CONTEST ON: Read below for a link to official rules. This week Debbie T was chosen and asked us to donate to: Humane Society of Pinellas. We will have all past donations out next week and be current by this time next week. Congratulations! You are starting a new business and you want to know what type of business entity you want to establish. Do you want a corporation, a limited liability company, a professional association, a partnership, or be a sole proprietor?  Here are three questions to take to your attorney AND your accountant before you open your doors. 1.  DO I NEED TO HAVE A LEGALLY…

  Contest update: Our winner from last week’s question is Patti C.  She has asked us to donate to the West Pasco Pregnancy Center. The answer was the late Federal Bankruptcy Judge Paskay.  The number of entries tripled from any previous contest! CONTEST ON/JTS (official rules here).  JT Simons, P.A., is holding a contest for you to figure out the hidden trivia question in this article. If you win, JT Simons, P.A., will donate $25 to charity. In short, figure out the hidden trivia question, send an email with the answer to JT Simons, and make sure your nonprofit is legitimate. Remember, send …

Seeking an injunction to protect you from domestic violence or receiving a petition accusing you of domestic violence is a serious matter. But, before we get started, you should know about a contest I'll be running it each my columns that can win money for your favorite charity: CONTEST ON/JTS CHARITY EVENT: JT Simons, P.A., is holding a contest for you to figure out the hidden trivia question in an article. If you win, JT Simons, P.A., will donate $25 to charity. When you see at the start of an article the following: CONTEST ON/JTS (official rules here) In short, figure out the answer to the…

The Florida Legislature continues to tinker with alimony laws. Florida’s alimony laws (also called spousal support) are evolving at a very rapid pace. There are currently two bills pending before the Florida Legislature that will once again change how a court awards alimony, the amount awarded, and the duration of the payments. The House version, HB 549, has already passed, and the Senate version, SB 748, is making progress.  Whether good or bad, it appears to me that a majority of the changes are intended to protect the person paying alimony and make it harder for the person receiving …

A significant part of my practice is to represent clients in hotly contested divorces. A contested divorce is financially beneficial to my practice. I would be lying if I said that I don’t reap a certain financial benefit by a divorcing couple that simply cannot get along at any stage of the divorce process. Some divorce attorneys (but honestly not most) actually encourage conflict to make sure the billable hours remain.  I am a divorced father of two wonderful children. Believe it or not, my ex-wife and I still get along almost all of the time. When we disagree, we are able to figure things …

As most of you know, I like to have fun with articles at times when appropriate.  At the end of this week, the Super Bowl champion for 2011-12 will be crowned.  While you are watching Tom Brady throw for 400 yards or being sacked six times by the very aggressive defensive line of the New York Giants, listen closely to some of the terms and phrases used during the course of the game.They are remarkably similar to legalese. I wonder what attorney has the privilege of writing the National Football League Rule Book available for download? To enjoy the Super Bowl properly, the most important thing…

It's also here for those who don't have access: Tell Your Elected Officials to Lock That Kid Up Now! Florida’s child safety restraint laws bark, but they don’t have much bite. We have all seen it: You are driving down the street and see a young child climbing around the back seat of a car without a seat belt. My first reaction is always, “What are those parents thinking. LOCK THAT KID UP!” Who knows what happens in the back of minivans with more room to move around. When I researched this article, I was dumbfounded on the lack of any bite to truly enforce child restraint responsibilities. The…

know the rule around the water-cooler: Don’t talk about religion, sports, or politics. I am going to break all three rules.  Here is the link to the case that is the subject of this article:  Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, released on Jan. 11, 2012.  Constitutional lawyers will agree or disagree on its meaning and application. I will say that the Court’s opinion has a great discussion on the history of the First Amendment and why it became such a cornerstone of our country.   First, let me outline the rough facts of the case before the United States Supreme …

Every single person that has minor children pays child support. Whether you are happily married, separated, divorced, or the parent of a child born without a marriage in place, you pay child support. Every time you buy food, toys, or pay the rent/mortgage, you are paying child support. The gas you spend to send your children to soccer practice or to the doctor’s office is supporting the children. When I took my children to see “Dolphin Tale” and when I take them to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (www.seewinter.com) that is supporting my children. However, society views the term “child support…

