Iowa Law Blog : Iowa Lawyer & Attorney : Sullivan & Ward Law Firm : Iowa Law Blog

At Iowa Estate Plan, I have a post about the benefit of using a Power of Appointment in your estate plan.

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Matt Gardner recently had a chapter published in the book titled "Estate Planning Client Strategies: Leading Lawyers on Understanding the Client's Goals Using Trusts Effectively, and Planning in a Changing Economic Climate (Inside the Minds)."  If you are interested in purchasing, go here (none of the proceeds go to us).

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This post should be prefaced with the fact that I am an alumnus of the Univeristy of Iowa, but I will attempt to remain as objective as possible in my reporting.

Iowa State University recently finialized its contract with new Head Football coach Paul Rhoads.  The contract, linked here by the Des Moines Register, has an interesting term that is not often found in coaching contracts.  Under Article V of the contract, instances are provided that equate to "just cause" for termination, in other words, reasons the University can give to fire him.  Paragraph 2(a) of this Article specifically lists some situations that cannot be considered just cause, including:

ii) Win-loss record or public unhappiness with win-loss record; or

iii) Other general displeasure at the direction or success of the football program.

Generally, win-loss records and displeasure with the direction of an athletic program are the main reasons coaches are fired by their university employers.  It would be interesting to know at whose behest these clauses were added, and the policy behind them.  It should be noted that the contract also lists a number of "just cause" reasons to fire Rhoads, and the University would likely be able to find separate reasoning to release him besides the win-loss record of the team. 

At any rate, his job is safe for a while, even after September 12, 2009.  Go Hawks.

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Sullivan & Ward's Liz Overton was quoted in the Des Moines Business Record concerning legal issues related to company furloughs. Company furloughs create a legal minefield  Very good information and article related to company furloughs.

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The Des Moines School Board voted 6-0 on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 to approve a tougher student conduct policy related to illegal activities and behavior.  The policy will go into effect in the Fall of 2009, and will apply to students year-round.  Opponents of the new changes have focused their attention on a particular part of the policy:  The new code allows district officials to use information from social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook as evidence to discipline students, even in the event the student is not charged by legal authorities. 

The Des Moines Board policy certainly raises a number of questions about the authenticity of social networking information as evidence (Is a picture of a student-athlete holding a red Solo cup of Pepsi at a party going to get him or her suspended?) (What if a beer is Photoshopped into the picture?) (What if the picture was taken before the policy was in effect?); the availability of resources to enforce the new policy (Will the district employ an individual to scour the Internet in search of allegedly damning photos?); and whether investigations will be commenced by school administrators, by an opposing team a few days before the big game, or by a parent of a student-athlete from the same team (Is this a tool for the district or does it promote everybody to become a whistle-blower?).  Additionally, the moral/social debate about parental decision-making overruled by the school district is alive and well following the board's actions.  From a legal perspective, however, high school extra-curricular activities are a privilege, not a right.  Accordingly, the school district is likely entitled to use social networking sites as a means to enforce its policies. 

Also, look for students to simply change their habits.  Many will avoid situations where alcohol or drugs are involved, while others may not abate their behavior, but will just take the photos off the Internet.

The introduction of Internet information as evidence, especially found on Facebook and MySpace, is a fascinating legal phenomenon.  The information is plentiful and can provide tremendous assistance to a fact-finder, but its authenticity is highly questionable. 

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The Des Moines Register is reporting that local class action lawsuit against Casey's General Stores goes to a federal judge for approval of a settlement entered into with the parties.  Casey's would agree to pay $12.1 million for employees who were required to work off-the-clock, including cooks and assistant managers.

This case continues to remind employers that requiring non-exempt employees to work overtime needs to be properly compensated.  In fact, the argument has been successfully made in situations where the employer did not even authorize the overtime, yet still was required to pay overtime.

