Loans made to or involving gas stations can present the lender with some unique environmental concerns. As such, the SBA Standard Operating Procedures (“SOPs”) include specific requirements for all loans secured by a lien or security interest on real property (a fee simple or leasehold… Read more »

When filing a mortgage, determining the amount of mortgage registration tax (“MRT”) is relatively simple.  Except in the counties of Ramsey and Hennepin, MRT is calculated by simply multiplying the amount of the debt secured by the mortgage by .0023.  In Ramsey and Hennepin,… Read more »

Loan participations have been a valuable tool in commercial lending for years.  This is true primarily because they allow banks to participate in transactions that would otherwise present too much risk for them alone, or allow them to purchase or sell an interest in a transaction necessary to… Read more »

           Our firm serves as the outside in-house legal counsel for many financial institution clients. In that capacity, we receive calls and emails from our clients every day with questions relating to all aspects of banking.  Sometimes,… Read more »

Powers of Attorney – New Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney Effective January 1, 2014  This is a follow-up to our Advisor article sent on June 18, 2013, “Powers of Attorney – What You Need to Know About the Current Requirements and Upcoming Changes.” The full… Read more »

2010 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code go into effect Monday, July 1, 2013.   We are sending this as a follow-up to our The Advisor article sent on April 16, 2013, “What to Know about Filing UCC Financing Statements under the 2010 Amendments.” The full article can be… Read more »

The 2013 Minnesota Legislature passed legislation modifying and clarifying the Minnesota Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney (“SSF POA”), which is found in Minnesota Statutes § 523.23. This article will focus on what a power of attorney can and cannot do, the four parts of the… Read more »

We often receive calls from our financial institution clients when they are served with a garnishment (most often from a private-party creditor), or a levy from a taxing authority (most often from the IRS).  The most common question we receive in this scenario is whether the financial… Read more »

In 2010, a review committee finalized several changes (“2010 Amendments”) to the Uniform Commercial Code’s Revised Article 9.  The 2010 Amendments have been enacted by the State of Minnesota, and will go into effect on July 1, 2013.  Although only eight other states have… Read more »

Precise drafting of loan documents is essential when documenting a loan. Clear and unambiguous loan documents accurately reflect the agreement of the parties and protect both lenders and borrowers. When issues arise relative to the terms of the underlying loan documents, failure to clearly… Read more »

Many lenders are aware that Wisconsin law requires them to obtain a marital purpose statement when making a loan to a Wisconsin resident.  However, there is a significant amount of uncertainty in determining how the marital purpose statement should be worded, how it can be documented, who… Read more »