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Recent decisions of importance to you and your practice.
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The Marital Estate: Stock Options and Restricted Stock
Stock options became a large part of many marital estates involved in marriage dissolution during the "bubble" of the late 1990s. As one would expect, the courts struggled with the issues this new situation presented, primarily what options were to be included in the marital estate.
Hearsay Exception Used in Abuse Case
A child who is too young to testify against her alleged abuser may speak through her mother, under an unusual application of an exception to the hearsay rule. A judge in upstate New York has ruled that the mother of a 3-year-old girl can testify about what the child told her in complaining that the mother's boyfriend had fondled her. The child had awakened her mother to tell her of the assault.
How to Get Paid for Your Services and Enjoy Practicing Family Law
The practice of family law can be fulfilling and profitable if you ensure that your clients pay you. If you are paid for your work, your practice will be successful and you will be happy; if you are not paid for your services, you will abhor family law.
Term Life Insurance in Divorce Cases: A New Deal
As circumstances change, matrimonial practitioners must review the law in certain areas to see if those laws need to be amended to keep pace with changing times. For example, the onset of AIDS has created almost a new class of terminally ill people. These people who are involved in divorce cases may find themselves in a legal conundrum when it comes to term life insurance benefits. Traditionally, under prior law in some states, only cash surrender value was deemed property. <i>See, e.g., In re Marriage of Mullins</i>, 121 Ill.App.3d 86, 458 N.E.2d 1360 (Ill. 4th Dist. 1984). Historically, term policies, therefore, had no value in divorce proceedings. Those cases, however, may be distinguishable where the insured was not terminally ill, and the proceeds therefore become much less speculative.
November issue in PDF format
November issue in PDF format

MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • The 'Sophisticated Insured' Defense
    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
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  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
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