A neutral third party who is typically a law firm, title company, or real estate brokerage company is entrusted to hold in escrow a buyer’s earnest money deposit until this money is either credited to the buyer at the closing of the transaction or is dispersed to either the buyer or seller if the transaction fails to close.  As an escrow agent, the neutral third party has a fiduciary responsibility to both parties in the transaction and is required to exercise reasonable skill and ordinary diligence in the maintenance of the escrow funds.

An escrow agent is required to keep funds in escrow until disbursement is properly authorized.  Proper authorization would consist of (a) the transaction closing and the escrowed funds being credited to the buyer, (b) written release of the escrowed funds signed by both parties to the transaction in the event the transaction fails to close, or (c) a court order directing the escrowed funds to be released to a specified party in the event the transaction fails to close.

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The purchase of your home may be the single largest investment that you will make in your lifetime.   At closing, you are given a deed to your home and you think – “Great, I own it.   As long as I pay my mortgage, taxes, contractors, and homeowner’s dues, no one can take it away from me.”   For the most part (at least in Florida), that is true.  But what do you do if someone does try to take your home away from you, claiming that you do not hold good title to the property?

The answer is to make a claim on your owner’s title insurance policy.   At closing, you will have (or at least should have) purchased an owner’s policy of title insurance that insures that you have “good title” to the home.  Depending on the policy terms, an owner’s title insurance policy may insure against all kinds of potential title problems, including: Click here to read more »

According to statistics released by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in 2008 there were 243,342 traffic crashes, involving 366,917 drivers.   Of those 243,342 traffic crashes, 212,119 involved some sort of injury, and 3112 involved a related fatality.  These statistics highlight the importance of having adequate insurance coverage available if you are injured by the fault of another in a motor vehicle collision.

You should understand that if you or a loved one is injured due to someone else’s negligence in a motor vehicle collision, Florida law – with very limited exceptions – does not require drivers or owners of motor vehicles to have bodily injury liability insurance.  Bodily injury liability insurance covers claims for death, permanent injury, significant scarring or disfigurement, or the significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function caused by the at-fault driver.

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