Business and Corporate Law

• Business Formation
  Jim Fine, Attorney Jim Fine attended Vanderbilt University, and is a graduate of Indiana University, University of Louisville, and the University of Miami (FL). Since 1975, Jim has practiced law and has and focused on estate planning, taxation, wills, trusts, business formation and real estate. Jim is licensed to practice law in both Kentucky and Florida. Jim has many professional memberships and is involved in several community outreach programs.
• Business Transactions
  Jim Fine has been practicing in the area of Kentucky real estate law since 1975 and since 2006 in Florida and has conducted closings since 2007 in Indiana. He has conducted residential, cash, commercial, FHA, VA, conventional, Kentucky Housing, Fannie Mae, sales, refinance, exchanges, and closings of all types of residential development. He has closed for many of the mortgage companies, realtors, and banks in the regional arena. He has always prided himself in quick-turn-around, easy-access, and full-disclosure closings, and he is particularly sensitive to the needs of lenders and realtors in securing closing disclosure or HUD-1s at the earliest time for review. Mr. Fine, Mr. Cummins, or an experienced closing paralegal will close all transactions. Mr. Fine has worked with surveyors, local agencies, engineers, developers, and lenders in shopping center closings, condo conversions, and other substantial commercial transactions, and he has been an agent with Chicago Title/fnf for over 30 years. Mr. Fine is also an agent for Old Republic National Title Insurance. Mr. Fine is knowledgeable in the real estate area and his breadth of experience lends itself to answering and responding to virtually every contingency or issue that arises in the real estate closing process. He is a member of the Real Estate Section of the Louisville Bar Association and The Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar. In contrast to the “assembly line” closing offices, Mr. Fine gives a clear, concise, thorough, and credible explanation of all closing documents. If there are any questions regarding a loan document, Mr. Fine will not pressure the buyer or borrower, or the seller, into signing any documents. Mr. Fine’s working knowledge lends itself to versatility and adaptability at closing to virtually any unusual or controversial circumstance or closing costs. Mr. Fine is licensed by the Indiana Department of Insurance to conduct real estate closings and issue title insurance.
• Limited Liability Companies

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  1. That would be nearly impossible, that is to do a closing by yourself. An attorney or a proper settlement agent who knows the rules of real estate law is required to conduct a closing. First of all, you heave legal instruments that need to be prepared for a seller, such as a deed. And you need to have money coming in from a buyer that goes through an escrow to protect all parties. This can only be effected by an attorney or some competent title company. I recommend an attorney as a closing attorney myself for 42 years. It protects the buyer to get clear title and to not have the buyers funds squandered. It protects the seller to get the funds from the buyer. And to transfer clear title to the buyer.
• Real Estate Transactions
  2. Adjustable rate loans are used to enable buyers to finance real estate purchases. Where they don’t have the ability to pay the going rate, an adjustable rate gives them a hedge against that higher current rate. For example, on an adjustable rate loan, you may get a 4.5% rate, whereas on a fixed rate, you had to pay 5.5%. The difference is, is that on an adjustable rate loan, its term is going to expire after, say, five years. We call that a five-year arm. After five years, your rate adjusts to whatever current market rates are. There is some risk involved in an adjustable rate loan, but it is a very useful method to enable people to get into homes where their income levels are expected to go up over time.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Assets placed in trust are distributed by its terms and need not be administered through probate court, thereby insuring privacy for a family. However, for those assets not placed in trust, there will, in most circumstances, be a probate estate administration. Trusts may sometimes, but not always, eliminate filing tax returns and paying taxes on a decedent’s estate.
• Wills
  Contrary to myth, the process known as probate, or having a will administered by the District Court after death, is not an overwhelmingly costly experience. In fact, in most cases, simple wills cost less than trusts to prepare and execute.
• Trusts
  1. I advise my clients to take title to commercial real property in a limitation liability entity. I would use a limited liability company, a limited partnership, or a corporation, or some other means of protecting liability. Even an irrevocable trust can be considered. You don’t want the exposure that your insurance won’t cover when you buy commercial real property. And commercial real property creates situations where there could be large lawsuits or large losses and that insurance is just not sufficient or cost effective to maintain. So I always advise my clients to strongly consider the limited liability entity.
• Power of Attorney
  2. A health care Power of Attorney is a document that is created by an attorney for you that enables another individual to make medical decisions and medical arrangements for you, not only to make life and death decisions for you, but to enable you to get medical treatment, to be placed into a facility, such as a hospital, or doctor’s office, a nursing home, or to have any kind of medical treatment whatsoever. That’s what a Medical Power of Attorney would enable someone to do for you. It should be prepared by someone who knows state law, whether it be Florida or Kentucky, and what powers can be conferred upon the donee, the one who holds the Power of Attorney.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
  Morris Cummins, Attorney Morris began his legal career working in the field of creditor’s rights, debtor creditor relations and bankruptcy law. In 1996 he established a successful local title operation handling general real estate matters including title work, title insurance and escrow services. Mr. Cummins has twenty years of experience in the real estate field and has handled all types of residential and commercial real estate transactions including REO properties and foreclosures.
• Foreclosure
  Mr. Fine has represented lenders in foreclosure proceedings for must of his forty-two plus years in practice and regularly files foreclosure suits for various lenders.
• Tax Law
  Mr. Fine has been preparing income tax returns for individuals, corporations, partnerships, trusts, donors making gifts, and estates since 1975. He has prepared taxes and regularly engages in tax planning for all entities, which includes preparation of the tax forms that are needed in order to start a business. Mr. Fine employs the latest in computer software to assist him in his tax preparation practice.