Archive for January, 2011
An important factor in determining whether to award alimony is the tax consequences of the court order. We all know that periodic alimony is income to the payee and deductible by the payer if it meets the IRS’s requirements. So what does the IRS consider to be the essential ingredients of an alimony award, either [ READ MORE ]
I found this remarkable material on Oxford’s William Faulkner recently. Some of the photos are priceless, like the one of Faulkner and Welty. The Q and A session offers an insight into one of America’s greatest authors — at least as he saw writing and the world in that still-unsettled era in the aftermath of World [ READ MORE ]
Back on November 16, 2010, I posted here that you don’t have to file a motion for a new trial in chancery non-jury trials to preserve error for an appeal. As I pointed out, it has never been the law in chancery court that such a motion was necessary, and MRCP 52(b) would appear to dispose [ READ MORE ]
When a child commits a tort, can the parents be held responsible to pay the damages? MCA § 93-13-2 sets out the rules for when the parents of a minor will be held liable for the acts of the minor, and the limits on that liability. Here are the principal points: The statute states that “Any property owner [ READ MORE ]
MCA § 91-7-295 addresses summons or publication for a final account in an estate, conservatorship or guardianship. The entire statute reads as follows: The final account so presented with the statement as to parties, shall remain on file, subject to the inspection of any person interested. Summons shall be issued or publication made for all parties [ READ MORE ]
One of the simplest tasks of a trial lawyer is to get a photograph admitted into evidence, but I have seen some painful exercises as lawyers strive mightily against repeated objections in their task. Only two things are required to be shown: That the witness knows relevant facts about the scene or objects represented in the [ READ MORE ]
An award of joint legal custody was reversed where the reason assigned by the trial judge was to allow the mother to participate in and keep up with the children’s activities. Joint legal custody requires the parties to confer in the joint decision-making about decisions affecting the children’s lives. Concern for access to information does not [ READ MORE ]
“‘Your money or your life.’ We know what to do when a burglar makes this demand of us, but not when God does.” — Mignon McLaughlin “Money may be the husk of many things, but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but [ READ MORE ]
The WSJ Law blog reports that the ABA is seriously considering doing away with the requirement that candidates for admission to law school pass the LSAT. The thinking is that law schools should decide their own entrance requirements, and that the ABA, in its accrediting role, should concern itself instead with whether or not graduates are qualified to [ READ MORE ]
Every administrator or executor is required by Uniform Chancery Court Rule (UCCR) 6.10 to have an attorney to represent him or her in connection with administration of the estate. The attorney’s fees of the administrator or executor are not the obligation of the estate, but are the personal obligation of the fiduciary, but they may be [ READ MORE ]
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