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Today President Obama announced a plan that will encourage unemployed workers to enroll in educational and retraining programs.  The President's plan encourages states to update their unemployment compensation rules so that unemployed workers taking advantage of the program do not lose their unemployment compensation benefits.  Iowa's current unemployment compensation scheme has such a speed-bump.

Under Iowa Code § 96.4 an unemployed individual is eligible for unemployment compensation benefits if the individual is "able to work, is available for work, and is earnestly and actively seeking work."  The Iowa Administrative Code state that full-time students "devoting the major portion of their time and effort to their studies are not "available" for work as required by the Iowa Code unless they are "available to the same degree and to the same extent as they accrued wage credits."  Thus, they are ineligible to receive unemployment benefits.  Exceptions include an indivdual in training with the approval of the director and training approved under 19 U.S.C. § 2296(a), the Trade Act of 1974, Relief from Injury Caused by Import Competition.

President Obama's plan only "strongly encourages" states to alter ther current rules.  With Iowa's unemployment rate still approximately 3.3% below the national rate, (according to March 2009 rates) I don't anticipate many changes in Iowa's rules in the near future.

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Alimony can be awarded to either a husband or a wife for a limited or indefinite length of time.  In Iowa, there are three different kinds of alimony - Traditional, Rehabilitative and Reimbursement.  Traditional alimony continues as long as the dependent spouse lives and remains unmarried.  It is generally awarded after a long marriage where one spouse has been dependent on the earning efforts of the other spouse, has a mental or physical disability, does not have the ability to become self-sufficient, or has a substantially lower earning capacity.  Rehabilitative alimony is designed to allow the recipient spouse to become self-supporting and is for a shorter, defined period of time. Finally, Reimbursement alimony is ordered where one spouse assisted the other to obtain an advanced degree, professional license or otherwise supported their career advancements. Typically, Traditional and Rehabilitative alimony terminate when the recipient remarries or dies, but Reimbursement alimony does not terminate upon remarriage. 

Pursuant to Iowa Code Section 598.21A(1), in entering an alimony award the Court will take into consideration the following:

a.  The length of the marriage;

b.  The age and physical and emotional health of the parties;

c.   The distribution of property made pursuant to section
      598.21;

d.  The educational level of each party at the time of
      marriage and at the time the action is commenced;

e.  The earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance,
      including educational background, training, employment skills, work
      experience, length of absence from the job market, responsibilities
      for children under either an award of custody or physical care, and
      the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or
      training to enable the party to find appropriate employment;

f.   The feasibility of the party seeking maintenance becoming
      self-supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that
      enjoyed during the marriage, and the length of time necessary to
      achieve this goal;

g.  The tax consequences to each party;

h.  Any mutual agreement made by the parties concerning
      financial or service contributions by one party with the expectation
      of future reciprocation or compensation by the other party;

i.   The provisions of an antenuptial agreement; and

j.   Other factors the court may determine to be relevant in an
      individual case.
 

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The use of mediation in Iowa is becoming an increasingly popular way of resolving family law disputes. In mediation, a neutral third party (the mediator) assists the parties in reaching an agreement regarding some or all of the issues in their case. The mediator is chosen by agreement of the parties and while he/she is not a legal advisor for either side, an effective mediator may raise issues not previously considered. Overall, the mediation process tends to be less adversarial, allows the parties greater control over the outcome of their case, and saves time and money. 

Either party can request to participate in mediation at anytime (Iowa Code Section 598.7). The best time to mediate; however, is after the parties have had an opportunity to fully identify all of the unresolved issues in their case. The Court can also order the parties to participate in mediation. If ordered to participate in mediation, parties can request a waiver where there is a history of domestic violence or abuse in the relationship (Iowa Code Section 598.41).   

If the parties are unable to reach an agreement at mediation, the parties can then proceed as if mediation had never taken place. This usually involves requesting the Court to make a decision on any unresolved issues at a hearing or trial. 

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