Commentary and Analysis Regarding Colorado Law

Assuming a regime change in Washington, the Biden tax plan proposes monumental changes that will have a massive impact on how many individuals (this means you) have structured their estate plans and finances for decades. Some of the things that should be discussed NOW with your financial consultant:

Lyons Gaddis COVID-19 Alert

This Alert is one in a collection of articles created by Lyons Gaddis in our effort to get important information to our clients regarding the effect of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States.  This Alert focuses on specific issues for employers in response to the current crisis.

Lyons Gaddis COVID-19 Alert

This Alert is one in a collection of articles created by Lyons Gaddis in our effort to get important information to our clients regarding the effect of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States.  This Alert focuses on family law issues and the challenges presented by shelter in place orders, court shutdowns and the looming financial crisis.

After 45 years of handling several thousand disputes, there are some recurring lessons to be learned about achieving the best results. While every case is unique, the roadmap to a successful result includes a set of common waypoints. As you face a dispute, whether litigation, mediation, arbitration or even negotiation, these seven “trade secrets” will help ensure that you have the best chance of success:

1. Identify Your Goals. You wouldn’t start a road trip without knowing your destination. Similarly, make sure you know where you are driving your case. What do you want to achieve in the case? Write it down. Be specific. Share those goals with your lawyer at the outset of representation. Disputes are emotional, time consuming, and issues become murky as the case proceeds. Clearly identified goals can keep you, your lawyer, and your case on track.                                                                                                                                                                         
2. Demand Attention from Your Lawyer. Many Lawyers are like emergency room doctors; they practice triage. Very few attorneys have the luxury of representing a single client. Your attorney must divide their time between multiple cases, where the most serious issue of the moment takes all the attention. That means even though your lawyer wants to focus solely on your case, they may be getting pulled in many other directions at the same time. To you, your case is the most important, to your attorney, treating every case as their most important can be an insurmountable hurdle. To keep your case in priority and at the forefront of your attorney’s mind, schedule specific times to call or meet with your lawyer to review your case. Yes, these calls and meetings can cost money, but it creates both urgency and open discussion about the best way to achieve your goals.                                                                                                              
3. Establish Trust. You must trust your lawyer and your lawyer’s advice. If you don’t, find another lawyer. Strategic decisions will be left to your attorney, even if you don’t agree with every point of strategy, you must trust that your attorney is making their decisions in your best interest. The dispute resolution process is difficult and often stressful for both you and your attorney. During the process of resolving your claim you may get advice that you internally disagree with. If you do not trust your lawyer, conflicts will develop. These conflicts can derail a favorable resolution.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. If the first three points did not drive this point home, allow me to reiterate: like any relationship, communication is KEY! Cases are all about information, facts, data and opinions. The more factual data you can provide your lawyer, the better chance you have of achieving your goals. Let your attorney decide what is relevant. As your case progresses you will get fatigued, sometimes you just want to turn the issue over to someone else – you are sick of it. That is understandable, but it is critical that you continue to communicate with your lawyer. Usually, there are few other ways for your lawyer to get the information needed. We may be good at what we do but we do not read minds.                             

Has the Game of Thrones descended into Boulder County? It seems as if another ancient noble family has taken root here – the Pelotons. You have seen its citizens, haven’t you? It has its own warrior class (like the unsullied) who wear uniforms and helmets out on the road. But here, whom does the Peloton battle for control and supremacy? 

It is typically the Lannisters calculating in their BMW 750is; the Targaryens’ seeking prior glory in their Tesla Model 3s; and the White Walkers hunting the living in a fleet of Ford F-150’s.

June 23-24, 2018

http://ow.ly/f46i30iOMpq

The allegations of abuse have been staggering. The numbers of abused victims are astounding. Are these problems limited to the film and television industries?

Ask any working woman, and the answer to that question is no. Although this is the 21^st Century, sexual harassment is still prevalent in many of our work places.

Submitted by John Wade Gaddis.

