Articles

Summaries of Select Supreme Court Cases

Timbs v. Indiana, 139 S. Ct. 682 (2019) In Timbs v. Indiana, a unanimous Supreme Court held that the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment applies to the states regarding criminal fines and civil forfeitures. The Court in Timbs… Read More

Estate Planning for New Parents

1. Medical Documents for the Hospital Whenever a mother goes to the hospital to deliver her baby, it is vitally important that she provide copies of certain estate planning documents to the hospital and her physician.  Such documents include mom's… Read More

Will Business Reorganization Become More Efficient?

The new Small Business Reorganization Act is effective as of February 19, 2020. The intent of the new law is to create a streamlined, cost-efficient path for small businesses to successfully restructure. As of the Effective Date, the debt limit… Read More

The Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) and the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and then signed into law by the President on March 23, 2010. Two years later, the Supreme Court rendered a final decision on June 28, 2012, to uphold parts of the health… Read More

Service Provider, Retailer, or Realtor? Sales Taxes and the (Hard) Hats a Contractor Wears

Construction contracts can be as complicated as the projects they govern.  They typically involve numerous parties, phases, and types of work.  The overwhelming majority of states tax construction contracts according to traditional principles of property law.  That is, they begin… Read More

Fraud Schemes, Identity theft, and more…

Scams and frauds are happening across Arizona every day which garner the attention of state and federal law enforcement authorities. Although some fraud schemes are new, many are reruns of familiar criminal conduct including internet phishing scams through email, or… Read More

Get It in Writing

Most of our relationships are built on trust and we believe that if we did not trust someone we would not do business with him or her.  Strangely, many of us fear that a written agreement signals a lack of… Read More

EEOC Releases 2019 Statistics on Charges of Discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its Fiscal Year 2019 Enforcement and Litigation Data, breaking down which charges of discrimination were the most common. Continuing the recent trend, charges for retaliation were the most common, making up 53.8% of… Read More

Yes, you really need a Will

If the saying by Benjamin Franklin holds any truth that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, then certainly taking time to plan your estate can eliminate questions about what will happen to your property, assets, or… Read More

Beware of Pre-Printed Legal Forms

When faced with a difficult situation, using “pre-printed” or “canned” financial power of attorney (i.e., downloadable forms, documents borrowed from someone else, or those prepared by non-lawyers), will often result in more legal problems than one cares to have. The… Read More