Three years ago, NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was litigating the validity of his premarital agreement with his ex-wife, Pilar Sanders. Despite having finally dissolved their marriage (Pilar lost on her premarital agreement claim), they are still battling it…
If You Are A Spendthrift (Trust), Go To Hawaii
A valid spendthrift trust is entitled to certain protections in bankruptcy, especially in Hawaii. In In re Zukerkorn, 500 B.R. 598 (9th Cir. BAP 2013), the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit…
Protect Your Estate by Properly Funding Sub-Trusts
In the complex world of estate law, even a seemingly small oversight can cost your beneficiaries big money. As the successor trustee of his parents’ estate, Elwood Ty Olsen learned this the hard way. Before her death, Elwood’s mother Grace…
New Civility Guidelines for Professional Conduct
In June 2014, the federal courts of the Northern District of California adopted “Guidelines for Professional Conduct,” also called “Civility Guidelines.” The Guidelines describe an attorney’s “duty of professionalism” as including “civility, professional integrity, personal dignity, candor, diligence, respect, courtesy,…
Legal Ethics Hotline: Get Help and/or Give Help
One highly valued offering of The Bar Association of San Francisco is its Legal Ethics Committee Hotline. The hotline is staffed by volunteers from the Legal Ethics Committee, many of whom have legal practices that regularly involve professional responsibility, legal…
Lien Priorities Altered When One Creditor Breaches Fiduciary Duties to Another
In Feresi v. Livery, 2014 LEXIS 1138 (Cal.App. 2d Dist. Dec. 15, 2014), a California court held that equitable principles control over the Uniform Commercial Code’s priority scheme when a creditor breaches its fiduciary duty owed to another creditor. Mesa and…
Spring Mediation Training: A Conversation with Ron Kelly
In March 2015, The Bar Association of San Francisco’s Alternative Dispute Resolution department will hold its annual Mediation Certificate Training. Over five successive Saturdays, participants will gain the tools they’ll need to be effective mediators. I recently had the opportunity…
Estate Planning: Lawyer Regrets Divorcing Without Inheritance Agreement for Kids
Divorce is difficult, and even successful lawyers sometimes jeopardize their children’s inheritance by failing to make adequate agreements about it as a part of the divorce settlement. Attorney Debra Karlstein is a recent example. She divorced Hank Goldsmith, a big-name…
Legal Ethics Corner: Ethical Issues in Accepting Credit Card Payments
As anyone who has paid for vegetables at the farmers’ market on a merchant’s smartphone knows, the use of credit cards as a form of payment has become a universal convenience. Credit cards can now be used for the purchase…
Four Steps to Maximizing the Effectiveness of Your Mediation
Mediation is an important component of the civil justice system. Mediation allows a neutral third party who is in a unique position of seeing both sides to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the parties’ arguments, and perhaps suggest creative…
Family Law Corner: $325K in Unpaid Spousal Support to Pay Leaves “Hustle & Flow” Star Strapped for Legal Options
Terrence Howard (“Iron Man” and “Hustle & Flow”) may be realizing that multiple marriages have a price to pay–spousal support. Howard has moved on to wife #3, but he continues to pay child support and spousal support to his first…
Interesting News from the World of Estate Planning
The 1855 Prenup for Women’s Rights In most mid-nineteenth-century American states, a married woman had little legal standing. For starters, she didn’t have the right to use her own name, as her identity was subsumed under her husband’s in the…