The team at Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, PC shares updates and thoughts on developments in the law.

Proposed Minority Discount Regulations Bite the Dust

Practitioners had been worried that the Section 2704 proposed regulations were going to affect minority discount valuations for gift and estate tax purposes.  Worry no more.The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Second Report to the President on Identifying and Reducing Tax Regulatory Burdens, Executive Order 13789, October 2, 2017, notes that the main difficulty with the proposed...

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Timing, Sophistication of Parties Key Factors in Prenup Enforceability

The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently reinforced longstanding principles in determining the enforceability of prenuptial agreements. Among the factors a court examines carefully in determining whether a prenup will be upheld are the timing of the presentation of the document and the relative experiences of the parties in terms of age and educational background.  Failure to account for these...

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Who has standing to bring claim when single-member LLC is dissolved?

Typically, an LLC’s status as a distinct legal entity means that the members have no interest in specific LLC property.  Any legal cause of action must be brought by the LLC.  However, what happens when a single-member LLC has been dissolved? Can the member bring an action in his individual capacity to recover on a contract entered into by the LLC?  Yes. In Bowers v. Estate of Mounger...

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SSA Changes Policy; Reasons for Benefit Denial Will Be Made Available to Applicants

Historically, notices from the Social Security Administration often contained no explanation as to why certain resources, including trust assets, were deemed “countable” for determining benefit eligibility.   A new SSA directive changes this policy The SSA’s new directive now requires its employees to provide additional information to applicants who are denied benefits.  The field...

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Beware the Anti-Lapse Statute

For generations, law students and practitioners alike have scratched their heads over “lapsed legacies” in will cases.  A recent Tennessee Court of Appeals case serves as a refresher on the subject.  Estate planners, take note… At common law, when a person who would take under a will predeceases the testator, the legacy lapsed. The “anti-lapse” statute, Tenn. Code...

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More Traps for the Unwary in MedMal Cases

Timing is everything when it comes to adding alleged comparative tortfeasors.  Unfortunately, this lesson is too often learned the hard way.  Where medical malpractice is concerned,  the lack of coordination between the drafters of the Health Care Liability Act with the statute allowing a comparative tortfeasor to be added within 90 days of their being identified in an answer adds yet another...

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Generation Skipping Tax: Should It Stay or Should It Go?

The Generation Skipping Transfer Tax is  one of the more complicated (some might say draconian) features of the estate-planning world.  Not surprisingly, cries to amend it are perennial.  And now, it looks like there may be some movement.   An article in Bloomberg BNA’s, July 3, 2017 Tax Management Weekly Report does a good job of addressing the various arguments for and against the GST changes...

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Drafting a Will? Watch out for Beneficiary Designations Made Prior to Divorce or Annulment

Despite a legislative effort to make changes in beneficiary designations automatic on annulment or divorce, estate planning and divorce attorneys are still tasked with advising clients regarding beneficiary designations. When you die, your insurance company will pay your designated beneficiary…even if that beneficiary is your ex-spouse.  And, yes, this is true even if that means your...

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Legislative (Non)Update: Legislative Lack of Interest

Pending legislation can often be a harbinger of change, even if it doesn’t pass the first time around.  This legislative session has seen several bills that, while unsuccessful this time, might still be of interest to legislators and lawyers next session… Third time wasn’t the charm for an idea first proposed in 2015 and revisited again in 2016 and 2017 that seeks to move...

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Settlement Agreement Enforceable; Attorney Emails Are the Proof

This case is a good example of why attorneys should always demonstrate professionalism in their communications.  You never know when your email to opposing counsel is going to turn up as an exhibit… Background This case concerns the enforcement of a settlement agreement following a car accident that occurred on August 22, 2008.  The opinion excerpts a number of the e-mails between counsel,...

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No Liability for Fall on Defective Sidewalk

This is a good example of why lawyers need to develop (and use!) checklists for trial.  When you file suit after a fall on a defective sidewalk, you need to be sure you can elicit testimony not just that the sidewalk was defective but that it caused the fall…   This premises liability action arose following the fall of Shirley Lurks on a sidewalk. Mrs. Lurks and her husband filed a...

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Court of Appeals Provides Guidance on Statutory Summary Judgment Standard

The Tennessee Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of Memphis, MPLLC, 477 S.W.3d 235 (Tenn. 2015) established that Tennessee generally follows the federal standard where summary judgment motions are concerned, but left many open questions–particularly regarding the interplay between the Rye decision and the pre-existing Tennessee statutory summary judgment...

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Dance Party Results in Injuries But No Liability

The Court of Appeals  recently examined potential liability from a deck collapse during a party attended by “a ridiculous amount” of high school students.  The upshot?  It seems like a determination that having lots of people jumping and dancing on a deck doesn’t make it forseeable that the deck could break and hurt people…  This negligence action arose following a high...

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