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Showing 8945–8960 of 10245 results
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Estate Planning Red Flag – You haven’t reviewed your estate plan recently
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Estate Planner
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 235
Abstract: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 created a one-year estate tax repeal for 2010. It’s not likely to remain in effect, though. Although Congress had not yet passed legislation by the end of 2009 repealing the repeal, it might still pass such legislation and make it retroactive to Jan. 1, 2010. Besides this, there are a number of other reasons to update one’s plan.
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Being elastic can be fantastic – Stretch your retirement savings for yourself and your heirs
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Estate Planner
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 804
Abstract: Those with savings in a traditional IRA, a 401(k) plan or another “qualified” retirement account must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) when they reach age 70½. But it’s usually best to let them continue compounding on a tax-deferred basis (or tax-free in the case of Roth accounts) as long as possible. Fortunately, there are several strategies one can use to stretch tax savings over many years. Beginning in 2010, converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA will be an option for people of all income levels. One can also roll over a Roth 401(k) or Roth 403(b) to a Roth IRA. And a “stretch” IRA allows one to provide heirs with the opportunity to stretch distributions over many years. But these all have pros and cons that must be considered.
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A blended family requires smart estate planning
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Estate Planner
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 515
Abstract: If a person is married and has children from a previous marriage plus children or stepchildren from his or her current marriage, that family is considered a blended family. For those who wish to pass their wealth on to all of their biological children but also provide for their spouse and perhaps any stepchildren, estate planning can get tricky. Two estate planning strategies to consider involve a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust and an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT).
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Do you have a liquidity plan?
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Estate Planner
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 948
Abstract: A liquidity plan is an essential component of an effective estate plan, particularly if a substantial amount of wealth is tied up in a closely held business, real estate or other illiquid assets. It won’t be possible to achieve estate planning goals without liquidity to pay estate taxes and other expenses. An irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) or buy-sell agreement are options; if these do not provide enough cash, borrowing from a bank or receiving an extension from the IRS may be alternatives. A sidebar to this article discusses Internal Revenue Code Section 6166, which allows an executor to defer estate taxes associated with a qualifying closely held business.
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Practice Notes – Reduce the risk of employee theft
Winter 2010
Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 494
Abstract: In 2008, the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) estimated conservatively that 3% of all health care spending, or $68 billion, is lost to health care fraud. Physician practices can experience their own types of fraud — through employee theft. This article offers a few tips to minimize the risk.
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Hospital-owned group practices – Breaking the ties that bind
Winter 2010
Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 809
Abstract: Today, when many hospitals are in the buying mode, some practices are ready to join up but are wondering, “What if I want out in a few years?” Breaking up isn’t easy. Physicians must be prepared to deal with federal regulations, employee benefits, patient accounting and other day-to-day details, or else perhaps join another physician network instead of buying back the practice. Those who do buy will need to hire an appraiser to establish the practice’s fair market value; determine what proportion of profits or losses can be attributed to the physicians in the practice; and develop an exit strategy that covers the potential consequences of unwinding in the future.
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ACOs can help assure quality and slow cost growth
Winter 2010
Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 709
Abstract: An “accountable care organization” (ACO) is a combination of primary care and specialist physicians, hospitals and other care providers that accepts collective responsibility to meet patients’ health care needs. ACOs are considered the ideal vehicle for achieving the integration and cooperation demanded by “bundled payments.” But group practices will need strong leadership to carry out the many changes involved. Doctors will need to either acquire hard-core business skills and assume major management roles, or be willing to hire professional business managers to whom they can delegate significant business decisions.
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Is your practice’s compensation system fair?
Winter 2010
Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 874
Abstract: Many physician groups are operating with compensation systems that were developed years ago for reasons that may no longer be relevant in the current environment. But, before embarking on changing one’s current system, it’s important to review all aspects of compensation. Does the system account for all costs incurred, or only a subset of expenses? In allocating revenues and expenses, does the system use RVUs, equal shares or professional service charges? This article looks at the components of a fair package, and discusses how to fairly compensate physicians whose professional duties, time commitments and outside activities vary. A sidebar discusses pending health care legislation, and the impact that reform will have on all health care providers.
