Board members and managers often ask us to explain the fiduciary duties of board members to the community associations that they serve. We have compiled some information to guide directors in their roles. As you read this information, you will discover that, at the most basic level of decision-making, directors must make reasonable decisions after considering the information available. In advising boards, we recommend that directors try to recognize the emotions involved in a given situation and avoid letting the emotions, rather than the facts and interests of the association, guide the decision-making process.

What is a fiduciary?  Webster’s Dictionary defines "fiduciary" as follows:

adj. of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust: as a : held or founded in trust or confidence b : holding in trust c : depending on public confidence for value or currency

Fiduciary duties arise from special relationships that the law recognizes.  Examples of fiduciary relationships include doctor-patient, attorney-client, trustee-beneficiary, and board of directors-corporation.  Continue Reading Fiduciary Duties of Board Members: An Overview

When townhome or condominium owners do work inside or outside of their unit, it could impact the Association. Some issues that need to be discussed and addressed if they will affect the Association are:

1.         Will it adversely affect building systems? Example: might water overflow to another unit?

2.         Cosmetic issues: will it affect the …

Many states have enacted Megan’s Laws which allow for public notification of convicted sex offender presence within the community.  In Colorado, individuals may obtain information about sex offenders through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s website and through local law enforcement.  The CBI website permits any private citizen to search his or her zip code and find the whereabouts of sex offenders that fall into the following categories: sexually violent predator, multiple offender, and failed to register.  Other sex offenders are not listed on the website but citizens may request their information from local authorities.

In some cases, where the court determines that the sex offender poses a predatory risk to the community, the court may require community notification of the offender’s presence.  Community notification consists of a community meeting to which community members, schools, senior citizens, and recreation facilities in the area where the sex offender intends to locate receive a direct invitation.  At the community notification meeting, local law enforcement personnel present educational information about sex offenders, risks to the community, and cautionary steps that parents and children may take to protect themselves, and then reveal the identifying information about the sexually violent predator.  Community notification only occurs in the most extreme cases.  In most, if not all, cases, offenders are only released into the community after they have served a criminal sentence, undergone evaluations, and participated in some form of rehabilitation.  Continue Reading Sex Offenders in My Neighborhood?