Blog
The Family Meeting: An Integral Part of the Estate Plan
By Estate Planning Practice Group You have signed all your estate plan documents. They are even up to date. Congratulations, you have completed everything. Or have you? Have you explained at least the basics of your estate plan to your family? Do they know what they...
Campaign for Equal Justice Oregon
On September 17, about 300 members of the Oregon legal community gathered for the Campaign for Equal Justice luncheon at Mission Mill to learn about legal aid. The luncheon was generously underwritten by Pioneer Trust Bank. Our attorneys Shannon Martinez, Jennifer...
15 Reasons to Update Your Estate Plan
Here are some reasons and indicators that you may need to update your estate plan: Name a different successor trustee Name a different guardian Name a different healthcare representative Name a different agent as power of attorney Title new assets in your living trust...
Reducing Estate Taxes for Family Farms
by Estate Planning Practice Group As the majority of a family farm’s wealth is generally tied up in land and equipment or needed for working capital, paying an estate tax within nine months of the death of the farm owner can be a burden. The last thing most farm...
Crowdfunding: An Alternative Financing Tool for Real Estate Development
by Mark Shipman Crowdfunding as a potential source of financing for real property development in Oregon has been a hot topic lately. A lot has been written about different real estate projects in Oregon, and the greater Northwest and various developers’ reliance, in...
Watch Out for the Hobby Loss Rules
Dream of Turning Your Passion Into a Business? Watch Out for the Hobby Loss Rules. Like many of us, you have dreamed of turning your hobby or passion into a regular business. Something you could do every day and hopefully, with a little planning and luck, be paid for....
Protect Your Business from Corporate Raiding by Key Employees
Protect Your Business from Corporate Raiding by Key Employees By Randall Sutton Trust in your key employees is critical to business success. In a closely held business, an employee’s disloyalty can bring even the most successful business to the brink of bankruptcy....
Are Potty Mouths Protected from Employers?
NLRB Rules that Cussing Out Employer May be OK by David Briggs Have you ever had an employee just lose his cool and lay into you with a profanity-laced tirade? Many employers who have had that pleasure have fired the insubordinate employees on the spot. In one of its...
Con-Tech Home Building Project
Con-Tech, Inc. and Salem-Keizer Public Schools broke ground on a new house to be built by McKay High School and South Salem High School students. The house is located at 519 24th St. NE in Salem. The project is part of a construction technology program...
Employment Law Updates for Summer 2014
Just as the temperatures really heated up this summer, so did new developments in Employment Law. With new Supreme Court cases, executive orders, local ordinances, and agency guidance, a lot happened this summer. Here is an overview from the summer of 2014 – Saalfeld...