<![CDATA[CLAFLIN LAW LTD | A NEVADA FAMILY LAW FIRM - ClafBlawg]]>Wed, 21 Aug 2024 10:32:23 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Henderson Residents can text to 9-1-1]]>Mon, 11 Mar 2019 15:41:35 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/henderson-residents-can-text-to-9-1-1Did you know that if you live within Henderson city limits, you can text 9-1-1 for emergency help if you cannot make a call?  City of Henderson Police Text 9-1-1 explains, "this service will be available to any AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless customer. Text to 9-1-1 was not developed as a replacement or option to calling
9-1-1 in an emergency situation, but rather as an enhancement to reaching 9-1-1 services in three specific situations: 

  1. the caller is hearing/voice impaired, 
  2. a medical emergency renders the person incapable of speech, or
  3. when speaking out loud would put the caller in danger, such as a home invasion, an abduction, a domestic violence incident, or an active shooter scenario."
For helpful tips about this service, visit the City of Henderson Police webpage at: www.cityofhenderson.com/police/9-1-1-communications-center/text-to-9-1-1.

Stay safe!
]]><![CDATA[The Invisible Face of Domestic Violence]]>Fri, 12 Oct 2018 15:39:15 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/the-invisible-face-of-domestic-violenceFinancial Abuse: A Form of Domestic Violence

www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/10/03/serena-williams-financial-abuse-domestic-violence-video/1501821002/

https://www.purplepurse.com/]]><![CDATA[CONTESTED OR UNCONTESTED?]]>Fri, 02 Sep 2016 18:23:25 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/contested-or-uncontestedMany people, not just lawyers, use these terms to describe a court case. For example, “this is an uncontested divorce case” or “we’re in the middle of a contested custody case.” The terms are so common that it can be easy to gloss over them or even to misunderstand them. But it can be important to keep these terms straight when you are consulting with (or thinking about hiring) a lawyer to help you.
One rule of thumb to help keep the terms straight is to remember that our court system is called the “adversary” system, which means that it is one party vs. another party in a dispute, an argument, a trial, a battle, a war, a contest, even if the parties are friendly and cooperative and both want to get the case resolved (settled) reasonably quickly. The system traces its roots all the way back to forms of jousting between two knights and “trial by combat” where the winner of the “dispute” was the guy who was not dead at the end. Now it is generally believe that our adversary system of justice leads to “truth” and “justice” as two parties present evidence and zealously argue to persuade a judge or jury that they are “right” and that they should “win” the contest. So generally every court case, with a few rare exceptions, is one party against another party.
 
So when we speak of an “uncontested” divorce case (or custody case or guardianship case or whatever type of case), we mean that we believe that both parties are friendly, reasonable, and cooperative and that they agree on how to resolve the legal case. When a person asks for a lawyer to help him or her with an “uncontested” divorce, he or she does not expect the spouse to disagree about any part of the divorce case, from dividing up assets and debts, to child custody and financial support. He or she might even expect that the spouse would not even come to a court hearing so that he or she would “win” because the spouse did not “contest” the case. If he or she is correct and the spouse does agree with everything, then the uncontested case has few, if any, surprises for a good lawyer, who can help in a fairly quick, efficient, and inexpensive way. At Claflin Law, we refer to this as the “easy” way.
 
On the other hand, when we speak of a “contested” divorce case (or custody case or guardianship case or whatever type of case), we mean that we believe that the parties do not agree on how to resolve every part of the legal case. Both parties might be friendly and reasonable, but they simply have one or more areas of disagreement. When a person asks for a lawyer to help with a “contested” divorce, he or she expects the spouse to disagree with at least one part (and often many parts) of the divorce case, including the divorce itself, or how to divide up assets and debts, or what custody is best for the kids, or financial support. Although he or she hopes that the spouse will come around and “settle” the case, he or she expects that the spouse will “contest” the case – at least at first. A good lawyer can help to protect him or her from legal “harm” and to help him or her achieve his or her legal goals, but a contested case will have surprises for the lawyer to handle, will be more complicated than an “uncontested” case, and as a result will almost always be more time-consuming and more expensive. At Claflin Law, we refer to this as the “hard” way.