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Reduction in force or age-based discrimination?
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 682
Abstract: When a reduction in force (RIF) affects an employee in a protected class, it’s not unusual for a discrimination claim to arise. When an employee in his mid-50s was among several workers laid off following a merger, he sued on the grounds of age discrimination. The employee tried to show discrimination both directly and indirectly, but the employer prevailed — largely because it had thoroughly analyzed the merits and deficiencies of those who were under consideration for the reduction and was able to support its process through objective evidence.
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Imputing ugly staff conduct to the employer
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 702
Abstract: When an African-American woman moved to a company’s Inside Sales department, she found that her co-workers routinely referred to women in sexually and racially derogatory terms. She complained to her superiors, including the company president. Some steps were taken to halt the harassment, yet it persisted. The key question before the court was whether the harassment could be imputable to the employer. Had it done enough to try to stop the abusive behavior?
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Ignorance isn’t bliss for employer in FMLA lawsuit
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 511
Abstract: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed into law to allow employees to take unpaid leave when facing a serious health crisis. But when a supervisor is ignorant of its protections, a lawsuit can result, as one company discovered. An employee who had taken six weeks of FMLA leave was dismissed by her supervisor. During the proceedings, the court found the employer’s claims of poor performance unconvincing in light of their previous appraisals, and her supervisor admitted he’d had no prior knowledge of FMLA requirements.
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SOX and suits – Whistleblower provisions at issue in retaliatory termination case
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 1128
Abstract: Shortly after a husband and wife, both lawyers for the same firm, pointed out that information about a competitor’s patent had not been revealed in the company’s recent merger — thereby possibly causing the company to be overvalued — they found themselves out of a job. They filed a lawsuit claiming retaliatory termination and citing the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). This article discusses the four-prong test that they successfully met to make their case. A sidebar discusses a different case that showed how employers can raise valid defenses to SOX whistleblower retaliation claims.
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Construction Law Quickcase: LandCoast Insulation v. Patent Construction Systems – When rental agreement becomes construction contract
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Construction Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 399
Abstract: Despite the fact that some of these rental transactions may run to six or seven figures over the duration of a contract, they may be documented by only a boilerplate one- or two-page “purchase order” or “rental agreement.” But the shortness of the paper and the terse heading don’t necessarily preclude a court from construing such a document as a construction contract.
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Misleading milestones – Beware of government contract clauses regarding late changes
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Construction Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 701
Abstract: Government agencies often attempt to limit contractor claims for cumulative impact damages by inserting interim “substantial completion” milestones into contract terms and associating “liquidated damages” per day for each missed interim milestone. But when an agency attempts to defeat or reduce damages for cumulative effects of late design changes by claiming such liquidated damages, a court may see through the ruse.
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Arbitration doesn’t always mean simplification
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Construction Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 536
Abstract: Arbitration can be a simpler and less expensive method for resolving construction disputes than going to court. Without thoughtful coordination of arbitration provisions in all documents of a project, however, a situation involving arbitration can become every bit as complex as litigation — if not more so. In one instance, the use of a form contract with an arbitration clause, followed by actions on both sides that were inconsistent with the written contract, led to a much more complex dispute resolution process than there would have been absent any arbitration provision.
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Who’s watching over your contractor’s license? California case highlights importance of license management in all states
January / February 2010
Newsletter: Construction Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 860
Abstract: When a couple directed a builder to stop work after he’d failed to provide documents to back up time-and-materials billings, he filed a mechanics’ lien against the property in the name of the company. But it turned out that the company’s owner, having left the country to do missionary work, had let his California general contractor’s license be used by the employee, instead of assigning it to a legally “qualifying individual” before it expired. As a result, the court dismissed the lien claim and reinstated the judgment against the company. A sidebar to this article looks at the legislative history of California’s tough contractor licensing law penalty provisions.