I have scoured the Internet and found some interesting personalities that have legal education backgrounds. I am careful to put in the term “legal education” rather than legal “experience” so as to eliminate such classic personalities such as Barry Bonds, Larry Flynt and Sean Hannity.  I am not a famous lawyer like Harvey Levin (TMZ, People’s Court, etc), Nancy Grace (Dancing with the Stars and some other shows), or Robert Kardashian (O.J. Simpson’s Attorney) so I did not have an opportunity to interview these personalities to confirm the accuracy of the information.   Most of this …

I have a huge confession to make: I absolutely love court reality television shows! This is no secret to my staff, friends and certainly not my wife. I found out the other day that I am not alone. I was reading a 2004 Trial Lawyer’s magazine at a mediation the other day and it said that attorneys are one the biggest consumers of television lawyer shows from dramas to reality shows. I know I should cite my source, but I simply did not write it down. It is in a mediation room in Orlando on the first floor under a phone and very dusty.  My favorite court show by far is “The People’s Court.”  …

We have all been on at least one side of the noise dial: We are at a stoplight and there is a significant amount of noise. For those creating the sound, they perhaps call it “sound enlightenment” or a gracious display of giving music to the world. For others, it is simply called noise pollution.  For “sound enlightenment” readers, someone may have told you to turn it down, and you then showed them your fondness of the kingdom of Animal, phylum of Chordata, and the Class of Aves (scientific classification for birds in general) with non-verbal finger gestures. For those that consider loud …

You are an employer. You are interviewing a potential employee. You find information on a social media site that the employee does drugs, posts about parties every night, posts pictures that are not conducive to the image your company wants to have, or hates some people of a race not of that employee’s race.  You are an employer. You find out on a social media site that a long time and loyal employee hates his or her job, has been skipping out of work early, is spending time on your clock on social media sites, or is saying negative things about your company or other employees. You are an …

With Thanksgiving over, Black Friday chaos done, and the holiday season in full effect, it seemed appropriate to discuss what a gift is.  We all know the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and the use of the term “my true love gave to me.” Notably, in the Twelve Days of Christmas, no one ever gave a fruitcake. There is actually another part of the song that says, “On another day of Christmas, my true love RE-GIFTED to me, a fruitcake I would never eat. “ There is a reason for that. Let’s explore why. I have never actually eaten a fruitcake. I know that I get at least one at Thanksgiving …

As the NCAA football season winds down, the biggest story of the year is not who will win the BCS Championship, where Urban Meyer might be coaching next (does anyone know what a buckeye is anyway?), or even where Andrew Luck will be playing next year.  The entire 2011 college football season will forever be remembered for the child abuse scandal at Penn State involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Of course, Sandusky is innocent until proven guilty, but it appears he is already guilty in the court of public opinion. Let me be clear on my position: child sexual abuse is a disgusting…

My apologies for missing last week’s article. To all of my faithful readers (yes, email me so I know you exist), it was one of those weeks where the M.D. took over my J.D. and sentenced me to B.E.D. Luckily, I got an early release. There are some really exciting articles coming up including mandatory reporting requirements for abuse of children. This piece is influenced by the events that occurred in the Penn State issue. Another great article coming up focuses on the right to bear arms after a felony conviction or a domestic violence injunction. I am going to expand my scope and actually …

One of my favorite targets for my stories is my own father.  He is the antithesis of an attorney.  He never listens to a single thing I say.  He will call me for legal advice. I will give him legal advice for free. He will then tell me that I am absolutely wrong and hang up on me. He is also getting older and his eyes are getting worse. He has trouble reading a menu and refuses to use glasses. Recently he gave me an envelope where there was a picture of him running a red light in a left-hand turn somewhere that I choose to keep anonymous. Attached was a ticket for $158.00 unless he contested …

As promised, here are some lawyer jokes that I have reprinted. I asked other lawyers, small business owners, and of course my massively small network on Facebook to contribute. I received well over 200 joke submissions.  In a previous article, I wrote that I agreed with what people already know: the reputation of our profession has diminished. However, I am hoping that by bringing some humor to the issue, lawyers can grasp public perception, have a small laugh, and use this as a motivation to help improve our status in society.   For non-lawyers, I hope you realize lawyers can still laugh at …

An attorney has a tough job. We are the subject of thousands of jokes. I have heard that we have one of the highest substance abuse and suicide rates of all professions. Our profession, unfortunately, has diminished on the scale of respectable professions. It puts us in a tough position.  Our oath says, "I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone's cause for lucre or malice. So help me God." However, another part of the oath says, “I will not counsel or maintain any suit or proceedings which shall appear to me to …