Sound Legal — Original
Section 1.1 Class of Members. The qualifications and class of members are set forth in the Declaration.
Section 1.2 Members. Each Owner of a Unit is a member of the Association and shall be entitled to one membership for each Unit owned, with voting rights set forth in the Declaration and Article 2 of these Bylaws. Corporations, partnerships, associations, and other legal entities, trustees under an express trust, and other fiduciaries, as well as natural persons may be members of the Association. Persons who claim to be members of the Association shall, upon request, furnish the Board with certified copies of documents evidencing ownership of a Unit or any interest therein.
Section 1.1 — Members
Members shall consist of all persons, trusts, and corporations who now or hereafter own one or more lots within the area of jurisdiction of the association as described in the Articles of Amendment and the Modified Protective Covenants of the association. Each lot shall be entitled to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of the corporation's members. Memberships shall not be transferable except upon transfer of the member's property.
What Changed & Why
Who's a member. If you own a lot in Lakemoor, you're a member, whether you own it yourself, through a trust, or through a company. Each lot gets one vote, no matter how it's owned.
Membership comes with the lot. It can't be sold or given away on its own, and it passes to the next owner when you sell. That way the vote always belongs to someone with a stake in the community.
This combines two Sound Legal sections into one. Instead of pointing to the Declaration for who qualifies, the bylaws now say it directly. Also removed: the rule that anyone claiming membership must hand over certified ownership documents on request.
Sound Legal — Original
Section 1.3 Persons Under Disability. Minors or persons declared legally incompetent shall be eligible for membership in the Association, if otherwise qualified, but shall not be permitted to vote except through a legally appointed, qualified and acting guardian of their estate, voting on their behalf, or in the case of a minor with no legal guardian of his estate, through a parent having custody of the minor.
Section 1.2 — Persons Under Disability
Minors or persons declared legally incompetent shall be eligible for membership in the Association, if otherwise qualified, but shall not be permitted to vote except through a legally appointed, qualified and acting guardian of their estate, voting on their behalf, or in the case of a minor with no legal guardian of his estate, through a parent having custody of the minor.
What Changed & Why
No change. Minors and people a court has found legally incompetent can be members. They vote through their legal guardian, or, for a minor with no guardian, through a parent with custody.
That way their lot's vote isn't lost, and the person casting it is legally accountable. This was Section 1.3 in the Sound Legal draft.
Sound Legal — Original
Section 1.4 Registration of Owners. The Board shall cause a register to be kept containing the names and addresses of all members of the Association and other information the Board deems necessary. Persons who acquire ownership interest in a Unit shall promptly inform the Board. If a Unit is owned by a business, trust, estate, or similar legal entity, it shall provide copies of its organizational documents sufficient for the Association to verify ownership interests and individuals with authority to bind the entity.
Section 1.3 — Registration of Members
The Board shall cause a register to be kept containing the names and addresses and contact information of all members of the Association. Persons or other legal entities who acquire ownership interest in a Lot or are the named party representing a trust shall promptly inform the Board.
What Changed & Why
A list of who's who. The board keeps a register of every member's name, address, and contact information. Everything else depends on it: you can't send election notices, count a quorum, or check who can vote without an up-to-date list.
New owners, including companies and the person named for a trust, must tell the board when they take ownership.
Removed: the requirement that companies, trusts, and estates hand over their organizational documents. The notice rules that used to be in this section are now Section 1.4.
Sound Legal — Original
From Section 1.4 Registration of Owners: Notice required under the Act or Association's governing documents to Owners shall be sent to the Unit address unless an Owner notifies the Association in writing of an alternate address. An Owner may notify the Association of an electronic address that may, at the Board's discretion, be used for purpose of notice in addition to or in lieu of notice to a mailing address. Except to the extent required by the Act or Declaration, the Association is not required to give owners notice by more than one method or to more than one address. Notice to occupants, to the extent required by the Declaration or Act, shall be the Unit address unless the occupants have requested in writing that notices be sent to an alternate address.
Section 1.4 — Notice to Members
Notice required under the Association's governing documents to Members shall be sent to the Lot address unless a Member notifies the Association in writing of an alternate address. A Member may notify the Association of an electronic address to be used for the purpose of notice in addition to or in lieu of notice to a mailing address. Notice by electronic transmission is deemed delivered when sent to the email address or electronic contact information on file in the Association's records. Notice by mail is deemed delivered when deposited in the United States mail, addressed to the member at the address on file in the Association's records. The Association is not required to give Members notice by more than one method or to more than one address unless required by law.
What Changed & Why
Where notices go, and when they count. Notices go to your lot address unless you give the Association a different one in writing. You can also give an email address, and the Association must use it. Before, using it was up to the board.
New: a notice counts when it's sent. An email counts as delivered when it's sent to the address on file, and a letter when it's mailed. So a vote or deadline can't be undone later by someone saying they never got the notice. That's why keeping your contact information current matters.
Meeting notices also go by mail (see Article 2, Section 2.8). Removed: the rules for notices to occupants who aren't owners.