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Family & Estate Law Blog

Grandma Power at the Jersey Shore ( a better reality)

January 2, 2010 | Frank Marciano

It’s winter, it’s cold, it’s the weekend. Stay home , watch TV, take a nap. Well my brother-in-law’s mother, “Sitti” to her wonderful grandchildren, was out at the Jersey Shore, surf fishing. This picture of her all suited up and ready to hit the waves, is just so inspiring that I had to make it my first post of the year. Betty Topazio is full of life and laughter as anyone can see in her beaming smile. I truly believe that the energy and spirit of some like Betty is more powerful that a speeding locomotive. And of course (and this is no fish story) she was the only one to actually catch a fish!!!!

In our youth obsessed culture, success is measured by how thin and smooth your body is, but no amount of botox can fill your life with purpose. My New Year resolutions are to keep moving, embrace change, laugh even louder, love more and in turn be loved more and strive to live a life worth loving.

Cake Boss Fans from Pittsburgh flocking to Hoboken

November 15, 2009 | Frank Marciano

How cool is this:

Was at my office this Sunday and coming down the street is this great group of women laughing and having a great time, as they approached I saw that they had “Cake Boss” T-Shirts on and I just had to take a picture. They were full of fun and when I asked them where they were from they said “PITTSBURGH” and that they came all the way here just to see the Cake Boss’s store, (actually they were visiting New York, but it makes for a far better story if they just came to Hoboken for the biggest celebrity Hoboken has had since Sinatra. Passing by the store I have actually since young girls 5 or 6 years old, squealing in excitement over their chance to see the Cake Boss in Person.) They have 3 to 4 hour lines on some days with people from all over the world. It is so great to have such a positive person as a symbol for Hoboken. All those politician types can’t lick the sweet spatula of the Cake Boss. And just as I was about to leave the Pittsburghians said, “look look at the back of the shirts” and I learned a little bit about bakery slang with “Dirty Ice This” slogan, as you can see here:

Appellate Court allows Blimpie Base No 1 to Stay in Hoboken

October 4, 2009 | Frank Marciano

The First Blimpie ever was built in Hoboken in 1964, and over the past few months this true Hoboken Tradition was almost forced to leave because of their Landlord’s tricky attempt to try and double their rent. Well, they lost at the trial level and then went to the New Jersey Appellate Court to try and force their interpretation of the lease regarding when and how Blimpie had to give notice to renew their lease. Thankfully, they lost again. In this Appellate Court Decision the Law Firm of Frank Marciano successfully defended an attempt by The Hoboken Blimpie’s landlord to double their rent for allegedly failing to provide a timely request to renew their lease. You can read the decision here, but before the decision here is a little bit on the History of Blimpie:

Blimpie’s roots can be traced back to three friends armed with an entrepreneurial spirit and a business itch to introduce what the world now knows as the beloved submarine sandwich. After months of research and planning, all the components were in place for them to begin their journey of becoming business owners, with one exception – they needed a name. With a desire to set themselves apart from their competition, they decided to call their sandwiches something other than submarines or hoagies. Hoping to find some inspiration, they paged through a dictionary until they came to the word “blimp” and a picture resembling the healthy, generous-size sandwiches they saw as their competitive edge. That was the “eureka” moment, and the Blimpie sandwich and restaurant chain was born! On April 4, 1964, the three friends opened for business in Hoboken, N.J.

Today with more than four decades of history and locations from coast to coast, the Blimpie brand continues to grow with the strength of its past propelling it forward. Though times have changed since those three friends began their journey, enjoying a meal at Blimpie is still like returning to your neighborhood deli. With fresh sliced meats and high quality ingredients, Blimpie keeps the dream of its founders alive while still setting itself apart from the competition.

The Hoboken Real Estate Market and Underwear

September 1, 2009 | Frank Marciano

In the old days, Hoboken families didn’t have wash and fold, it was more like hang and dry.

It is hard to predict where the economy is headed, some pundits are even analyzing underwear sales to gauge the state of the economy, I will leave such esoteric punditry to MSNBC and will just write about what is actually happening in my law practice.

The real estate market in Hoboken is surprisingly strong. New clients are buying and existing clients are selling their condos and moving to the suburbs. There is interest in new construction where developers are offering their own incentives to seal the deal. In fact when units are priced below the market I have seen bidding wars. On the other hand, units that are priced over the market don’t attract any buyers.

Appellate Court Decision Victory

May 29, 2009 | Frank Marciano

hoboken%20marciano%20appellate%20court%20victory%20copy.jpg

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Just received the Appellate Court’s Decision in a trial I had in Hudson County Chancery Court that reversed the Trial Court’s judgment. This was an interesting case involving rent control in Hoboken, reformation and rescission of a contract, and many other points of law discussing what happens when rent control issues come to play in the sale of a multi unit building. It also is a great example of how slow the legal process is and how Judges can be wrong and how the system does allow a person to appeal and overturn a judges decision. For those that are not attorneys it must not make that much sense that decisions and opinions at the trial level are not always correct. In this case the Trial judge is one of the smartest and fairest judges that I have appeared in front of, but for whatever reason he saw the case as presented in way that my client thought was incorrect, so we appealed, and thankfully three appellate court judges took the time and effort to write a 19 page opinion that reversed the trial judge’s judgment so that my client won his case.

Hoboken moves to the Web; Great new Website

April 29, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Hoboken’s New Website seems to be a big step in the right direction, the more on the web the better; forms, notice, proposals, zoning information, council video all of it should be available on the web and this new website is a big step in that direction.

Mortgages are getting harder to obtain.

April 19, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Mortgage industry changes throw new hurdles in borrowers’ way – Los Angeles Times

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

April 14, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Centraal Station Antwerpen March 23, 2009

Solitude (a poem Feb. 25, 1883)

A Wonderful time at Hoboken’s new “W Hotel”.

April 8, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Hoboken%20W%20Hotel%20Outside.jpg The W Hotel from the outside.

Hoboken%20W%20Hotel%20Staff.jpg The front desk staff showing off their W’s

Hoboken%20W%20Hotel%20Living%20Room.jpg The W Hotel Living room. Now its quiet, at night it’s not.

Prenups, Premarital Agreement New Jersey Law

March 24, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Here in Hoboken, I have seen a big increase in requests for Prenups. An essential element of any prenup is that both sides have legal representation. The courts will generally uphold the agreement unless one party did not have an attorney or if the agreement is considered unconscionable. It is very hard for a much poorer person to negotiate the terms of a prenup. Most, if not all, of my clients marrying into money start off their appointment stating in no uncertain terms “I don’t care about the money”. All I can say to that is to consider your situation 15 years down the line when your husband decides to trade you in for a younger model and you are confronted with a document that you signed years ago when you were young and naive. I have a problem with the Court upholding an agreement that was made so long ago an in such different circumstances but the fact is that the Court may very well find the agreement enforceable even though it is unfair.

On the other hand, if you have money and are marrying someone without any assets you should bring up the Prenup topic very soon after you have both agreed to marry. Since the law allows people to negotiate many terms of a divorce before the love has gone, it is important to take advantage of a law meant to protect your assets.

A premarital agreement or ante-nuptial agreement may be used by a couple to determine, prior to marriage, what each party’s rights and obligations will be in the event of divorce. Premarital Agreements are governed by the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, N.J.S.A. 37:2-31 et. seq. The agreement must be in writing and have a statement of assets attached to it. It becomes effective upon the marriage of the parties. The parties to a premarital agreement may negotiate about the following: