Litigation
January 27, 2006
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Divorce and Sale of the Principal Residence
January 27, 2006
The division or other disposition of the marital residence has always been a major issue in most divorces. Given the tremendous increase in the value of homes in recent years, the economic and tax concerns of dealing with the marital residence are even more acute for clients and their advisers. The general rules governing income taxation on the sale of a residence were enacted as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Public Law 105-34, which became effective Aug. 5, 1997. Prior rules concerning home sale rollover, or exclusion of gain by certain older taxpayers, are generally no longer relevant and not discussed in this article.
Leading Questions And Child Witnesses
January 27, 2006
Last month, in the first part of this article, we discussed the case law of both state and federal courts with regard to the admissibility of child testimony and the suggestibility of child witnesses. The conclusion of this article discusses whether the child witness understands that he or she can affect the outcome of the litigation, as well as other issues related to the reliability of the child's testimony.
Appraisal Economics
January 03, 2006
The subject of "discounts" is the most contentious issue in business valuation and property valuation today. In marital property division, the relative high or low values of the individual properties balance against each other as the parties settle (and squabble over) the allocation of assets. For example, it is common to see the husband (assumed to be the in-spouse, or business owner) argue for a "low" value for the business, whereas the wife (assumed to be the out-spouse, who will not take the business asset) would argue for a "high" business value. Discounts from a total property value (or, a proportionate ownership per share value) seemingly lower value in an arbitrary manner, usually spurring a nasty and expensive fight with dueling appraisers.
Posthumously Conceived Heirs
January 03, 2006
The science of cryobiology introduced the world to the previous impossibility of a posthumously conceived child. In the years that have followed, courts have been forced to address myriad unique social and legal issues incident to a child conceived after the death of its father. With little precedent to guide them, judges have been asked to answer the most elementary of probate questions: Is this a child of the decedent? If so, does this child have a right to inherit under the decedent's will or as an intestate beneficiary? From here, courts will continue to face an endless barrage of increasingly more difficult questions of inheritance: How long must a class of beneficiaries remain open? What responsibility does the Personal Representative of the estate have to ensure that the class is closed? Does the mother have an obligation to inform the court or the Personal Representative of her intent to conceive?
Leading Questions and Child Witnesses
January 03, 2006
Lawyers involved in product liability cases are occasionally involved with child witnesses, either as plaintiffs or as percipient witnesses to the critical events in the lawsuit. As in other types of litigation, child witnesses present a number of difficult challenges in product liability cases.
Influencing Custody Evaluators
November 29, 2005
As zealous advocates, lawyers should try to influence custody evaluators -- within limits. Here are some suggestions from someone who has fielded such attempts and talked extensively with other experts about them.
Trust Planning
November 29, 2005
Trust planning clearly contemplates the future incapacity and death of the donor. The future incapacity or death of the trustee, however, is not always planned for with equivalent detail and thought. This lack of forethought often results in contests between the remaining competent trustees or between the beneficiaries and the trustees. In the matrimonial context, divorcing spouses should carefully consider who should serve as trustees of trusts established for the benefit of children and/or former spouses. Again, the consequences of what happens when that carefully chosen trustee ceases or fails to serve might not be contemplated. When the beneficiaries and trustees are not friendly, as is often the case in trusts established as part of a divorce agreement, the stakes are even higher. To avoid unnecessary and costly battles, the drafting attorney and the trust's donor should focus on matters, including the definition of incapacity, the procedures involved with declaring a trustee incapacitated, how the trust will be administered once a trustee is declared incapacitated, short term incapacity or unavailability, and the possible tax consequences of a having an incapacitated trustee.
Litigation
November 29, 2005
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Two New Angles on Custody Litigation
November 29, 2005
Custody litigators use expert testimony and tests to influence the court's decision about which parent should have custody of the child(ren). Psychologists and the MMPI2 test are two tools frequently utilized, but they should be viewed with caution. The American Psychology Association Guidelines for Use in Custody Cases (Guidelines), which were promulgated by the American Psychological Association in 1994, have been a source of discussion and controversy in the courtroom since they were first published. Are they guidelines or are they mandatory directives for the approaches to be taken by the evaluator in the custody evaluation process? For those of us who handle custody litigation, a recent case in Pennsylvania is instructive.
