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Estate Planning Update
Fall 2010
with credit to Will McKinley, Law Clerk
As many readers may be familiar, the laws governing estate planning are constantly changing and evolving. Below are some of the more recent updates to the laws governing estate planning: I. Wisconsin's New Durable Power of Attorney Act On September 1, 2010, Wisconsin's new Uniform Power of Attorney Act came into effect. The adoption of the new Uniform Power of Attorney Act will significantly change Wisconsin's existing laws governing powers of attorney in a number of ways, including: MORE
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New Stacking Regulations Open the Door for Wisconsin Insureds
with credit to Will MckKinley, Law Clerk
Recent legislation will now enable Wisconsin drivers and passengers injured in auto accidents to "stack" their uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to recover up to three-times the amount of money formerly available.
In the realm of automobile insurance, "stacking" is the process that allows an insured plaintiff to recover the same benefits under multiple uninsured/underinsured motorist policies. To understand how stacking works, an example is required. Say Joe owns three vehicles and he has purchased $100,000 in underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage for each vehicle. One day, Joe gets into a head-on collision with Bob, a driver whose liability policy limit is $100,000. Joe is severely injured and racks up over $400,000 in medical bills (he has no health insurance).
How is he going to pay for everything? Well, traditionally, Joe would get $100,000 from Bob's insurance company (the policy limit); in addition, Joe could seek $100,000 from his UIM carrier (the policy limit). Unfortunately, though, this leaves Joe with $200,000 in medical bills unpaid.
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Decision Preserves Security of Letter of Credit in Insolvency Proceedings
Colleen Kelly
A recent Wisconsin Supreme Court case examines the treatment of letters of credit in proceedings commenced under Wis. Stat. ch. 128, Wisconsin's receivership statute. This decision is especially relevant for landlords secured by a letter of credit, and banks who issue letters of credit. It recognizes that the "independence principle" protects a letter of credit beneficiary's contractual right to draw on a letter of credit, even in the event of a bankruptcy filing.
A letter of credit forms three contracts between the issuer, beneficiary, and applicant, each of which support the other, but the obligations for each transaction are separate. In other words, the duty of the issuer to the beneficiary is independent of the beneficiary's duty to the applicant for the letter of credit, or such applicant's duty to the issuer. The independence principle provides that an issuer must pay upon proper presentation. As the Wisconsin Supreme Court acknowledges, standby letters of credit have been historically used in commercial transactions because they "shift the risk of nonpayment and insolvency from the beneficiary to the issuer of the letter of credit." (¶ 35).
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U.S.News Best Law Firms
&
Best Laywers in America®
Liebmann, Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry, S.C. has been ranked in the inaugural U.S.News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" survey.
In the survey's regional rankings, firms were ranked in 81 practice areas in 171 metropolitan areas and 7 states. Liebmann, Conway was ranked in Media & First Amendment Law (first tier) and in General Commercial Litigation (second tier).
Attorneys Gregory Conway and George Burnett were also recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2011. (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.)
Greg Conway was selected for inclusion in the fields of Commercial Litigation and First Amendment Law and George Burnett was selected for inclusion in the field of Personal Injury law.
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