Monthly Archives: July 2006
Employee Policy Manuals
Owners of small businesses often ask whether they should have an employee policy manual or “handbook.” The potential benefits of a well-written employee handbook are many. While there is no law that swners of small businesses often ask whether they should have an… Continue reading
2005 Form 1040: Automatic 6-Month Extension
Individuals filing Form 1040 will no longer be required to file one form for an automatic four-month extension and a second form for an additional two-month extension. Rather, the IRS has revised the extension procedures beginning with the 2005 returns due to be filed… Continue reading
Queen’s English: Who/Whom – – A Useful
We have but a nanosecond to decide whether to use who or whom in conversation. From “A Grammar Book For You and I – – Oops Me” (a very comprehensive, not too ponderous, guide, incidentally) here is a useful device (the book calls it… Continue reading
Closing In On Ten Years
It is hard for us to believe, but this issue marks the final issue of our tenth year of publishing the BBC&B Law Update. In the beginning we weren’t sure how the Law Update would be received, but readership and client response over the years… Continue reading
Series Limited Liability Companies
Since the late 1980s, when the State of Wyoming adopted this country’s first limited liability company statute, limited liability companies have become more and more common in the business world. A limited liability company is a hybrid entity that has attributes of both corporations and… Continue reading
Trust
All occupations seem to invent their own special terminology and certainly lawyers are no exception. Too often our documents tend to confuse because we use terms which are not understood and often intimidate. Our goal is to write in a manner that can be understood… Continue reading
Today’s Small Claims Court
Pennsylvania has replaced its former “small claims court” system of Magistrates and Justices of the Peace with a uniform statewide District Justice system. In southeastern Pennsylvania, all the counties use a nearly identical District Justice system with the exception of Philadelphia, which uses a Municipal… Continue reading
So What’s An Esquire?
With the explosion of legal advertising in recent years, we are witnessing an increasing use of the term “Esquire” on billboards, television, in the newspaper and in the telephone directory. “If you are hurt on the job, call David Fastbucks, Esquire.” Big deal, eh?Few in… Continue reading
Latin Lovers MMVI
The term “in pari delicto” connotes a doctrine invoked by the courts to deny recovery where it is shown that a plaintiff is equally guilty or responsible for his injury with the defendant. Literally meaning “in equal fault”, the courts rely on this principle to… Continue reading
Pension/Profit Sharing Update
As a courtesy by Don Motel, who runs DGM Company in Wayne, Pennsylvania, I thought it would be helpful to pass along the maximum limit adjustments for 2006 pension and profit sharing plans together with 2004 and 2005 limits for comparison: MAXIMUM LIMITS 2004 2005… Continue reading