Bob Dylan was right, “The times they are a-changing.”  When I first started handling estates forty years ago, the big unknown was the contents of the decedent’s safe deposit box. Typically, we had to contact the State Inheritance Tax Office and make an appointment to have one of the State’s employees meet us at the bank to inventory the box. It was usually a moment that was fraught with drama and surprises. There were unexpected documents, rogue personal property and secrets in virtually every box. That process has been relegated to history as there is no current obligation to contact the State to open a safe deposit box.

But now, there is a vast amount of private information (and surprises) kept online and/or on a personal computer. Everyone wants to safeguard his/her passwords (and some people have more than a hundred passwords). Passwords are typically memorized and in some events written down and kept in a “safe” place.

Submitted by John Gaddis

Even with the ups and downs of oil prices, the oil and gas boom in Colorado is continuing. However, if you own land that has an existing oil and gas lease but there is no development of the minerals on your property, what do you do? Does a landowner have any recourse to require the lease holder to explore, develop and produce the minerals? Can the landowner seek to cancel the existing lease and negotiate a new one?

Submitted by John Wade Gaddis

Varying commodity prices, uncertain water supplies, and unseasonable weather make it imperative for a family farm to stay on top of its business. How? Here are ten items to consider:

1. Hold Regular Meetings. Meet regularly with your lender. Meet regularly with your ditch boss. Meet regularly with the owners of the farm and keep everyone in the loop. Schedule regular meetings.
2. Keep Entity Up to Date. Keep annual meeting minutes. File reports with the Secretary of State annually.
3. Plan Oil and Gas Development. Do you want to sever the minerals from the farm? Should you form an entity to take ownership of the minerals?  If you are leasing or entering into a production agreement, preserve as much of your property for future development as possible.
4. Review All Insurance Policies. Does the farm’s insurance policy provide sufficient coverage for a catastrophic loss? Should you investigate obtaining a liability umbrella to provide more coverage? What crop loss insurance should be purchased?
5. What is Your Plan for Retirement? Everyone talks about estate planning but have you put together a written retirement plan? Will the farm ownership continue in the family?  If so, have you defined a structure that helps your heirs make decisions in a way that avoids conflict or a forced breakup of the farm?
6. Keep Up With Special Districts. Participate in discussions with any special districts that may affect your farm. Participating in sanitation districts, water districts and metropolitan districts can add value to the farm.
7. Participate in Governmental Long Range Planning. Many farms lie within urban planning areas. Be sure to attend any public hearings about land use planning, zoning and future annexations. Be Proactive. Contact surrounding communities to review their long range plans.
8. Document Everything. Update farm leases. Update farm house rental agreements. Document all farm assets, including water rights and storage rights. Obtain and inventory copies of all deeds, water rights, oil and gas rights and water storage rights.
9. Know Your Disaster Plan. Recent events have taught that monsoon rains occur, fires can quickly destroy thousands of acres and unthinkable tragedies happen. Think about the worst that can happen and have a written plan of action in place.
10. Assemble a Team of Trusted Advisors. Assembling a team of agricultural advisors, appraisers, bankers, accountants and attorneys – that know you and know your goals, hopes and methods of operation will help meet every challenge and make the most of every opportunity.

It is important to pay attention to larger issues that affect your farm. Sometimes you can manage to review all of these issues on your own. If you need help doing this, Lyons Gaddis, P.C. performs farm audits and we can schedule one for you.  Please contact an attorney in our Transactional Group for help.

Submitted by John Wade Gaddis

In virtually every transaction, if there is a dispute and a party has to litigate to enforce the agreement, he wants to recover the attorney fees and costs that he had to pay. It seems self evident that the prevailing party should recover the fees that he paid. In most circumstances, if you have not drafted an attorney fees provision into your agreement, you cannot recover the fees incurred in litigation.

The cost of litigation is high and because fees cannot be recovered in the absence of an attorney fee provision in the contract, many clients end up deciding not to enforce the contract — even when it creates a tremendous hardship. This is why it is critical to have a well thought out agreement that includes provisions defining how you will enforce the agreement. We can help draft your next contract and/or review it BEFORE you sign it.