Aretha Franklin’s heirs are embroiled in a court battle due to several handwritten documents that the Queen of Soul wrote before her death. The issue at hand is: Are these handwritten documents valid wills under Michigan law? Shortly after Aretha’s death in August 2018, no will could be found, which meant that Aretha’s assets would […]
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that, by the end of August 2019, more than 10,000 taxpayers would receive mailed letters relating to virtual currency. The IRS is sending the letters to taxpayers who may have failed to report income, pay taxes, or properly report virtual currency transactions. For this purpose, virtual currency includes […]
In a recent Private Letter Ruling the IRS declared that sales of property between spouses and the spouses’ grantor trusts do not trigger income taxation. This ruling validates a planning technique using special trusts called Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATS) and transactions between the spouses and these trusts. This type of planning is used to […]
You just lost a case in which the opposing party has a claim for attorney fees pursuant to a contract, statute or other fee-shifting mechanism. The opposing party has now filed a motion for attorney fees. Your initial reaction is to oppose the motion by arguing that the amount of time spent by the opposing […]
On June 3, 2019, the United States Supreme Court in Taggart v. Lorenzen unanimously held that a bankruptcy court may impose contempt sanctions against a creditor for violating a discharge order where “there is no objectively reasonable basis for concluding that the creditor’s conduct might be lawful.” The Court rejected the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ holding that […]
Before extending commercial loans, lenders will regularly require an owner or principal of a borrowing entity to personally guaranty payment of the entity’s loan obligations. It is well-settled under Wisconsin law that a personal guaranty contract is separate and distinct from the borrower’s loan contract with its lender. For this reason, lenders are entitled to […]
Arbitration is a common form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) used frequently and effectively in business settings. In arbitration, the parties have flexibility to choose decision-makers, jurisdiction, and many procedural rules, but they limit themselves in terms of discovery and some courtroom protections. While most courts will enforce arbitration clauses in contracts, such clauses should […]
Recently, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, wrote a letter addressed to “Friends and fellow Americans” discussing her diagnosis with the beginning stages of dementia. In her letter, Justice O’Connor explained that her condition is “probably Alzheimer’s disease.” Justice O’Connor, age 88, was appointed to the Supreme […]
Arbitration clauses in commercial and employment contracts are increasingly popular as a means to try to settle business disputes without going through a court trial. Arbitration clauses should be clear regarding how the arbitration is to be carried out. In addition to detailing who will hear the dispute (the arbitrator), an arbitration clause should designate […]
In an ideal world, parties involved in the sale and purchase of goods would have a signed contract to establish the terms and conditions of the sale. A well-drafted, signed contract confirms the parties’ intentions to create a contract and clearly articulates its material terms in a single document. If a dispute arises, the parties […]
