False Advertising Claims against Anheuser-Busch

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False Advertising Claims against Anheuser-Busch. In 1991, Richard Overton sued Anheuser-Busch for false and misleading advertising under Michigan State law. He also included one claim that appears to allege that he personally suffered injuries as a result of the false advertisements. A number of publications and websites parodied this lawsuit by focusing only on the Read more

Criminals need not bear the responsibility for their crimes alone when the real money is in Hollywood.

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Criminals need not bear the responsibility for their crimes alone when the real money is in Hollywood. 1996, the family of Patsy Ann Byers sued Oliver Stone, Warner Brother, and others involved in the making and distribution of the movie Natural Born Killers for an unspecified amount. They claimed that the movie caused Sarah Edmondson and Benjamin Darrus to go on a crime spree Read more

If you can’t sue the system, sue yourself.

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If you can’t sue the system, sue yourself. 1995, Robert Lee Brock sued himself for $5 million. He claimed that he had violated his own civil rights and religious beliefs by allowing himself to get drunk and commit crimes which landed him in the Indian Creek Correctional Center in Virginia, serving a 23 year sentence for grand larceny and breaking and entering. What could he possibly have to gain by suing himself? Read more

Inventory List

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Inventory List
My mom is a barber.  She hears all of the town gossip of Franklin, Ohio.  There isn’t usually much going on in Franklin, but recently, a client told her the following story:  This couple came home from work one day and their grill was gone off their deck.  They assumed that their grill had been stolen, so they accepted it and moved on with their life.  Approximately one week later, they went out to their deck to find their grill back in its original position on their deck.  They found a card on top of their deck that said something to the effect of: “Please accept our sincerest apologies, our neighbor told us that we could borrow their grill, and we thought this was theirs.  We found out later that this was not their grill, and we had borrowed the wrong grill.  Please accept these Bengals tickets as our gift to you.  We appologize for the mix-up”  This couple was excited about receiving the Bengals tickets and went to the game the following Sunday.  When they returned home from the game, their entire house was empty.  The contents of their home had all been stolen. 
Recently, I came into contact with the owner of Contents Management, a company that will come out to your home and create a complete inventory of all assets in your home.  Until recently, I was not aware that this type of business existed but apparently there are many companies that provide this service.  A home inventory would be really important for a person facing a scenario such as the one above, but it would also be helpful for anyone that needs to make a claim on their homeowners insurance policy as a result of fire, flood, or other natural disaster.  Other people that could benefit from this service are: estate planning clients, landlords, divorce clients, and small business owners.
If you are interested in having an inventory of your home or business completed, you can contact your homeowner’s insurance agent.  It may be possible for your insurance agent to add the cost of the inventory to your monthly premiums.  If your insurance agent is unwilling to provide this service, you should look up local listings for home inventory services.  If you are in the Tri-state area, you may schedule an appointment with Contents Management.  They are a professional, affordable, and confidential inventory business serving clients in the (Cincinnati) Tri-state area.
If you found this information helpful and would like more information from Tibbs Law Office, LLC, please check out: http://www.tibbslawoffice.com/.  You may also subscribe to the firm Youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/tibbslawoffice and www.youtube.com/tibbslawofficeKentucky. 

Legal Overhead Costs

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A few weeks ago, I met with another attorney that asked me to join her firm.  This firm was an expense sharing firm which meant that I had two options.  I could join as a partner, which would mean that I would have one flat monthly expense rate for everything the firm provided to me, or I could join as an associate, which meant that I would have to give the firm 40% of my earnings to cover the firm’s expenses associated with having me as a member of the firm. 
It was during that meeting that I discovered that a firm’s expenses are the biggest factor in deciding what rate to charge clients.  During our conversation, I learned that her firm charges $1800 for a complete estate plan.  I am not sure whether this was for a single person or a couple but regardless, $1800 is a lot of money, considering a couple’s estate plan is not much more work than an individual’s.  This attorney bragged that her paralegal could finish the estate documents for this complete estate plan in approximately 12 minutes and another attorney in the firm could complete them in 6 minutes.  During this meeting, I found out that I use the same estate planning software that this other firm uses; however, I charge much less for this particular service.
Needless to say, I decided not to join that firm.  That firm was attracted to me because I had clients; however, my clients would not be able to pay their rates, and with the added overhead expenses, I would not be profittable if I continued to charge my client’s the rates I charge them now.  I share this experience, not to brag about how much less I charge my clients for this service, but rather to ask clients to look around when they meet with their attorney. 
 If you meet with your attorney and you notice expensive artwork, extavagant furnishings, and many different sets of legal books, or if you find your attorney through expensive full page, color advertising, please understand that you are paying for those things.  It is good to have a nice office, I consider my office to be nice, but you won’t find those items in my office.  I do not want my clients to pay for those items, especially, if they are not benefiting from those items.   If you are a client that wants to see those types of material things when meeting with your attorney, then, by all means, choose an attorney that charges more money for his/her services.
For resources that will help you save money with your legal bill, subscribe to my youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/TibbsLawOffice, www.youtube.com/tibbslawofficeKentucky or go to http://www.TibbsLawOffice.com.

