Litchford, Pearce & Associates, PLLC, is dedicated to keeping the public informed of new laws and regulations and updating the public on popular and relevant legal news. Check this blog site regularly to stay up to date.
Posted by Mark W. Litchford | Dec 23, 2020 |
The 111th General Assembly adjourned on June 19, 2020 after passing an amended state budget drafted in response to steep funding deficits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon return from the spring legislative recess, House and Senate leadership agreed to address an abbreviated agenda of bills p...
Posted by Richard G. Pearce, Jr. | Dec 08, 2020 |
After an unusual election season, we head into 2021 with President-Elect Joe Biden, a House controlled by the Democratic Party and an undecided Senate. The Republican Party will have to win one of the two Senate seats in the Georgia runoff in January 2021 to keep control of the Senate. If not, ...
Posted by Brooke Smith | Oct 28, 2020 |
We all recognize this quote from the uncle of your favorite web slinger, Spider-Man, but this isn't just a pop culture idea or even a new one. From Winston Churchill to Voltaire to the French National Convention in 1973, some version of this saying has circulated throughout history. You can even ...
Posted by Richard G. Pearce, Jr. | Oct 20, 2020 |
Almost everyone engages in some form of asset protection. For example, a high-risk spouse may put assets in the name of a low-risk spouse or else in their joint name. Another example is that most people own businesses in a corporation or limited liability company to isolate the liabilities of t...
Posted by Richard G. Pearce, Jr. | Oct 16, 2020 |
A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (“QPRT”) is a type of irrevocable trust that takes ownership of your home, thereby providing some estate tax planning and asset protection benefits. As an “irrevocable” trust, the creator of the trust (often called the “grantor”) transfers ownership of the ho...
Posted by J. Michael Holloway | Oct 12, 2020 |
The pandemic brought by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has taken the lives of almost 200,000 Americans since March. As of the time of this writing, we have lost over 2,000 Tennesseans alone: 2,000 or more Tennesseans whose surviving families are now having to potentially navigate the probate pr...
Posted by Mark W. Litchford | Oct 06, 2020 |
Since the mid-1990s, the formation of limited liability companies has increased significantly in Tennessee and Georgia. As described below, this makes sense. LLCs allow taxpayers to take advantage of limited personal liability for business obligations while also offering simplified, and perhaps...
Posted by Richard G. Pearce, Jr. | Apr 08, 2020 |
As expected, the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) created by the CARES Act rolled out on April 3, 2020 with a thud. Without regulations, we thus far only have an “interim final rule” from the SBA to explain a little more about the PPP and the fact that many banks either are not ready to imple...
Posted by Richard G. Pearce, Jr. | Apr 02, 2020 |
On Friday, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES” Act) into law. The CARES Act contains provisions regarding stimulus checks, expanded unemployment insurance benefits, expanded FMLA and EPSL benefits from the FFCRA (see my article from last week), mor...
Posted by Richard G. Pearce, Jr. | Mar 26, 2020 |
Many clients have reached out to me for help understanding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”). In an effort to efficiently provide information to as many people as possible, I am using this blog format rather than individualized emails. As such, this blog is not intended to...
Posted by Mark W. Litchford | Sep 23, 2019 |
“Once you push send, you can never take it back.” You've probably heard this phrase 100 times, but have you ever considered it in the context of a real property contract? Most likely not, but it almost happened in Tennessee as evidenced by a recent Tennessee Court of Appeals opinion issued in A...
Posted by Mark W. Litchford | Jun 08, 2019 |
Being charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) can be harrowing and you should not face criminal charges without legal assistance. Litchford, Pearce & Associates, PLLC, understands you may have immediate questions. This article attempts to provide some preliminary information while you assess your situation. If you have further questions, you are encouraged to contact the attorneys at Litchford, Pearce & Associates, PLLC, to schedule a free consultation at 423-529-5290 or [email protected]
Posted by Mark W. Litchford | May 22, 2019 |
More than 30 new laws passed by the Tennessee General Assembly went into effect on the first day of 2019, ranging from changes to election law and when motor vehicle accidents have to be reported to state authorities, to immigration and abortion. Some of the laws, like one establishing a hotline for people to register complaints about state-owned vehicles, might not have an impact on the daily lives of many Chattanooga. However, others relating to opioids and wine could affect people across the state. This article contains some of the most consequential new regulations.