Michigan Businesses Face Major Tax Changes in 2012
2012 brings another year of change to how the State of Michigan taxes Michigan businesses. Beginning January 1, 2012 Michigan businesses are subject to the new Corporate Income Tax (CIT) which...
View ArticleBuy-Sell Agreements Protect Your Business and Prepare You for Major Events
What would happen to your business if an active owner of your business leaves or is unable to work? Becomes disabled? Sells shares to an outsider? Dies? Divorces and is required to transfer shares to...
View ArticleTrade Secrets – Protecting Your Confidential Information
Some of the most valuable intellectual property in the world is not protected by a patent or trademark. A famous example is the formula for Coca-Cola – it is protected as a trade secret. A more...
View ArticleHow Laws and Lawsuits Shape Our Society: Two Cents Changed Grocery Shopping...
Back in the 1970s, I was a "pre law" Political Science major at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. And I had a great college job, when I wasn't editing the campus newspaper. The...
View Article…And That’s Why I Should Have Let My Ex-Spouse Keep the House
When you get divorced, deciding what to do with the marital home can be an emotional issue. Keeping that house may not be a victory. Here's an illustrative example: Husband wants to keep the marital...
View ArticleHow to Recognize Financial Abuse
Financial abuse (or economic abuse) is not something that you hear about very often, though much attention is paid to other forms of domestic abuse. Oftentimes, one partner in a relationship is not...
View ArticleSame-Sex Couples Should Take Exception with the Missing Exemption
In the wake of the recent determination of the unconstitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, the mind of a tax attorney begins to wonder about the practical income tax implications for same-sex...
View ArticleCommon Marriage Killers
Though I'm not a psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist or trained mental health professional, over the course of my practice, I have noticed that the same reasons for a marriage falling apart present...
View ArticleWhat Skills Should You Look for in a Mediator? Observations and Approaches
Having now plied my skills in facilitative mediation since 1999, I have taken the time to reflect on the most valuable skills a good mediator should strive to develop. They are, in no particular...
View ArticleWhen Should I Use Mediation?
Alternatives to litigation can be used in any situation where both or all parties are willing to negotiate, or have been instructed to do so by a court. The mediation process offers personal attention...
View ArticleIn a Car Accident, Under-insured Coverage Can be as Important as Uninsured...
This is important for everyone to know regarding your auto insurance. We recently worked with a client who was involved in a car accident. His vehicle was hit head on. The driver of the other vehicle...
View ArticleDoes Your Key Supplier Have a Succession Plan?
"Hello Jake, I hate to tell you this but we can't ship your order this week. One of our key suppliers is holding us up." That's a customer phone call you never want to make. If you are like most...
View ArticleFAA Approves Six States for UAS Flight Research and Testing
In conjunction with the FAA Modernization Act of 2012 and the Comprehensive Plan released by the Federal Aviation Authority in November of 2013, the FAA recently revealed that Alaska, Nevada, New...
View ArticleWhy Even A ‘Bad Guy’ Won’t Have to Pay Your...
I've been a trial lawyer for 32 years. And if I had a dollar for every time I heard a litigant vow to collect actual attorneys' fees from an adversary -- because the bad guy's claim was "frivolous"...
View ArticleUnderstanding Litigation Can Make the Process More Controllable
As a trial lawyer, I read essays on litigation. The best title that I ever saw on a column was, "Litigation in America - As Welcome as Sickness or Death." The author opined on why litigants hate...
View ArticleWe Have a Sheriff’s Deed, But Who Pays Association Assessments?
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently held that a purchaser pursuant to a sheriff's sale was responsible for condominium association fees due from and after the date of the sale. In Wells Fargo Bank...
View ArticleA Football Team, by Any Other Name…: USPTO Decision Illustrates that...
At Meadowlawn Elementary in the 1960s, my West Michigan friends and I would boast about things that made us "better" than each other. It was the golden age of Superman comics and, while I didn't have...
View ArticleTake Me Out to the Ball Game (And Let’s Be Careful)
"Heads up!" It’s a phrase often hollered when it is too late to react to whatever is about to hit you, often squarely on your head. If taken literally -- many of us respond by doing the exact opposite...
View ArticleWhat Happens if a Sheriff’s Deed is Transferred? Who Pays Association...
In a recent, unpublished opinion, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that the transfer of a purchaser's interest in property that was acquired through a sheriff's sale is not governed by Section 111...
View ArticleDrone Technology Generates Significant Legal Buzz
This column was originally published in the Grand Rapids Business Journal on Sept. 9, 2014. As I stood outside of 2nd Recon Battalion Headquarters, located on the United States Marine Corps base at...
View Article
