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Showing 9265–9280 of 10245 results
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It’s time to make gifts – The struggling economy may allow you to save gift and estate taxes
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Estate Planner
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 1052
Abstract: Estate planning opportunities are a silver lining among today’s dark economic clouds. Depressed asset values and low interest rates may allow you to gift more to your loved ones at a significant gift tax savings, removing substantial wealth from your taxable estate. Some of the most effective gifting strategies involve the use of trusts. Or you might transfer interests in a family business or other closely held company using a family limited partnership (FLP) or a family limited liability company (FLLC). But, as a sidebar explains, Congress is considering new restrictions on FLPs and FLLCs. Also, when gifting property, you will need to consider income taxes as well as gift and estate taxes.
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Estate wins the discount war
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Valuation & Litigation Briefing / Litigation & Valuation Report
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 623
Abstract: In Estate of Litchfield v. Commissioner, the Tax Court generally accepted the estate’s proposed valuation discounts because the estate’s expert’s methods were more precise and relied on more recent, company-specific data. The article and an accompanying chart show the differences between the estate’s and the IRS’s discounts and why the court sided mostly with the estate.
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In valuation, timing is everything
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Valuation & Litigation Briefing / Litigation & Valuation Report
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 476
Abstract: The valuation date can have an enormous impact on value, particularly for assets such as stock, whose valuations can fluctuate dramatically, literally overnight. Learn how the valuation date is especially important in estate planning, divorce settlements, and shareholder litigation.
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Nonqualified deferred compensation – Independent appraisals offer protection against 409A challenge
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Valuation & Litigation Briefing / Litigation & Valuation Report
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 1174
Abstract: Businesses that provide employees with stock options, stock appreciation rights (SARs) and other types of nonqualified deferred compensation have been subject to Internal Revenue Code Section 409A for years. As you can imagine, compliance is particularly challenging in the current economic environment. To avoid Sec. 409A problems, options and SARs must be issued at or above fair market value, so accurate valuations are critical. It’s important to know what Sec. 409A requires and how to establish fair market value. Three “presumptive” valuation methods are discussed.
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Damage control – Surviving a business interruption
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Valuation & Litigation Briefing / Litigation & Valuation Report
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 1175
Abstract: Whether it’s minor, such as a lightning strike that shuts down production for a day, or major, such as a lengthy labor strike, a business interruption not only reduces income, but also simultaneously creates new expenses. The key to surviving a business interruption is to restore normal operations as quickly as possible. Insurance plays a critical role. This article explains business interruption insurance, how to file a claim, what to do to mitigate loss, and how to establish a loss period. A sidebar addresses scope-of-coverage issues.
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Acting in good faith at question in FLSA case
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 568
Abstract: A five-restaurant chain failed to pay overtime to employees whose weekly hours totaled more than 40 when working at more than one location. When the case went to court, the owners claimed they weren’t aware that they owed overtime pay. And so arose the case of Chao v. Barbeque Ventures LLC, in which the Eighth Circuit had to decide whether those owners had acted in good faith to meet the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Chao v. Barbeque Ventures, LLC, 547 F.3d 938 (8th Cir. 2008) Goldberg v. Kickapoo Prairie Broadcasting Co., 288 F.2d 778 (8th Cir. 1961)
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The Family and Medical Leave Act – Think twice before firing someone on qualified leave
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 1113
Abstract: In Martin v. Brevard County Public Schools, the Eleventh Circuit decided whether a hire was eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The employee took the leave as scheduled, but the district notified him that it wouldn’t renew his contract because he hadn’t completed a required performance improvement plan. He sued, alleging interference with his FMLA rights and retaliation for taking leave. In this case, the employee won the right to go to trial. But a sidebar illustrates a different case in which an employee’s argument was rejected. Martin v. Brevard County Pub. Sch., 543 F.3d 1261 (11th Cir. 2008) Bass v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 287 Fed. Appx. 808 (11th Cir. 2008)
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Did employee’s cooperation lead to employer’s retaliation?
