Valuation of businesses in divorce: personal goodwill and enterprise goodwill
A business’s goodwill consists of its “reputation, patronage, and other intangible assets that are considered when appraising the business.” Black’s Law Dictionary 703 (7th ed. 1999). Under Maine law, enterprise goodwill is quantifiable property subject to equitable distribution by the court. Ahern v. Ahern, 2008 ME 1, ¶ 14, 938 A.2d 35. Personal goodwill, in contrast, “is… Read more »
Federal tax legislation to dramatically change federal estate tax exemptions
Reported in Forbes/Personal Finance on December 21, 2017, it appears that the final Tax Bill passed by Congress, currently awaiting the President’s signature, will have dramatic effects on federal estate tax exemptions. According to Forbes, the new Tax Bill passed by the House and Senate on December 20, 2017 will temporarily double the exclusion amounts… Read more »
New federal law targets elder abuse and exploitation
According to a report by Rhonda McMillion, an editor of the ABA (American Bar Association) Washington Letter, a publication of the ABA Governmental Affairs Office, a new federal law championed by the ABA will fight elder abuse and exploitation. The report, which appeared in the December 2017 issue of the ABA Journal, notes the following:… Read more »
Keith P. Richard joins the firm as an Associate Attorney
Libby O’Brien Kingsley & Champion, LLC is pleased to welcome Keith Richard to the firm as an Associate Attorney. Keith’s practice will initially focus on civil litigation and family law matters. Keith joins the firm after having spent the past year serving as a law clerk for Associate Justice Thomas Humphrey of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. For… Read more »
Tyler Smith successfully defends client against protection order extensions
Several years ago, our client’s ex-husband and daughter obtained protection orders. They used these orders to restrict our client’s activities and make various complaints to the police about perceived violations. In 2016, Attorneys Gene Libby and Tyler Smith won an acquittal for the client with regard to one of these complaints – that the client… Read more »
Gene Libby selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America
Gene R. Libby, a founding partner of Libby O’Brien Kingsley & Champion, LLC, has been selected again for inclusion in the most recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Gene was selected to appear in the 24th edition of Best Lawyers (2018) for the practice areas of family law and white collar criminal defense.… Read more »
Attorneys Gene Libby and Tyler Smith establish free speech violation
Our client criticized a member of the Kittery Town Council on February 22, 2017. The Chairperson of the Council, Gary Beers, had the client removed for “casting aspersions on a sitting councilor.” Attorney Gene Libby filed a Notice of Claim against the town and negotiated a settlement, without filing a complaint, that included a written… Read more »
Commericial property valuations in divorce litigation
Commercial property valuation is a more complicated and much more expensive process than appraising residential real estate. Depending on the type of property, commercial appraisals can run between $2,500 to $15,000. The cost will vary based on the size, nature, and complexity of the property involved. Like residential appraisers, commercial appraisers follow standards set forth… Read more »
Attorney Tyler Smith successfully argues “rising blood alcohol” defense in OUI case
Representing a client in a hearing before the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Attorney Tyler Smith successfully argued a “rising blood alcohol” defense in an operating under the influence case. Our client was allegedly witnessed consuming alcohol in a parking lot. The witness called the police, who promptly responded and stopped the client after he… Read more »
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issues ruling on employee use of medical marijuana
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently decided that employees of Massachusetts corporations and of out-of-state corporations doing business with operations in Massachusetts are permitted to use medical marijuana and cannot be fired for failing a drug test due to medical marijuana usage. On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the case of… Read more »