December 10, 2018

It is estimated that anywhere from 50% to 70% of adult Americans haven’t taken the time to have a basic estate plan. Do you? If you don’t, what are your excuses for not having a basic estate plan in place?

If you don’t have a basic estate plan, you might have something in common with celebrities, such as Prince, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Howard Hughes. All of them failed to plan ahead and have a simple Will or an adequate estate plan.

September 24, 2018

An eighteen-year old was hospitalized at the Hospital/Clinic. She and her parents were not satisfied with the care they were receiving, and repeatedly asked for her to be transferred. There was a question as to whether or not the eighteen-year old had the capacity to make her own medical decisions. The hospital refused to let her transfer to another hospital, even after the family lawyer wrote a letter asking the well known hospital to make the arrangements.

August 10, 2018

The statutory Real Estate Condition Report (“RECR”) recently tripled in size. The new RECR became effective on July 1, 2018. The RECR was already a troublesome document for sellers because it requires sellers to give their opinions on defects to real estate issues only known by professionals in the field of construction, development, legal, zoning, etc. What makes matters worse is that the application of the current law provides an opportunity for buyers to sue sellers for double and triple damages, including attorney’s fees, should the seller accidentally, unintentionally, or without knowledge fail to check one of the now over 48 separate boxes. The RECR is so onerous on sellers that entire law firms have cropped up solely dedicated to litigation of these reports.

On October 6, 2017, J. Edward Clair was presented with the Walworth County Bar Association Alice P. Morrissy Lifetime Achievement Award, at a ceremony in Lake Geneva.

March 11, 2016
 
On February 23, 2016 the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted a petition that will require parties to file cases electronically (e-file). The approved plan calls for counties to implement mandatory e-filing in civil, small claims, paternity and family cases beginning on July 1, 2016.  Several counties are currently offering e-filing on a voluntary basis.
 

December 3, 2015