Yearly Archives: 2010
Joint Ownership of Bank Accounts
In related articles in this and recent issues, we have discussed the effect of joint ownership of bank accounts. In one article we noted the general rule that the right of survivorship (which causes the ownership of the entire account to pass to the surviving… Continue reading
Cell Phone Records and the Fourth Amendment
On February 12, 2010, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument on what is, surprisingly, an issue of first impression: can the federal government subpoena a person’s cell phone records from its mobile phone provider without a showing of probable cause that the… Continue reading
Haiti Charitable Contributions Deductible for 2009
Under legislation just passed by Congress, taxpayers who make donations for the Haiti relief effort during 2010 would be able to deduct those donations on their 2009 tax returns which are due to be filed by April 15, 2010. The obvious purpose of the legislation… Continue reading
The Office Holiday Party and Legal Liability
Most companies host some sort of traditional holiday or end-of-year party in December as a chance for employees to relax and celebrate the festive season together. Holiday parties are a great way for business owners to help employee morale and make employees feel appreciated. Employers,… Continue reading
Let the Litigant Beware
When a newspaper reports that a judgment has been entered by default against PepsiCo, Inc. for $1.26 billion in Wisconsin, you may tend to dismiss it as something that has no effect on you and skip to the next article. However, the lesson learned by… Continue reading
The Expanded and Extended Homebuyer’s Tax Credit
Congress and President Obama have recently extended and modified the “first-time” homebuyer tax credit. The new credit is broader in scope than the previous credit, and now, in addition to the first-time homebuyer credit, there is also a “long-time resident” buyer credit. For the… Continue reading
Lease Guarantees – How to Preserve Them
It is commonplace for landlords to ask for and obtain guaranties of their tenant’s lease obligations. Such guaranties are useful to almost all landlords, whether the lease in question is for a large commercial space in a shopping center or is a much smaller transaction,… Continue reading
The Law of Broken Engagements
In case you were ever wondering about this, engagement rings are treated as “conditional gifts” under Pennsylvania law. As a legal matter, the purchaser/giver of the ring is entitled to recovery of the ring, if the engagement is called off. In case you were further… Continue reading
Estate Tax Watch (continued)
Ever since Congress modified the federal estate tax in 2000, we have been predicting additional changes because the provisions of the 2000 Act were (to be charitable) unusual. The Act provided that the personal exemption for each person on death would gradually increase to $3,500,000… Continue reading
The Queen’s English – I Said That…Maybe
lan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, was quoted regarding the Consumer Price Index, “I can’t say with great confidence, but I can say that what data we have does not suggest that the July rise will not be repeated in the month of… Continue reading