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These days there are several websites offering online do-it-yourself legal forms that promise easy, inexpensive legal forms. One such website says “there’s no easier way.” However, the biggest problem with these sites is they cannot provide any advice. When it comes to estate planning or business formation, there is a lot more involved than just filling out forms.

Details Matter.  In estate planning, and any other legal documents for that matter, the details matter. Seemingly minor things like whether…
Continue Reading What’s Wrong with Online Will Forms?

By:  Attorney Gina C. Ziegelbauer
When someone dies, one of the first things loved ones are faced with is what to do with all of physical things your loved one owned. Sorting through a loved one’s tangible personal property can be an overwhelming task depending on how much stuff there is, the value of the property (monetary or sentimental), the number of heirs supposed to receive the items, and how well the heirs get along. Sometimes the question of…
Continue Reading What Happens To My Belongings When I Die?

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In handling public contract construction disputes, lawyers must pay attention to detail, have patience, and often use a two-front dispute resolution process.It also entails a thorough knowledge of the context’s expansive regulatory framework, especially since several factors are likely implicated, including the:

  • increased risk of inconsistent terms in subcontracts;
  • public owner’s different incentives and practices;
  • impact on insurance coverage triggers;
  • unique role of design; and
  • timing and sovereign immunity aspects.

Contractors who perform construction work for public entities (particularly…
Continue Reading Five Key Issues for Lawyers Handling Public Construction Disputes

By:  Attorney Samuel J. Spurney
“Leave the Gun. Take the cannoli” is arguably one of the most famous lines in movie history.  In the movie, The Godfather, Peter Clemenza – fictional hitman for the Corleone crime family – utters this line after avenging the betrayal of the Corleone family by one of its members.
​Asset Purchase Acquisition Structure
The same can be said for business acquisitions structured as an asset purchase – one of the key advantages of acquiring…
Continue Reading “Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli.” Structuring Your Business Purchase to Avoid Taking On Unwanted Seller Liabilities

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On Sept. 9, President Joe Biden announced his administration’s “Path Out of the Pandemic: COVID-19 Action Plan.” Among the Action Plan’s several prongs are two sets of requirements that could significantly impact numerous Wisconsin construction contractors. The first requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to promulgate COVID-19 rules covering employers with 100 or more employees, which it did on Nov. 4. The second requires federal contractors working on certain contracts to require full vaccination of…
Continue Reading Federal COVID-19 Regulations Impacting Wisconsin Construction Firms

Hello. I am excited to announce that my latest Landlord Boot Camp — recorded November 13, 2021 — is now available as an On Demand video series. The benefits of this On Demand format are many.

  • You can choose just the video(s) that you are interested in, or the entire seminar.
  • You can watch the videos from the safety and convenience of your own home or office during the rental period.*
  • You will receive the searchable PDF manual that

    • …
    Continue Reading ALL NEW Landlord Boot Camp On Demand Available

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    Property owners, creditors and other interested parties who have been named in a foreclosure action due to an interest they have in real property may have the right to make a claim for any remaining surplus proceeds.
    When a bank or mortgage loan servicer files for foreclosure, they are generally required to name all necessary parties as defendants in the lawsuit. Necessary parties in foreclosure actions include owners of the property, as well as any other party that holds…
    Continue Reading How Can I Make a Claim for Surplus Proceeds in a Foreclosure Action?

    The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the construction industry.

    It has greatly reduced productivity, caused material prices to skyrocket, and slowed the supply chain. This has impacted nearly all contractors – builders and suppliers – who are forced to allocate or absorb the increased costs.1 They also face performance deadlines that are rendered unrealistic and, in some cases, impossible to meet.

    Until the pandemic’s effects are greatly alleviated, supply chains will likely remain ambivalent and unpredictable.

    This…
    Continue Reading Supply Chain Delay Claims: A Day Late and $1,000 Short

    Bank sign on building
    Bank sign above the door of financial building concept for finance and business

    For years, by including language in account agreements, banks have been able to apply funds deposited at their institution – funds that would otherwise be controlled by the account holder’s payable on death (POD) designation – directly to a decedent’s outstanding debt owed to that institution, without any need to file a claim (in court or in otherwise).

    The following is an example of such a set-off provision, which may be found in an account agreement:
    Upon the…
    Continue Reading Why Your Clients’ PODs at Banks May Be Ineffective

    Simply transferring a farm to the next generation is quite easy.  Successfully transitioning a farm business for the mutual benefit of all parties involved, however, is much more complicated.  It takes time, planning and the weighing of a multitude of considerations.

    Step One is to identify the successor.  Will the farm be transitioning to family or to a third party?  If to family, does s/he understand the commitment it takes to own and operate the farm business?  Doe s/he…
    Continue Reading Farm Succession Planning

    Contract breach and break. Terminate of contract. Rip of paper document. Cancel and torn of agreement for law. Termination deal in business. Failure in partnership. Icon of disagree in work. Vector

    Whether you are an upstream party ​who is dissatisfied with a downstream party’s progress (or lack thereof) and want to throw the bums off the job, or a contractor who hasn’t been paid and figure you can work for free anywhere – before you make your next move, ask yourself: Do I feel lucky?

    If the answer is ‘yes,’ you aren’t likely to read the rest of this article. But if you do, hopefully you’ll change your tune about…
    Continue Reading Risks of Terminating a Construction Contract: Upstream and Downstream Perspectives

    By:  Attorney Alison C. Petri

    Parents have many questions when their child with disabilities is about to turn age eighteen (18).  Once your child is an adult you will no longer have the same ability to legally access or assist with your child’s financial or health care decision making.  What legal documentation your child needs to get assistance with such issues depends on your child’s disability and their capacity to execute legal documents.

    The goal is to implement a…
    Continue Reading Planning for Children with Disabilities Transitioning to Adulthood

    Technology has made drones less expensive and more powerful. Thus, they are more prevalent today, as both a pastime and a key component of some businesses, including those in the construction context.

    Federal, state, and local units of government license and regulate Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) use, and violations can be subject to state and federal civil and criminal penalties.

    In Wisconsin, a drone – technically known as an Unmanned Aircraft System or UAS – is generally defined as…
    Continue Reading Sky is the Limit for Drone Use in Construction