Bar Urness, PLC is proud to announce the selection of its Partner, Roie M. Bar, to Super Lawyers’ list of 2012 Rising Starts in the Southwest Region. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Super Lawyers’ list of Rising Stars consists of no more than 2.5% of the lawyers within the state, and recognizes the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state who are 40 years old or younger, and who have been practicing for 10 years of less. Each year, lawyers in each state are invited to nominate top attorneys they’ve personally observed in action to be recognized by Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers then conducts its own research into each nominee’s honors, results and credentials, and further evaluates candidates based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievements. These indicators include the following: verdicts; settlements and transactions; representative clients; experience; honors and awards; special licenses and certifications; position within law firm; bar and other professional activity; pro bono and community service; scholarly lectures and writings; education and employment background; and other outstanding achievements.
We congratulate Roie Bar for earning this high recognition and want to thank our peers without whom the nomination would not have been possible. We believe Super Lawyers’ selection of our Partner to its 2012 List of Rising Stars is a reflection of the quality of services the attorneys at Bar Urness, PLC provide to all of our clients, and their contribution to the legal community at large, of which we are proud to be active members. We look forward to many more years of excellence in the field, and of positive impact in the lives of our clients and peers.
Establishing Paternity in Arizona
October 14th, 2011In Arizona it is necessary to establish paternity for a child born out of wedlock to proceed with determining custody, parenting time and child support. Either the Mother or the Father may initiate proceeding to determine paternity and/or custody, parenting time and child support. Paternity can be established in Arizona through genetic testing or by voluntary acknowledgement. Either party can request paternity testing or the Court can order the parties to submit to testing. Arizona Revised Statute §25-807 (D) states that if the genetic test shows that the likelihood of the alleged father being the parent is ninety-five percent or greater, he is presumed to be the Father unless he or she can prove otherwise by clear and convincing evidence. If a paternity action is filed and served and the party fails to respond to the action, the Court may enter an order establishing paternity without further proceedings. If you are looking to establish paternity or have received papers indicating the other party is attempting to establish paternity, it is important to seek the advice of an experienced family law attorney immediately. Our Scottsdale paternity lawyers can assist you with the process and have experience establishing Father’s rights in Arizona. Please contact the office to schedule a consultation
Business Dissolution in Arizona
August 30th, 2011The economy’s slow growth rate has had an effect on a wide range of businesses in Arizona, forcing some corporate entities to cease their operations, wind-up their business affairs, liquidate their assets, and subsequently dissolve. While economic conditions account for a large portion of corporate dissolutions in the current economy, other circumstances may similarly warrant dissolutions.
Business corporations may voluntarily choose to dissolve upon the shareholders’ approval of a proposed dissolution by the Board of Directors. If the shareholders of a corporation approve the dissolution, the entity continues to exist for the limited purpose of winding-up and liquidating its business affairs, which would include activities and transactions such as selling assets, discharging liabilities, and distributing what is left, if any, to the shareholders. Limited liabilities companies, or LLC’s, can be similarly dissolved voluntarily upon their members’ consent, and would follow an almost identical dissolution process. Dissolution Agreements can be used to facilitate the LLC members’ agreement by outlining the manner by which the members agree to dissolve, and specifying respective distributions to members, if any, after the LLC’s obligations and liabilities are discharged.
While a voluntarily dissolution of a corporate entity is preferable in situations where the corporation’s ability to continue as a going concern becomes questionable, dissolutions may also be necessary as a result of internal conflicts (i.e. deadlock in the management). In such situations, shareholders may petition the Court to order the dissolution of the corporation, and to further appoint a receiver for that purpose. Likewise, LLC members can also petition the Court to order the dissolution of the LLC and appoint a receiver in a similar manner. Typically, Judicial Dissolutions of Arizona corporations are highly adversarial in nature, and accordingly necessitate the involvement of an experienced Arizona business litigation attorney. As such, judicial dissolutions should be pursued as a last-resort.
There are other circumstances under which business corporations and LLCs may be dissolved, which are not discussed in this article. If you have any questions concerning such dissolutions in Arizona, you are highly encouraged to seek the advice of a business lawyer to help you navigate through the dissolution process in the manner that would not only reduce conflict, but also achieve the ultimate objectives in the most cost-effective manner.
The business attorneys at the Scottsdale office of Bar Urness, PLC, can discuss the various options available for dissolutions under any given circumstance. Feel free to contact us or visit our website at www.barurness.com, for additional information on this topic.