During an initial consultation with Claflin Law Ltd, potential clients have the opportunity to discuss and give their best prediction about whether the “other party” to their legal case will or will not be friendly, reasonable, cooperative, and agreeable, so that the case can be properly treated as either uncontested or contested.
]]><![CDATA[LOW-INCOME NEVADA LEGAL SERVICES]]>Tue, 19 Apr 2016 20:42:21 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/low-income-nevada-legal-servicesAt times we are saddened to learn that people in need of low-cost or no-cost legal services are not aware of the many legal resources available in our community. For those with low incomes, many significant legal services are available free of charge from non-profit organizations, including those listed below. To learn more about the services they provide, and how to qualify for them, contact them at the telephone numbers below or click on the link to be redirected to their website.]]><![CDATA[Nevada Alimony Awards]]>Sun, 26 Oct 2014 00:42:37 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/nevada-alimony-awardsAs a part of a Nevada divorce case, a Nevada court may award alimony to either the wife or the husband. Nevada law gives the judge discretion to decide how much alimony to award and even whether to award any alimony at all.
Although there are certain factors the judge must consider, there currently is no mandatory formula for the judge to use in calculating alimony. As a result Nevada alimony awards are decided on a case-by-case basis and are never guaranteed.

In Nevada there are four types of alimony, also sometimes called spousal support or spousal maintenance. A Nevada alimony award can be temporary or permanent, can be made in a lump-sum or in installment payments, and can be of a definite or indefinite duration. 
  1. One form of "temporary" alimony is an award in temporary orders of the Court, which is made after the divorce case has begun but before the entry of a final decree of divorce.
  2. Another form of "temporary" alimony is an award in a final divorce decree that is to be paid for a definite length of time – a certain number of months or years – after which the alimony payments stop.
  3. "Permanent" alimony is an award in a final divorce decree that is to be paid for an indefinite length of time, until one of the divorced parties dies, or until the entry of a later order of the Court modifying the award.
  4. Nevada law also empowers a judge to make an award of "rehabilitative" alimony for the specific purpose of obtaining training/education related to a divorced party's job/career/profession. This type of alimony, typically included in a final decree of divorce, will usually be limited to the amount of time needed to accomplish the divorced party's career rehabilitation.
]]><![CDATA[Properly Operating an LLC]]>Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:59:11 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/properly-operating-an-llcThere are several key factors for the member/owner of a Nevada LLC to consider to operate it  properly; that is to say, to operate it so that the corporate shield remains strong and always protects the member/owner from personal liability for claims against the LLC.
The scope of this blog entry does not allow for a more thorough discussion of these factors, but mention of two critical factors is warranted. First the member/owner must always keep all books, records, financial affairs, and bank accounts of the LLC strictly separate from her own personal affairs. Second the member/owner must always ensure that the LLC remains sufficiently capitalized for its operations. If the member/owner does not do at least these two things, she runs a very high risk that the corporate shield could be "pierced" by a creditor of the LLC under certain circumstances. When the corporate shield is "pierced," the creditor of the LLC can go after the member/owner's personal assets (her house, her car, etc.) -- which is obviously a very bad thing for her.

There are even more benefits for the members of a Nevada limited liability company not explored here. Consult with Claflin Law to learn more.
]]><![CDATA[Standing Behind the Protection of the Corporate Shield]]>Fri, 15 Aug 2014 15:34:31 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/standing-behind-the-protection-of-the-corporate-shieldFlowing from the legal idea that there are two different kinds of "person" are the legal ideas that natural persons can own all kinds of stuff, including artificial persons, and artificial persons can own all kinds of stuff, including other artificial persons. As examples, a woman can own a house, a sculpture, and Dry Cleaners R Us, LLC; so too can Dry Cleaners R Us own a computer, 1 acre of land, dry cleaning equipment, and Little Petals Flower Shop, Inc.
It is against this background, that the owner (or member) of an LLC is viewed as being protected by a "corporate shield." If the woman in the example operates Dry Cleaners R Us, LLC correctly, claims against Dry Cleaners R Us, LLC for money are claims against the LLC only and ordinarily are likely to be satisfied by what the LLC owns (a computer, 1 acre of land, dry cleaning equipment, and the stock of Little Petals Flower Shop, Inc.); but these claims ordinarily cannot be claims against the woman and what she owns (a house, a sculpture, and the member units of Dry Cleaners R Us, LLC). What the woman owns ordinarily is protected from such claims; in other words the woman ordinarily is not "personally liable" to satisfy the claims against the LLC. The LLC must pay its own bills and claims; if it cannot pay, it should hire an attorney to discuss its options. But again ordinarily these issues have nothing to do with the woman's own, separate, personal affairs.

