South Florida. I found out that a student who had been in one of my classes came down with COVID-19. The student with COVID told the yoga studio owner, but the owner did not tell me or anyone who was in that class. Was there a legal obligation for the studio owner to share this information with me or the people in the class? I feel like we all should have been told so we would know to get tested.” — Concerned instructor   A. “There’s no legal requirement. It’s more of a moral responsibility,” said attorney Peter Sachs, a founding partner and chairman emeritus of the law firm Sachs Sax Caplan in Boca Raton. “The yoga studio owner has an obligation to maintain a safe environment for her customers,” Sachs said. “In my opinion, this responsibility would include an obligation to notify the other students in the class that one of the students (name should remain confidential) they participated in class with had come down with a contagious disease such as COVID-19. The yoga studio owner breached that duty by withholding this information either intentionally or negligently.” There might have been a legal remedy if the teacher contracted COVID-19 from the student in her class, Sachs said. “There is no remedy for simply not notifying her,” Sachs said. “Her option without anything else would be to stop doing business with that studio.”  Questions appeared in the Sun-Sentinel

SSC attorneys Michael Chapnick and Steve Geller, who also serves as Broward County Mayor, discuss the final proposed recommendations by the Broward Committee on Building Safety.

Under Florida law, a prenuptial agreement is a contract signed between two parties who intend to get married, which defines their respective rights and obligations during the marriage, or at a later time if the marriage is dissolved. Prenuptial agreements can be used to attempt to avoid expensive and lengthy legal battles that sometimes occur when a marriage ends. They can also be used to avoid equitable distribution of their assets by a court during a divorce by instead instructing the court on how assets should be divided between the parties. Prenuptial agreements can address issues such as: Distribution of assetsDivision of propertyPromises made between partiesHow (or whether) each party will be supported after a divorce It should be noted that a prenuptial agreement may not include waivers of provisions regarding parental responsibility, child support, or time-sharing rights. Prenuptial agreements are enforceable in Florida if in writing and if all provisions are met, especially the full disclosure of assets and liabilities to each party. Because it is important to take all necessary steps to ensure the validity of a prenuptial agreement and avoid later claims of fraud or coercion, it is important for each party entering into a prenuptial agreement to have an attorney who can inform them of their rights and prepare or review any proposed agreement. Because prenuptial agreements are often non-modifiable and will not be invalidated simply because they are more favorable to one side than another, it is critical to seek the advice of an experienced attorney before signing a prenuptial agreement. Postnuptial Agreement A postnuptial agreement is similar to a prenuptial agreement, except that parties sign it after they are already married. Postnuptial agreements may be created without anticipation of divorce and are used to set forth the rights of parties during the marriage or in the event of death. They can also be created when a married couple anticipates divorce and wishes to amicably distribute their assets – this type of agreement is also called a separation agreement. As with prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements must be in writing and should be reviewed by an experienced...

The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday fined Leon County $3.5 million for its vaccine mandates for county employees. It comes at a time when many businesses are increasingly requiring this for their workers, or get let go. David Smith, a United States Air Force Veteran of Royal Palm Beach, tells CBS12 News it happened to him. “They said get the vaccine card, or nothing,” Smith said inside his home Tuesday evening. Smith, a father of two, completed several tours in Afghanistan in the mid to late 2000s. Yet he faced a tough battle when he said his boss over at a pest control company in Riviera Beach required his over 100 employees to get vaccinated by October 1. According to Smith, he wasn’t given the option to do a COVID [test] every week.  The 35-year-year old had COVID-19 months ago and even talked to his doctor about this before making a decision. “They told me there is no added pros to me getting the vaccine, since I already had it. They advised me not to get it,” Smith said. “Ultimately, I believe I was the only one that was let go because of it.” It was a tough decision for Smith after four long years with the company, but he believes in the right to choose. “I really grew into the position I was in and it just came to this one thing. That was such a hard line," Smith said. He was concerned that if somebody at his office was to get it, or one of us got it, that they could come back at him.” The guidance under the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission confirms employers can require vaccinations, but there are limited exceptions for religious or medical reasons. While vaccine passports are banned in the state of Florida, Palm Beach County attorney Peter Sachs said showing proof, at this time, applies to employees. “If its condition of employment as of the date of certain, the employee would have to show evidence that he got or she got the vaccine,” said attorney Peter Sachs of Sachs Sax & Caplan Law Firm in Boca Raton....