Spousal Support in Ohio

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Spousal Support in Ohio:
One of the least guiding “guidelines” in Ohio is the Ohio Spousal Support Guidelines.  This statute gives Ohioans “factors” that Ohio Courts consider when determining whether spousal support will be granted and if so, how much.  The factors the courts consider are the following:

Quoting Ohio Revised Code § 3105.18. – Award of spousal support; modification.

(A) As used in this section, “spousal support” means any payment or payments to be made to a spouse or former spouse, or to a third party for the benefit of a spouse or a former spouse, that is both for sustenance and for support of the spouse or former spouse. “Spousal support” does not include any payment made to a spouse or former spouse, or to a third party for the benefit of a spouse or former spouse, that is made as part of a division or distribution of property or a distributive award under section 3105.171 [3105.17.1] of the Revised Code.

(B) In divorce and legal separation proceedings, upon the request of either party and after the court determines the division or disbursement of property under section 3105.171 [3105.17.1] of the Revised Code, the court of common pleas may award reasonable spousal support to either party. During the pendency of any divorce, or legal separation proceeding, the court may award reasonable temporary spousal support to either party.

An award of spousal support may be allowed in real or personal property, or both, or by decreeing a sum of money, payable either in gross or by installments, from future income or otherwise, as the court considers equitable.

Any award of spousal support made under this section shall terminate upon the death of either party, unless the order containing the award expressly provides otherwise.

(C) (1) In determining whether spousal support is appropriate and reasonable, and in determining the nature, amount, and terms of payment, and duration of spousal support, which is payable either in gross or in installments, the court shall consider all of the following factors:

(a) The income of the parties, from all sources, including, but not limited to, income derived from property divided, disbursed, or distributed under section 3105.171 [3105.17.1] of the Revised Code;

(b) The relative earning abilities of the parties;

(c) The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the parties;

(d) The retirement benefits of the parties;

(e) The duration of the marriage;

(f) The extent to which it would be inappropriate for a party, because that party will be custodian of a minor child of the marriage, to seek employment outside the home;

(g) The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage;

(h) The relative extent of education of the parties;

(i) The relative assets and liabilities of the parties, including but not limited to any court-ordered payments by the parties;

(j) The contribution of each party to the education, training, or earning ability of the other party, including, but not limited to, any party’s contribution to the acquisition of a professional degree of the other party;

(k) The time and expense necessary for the spouse who is seeking spousal support to acquire education, training, or job experience so that the spouse will be qualified to obtain appropriate employment, provided the education, training, or job experience, and employment is, in fact, sought;

(l) The tax consequences, for each party, of an award of spousal support;

(m) The lost income production capacity of either party that resulted from that party’s marital responsibilities;

(n) Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable.

(2) In determining whether spousal support is reasonable and in determining the amount and terms of payment of spousal support, each party shall be considered to have contributed equally to the production of marital income.

(D) In an action brought solely for an order for legal separation under section 3105.17 of the Revised Code, any continuing order for periodic payments of money entered pursuant to this section is subject to further order of the court upon changed circumstances of either party.

(E) If a continuing order for periodic payments of money as alimony is entered in a divorce or dissolution of marriage action that is determined on or after May 2, 1986, and before January 1, 1991, or if a continuing order for periodic payments of money as spousal support is entered in a divorce or dissolution of marriage action that is determined on or after January 1, 1991, the court that enters the decree of divorce or dissolution of marriage does not have jurisdiction to modify the amount or terms of the alimony or spousal support unless the court determines that the circumstances of either party have changed and unless one of the following applies:

(1) In the case of a divorce, the decree or a separation agreement of the parties to the divorce that is incorporated into the decree contains a provision specifically authorizing the court to modify the amount or terms of alimony or spousal support.

(2) In the case of a dissolution of marriage, the separation agreement that is approved by the court and incorporated into the decree contains a provision specifically authorizing the court to modify the amount or terms of alimony or spousal support.

