Q. Can a board member who has served on one board for many years serve on another board that is in the same HOA association? I don’t want to cause a problem with this member, but it does mean they would be casting votes on two association issues. It seems like a conflict.

                                        —Is This  Legit?

A. “It sounds like a master association with sub-associations,” says attorney A. Christopher Florio of Stark & Stark, which has offices in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. “On its face, and unless barred by either of the two associations’ governing documents, it’s not an absolute conflict. But it can pose a conflict if these two associations [are or become] at odds with one another.

 “The only thing this person who serves on the two boards needs to do is to recuse himself/herself from any matter that may be a conflict and would affect one or the other association. That will mean the attorney for these associations may need to be brought in on more corporate governing issues than either association had originally planned.”