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 554
Abstract: One of the stated purposes of Title VII is to protect workers from employment retaliation. But does its protection extend to employees who are fired after they cooperate with an employer’s discrimination investigation — even though they themselves didn’t initially complain of the discrimination at issue? This was the question in one case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Crawford v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville & Davidson County, 129 S. Ct. 846 (U.S. 2009)
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New wage bias act reverses Supreme Court’s Ledbetter decision
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 797
Abstract: The new Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act reverses the Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The new act permits employees to file charges within 180 or 300 days after each instance of receiving compensation based on discriminatory motives (as opposed to the same period after first discovering they’d been discriminated against). This article discusses the particulars of the case, while a sidebar uses a different case to show that, while the Ledbetter Act may open the door to more lawsuits, it doesn’t ease the actual criteria in proving them. Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (U.S. 2007) Virgona v. Tufenkian Import-Export Ventures, Inc., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72139 (S.D.N.Y. 2008)
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For What It’s Worth: Valuation in the Courts – FAMILY’s FLP foibles serve as a cautionary tale
Summer 2009
Newsletter: Valuation Concepts
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 500
Abstract: If there’s a silver lining to a gloomy economy, it may be the estate planning opportunities that arise. Currently, many wealthy individuals are creating family limited partnerships (FLPs) to take advantage of lower market values and slowed transaction activity. But they must be structured carefully to avoid IRS challenge, as one family found out in Estate of Thelma G. Hurford v. Commissioner.
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4 keys to authenticating electronically stored information
Summer 2009
Newsletter: Valuation Concepts
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 501
Abstract: Electronically stored information (ESI) plays a prominent role in today’s litigation but, like any evidence, it must meet the authentication threshold before it will be admitted at trial. Qualified experts can apply many technological tools to establish the authenticity of ESI. It’s important, however, to understand the limits of such tools, whether arguing for or against the authenticity. This article provides an overview of four tools that can prove critical to ESI authentication.
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Valuation methodology – The market approach proves informative, challenging
Summer 2009
Newsletter: Valuation Concepts
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 779
Abstract: When helping to take a business to market (or helping someone buy a business), appraisers often employ the market approach. Unlike the other two primary valuation methods, the income and asset approaches, the market approach looks to similar businesses to estimate a company’s fair market value. This article reviews the market approach as well as two variations on it, the transaction method and the guideline public company method.
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When prevention fails … Jointly published guide details fraud detection techniques
Summer 2009
Newsletter: Valuation Concepts
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 1044
Abstract: No organization can ever completely eliminate the risk of fraud in its business — even when preventive measures have been put in place — which makes timely detection crucial. Managing the Business Risk of Fraud: A Practical Guide, jointly published by several industry associations, offers valuable information on the detection techniques a fraud expert might employ. This article discusses some of those techniques, such as whistleblower hotlines, process controls, documentation methods and several proactive measures. A sidebar lists 10 criteria for evaluating fraud detection techniques.
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Construction Law Quickcase – Roofers Edge v. Standard Building – Existential defense costs general contractor dearly
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Construction Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 275
Abstract: As lines of credit tighten, parties who find themselves unable to fulfill their payment responsibilities may turn to desperate, sometimes even bizarre, measures to escape their obligations. One company that tried to deny that it had even contracted with the plaintiff ended up paying more than twice what the work would have cost in the first place.
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Failure to negotiate dooms damage limitation clause
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Construction Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 502
Abstract: In boilerplate professional service contracts, architects and engineers insert clauses limiting their liability for professional errors and omissions to the amount of their fees under the contract. But the ability to enforce these provisions when a professional error or omission causes losses substantially exceeding that professional fee varies from state to state. A recent California case, Greenwood v. Murphy, illustrates one sticking point regarding this matter — a failure to negotiate.
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Fill in the blank: The dangers of preprinted legal docs
July / August 2009
Newsletter: Construction Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 478
Abstract: Reliance on preprinted legal forms without consulting a knowledgeable construction lawyer can prove costly, as illustrated by the recent Kansas case Buchanan v. Overley.