Prestige Law Office, LLC

It’s interesting that neither of the presidential candidates is discussing cutting spending to reduce the deficit or national debt, likely because such measures are unpopular with most voters. What is popular is using tariffs as a cudgel and cutting various taxes, including those on overtime and tips, etc. Currently, the national debt is 99% of GDP. If the U.S. government does not get its fiscal house in order, the national debt will become unsustainable. This, in turn, will negatively impact the economy because the government may be unable to pay some of its bills. The last time the U.S. government had a budget surplus was in 2001. What followed were two costly wars, tax cuts, the 2007/2008 recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the spending increases to pull the country out of those crises. Public officials must tackle hard problems by explaining to the people how they plan to extricate the country from this fiscal morass. So, politicians must tell voters not just what they want to hear, but also what they need to hear.

Be wary of lawyers who are quick to proclaim their own virtue to gain respect from their colleagues. Declaring that you want newer lawyers to succeed does not necessarily mean that you want them to succeed. People shall judge you by your actions, not your words. Practice what you preach. Kudos to the lawyers who back up their words with actions.

If you are planning on going into business with a partner, avoid owning it 50/50. If you own the business 50/50 and you have major disagreements in the future, a deadlock could occur if you can’t reach an agreement. This deadlock may negatively impact the business. I recently settled a case where the business partners owned the business 50/50. If you are planning on going into business with a partner, or have partnership disputes, contact my firm to schedule a consultation and take the first step in securing your future.

Are your kids going to college this fall? If yes, you should consider getting a power of attorney (POA) if you want to have the legal authority to make healthcare and/or financial decisions during an emergency. Under Wisconsin law, as well as most state laws, your college-age child becomes an adult at age 18. Because your 18-year-old child is now an adult and can independently seek medical treatment, they are protected by The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA is a federal law that protects personal health information from being disclosed without the patient's authorization. In most cases, your child could authorize the medical provider to disclose his/her health information by signing a HIPAA release waiver at the medical provider's office. However, your college-age child will be unable to sign a HIPAA release waiver in emergency situations. So, consider getting POA for your college-age kids before sending them off to college. Contact my firm to schedule a consultation and take the first step in securing your future.

Happy birthday, America! ???? Happy 4th of July!

More American families are increasingly becoming blended families, where couples come together with children from previous relationships. Things often proceed smoothly until a parent dies and a lawyer, or the family’s personal representative, begins reading the last will and testament. Generally, when a parent dies, the standard procedure for most married couples is to transfer everything to the surviving spouse and then to their children. However, this approach can be disastrous for blended families because a surviving spouse often has no legal obligation to leave assets to stepchildren. There are instances where stepchildren lose out on their inheritance while stepsiblings receive everything. Therefore, for blended families, the key to avoiding crises later in life is to create comprehensive estate planning. If you or someone you know is in a blended family, contact my firm to create your estate planning. Schedule a consultation today and take the first step in securing your future.

The best way to preserve one’s wealth is through proper estate planning. Do you need an estate plan? Certainly, you do. Is it expensive to hire an estate plan attorney? It depends. While some estate plan attorney fees could cost you close to $10,000 or more, most estate plan attorney fees range from $500 to $5,000. Contact my firm to get started by scheduling a consultation and taking the first step in securing your future.

The private equity (PE) industry is increasingly monetizing the healthcare industry by eliminating competition. For instance, they do this to maximize profits through higher healthcare costs and an aggressive strategy of eliminating competitors by either acquiring or conspiring with competitors to weaken competition. See https://lnkd.in/gQ5mbn6G. What the private equity industry is doing to the healthcare industry (i.e., eliminating competitors) in order to maximize profits is why the U.S. Congress enacted the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Hopefully, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) would go after the bad actors in the PE industry that are maximizing profits by eliminating competitors, which in turn leads to higher healthcare costs for Americans. The PE industry can be profitable without eliminating competitors and diminishing market forces: that is capitalism.

What happens if you don’t have an estate plan when the unexpected happens? Dying without a last will and testament and/or a trust means you die intestate. Consequently, your assets and belongings will get passed to your heirs according to Wisconsin's intestacy laws (or your state’s intestacy laws), which may go against your wishes. So, if you are a Wisconsin resident, schedule a consultation with my firm and I can help you create your estate plan. Contact my firm to get started by scheduling a consultation and taking the first step in securing your future.

Be careful the kind of clients that you work for. I got a phone call from a prospective client (PC) who said he needed help because he was being taken advantage of. He added that he is paranoid and that he must protect himself. I asked if he owns a firearm. He said that he does. Further, I asked if he carries the firearm around with him. He said that he does. He then asked if he could bring the firearm to my office. My response: you cannot bring your firearm to my office. In fact, I told him that it is better for us to hold the initial consultation over the phone. He agreed. Moral: ask the right questions when talking to PCs, and always trust your instincts.