What’s Heating Up? Affiliate Assembly Online, New FL Statutes, Cyber Crime

Don’t miss Economist Dr. Anirban Basu on Thursday’s TitleNow Pop Up Webinar

Dear Members,

Summer is here! We had an unusually nice, long Spring so this heat has surprised me…..even though I have lived in Florida all of my life! So stay safe AND cool. Here's what is going on this week.

Thursday's TitleNow PopUp Webinar focuses on the state of the economy and my guest will be Dr. Anirban Basu. Dr. Basu has shared his wit and wisdom with us at Assembly for the past two years and was my guest on a webinar a few weeks ago. I am glad to have him back to give us an update on the economy in general, with a special focus on Florida real estate. It's this Thursday, Noon, 30 minutes. FREE! Here's a link to register. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3031005420203597580

Affiliate Assembly is scheduled for August 20 and 21st AND it is moving to an online format. You can experience this great event at a special price - and not have to leave your office/home! This is a first for Affiliate Assembly so take advantage of this unique opportunity to offer folks who have never had the chance to attend because of inconvenience or inability to leave the office. In addition, just like with Assembly, attendees can view Affiliate Assembly live on the day it is broadcast, or later on demand. Topics include Probate, FIRPTA, Title Policy Endorsements in Commercial Transactions and (my personal favorite) Remote Online Notarization. Affiliate Assembly Online has been accredited by The Florida Bar, NALA and the Department of Financial Services. Registration opens this week so visit https://www.thefund.com/affiliateassembly.aspx to learn more.

Cyber fraud still an issue! A few weeks ago I included a nostalgic message about how we used to focus on cyber fraud and now everything is about the pandemic. Well, here is a reminder that this issue is still very challenging to the title/settlement services industry and the sneaky criminals are just waiting for you to let down your guard! We have a lot of resources to help you refresh your skills to combat this dire threat to your business and to remind you of the various ways you may be vulnerable! Visit our Information Security page, review and BE AFRAID! Here is a link https://www.thefund.com/information-center/information-security.aspx.

NEW STATUTES signed into law by Governor DeSantis. There have been a flurry of bills signed into law the past several weeks. Every week I will pick a few to highlight in my blog and will refer you to additional resources with more detail as to others on the list. Today, let's talk about the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. This law creates a special process for the partition of "heirs property," a newly defined term. "Heirs property" is property (and I am taking great literary license here with the details) where 20% of the ownership interest is held by individuals that are "relatives" (another defined term) and there is no written agreement amongst ALL of the owners as to how the manage and dispose of the property. If you are dealing with a situation in which property is owned by relatives and there is talk of partition, you need to become familiar with this new law. It changes the process in a significant way. Here is a link to the Session law. https://www.thefund.com/TheFund/media/PDFs/Chapter-2020-55-Uni-Partition-of-Heirs-Property.pdf The other bill I will mention has little to do with ownership and title to real estate but involves the timely issue of FIREWORKS! If you live in a neighborhood with a Ch. 720 HOA, check out this new law. If your covenants prohibit fireworks across the board, you don't get special dispensation on July 4th. But if your covenants do NOT prohibit fireworks, your board of directors cannot prohibit fireworks on July 4th (or New Year's Eve and New Year's Day) by RULE adoption. Here's a link to the Session law (it's a quick read but you will have to go to the general fireworks law to get the details). https://www.thefund.com/TheFund/media/PDFs/Chapter-2020-11-Fireworks.pdf

If you are hungry for more legislative info, here is a link to a memo prepared by Senior Underwriting Counsel Charles Nostra, indicating which bills he mentioned in his Assembly presentation have been signed into law. There are Session Law references for each. Super easy to find. Just "google" Florida Session Laws 2020, find the link and then the laws are listed in numerical order based on the session law number. https://www.thefund.com/TheFund/media/PDFs/2020-SESSION-LAWS-as-of-6-26-20.pdf

That's all for this week.

Stay safe.

Let us know how we can help you.

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary  Preferences | Unsubscribe

06/29/2020 10:02 AM