Relief Bills, Assembly Registration & Accredited Tax Webinars

Dear Members,

LEGISLATION.  The first piece of legislation to come out of this year's session is the COVID Immunity bill - it has passed through both Senate and House and has been signed into law by Governor DeSantis.  It provides immunity from COVID-related claims for "most" businesses and is effective upon becoming law.  Here is a link to the final bill.  http://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/sb-72-covid-liability-enrolled.pdf  More details later at Fund Assembly!  Speaking of Assembly………

ASSEMBLY NEWS!  Assembly this year will again be virtual but it will NOT be the "usual" virtual event.  It really has some nice enhancements.  I urge you to check it out.  The dates are May 19, 20 and 21.  And in case my short message is not persuasive, here is a link to a quick video to give you an idea of what is coming.  thefund.com/assembly/better-than-ever.  Tickets are now on sale and you can register at this link:  thefund.com/assembly.  Easy, peasy.

BANKRUPTCY UPDATE.  Recall that one component of the 2020 CARES Act was to increase the maximum debt limit for Subchapter V bankruptcy filings to $7.5 million.  Subchapter V was designed to streamline the process for a Chapter 11 case and apparently was very helpful to many small businesses (and the bankruptcy courts!).  However, the debt ceiling was set to return to the original level ($2,725,625) on March 27, 2021.  Congress took action, passed a bill and President Biden signed the extension into law on Saturday March 27, 2021 (just in time!)  Here is an interesting article about the topic. https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2021/03/25/about-that-impending-subchapter-v-bankruptcy-eligibility-deadline/

TAX SEASON!  April is tax season (ugh!) but one redeeming feature is that the Legal Education Department is readying live webinars each Tuesday of the month addressing tax matters that affect real estate practitioners. These programs include fully accredited sessions on Tax Deeds, FIRPTA and the 1099-S, as well as a class on 1031 Exchanges presented by Janet Schaum of Old Republic Exchange. We can’t promise you a tax refund, but we can promise you some fabulous legal education, so tune-in!  Are you subscribed to the weekly email from the Legal Education Department?  If not, signup online, https://www.thefund.com/education/webinars. 

That's all for this week.  Let me know how we can help you.

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