(F) For purposes of divisions (D) and (E) of this section, a change in the circumstances of a party includes, but is not limited to, any increase or involuntary decrease in the party’s wages, salary, bonuses, living expenses, or medical expenses.

(G) If any person required to pay alimony under an order made or modified by a court on or after December 1, 1986, and before January 1, 1991, or any person required to pay spousal support under an order made or modified by a court on or after January 1, 1991, is found in contempt of court for failure to make alimony or spousal support payments under the order, the court that makes the finding, in addition to any other penalty or remedy imposed, shall assess all court costs arising out of the contempt proceeding against the person and shall require the person to pay any reasonable attorney’s fees of any adverse party, as determined by the court, that arose in relation to the act of contempt.

(H) In divorce or legal separation proceedings, the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to either party at any stage of the proceedings, including, but not limited to, any appeal, any proceeding arising from a motion to modify a prior order or decree, and any proceeding to enforce a prior order or decree, if it determines that the other party has the ability to pay the attorney’s fees that the court awards. When the court determines whether to award reasonable attorney’s fees to any party pursuant to this division, it shall determine whether either party will be prevented from fully litigating that party’s rights and adequately protecting that party’s interests if it does not award reasonable attorney’s fees.

Determining whether spousal support will be granted is largely within the court’s discretion but is generally predictable to an Ohio licensed attorney.  Determining how much spousal support a court might grant in any given situation is much more difficult for the parties to predict.  Ohio has created a helpful child support computation worksheet to predict how much a party will pay or receive in child support; however, no such computation worksheet exists for spousal support (at least not one that is generally accepted or used by the courts).
Arguments can and have been made that the Ohio Child Support Computation worksheet produces results that are unfair to one or both of the parties, but at least it is a starting point for determining child support.  I for one would like to see Ohio create a spousal support computation worksheet to be used in all divorce/dissolution cases.  However, until this happens, the parties are left to their own devices.  I have prepared the following guidelines that I hope will help parties determine if spousal support is warranted, and if so, how much.
In reviewing these tips, please remember that spousal support was created to help compensate one party for their contributions to the household and to make sure, where there is enough income, the state would not be left to pick up the tab for the other party and the children.  Obviously things have changed, but try to remember the spirit in which these laws were created.
* As a general rule, spousal support may be considered an option if one of the parties has disposable income, which generally means that he/she makes over $55,000 per year or more.
*In addtion, spousal support may be granted if the other party makes approximately half ($27,000 per year) or less than the other party.
* Generally, if the court finds that one party should be granted spousal support, the court will likely grant it in the amount of $500.00 per month or more depending on the parties’ income.  Courts generally don’t grant spousal support in amounts less than $500.00 per month.  (This may be because the court may think that anything less than $500.00 per month is not really helping or is not a fair assessment of one spouse’s contributions…)
* Remember that contrary to child support, spousal support is considered income for the party receiving it and is tax deductible for the party paying it.  This means that if you are on the receiving end, if you have the option, you should negotiatiate to get more money in child support and less in spousal support.  If you are on the paying end and you have the option, you should negotiate to pay more in spousal support and less in child support.
Hopefully, these tips are helpful as you assess your own situtation and prepare for a divorce or dissolution.

Risks and Benefits of Separating before filing for Divorce

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I don’t know if I have said this before (in written form, of course) but if I have, I am going to say it again: Americans are ready to start spending money again.  I know that the stock market says otherwise, but I can tell the economy is recovering because people are finally pursuing divorce again.  For several months at the end of last year, and for several months at the beginning of this year, couples were separating, but not pursuing divorce.  The domestic relations courts were deserted.
Getting divorced is expensive, not only because both parties have to pay attorney fees but also because prior to the divorce, they had two incomes and only one household.  Once the parties separate, each only has one income available but each has an entire household to support.

Being separated prior to pursuing a divorce usually makes the divorce/dissolution process easier and less expensive because the separation allows the parties to divide up property and debts that can easily be divided, and by the time the parties are dealing with more difficult decisions, they are no longer angry, they have already moved on and they just want the paperwork to reflect the divisions they have already made.  Separating before pursuing a divorce makes sense for a lot of reasons but I wouldn’t recommend it under all circumstances.

I do not recommend leaving the marital home if the parties have children.  Both parties should seek the advice of an attorney before leaving the martial home when there are children of the marriage.  A parent’s right to custody or shared parenting could be affected by leaving the home and this may be avoided by seeking the advice of an attorney before leaving the home.

