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We will likely soon see legislation to curb IRS enforcement of penalties against small businesses for engaging in ’listed transactions.’ Fees for not reporting these transactions aim to curb the use of abusive tax shelters. They target businesses and individuals abusing transactions such as certain benefits plans to avoid taxes. Its unintended victims: small businesses who purchased benefits plans from financial planners without knowing they were participating in any problem transaction, and ended up owing enormous penalties....

What better way to celebrate National Boating and Fishing Week than to review some solid tips to prevent boating injuries? If you answered “by getting on a boat, fishing, wakeboarding, or otherwise enjoying America’s ample collection of amazing waterways,” you’re definitely right. But in the interest of “safety first,” before you hit the H20, check out our Top 10 tips for preventing boating injuries: Have a safe National Boating and Fishing Week!...

We posted earlier about the new Oklahoma abortion law that would require posting of details of women who have abortions in the state on a public website. The information posted online would include date of abortion, age, education, marital status and race of the mother, among other details. The new legislation was challenged in a lawsuit brought by two women alleging violation of the Oklahoma state constitution. It was enough to give the presiding judge reason to halt enforcement of the controversial new law....

Nothing says summer like a water slide. Whether you’re rocketing down a chute at a water park or zipping into a backyard swimming pool, there’s just something about the sun and spray that spells freedom and fun. Unfortunately, water slides can also spell danger, and water slide injuries are far too common to ignore. So what happens if you or a loved one is injured on a water slide? That could depend on where that slide is....

Endangered and threatened species are protected for a reason: once a species is extinct, there’s no bringing it back. (Sorry, Jurassic Park aficionados.) So the Endangered Species Act aims to protect threatened and endangered species of plants and animals, as well as the habitats in which they are found. So what happens if someone kills an endangered species? The answer to almost every legal question is: it depends. And when it comes to endangered species, it will generally depend on who’s doing the killing....

Everyone talks about how raising kids is expensive, and one of the biggest contributing factors to that is providing kids with a good education. This is especially true if you want to send your kids to private school. Well, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has a significant impact on how many Americans can approach their strategy for funding their children’s education. More specifically, the Act now makes 529 plans eligible to be used for private school tuition for grades K-12....

Florida is a great place to raise a family, vacation, or even retire. But you’d be a fool to do any of the above without knowing at least some of the Sunshine State’s laws. Don’t even think about passing down that “Golden Girls”-style South Beach pad without first learning if your will is valid under Florida law. And while you may have the pants and the look of “Miami Vice,” you should probably know the DUI laws before you hit the road....

Outsourcing may sound like a dirty word to some. But the reality for small businesses is that many tasks, including legal ones, can be effectively handled by someone outside of an employer’s direct supervision. Small business outsourcing can potentially help you save time and money. Of course, there are some legal issues you’ll want to keep in mind as well. Here are 10 tasks that a small business owner may want to consider outsourcing:...

Nineteen firms that posted fake online reviews to enhance other companies’ reputations on sites like Google and Yelp have agreed to pay $350,000 in fines. Let this be yet another lesson in how posting fake reviews can have costly consequences. The fines are the result of a year-long investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office. Investigators posed as business owners looking to drum up some fake good reviews; the firms offered to post rave reviews for as little as $1 each....

If you’ve fallen behind in paying your bills, you may have had an unpleasant visit by a repo man. You should know that repossession men are not government authorities, nor are they associated with the police. In certain situations, you can even sue a repo man for damages. The laws regarding what repo men can and cannot do are typically provided in state statutes. So depending on where you live, you may want to talk to an attorney to see if the repo man violated any laws....

Estate planning sounds like a fancy and complicated legal term. But it’s really something so basic that everyone should get their estate planned. It’s not only for the wealthy. But not everyone necessarily needs to hire an attorney to plan their estate, as many forms can be found online to draft wills. And not everyone has a sophisticated enough estate that it needs to be planned by an attorney. Still, nearly everyone can benefit from having a lawyer look over their will and overall estate plan....

Divorce is one of the hardest legal events anyone will ever face. When you divorce, you face losses that are not just emotional, but financial and legal as well. This blog series will help answer some basic questions you might have about divorce. Back in the day, child support generally fell on the father after a divorce, and only ended on the day the child turned 18. Nowadays, more mothers are working, same-sex couples are getting married, having kids, and divorcing, and there are more factors taken into account when deciding how long child support will continue....

Crime can happen anywhere, anytime. If you own or run a business, preventing crime at your business should not be a trivial concern. Criminals can not only steal from your business, but they can harm your customers and employees. Also, criminals aren’t always unknown third parties, frequently criminals are upset customers, or former or current employees. While crime may be an unpredictable threat, the following five tips can help your business prevent crime before it even happens....

For the millions of Americans behind bars, getting justice for abuses suffered while incarcerated may seem like a fantasy. However, as the recent charges filed against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department indicate, justice for prisoner abuse and mistreatment is not so farfetched. If you or a loved one has been the victim of abuse or mistreatment while incarcerated, here are some ways you may be able to get help:...

Whether you work for a startup that ran out of venture capital or a bank that didn’t get a bailout, your employer may be going out of business. But what happens if you have an open workers’ compensation insurance claim or you’re getting workers’ comp when they shut the doors for good? We know employers must carry worker’s comp insurance, but if they’re no longer in business, what happens to my benefits?...

The state of New York has won its case to keep convicted sex offender Nushawn Williams confined after his twelve year sentence is complete. Williams reportedly infected at least thirteen women with AIDS. He pled guilty to statutory rape and reckless endangerment 1998. According to the Associated Press, Williams’ attorneys tried to convince the court he should not be subject to the civil confinement law since it was passed long after he was incarcerated for his rape sentence and had begun serving his reckless endangerment sentence....

One company has barred email after 10 p.m. in a policy it calls “Zmail,” designed to give employees a break from the stress that constant email communication can bring. Vynamic, a health-care consulting company based in Philadelphia, has requested that employees refrain from sending email between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays, “and all day Saturday and Sunday,” Fast Company reports. The goal of the Zmail policy is to keep employees happier....

Debit card swipe fees are one of the more frustrating aspects for business owners that are charged high fees for allowing their consumers to use their debit card to make a purchase. For instance, the current fee for a $100 purchase is in the range of $1.50. The good news for business owners is that these fees may get limited or eliminated soon. The Federal Reserve has proposed cutting debit card swipe fees up to 90% to take effect in July 2011, something that banks are none too happy about because of the potential huge loss in profits....

Women and girls age 15 and over will soon be able to buy the Plan B “morning-after pill” without a prescription, thanks to a new FDA decision. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is approving Plan B One-Step, commonly known as the “morning-after pill,” to be sold over-the-counter alongside items like cough syrup and pain relievers. The FDA’s Plan B approval is a big deal in two ways: FDA officials say its announcement is unrelated to a federal judge’s order earlier this month....

A Minnesota ad agency has come up with a novel way to encourage employees to turn in their timesheets. Minneapolis-based Colle McVoy has begun offering the company’s employees a free pint of beer upon completion of their timesheets, dispensed by a one-of-a-kind machine called the TapServer. The TapServer uses employee RFID cards and custom software to reward on-the-ball employees with a beer of their choice, selected via iPad interface. But while the TapServer is an impressive bit of technology, is serving employees alcohol on the job a good idea?...