11.11.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:56 pm by Eric
If I had to pick the most common misperception among non-lawyers, I’d nominate the perception that agreements must be in writing–or witnessed, or notarized, or signed with the blood of an newt after dusk, or contain some other formality. It’s simply not true: A verbal contract is normally enforceable. You might have evidence problems (”What? No, I didn’t say I’d mow your lawn for $2″), but if you can convince the court that you had an agreement, the court should enforce it.
But there is a thing called the “Statute of Frauds.” This statute says certain agreements must be in writing in order to be enforceable. Contracts with respect to real estate, for instance, and contracts that can’t be performed within a year. Although there are ways around the Statute of Frauds, if your contract is required to be in writing, you best use a pen and paper.
This is especially the case because the Statute of Frauds often rears its head when people don’t expect it. A Delaware court, for instance, recently held that the Statute of Frauds applies to one of the most-common contracts on the market today: Operating Agreements for limited liability companies. Delaware is often the “leading” state when it comes to matters corporate, so other state courts will no doubt give the ruling considerable weight in their decisions.
Link for full story.
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11.10.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:17 am by Eric
I thought I noticed an uptick in my creditor’s-rights practice:
As yet another indicator of the tough economic times for American families, bankruptcy filings spiked in the month of October. According to the latest data from Automated Access to Court Electronic Records (AACER), there were 108,595 total bankruptcy petitions filed in the month of October for an average of 4,936 for each of the 22 business days during the month. October 2008 is the first time since the 2005 changes to the U.S. bankruptcy that there have been more than 100,000 bankruptcy filings in one month.
Link.
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11.06.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:49 am by Eric
If you live in Michigan and you’re married, you have a big creditor-protection weapon. It’s called “tenants by the entireties.” Many people think the protection is just for real estate, but it’s not. Michigan statute makes it apply to all sorts of assets, including investment accounts. If you hold an asset with your wife as “tenants by the entireties,” a judgment against you won’t be enforceable against your entireties property, unless the creditor also has a judgment against your spouse. Look into it.
There are trade-offs and other issues to consider, incidentally. Like anything on this blog, no advice should be taken without consulting a qualified professional.
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11.05.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:49 am by Eric
It’s often hard to find election results for state ballot initiatives. This site has one of the best roundups.
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11.04.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:34 pm by Eric
A baby boomer breaks down the economic facts of the baby boomer generation. Excerpt:
Our claim to fame is living way beyond our means for the last three decades, to the point where we have virtually bankrupted our capitalist system. Baby Boomers have been occupying the White House for the last sixteen years. The majority of Congress is Baby Boomers. The CEOs and top executives of Wall Street firms are Baby Boomers. The media is dominated by Baby Boom executives and on-air stars. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the current predicament. Blaming Franklin Roosevelt or Lyndon Johnson for our dire situation is a cop out. Baby Boomers had the time, power, and ability to change our course. We have chosen to leave the heavy lifting to future generations in order to live the good life today.
Via Business Law Prof.
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11.03.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:33 pm by Eric
The classic Chapter 7 bankruptcy: The debtor has a lot of credit card debt and can’t pay it. It’s so classic, in fact, that a client once told me she had recently filed Chapter 7. I said, “Are you sure it was a 7?” She replied, “Yeah, I think. Isn’t that what you do to get rid of credit card debt?”
Anyway, although credit card companies get crushed in a Chapter 7, there’s been one break: If a debtor used the credit card to pay other creditors during the 90 days preceding the bankruptcy, the other creditors had to return the money to the estate (known as a preference). But now, it appears that law might be changing. This bankruptcy blogger has the story.
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