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215-230-7500, ext. 117
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CONTACT CARDPractice Groups
Education
- Widener University School of Law, Juris Doctorate, 1996
- Temple University, B.A., 1989
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- United States Supreme Court
Real Estate Legal Services Include:
- Due diligence reviews including review of existing contracts and leases, zoning and municipal approvals in place or that will be required, and available municipal, county and state grants or special funding
- Lease termination and the orderly eviction of the tenant
- Negotiation and drafting of leases and related financial guarantees
- Resolution of compliance and enforcement matter
- Work-outs and lease restructuring, or
Estate Planning for Individuals with Disabilities on the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Written by Elaine T. Yandrisevits
Elaine T. Yandrisevits
On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. The ADA represented a sweeping change in access for individuals with disabilities by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, education, transportation, public accommodations, and other areas of life. The signing of the ADA represented the efforts of years of advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities and their advocates, whose work continues to this day.
One of the most important estate planning considerations for individuals and families is the ability to pass on assets to a beneficiary with a disability. If an individual with special needs is receiving income- and resource-dependent public benefits, then proper estate planning is necessary to ensure that the receipt of an inheritance does not jeopardize eligibility for these benefits. Income- and resource-dependent public benefits have strict limits on the amount of assets an individual can receive monthly (income) and own (resources) in order to qualify. Two of the most important income- and resource-dependent public benefits are Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid (called Medical Assistance in Pennsylvania), which includes health insurance and Medicaid waiver programs for community-based services. The resource limit for SSI eligibility is $2,000 per individual ($3,000 if the individual is married). In many states, including Pennsylvania, individuals who qualify for SSI are automatically enrolled in Medical Assistance. Medical Assistance waiver programs have varying resource limits depending on the program. As a general rule, therefore, individuals with disabilities who receive these public benefits cannot have assets in excess of $2,000 without affecting their eligibility for public benefits.
Supreme Court Expands Title VII Protections to Prohibit Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification
Written by Patricia CollinsReprinted with permission from the June 19th edition of The Legal Intelligencer. (c) 2020 ALM Media Properties. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.
The Supreme Court of the United States held in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 590 U.S. ___ (US 2020) that Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex also bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Court’s opinion relies on the text of the statute, rejecting arguments from employers regarding the failure to specifically include gender identity or sexual orientation in the statue. The Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock is historic – it expands the protections of Title VII to sexual orientation and gender identity, protections previously denied. The Court’s ruling requires employers to update and modernize their policies and procedures, hiring practices, training and workplace culture.
Family law attorney Mariam W. Ibrahim has been named by Pennsylvania Bar Association President David E. Schwager as one of 18 Pennsylvania lawyers selected for the 2020-21 class of the association’s Bar Leadership Institute (BLI). Ibrahim is the only Bucks County candidate chosen for this year’s class.
To apply for the BLI, candidates had to demonstrate leadership ability, commit to attendance and participation in the required events, be currently licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, be a PBA member, and be age 40 years or younger or have practiced five years or less.
“Each BLI class member this year has a unique, diverse background and perspective along with new ideas and goals for the future to help shape the association,” said Schwager. “I look forward to working with them as they learn more about the PBA’s varied paths to leadership and connect with other PBA members and leaders.
Ms. Ibrahim practices exclusively in the area of family law, handling a variety of issues, including divorce, child support, alimony/spousal support, equitable distribution and child custody matters.
Antheil Maslow & MacMinn congratulates our six 2020 Thomson Reuters Super Lawyer and Rising Star attorneys. Each year, no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
Three Partners of the firm were selected to the 2020 Super Lawyers List: Jessica A. Pritchard, Family Law, who was also selected for the "Top 100 Philadelphia" and “Top 50: 2020 Women Pennsylvania Super Lawyers List”; Michael W. Mills, Business, Estates & Trusts & Tax; and Peter J. Smith, Business, Real Estate, Estates & Trusts and Nonprofit Law.
Three AMM attorneys were selected to the 2020 Pennsylvania Rising Stars list: Partner Elizabeth Fineman, Family Law; Stephanie Shortall, Corporate, Real Estate and Trust & Estates; and Elaine Yandrisevits, Estate Planning and Administration, with a focus on special needs trust planning.
For more information about Super Lawyers' methodologies, visit www.SuperLawyers.com.
The Coronavirus outbreak has impacted almost every part of daily life for individuals, families and businesses. AMM attorneys are monitoring legislative developments on the local, state and federal level as we continue to provide legal services.
We plan to provide summaries, analysis and legislative updates regularly on topics related to this crisis in order to assist our business and individual clients to stay abreast of changes and events in the rapidly changing legal landscape. All such content is available on our Coronavirus Blog page. Please reach out to one of our attorneys should you need advice or have questions.
When a business owner gets divorced, the business is often the major asset subject to distribution. Accordingly, the business and its’ ongoing operations are almost always implicated in the divorce. In most cases that I see, the business is a small business with one owner or a few owners. In the best case scenario, the business owners have planned in advance for situations that arise in a divorce through a Shareholders Agreement, Prenuptial Agreements and/or Postnuptial Agreements. Hopefully, the parties’ respective family law and business law attorneys can work together to best protect the business owner to ensure as smooth a transition as possible. Hopefully, the relevant agreements have set forth a valuation formula which can be upheld at law for purposes of the divorce. Counsel can also work together to insure that income is clearly defined and reported so that support is less contentious. Additionally, advance planning can be used to address the below issues so that a divorce does not mean the end to the business. While advance planning is not a guarantee, it will provide additional protections to the business owner.
A divorce can impact internal and external business relationships, support (between spouses and child support), equitable distribution (division of marital property) and business control. In terms of business relationships, banking relationships can come into play, especially if the spouse is a personal guarantee of the loan. It is often not easy or possible to have the spouse removed from the guarantee. The spouse may also have a role in the business and it may not be feasible for them to remain involved. For example, in cases where the spouse is client facing, a delicate balance will be necessary to transition the spouse out of the business without negatively impacting the business. This can be a challenge if the divorce is acrimonious. Finally, the roles of the parties within the business may create sustainability issues going forward. In some cases, one spouse has a particular talent (i.e. software development, marketing creativity or scientific knowledge) which cannot be easily replaced and without which the business may not be able to survive. Such issues impact valuation but also succession and strategy on distribution of assets.
As for support, when a business owner is a party to a support action, whether for support for a spouse or for a child, calculating income can be challenging. The definition of income for purposes of determining support is very broad and is not the same as taxable income. There can be practical issues in obtaining information and documents which reflect the income. Legal issues can also arise, such as whether income is being reported or if the court can compel income or retained earnings to be distributed from the business to the owner to pay support.
In equitable distribution, the business must be valued so that division of the assets can occur. Business control also comes into play. It is unusual for parties to retain joint ownership or for the non-business owner spouse to receive shares of the business so creativity and/or structured payments are often necessary unless there is enough cash reserved for an outright payment. The payout can cause a financial strain for the business.
To best protect a business in the event of a divorce of the business owner, it is advisable for business owners to have advance planning through the mechanisms listed above. While not a guarantee, it will place the business owner spouse in a much better position than ignoring these issues all together.