Jennings, Strouss & Salmon Attorney Norma Izzo Milner Elected President of the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Arizona

Phoenix (February 27, 2013) – Jennings, Strouss & Salmon is pleased to announce that family law attorney Norma Izzo Milner has been elected president of the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Arizona’s executive board. Below is a complete roster of the new officers:

President: Norma Izzo Milner

Vice President: Michael Juilfs

Secretary: Donna Heller

Treasurer: David Horowitz

Member at Large: Craig Cherney

Member at Large: Vicki Carpel Miller

Member at Large: Mike Buck

Member at Large: Andi Paus

Past President: Ellie Izzo

Izzo Milner is a leader in the Phoenix and Scottsdale collaborative divorce community. In addition to serving as President of the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Arizona, she is working to spearhead efforts for the Arizona State Legislature to adopt the Uniform Collaborative Law Act and for the Maricopa County Superior Court to create an administrative order safeguarding the principles of collaborative divorce.

“As an adult child of divorce, my own experiences have made me a more empathetic lawyer,” states Izzo Milner. “I understand what these families are facing. I am grateful to be involved in a legal process where broken lines of communication can be restored and spouses can take ownership over the final outcome of their divorce.”

Izzo Milner is a frequent presenter at professional and civic organizations regarding the collaborative process, and teaches Alternative Dispute Resolution as an adjunct professor at the Phoenix College of Law. She is also a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and has completed advanced training in interdisciplinary collaborative divorce, including over twenty hours of collaborative divorce continuing legal education credit. Izzo Milner encourages use of the collaborative model not only in divorce cases but in all types of family law matters, including paternity, relocation, child support, and even post-judgment actions.

If you have questions regarding collaborative divorce in the Phoenix or Scottsdale area and wish to schedule a consultation, contact Norma Izzo Milner at Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, PLC at 602-495-2748.

About the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Arizona
The Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Arizona is a group of attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals dedicated to the practice of a less destructive form of family law. Collaborative Law, or Collaborative Practice, is a new way for individuals to resolve disputes peacefully and respectfully. It is an approach to dispute resolution which does not include the traditional court system. Collaborative Divorce is a specific area of Collaborative Law which gives people facing divorce the opportunity to resolve their issues amicably and with dignity by offering the invaluable resources of attorneys, financial specialists, and mental health professionals all at one time and in one place. Collaborative Divorce is for people who wish to work cooperatively with their partner in resolving issues, while maintaining control of their situation and working creatively to find answers that will work in the best interest of all parties, instead of leaving it up to the courts.

About Jennings, Strouss & Salmon
Jennings Strouss & Salmon is one of the Southwest's leading law firms, providing legal counsel for nearly 70 years through its offices in Phoenix and Peoria, Arizona; and Washington, D.C. The firm's primary areas of practice include bankruptcy, reorganization and creditors’ rights; construction; corporate and securities; energy; family law and domestic relations; health care; intellectual property; labor and employment; litigation; real estate; sports and entertainment; surety and fidelity; tax; and trust and estates. For additional information please visit www.jsslaw.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

~JSS~

Contact: Dawn O. Anderson | danderson@jsslaw.com| 602.495.2806

Changes with Arizona Custody Law

 

 

Featuring JSS Attorney Norma Izzo Milner and CEO of B3 Strategies Russell Smoldon

Jennings Strouss Attorney Norma Izzo Milner Discusses the Benefits of Collaborative Divorce

 

By Norma Izzo Milner

 



Conversion to Natural Gas: Navigating the legal hurdles

By Joel L. Greene

By Joel Greene and Elizabeth Teuwen, Attorneys, Jennings Strouss & Salmon PLC; and Jim Adams, PE, Director of Utilities, Cornell University

Published in the first-quarter 2013 issue of District Energy by the International District Energy Association

It is hard to ignore the growing popularity of natural gas. We are routinely bombarded with news of historically low prices and increasing supplies, bolstered by advances in hydraulic fracturing. And although switching to natural gas is not the silver bullet to combat climate change, natural gas is recognized as a cleaner and more efficient fuel than coal. With these economic and environmental factors in mind, anyone who currently relies on coal or oil cannot ignore the possibility of converting to natural gas.

NLRB Rules Employers Must Gross Up Backpay Awards and Have Reporting Obligations

By Janet B. Hutchison

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has dealt another blow to employers who lose a labor dispute under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  In a recent decision, Latino Express, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 777, 359 NLRB No. 44(2012), the NLRB ruled that employers will be required to compensate employees for any extra taxes the employee would incur resulting from lump-sum backpay awards.  Further, the NLRB held that employers must submit documentation to the Social Security Administration so that when backpay is paid, it will be allocated to the appropriate calendar quarters.

Jennings Strouss Selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2013 U.S. Top Ranked Law Firm

Jennings Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C. has been recognized in the LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® 2013 U.S. Top Ranked Law Firms list.

The list appeared in Fortune Magazine’s special 2013 Investor’s Guide, as well as the January 2013 editions of the award-winning The American Lawyer and CorporateCounsel. Additionally, the list appears on martindale.com® and CNNMoney.com.

The list includes 2,421 firms located across the nation. To be eligible as a 2013 U.S. Top Ranked Law Firm, the firm must have a minimum of 10 attorneys and at least 33% of their attorneys must have achieved an AV Preeminent® rating.