Claflin Law can help to protect your business from business liability and to protect you as a business owner from personal liability.
]]><![CDATA[A Nevada LLC Gives Protection from Personal Liability]]>Fri, 01 Aug 2014 16:34:20 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/a-nevada-llc-gives-protection-from-personal-liabilityWhen operated correctly, a Nevada limited liability company provides a "corporate shield," also called a "corporate veil," to protect its members (owners) from personal liability under most circumstances.
Most people understand that a Nevada corporation provides a "corporate shield" to protect its shareholders/stockholders/owners from personal liability. But the protection in Nevada is broader than that. Indeed it is inaccurate to view the concept of a "corporate shield" as applying to protect the owners of Nevada corporations only; the term "corporate shield" equally applies to protect the owners/members of Nevada LLCs as well.

To understand the difference between personal liability and what could be termed business (or company) liability, it is useful to understand that Nevada law generally defines a "person" and recognizes two kinds of "person." As a general matter, a "person" under Nevada law can sue in court or be sued in court. The first, most obvious, common-sense kind of person is a human being, also called a "natural" person under Nevada law. So for example a woman can sue in court, or she can be sued in court; if she is sued personally in court, she is subject to personal liability, which means her personal assets are placed at risk. The second, less obvious, more tricky kind of person is a legal entity, which is often called by a variety of names, such as "artificial" person, "statutory" person, "legal" person, or "entity" person. This second kind of person is formed (or created) by Nevada law -- by Nevada's business entity statute that was enacted by Nevada's legislature. The two most common forms of a Nevada entity person are a Nevada corporation and a Nevada LLC. So for example a Nevada LLC can be represented by an attorney as the attorney's client; it can sue in court, or it can be sued in court. When a Nevada  LLC is sued in court, it is subject to its own business/company liability, which means its own business/company assets are placed at risk. But because its members/owners are protected by the "corporate shield," the LLC's members/owners ordinarily are not subject to personal liability just because they happen to own the LLC.

Claflin Law can help to protect your business from business liability and to protect you as a business owner from personal liability.
]]><![CDATA[LLC vs. Corporation]]>Sat, 26 Jul 2014 03:59:15 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/llc-vs-corporationMany people are familiar with what a corporation is and basically how it works. To better understand the basic concepts of an LLC, compare the ownership of an LLC to the ownership of a corporation. 
The owners of a corporation are called "shareholders" or "stockholders" because they hold (or, in other words, they own) "shares of stock" (or simply "stock") of the corporation. Such ownership interests are ordinarily represented by "stock" or "shares of stock," which can be represented on a piece of paper that is often called a "Stock Certificate" (or "Share Certificate"). By contrast the owners of an LLC are called "members" or sometimes "managing-members" because they hold (or, in other words, they own) "member units" of the LLC. Such ownership interests are often represented by a piece of paper that is often called a "Member Unit Certificate."

Claflin Law can help you decide which entity is right for your business needs.
]]><![CDATA[What is a Nevada LLC?]]>Fri, 18 Jul 2014 23:06:23 GMThttp://claflaw.com/clafblawg/what-is-a-nevada-llcIn the State of Nevada, "LLC" is the common abbreviation used for a type of business entity known as a "L"imited "L"iability "C"ompany. 
For the State of Nevada, an LLC is a business entity (like a Nevada corporation) recognized by Nevada law and formed through the Nevada Secretary of State. An LLC functions in much the same way as a corporation. The owners of an LLC are called "members." Each member holds (or, in other words, each member "owns") an "ownership interest" also called a "membership interest" in the LLC. Such ownership or membership interests are ordinarily represented by "Member Units," which can be represented on a piece of paper that is often called a "Member Unit Certificate."

Claflin Law forms Nevada LLCs and prepares all related formation documents.
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