Delaware Lawyers Serving your Real Estate, Civil Litigation, Estate Planning, Estate Administration, and Business Law Needs
Practical advice from knowledgeable legal counsel
Sergovic & Carmean, P.A. consists of attorneys skilled in a wide range of civil matters. Our attorneys and staff are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the legal profession. We welcome the opportunity to discuss questions or concerns about your case and we invite you to call or e-mail us with any questions. To learn more about our practice in the following areas, please review the content below:
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Civil Litigation
We understand that it is often an emotional time when clients face circumstances where they are sued or feel their only option in resolving a dispute is to file suit against another party. We serve clients by providing logical, skilled legal advice with respect to a wide array of civil matters. Our attorneys are well-prepared, timely and experienced in all Delaware State Courts. We are committed to advocating our clients’ rights and seeking just results in the following areas: disputes involving interests in real property, commercial and residential landlord-tenant disputes, adult guardianships, debt collection actions, mortgage foreclosure actions, construction litigation, breach of contract actions and business law disputes.
Real Property Law
1. Real Estate Settlement Services
Sergovic & Carmean has over 35 years of experience in providing high-quality settlement services in Delaware at competitive rates. We have vast experience in representing our clients in both residential and commercial purchases and sales as well as refinance transactions. Our real estate department strives to accommodate the needs of our clients by providing prompt, efficient and courteous services to all parties involved in the transaction, including the buyer, seller, realtor(s) and lender. Our attorneys also make a concerted effort to go the extra mile for clients and are unique in that we often travel to realtors’ and lenders’ offices to accommodate the client with no extra cost to our client.
2. Negotiating the terms of property purchase and sale agreements
The attorneys at the law offices of Sergovic & Carmean accommodate the particular needs of developers, realtors, condo associations, homeowners associations, property owners, clients seeking to engage in a 1031 exchange, and potential homebuyers while drafting and negotiating real estate deals. Our attorneys are skilled draftspeople who often negotiate real estate deals, settlements, closings, purchases and sales for our various clients who range from first-time homebuyers to real estate developers.
3. Document Preparation
In addition, our attorneys have extensive experience in providing guidance and legal services from the beginning of a real estate transaction. Such services include, but are not limited to, the preparation of deeds, contracts, promissory notes and mortgages.
Land Use
1. Encouraging smart growth in community development
The relationship between developers and the community is often fraught with strife when a developer's plans have a foreseeable adverse impact on neighboring properties. At the law offices of Sergovic & Carmean, we encourage smart growth in Sussex County. We are highly familiar with county and local zoning codes and can assist developers in presenting a project that is appropriate growth. We also work alongside community organizations to enjoin companies from developing in areas that could be adversely affected by the destruction of trees, historical landmarks or valued local property. Our attorneys aim to align the goals of developers with those of the community to select appropriate locations for planned development to occur. Our case history demonstrates a consistent track record of success with complex cases.
2. Resolving title defects related to zoning violations
Unfortunately, many zoning violations are not brought to the attention of the property owner until a survey is prepared on behalf of a contract purchaser in connection with the sale of the property. When this occurs, it is necessary for the property owner to obtain a variance to bring the property into compliance with the zoning regulation and to transfer clear title. We are highly familiar with the local and county zoning regulations and have extensive experience in representing our clients before the appropriate administrative agency to obtain a variance from the zoning regulation at issue.
Estate Planning and Estate Administration
1. Developing a comprehensive estate plan that allows you to leave a legacy to future generations and your community.
Discussing and developing an effective estate plan is a deeply personal and often overwhelming experience. A proper plan contemplates both death and incapacity and creating a prudent plan requires serious consideration of a client’s personal values and relationships, as well as tax and probate consequences. Recent and frequent changes in federal and state law require skilled legal advice and drafting. We are dedicated to providing you substantive legal advice and comprehensive drafting skills in developing an effective estate plan. Our estate planning practice covers the following areas:
- Estate and Transfer Tax Planning
- Wills and Revocable/Irrevocable Trusts
- Advance Healthcare Directives with Medical Powers of Attorney (also known as Living Wills)
- Durable Powers of Attorney (also known as Financial Powers of Attorney)
- Life Insurance Trusts
- Special Needs Trusts
- Charitable Trusts/Planning
- Adult Guardianships
2. Our attorneys take pride in walking you through the administrative process upon your loved one’s passing.
Losing a loved one can be emotionally tolling. However, upon the death of a loved one, the estate administration process begins. Estate administration refers to all administrative matters, and includes probate. Probate is governed by the decedent’s will or, if they did not have a will, the intestacy laws. Proper estate administration requires strict compliance with relevant laws, rules and regulations, with which we are knowledgeable.
Our office is handicap accessible but for our elderly or disabled clients who are unable to travel, we often travel to meet with them in their homes or in assisted living facilities to meet their needs.
Business Law
Offering beginning-to-end legal services as you cultivate your business
We have the knowledge and experience to educate clients about how to limit their exposure to taxable or personal liability as they open, expand or dissolve their businesses. By selecting the appropriate corporate structure for their business entities, business owners are able to derive the best possible benefits from their businesses. For start-ups businesses, we explain the differences between sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, cooperatives, family-owned businesses, limited liability corporations, S corporations, C corporations and any variations on these entities. We file the appropriate documents with the Secretary of State in and for Delaware and provide documents such as non-compete agreements, buy-sell agreements and confidentiality agreements that can help preserve the integrity of your business operations. When it is time for businesses to dissolve, we can direct you toward tax and financial advisors who can evaluate offers to purchase business assets or determine how best to sell off the business. Throughout the process, we remain at your side and keep the documents in check, allowing you to keep your focus on bottom line results. In the event that litigation is necessary to resolve a dispute between business partners or to dissolve a business entity, we are well-versed in business law litigation.