New 2011 Arizona Child Support Guidelines
May 31st, 2011Effective June 1, 2011, the Arizona courts will use revised guidelines to determine Arizona child support payments. The changes to the guidelines will be effective for all child support orders entered after May 31, 2011, whether they are original orders or modifications of previous orders, except in cases of default or as otherwise agreed upon by the parties.
There are two major changes to the Arizona Child Support guidelines pursuant to Administrative Order No. 2011-46. The first change impacts determining the basic child support obligation. If the parents’ income falls exactly in between two combined adjusted gross income amounts, the guidelines now require that the amount is rounded up to the nearest combined adjusted income entry of the schedule of basic child support obligations.
The second change relates to Federal and State Tax Exemptions for Dependent Children. When the court calculates child support, the court determines which parent is going to claim the child/children each year as dependent on their federal and states income tax returns. Under the old guidelines, a parent was not able to claim the tax exemption if they were not current on their total court ordered monthly child support obligation payments and court ordered arrearage payments for the calendar year by December 31. Now, the allocation of the exemption is a discretionary matter that will be determined by the Judge.
I am often asked the question, “How much child support will I have to pay?” To determine how much child support you will pay in Arizona you should consult with an Arizona child support attorney to help determine your obligation or to determine whether the amount you are receiving should be modified.
For additional information on the information necessary to calculate Arizona child support or to schedule a consultation with a Scottsdale family law attorney, please visit www.barurness.com
Calculating Arizona Child Support
July 19th, 2010Child support in Arizona is based on guidelines established by the Supreme Court of Arizona. The factors necessary to calculate child support include:
1) Your gross monthly income
2) The other party’s gross monthly income
3) Cost of medical insurance for the child/children only
4) Cost of daycare
5) Parenting time (number of days per year)
There are other factors that may be considered including extraordinary expenses for the child and support of another child with or without a court order to do so. It is always best to consult with a licensed Arizona attorney to accurately determine which factors apply to your situation.
To read the current child support guidelines visit: http://www.supreme.state.az.us/dr/childsup/drguide.htm
You can calculate child support in Maricopa County by using the child support calculator on the Maricopa County Superior Court website: http://ecourt.maricopa.gov/index.asp
Arizona Senate Bill 1314
May 10th, 2010Over the past week, Governor Jan Brewer signed several bills into law including SB 1314 which impacts custody in Arizona. SB 1314 creates a policy that “absent evidence to the contrary, it is in the child’s best interest to have frequent and meaningful time with both parents in a divorce situation and to have both parents participate in decision making.”
This means that as a policy, the Court will start with a presumption of joint custody when parents are going through a divorce. If frequent and meaningful time with both parents is not in the best interest of the child, it is necessary to present evidence to the contrary to make a case for sole custody. Although the Court is already generally following this principal, SB 1314 becomes a law on July 29, 2010.
Welcome to our Blog
April 28th, 2010About us:
Our Scottsdale, Arizona law firm consists of the two founding partners, Roie Bar and Amy Urness, as well as our paralegal Kirsten Sargent. Roie practices primarily in the areas of Commercial/Business Litigation, Business and Real Estate Transactions, and Estate Planning, while Amy’s practice is primarily focused on Family Law and Commercial Litigation. Roie and Amy started their careers as commercial litigators with a local Phoenix law firm, and opened Bar Urness, PLC in March of 2009.
Our goal for this blog is to provide information to current and prospective clients about relevant issues relating to our respective practice areas. We will keep you updated on new case law, provide you with interesting articles relating to our practice areas, and will address some of the most frequently asked questions about each, including:
- the use of Trusts versus Wills as succession planning tools (Estate Planning)
- the use of Financial and Health Care Powers of Attorney as tools for events of incapacity (Estate Planning)
- Child-Support calculations and appropriate circumstances for modifications (Family Law)
- Prenuptial Agreements (Family Law)
- Legal Separation or Dissolutions (Family Law)
- Landlord-Tenant issues (Real Estate Transactions)
- Foreclosures and Short-Sales with respect to the Arizona Anti-Deficiency Statutes (Real Estate Transactions)
- Business Entities and Formations (Business Transactions)
- Limited Liability Companies and Operating Agreements (Business Transactions);
- Business Dissolutions (Business Transactions)
- General commercial/business disputes (Commercial/Business Litigation)
- Breach of Contracts (Commercial/Business Litigation).
We hope that you read our blog each week and learn something new with each article. We strongly encourage and invite you, as our readers, to leave us feedback, send your comments or questions, or e-mail us suggestions of topics that are of interest to you.
Please enjoy our blog.
