What happens if you are in an accident and, due to that accident, you are unable to understand enough to handle your affairs? What if you have dementia that makes it so you cannot understand things? Is there a solution? The answer is yes. The law offers tools to assist you. Health care power of […]
There’s been an uproar over a recent request by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association that schools ramp up efforts to stop what it considers unsportsmanlike chants from the crowd. Examples include taunts like “Airball,” “You can’t do that,” “Fundamentals,” and “Scoreboard.” This paternalistic approach from the WIAA has been skewered all over the internet and in […]
Ah … winters in Wisconsin. This means slippery sidewalks and parking lots. As the winter hits our area we start to receive calls from people with premises liability or ‘slip-and-fall’ claims. Be warned though. Only a handful of those claims are worthy of a lawsuit. Slip-and-fall cases have to meet certain thresholds to be successful. […]
As a litigator, I see them advertised and I find them on the other side a fair amount: the “bulldog” attorney. If your prospective attorney describes himself that way, put your hand on your wallet and run–don’t walk–out the door. You really, really, really, don’t want to hire him.
Siblings inheriting the family cabin tend to do things informally together. Siblings also can make promises to each other that they may not be able to stick to later. One such promise is, “If I ever want out of cabin ownership, I will leave the ownership without compensation.” Sadly, a well-intended handshake plan to have […]
The Review We recently had a new client present us with her revocable living trust so that we could review it for her. We took a good look. The trust had a beautiful binder cover on it. It was drafted by a reputable attorney. It was carefully worded. It contained special language in it so […]
In a recent interview, billionaire Nick Hanauer said that when this change hits workplaces, “shit’s gonna hit the fan.” And I think he’s exactly right. Right now, many employers pay their workers a salary and even if those employees work more than 40 hours a week, the employer doesn’t have to give them overtime pay. In order […]
We think so. Imagine if a family member no longer wants to be a part-owner of the family cabin. He wants out. You do not want to pay him his asking price. A falling out occurs. Other regretful actions transpire. If your family doesn’t have some mechanism in place to deal with this impasse, a […]
If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street; If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat; If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat; If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet. — The Beatles, “Taxman” (1966) Up next in our series of posts covering lawsuits featuring Evansville is this case […]
Everyone loves the family cabin. Sometimes that love for the family cabin can make it hard to share when there are more than a couple owners involved. Understanding this dynamic, scheduling time at the beloved cabin can be a great challenge. The owners of a cabin often find it works best to have a formal […]
The response to Wally’s post on Almeron Eager’s will and its effect on the pending library expansion showed that our readership digs Evansville history, so let’s keep the ball rolling. This story involves many of Evansville’s founding fathers and one of the most historic landmarks in town, the Evansville Seminary. The story begins in 1855 […]
The Eager Free Public Library is planning to undertake a building expansion project. The City of Evansville has purchased the property adjacent to the library with a plan that the adjacent property be used for the expansion. As sometimes occurs … a hurdle is discovered. A real property title search revealed that a no-build easement […]
As I wait for my new divorce clients to form a line outside of my office in the aftermath of the Ashley Madison hack, I thought it would be a good time to talk about what constitutes grounds for divorce. In the old days, you had to prove to the court that you had a good reason […]
Wisconsin laws do not require a written Operating Agreement. Decision made. Right? Not so fast. Even though the law says it is ok, you should fight the temptation to go without one. You should also resist the temptation to use a generic one supplied by someone without the expertise to explain the terms in it. […]
Our business owner clients often love the idea of a non-compete agreement because it can guarantee that good employees stay around–or so the thinking goes. As employment litigators know, however, courts generally don’t like them, so if you want to make them stick, you need to take a targeted approach when drafting them. A blanket statement like, […]