AV Preeminent® is the highest possible Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating designation. It indicates that the individual attorney is an established practicing lawyer whose peers have rated him or her to be of the highest ethical standards and legal ability.

FERC’s Adoption of Revised Definition of Bulk Electric System Warrants Fresh Look at Company Compliance Programs

By: Debbie Swanstrom

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) ended the year 2012 by approving a major new rule affecting electric industry compliance with mandatory reliability standards.  Specifically, on December 20, 2012, FERC issued a final rule revising the definition of the Bulk Electric System (“BES”) -- which is a cornerstone for compliance obligations under hundreds of reliability standard requirements enforced by FERC, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”), and regional reliability entities across the country.  In the final rule, FERC approved a filing by NERC that modifies the existing BES definition to: (1) eliminate discretion accorded previously to regional entities to define this term; and (2) establish a bright-line threshold for the inclusion of all facilities operated at or above 100 kV.  The new definition provides illustrations of specific categories of facilities and configurations that would be included and excluded. The definition is important because it triggers compliance obligations by owners, users and operators of facilities included therein.

In 2013, New Statute Declares 'Custody' Out, 'Decision-making' In

By Norma Izzo Milner

On May 9, 2012, Senate Bill 1127 was signed by Governor Jan Brewer.  Effective January 1, 2013, Arizona’s new custody statute, Title 25, will eliminate the legal concept of “custody” from divorce proceedings.  Instead of relying on the term “custody,” the term “decision-making” will now take its place. In addition, SB1127 replaces the commonly referenced term “visitation” to “parenting time.”  

Arizona Updates Law Regarding Wages for Discharged Employees

 

By Janet B. Hutchison

The Arizona law setting the time within which payment of wages must be made to an employee who is discharged from employment has been changed. The law now provides that when an employee is discharged from the service of an employer, the employee must be paid wages due him or her within seven (7) working days (rather than three days previously required) or the end of the regular pay period, whichever is sooner. A.R.S. 23-353(A).

No revision was made to the statute regarding payment to an employee who quits employment. Payment of wages to an employee who quits must be paid in the usual manner no later than the regular payday for the pay period during which the termination occurred.

Wage issues continue to be the focus of much attention from both employees and enforcement agencies. If you need assistance with wage and hour issues, the labor and employment attorneys at Jennings, Strouss & Salmon can help. Visit us at www.jsslaw.com.

2012 Year End Income Tax Planning Strategies

By Jack N. Rudel

Each year we acknowledge that year-end income tax planning is a challenge, which challenge has been, in recent years, compounded by the uncertainty over what the tax laws will be in the future. That is certainly the case this year.

It is quite likely that tax rates will be higher in 2013 as compared to 2012, at least for some taxpayers. Unless Congress acts, the ordinary income tax rates will increase for all individuals and tax-paying trusts with the top income tax rates for those taxpayers moving from 35% to 39.6%, more individuals will be snared by alternative minimum taxes, various deductions and credits will expire, the 15% tax rate currently applicable to dividend income and to long-term capital gains will increase to 39.6% and 20%, respectively, and unearned income of those single or married taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income of $200,000 or $250,000, respectively, will be subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax under the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (fondly known as Obamacare).

Traditional year-end tax planning was based upon the primary objective of deferring tax liabilities. The tactics employed included the acceleration of tax deductions and credits and the deferral of taxable income. Our year-end tax planning Client Alerts consisted primarily of checklists of opportunities used to achieve the tax liability postponement objective.

For 2012, however, a complete reversal of such tactics may be appropriate for those clients that may be facing the higher rates and new taxes in 2013 and beyond. Such taxpayers may want to accelerate taxable income into this year and to defer deductions and credits into future years.

The acceleration of income can be achieved through a variety of initiatives, depending upon particular circumstances, including:

• Arrange for prepayment of unearned income to taxpayer, including interest, dividends (including special or extraordinary distributions), royalties and rents or gain from sale of assets.
• Election out of installment sale treatment for gain derived from 2012 sale of assets, or effectuating taxable dispositions (including gift transfers) of installment sale instruments that were received from asset sales that were reported prior to 2012.
• An advancement of future compensatory bonuses into 2012.
• Harvest gains from portfolio investments, especially if a disposition of such assets in the next several years was already anticipated.
• Conversion of traditional IRA's to Roth IRA's.
• Acceleration of distributions from qualified plans.
• Exercise non-qualified stock options.
• Taxable liquidations of closely held entities.

The deferral of deductions and credits could be effectuated by delaying the related payments (or, as to accrual basis taxpayers, the incurrence) of the deductible or creditable items into next year. As to depreciable assets that were acquired in 2012, taxpayers should consider not claiming any available IRC §179 deductions, and, instead, depreciating the cost of those assets in future years.

Some of the proposals that are circulating in Washington include the limiting of itemized deductions effective for tax years beginning after 2012. Taxpayers that are contemplating sizeable charitable contributions should consider making those contributions in 2012, notwithstanding the tax rate differential described above.

These strategies must, of course, be considered carefully in light of the precise circumstances of each taxpayer. Taxpayers that do not expect to be subject to the higher tax rates or the new taxes may wish to employ the traditional year-end planning techniques that have been identified in prior Client Alerts. As suggested above, year-end tax planning for 2012 may be somewhat more complex for some taxpayers than is typical.