If the parties don’t have children, there isn’t much risk in leaving the home; however, seeking the advice of an attorney to discuss your rights in regards to marital property is recommended.

If you do not have children and your financial situation is improving and you are ready to separate and begin the divorce process, being separated for approximately 6 months should provide an adequate amount of time to cool off from the marriage and allow the parties to negotiate with a calm head.  Often, parties that have separated first are able to pursue a dissolution, which is much more friendly and cost-effective than a divorce.

National “Make a Will” Month

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Recently, I have had many clients contact me about making a will; more so than in any other month.  I knew that it was National “Make a Will” month but I did not think that anyone else knew that.  Even if they did, I didn’t think that “national -anything-months” actually moved people to action.  I’m beginning to beleive I was wrong about that. 

By making July the National “Make a Will month, “they”, whoever “they” are, are reminding us to do something that we all should do.  I am the first to say that not everyone needs a will.  I have had many young professionals ask me if they need a will and depending on the circumstances, the answer is “no.”  In fact, I do not have a will myself.  I have no problem telling my clients that they don’t need a will because by doing so, I am saving them time and money.  Those young professionals that I have spoken to now have peace of mind knowing that they don’t need a will (for now).  The people that I am concerned about are the people that I have not spoken to because only an attorney (and an honest one) can tell you whether you need a will or not, and you don’t know until you speak to an attorney. 

One thing that I have done recently to make making a will easier for my clients is that I have purchased fantastic (and expensive) software that makes making a will quicker and easier than ever.  The thing that I love about having this software available to me is that if I meet with a young person today and make their will, once I enter the information into the computer, I do not have to enter that information again.  If that person wants to make changes, I can go to the section where the changes will be made, instead of going through the entire program again.  Because this process is faster, it is also cheaper for my clients.  I have the software downloaded on my computer and when I am finished I am able to go back to my office and review the document to make sure it meets my client’s needs.

National “Make a will” month is not necessarily about “making a will” in July but rather reminding all of us to review our will to make sure it will carry out our wishes, which may have changed since last updating.  It is also about reminding everyone to schedule a free consultation with an attorney that can review your personal situation and help you decide whether a will is right for you or whether some other estate planning tools will better fit your needs.  In the meantime, happy will making to you all.

Attorney-Client Relationship

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Attorney-clients relationships can be complicated.  It has been said that you aren’t an experienced attorney until you have fired at least one client.  If that is true then I am officially an experienced attorney.  There are generally only two reasons that would prompt me to fire a client.  Either 1) there is a conflict, in which case I cannot represent the client without violating the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct or 2) the client is not following my advice and would be better served by another attorney that he/she trusts.

If you ever find yourself fired by your attorney, you shouldn’t take it personally.  Some people’s personalities just don’t go well together.  When I meet a client, I do my best to follow my intuition about people and only accept clients that I think I will work well with.  When that system fails, I do my best to work with the client and have been mostly successful in doing so.  In a small number of cases, I have felt as though the client would be better served by another attorney.  I want those clients to realize that although I may no longer work for them, I still have their best interests in mind.  By removing myself from the case, I am trying to help the client move on and find another attorney that will be better suited for that particular case.

This instance does not occur very often, but when it does, it is most helpful when the client realizes that it is in his/her best interest to find a new attorney that will work well with the client.

Living Trusts as an Estate Planning tool

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A living trust is a trust that is funded with assets which can be amended and/or revoked by the settlor (creator).  A living trust can be used to handle financial affairs while alive and dispose of property after death.  As an attorney, many clients have shown an interest in living trusts because of the fact that they are an alternative to probate court.
 
Many financial planners and insurance agents (and even some attorneys) have cashed in on the phrase “avoiding probate court” by offering a trust to every client that walks through the door to discuss estate planning.  There is a lot of confusion about what “avoiding probate court” means and many people believe that it means “avoiding estate taxes.”  This is incorrect.  Avoiding probate does not mean avoiding taxes, but rather avoiding the process of probate.
 
The advantages to creating a living trust are that a living trust provides the settlor with greater privacy, lower court costs for the beneficiaries, lower attorney fees for the beneficiaries, lower appraisal fees, lower executor fees (as compared with trustee fees), living trusts often reduce the probability of litigation, and living trusts also offer almost immediate access to the assets after death.
 
The disadvantages to a living trust are that it is more expensive to create a living trust than a will, living trusts have higher annual expenses than a will, and living trusts require a lifetime of effort to manage and maintain until death.  In addition, living trusts do not protect assets from medicaid rules.