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Property Classifications for Married Couples in Utah: When and Why They Matter in Estate Planning

Jonathan Hansen January 25, 2017

The list of property classifications in Utah is long and sometimes confusing: marital property, separate property, joint property, community property, probate property, non-probate property, intestate property, exempt property, joint tenancy, tenants in common. What precisely do these terms mean as it relates to a married couple’s property? In what context is each relevant? Utah estate planners should have a precise

Will the New Administration Trump Class Actions?

Patrick Brickman January 20, 2017

If history has taught us anything, it would seem obvious that a Republican presidency, as well as a new Republican congress, would be vehemently opposed to class actions. In the past, they have teamed up to take on litigation reform. They have passed the Federal Arbitration Act; as well as the charmingly named Class Action Fairness Act and the Fairness

Patent Profanity

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young January 11, 2017

A good rule of thumb for most is to keep profanity out one’s work product (unless you’re a rapper; and then it’s expected). Decorum in the courtroom is important, as well as in our day-to-day interactions. Just as you should not utter certain words in court, it is likewise important not to put them in writing. The same is true

Key Questions and Considerations in Spousal Maintenance Cases

Kathleen Newman January 11, 2017

Family Law attorneys have been waiting impatiently for the release of the Minnesota Supreme Court decision in the case of Curtis v. Curtis. The decision, which was filed Nov. 16, 2016, represents the first decision by the Supreme Court in a long while on a substantive spousal maintenance issue and while it addresses the tax issue raised by the district

Invited Error: An Argument for Appellees

Robin Bresky January 5, 2017

Four types of error are often discussed in appeals. The appellant argues that the lower court’s errors are reversible. Sometimes appellants also assert that errors are fundamental, as we explained in Vol. 4 No. 4 (“The Fundamental Error Exception to the Preservation-of- Error Rule”). Conversely, the appellee wants the order or judgment to be affirmed and usually argues that there

Criminal Law — The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

Louis J. Shapiro January 4, 2017

Recently it seems like not a day passes by, without a report of some form of government corruption in the news. In just the last few weeks, two high ranking Kern County police officers were convicted of smuggling drugs with the mafia; the attorney general of Pennsylvania was sentenced to five years in prison for perjury and obstruction; and our

Digital Estate Planning

Julie Clairmont-Shide December 29, 2016

A client called recently and shared the challenging situation she is experiencing. A family member passed the previous month, and she was named the executor. Her relative did not have a list of their online accounts and passwords; they merely had a cheat sheet hinting as to what existed online. My client is now in the awkward position of collecting

Donaldson v. Donaldson: Court of Appeals Vacates Alimony Award

Francis King December 29, 2016

“The decision presents an instructive example of how a reversal may be obtained, when a trial court’s alimony award is not supported by sufficient factual findings.” Appellate court reversals of trial courts’ alimony awards are rare. The determination whether to make such an award is highly fact-driven and, in most cases, the trial court will write an alimony decision that

Exploring Employee Rights and How to Defend

Kristen Kraus December 28, 2016

If you have ever reviewed a severance agreement on behalf of an employee, you have likely come across a series of acronyms like ADEA, ADA, ADAA, GINA, FMLA, WARN, OWBPA and ERISA, just to name a few. That agreement likely required the employee to release all of these claims, and many others, in exchange for some consideration. But did you

The Fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Stay Tuned

Marc Dann December 28, 2016

In October, I posted a blog on my law firm’s website celebrating the fact that corporate America’s most recent attack against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the agency, had been defeated. While the DC Court of Appeals held that the CFPB’s director could be removed by the president at will, rather than

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