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

The next time you get your invoice from your lawyer and think his or her rate is too high, be grateful that the hourly rate is not over $1,000.00, as some attorneys across the country are charging in excess of $1,000.00 an hour. While even $150.00 an hour seems excessive to some clients, it is important to remember that the fees that attorneys charge cover all of the overhead expenses from support staff, office rent, equipment, supplies, law library subscriptions, marketing, malpractice insurance, continuing education, deadbeat clients, and eventually pay for the attorney. Attorneys have invested years in their education and training and a reasonable return for the knowledge they have obtained is to be expected. We here at Sullivan & Ward believe that our fees are reasonable and in step with current market. Some of our work is handled at flat rate charges, which does provide some comfort to clients about the bill at the end of the day.  Various online companies and services attempt to provide "low cost" legal-type services, but you can probably imagine what you get.

Now if my hourly rate was $1,200, this blog post would be really expensive.

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Sullivan & Ward's own attorneys, Larry McLellan and Mark Landa, have been selected for inclusion in the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America in environmental law.  Larry McLellan was also included in the 2009 Great Plains Super Lawyers listing under environmental law.  Congratulations to Mark and Larry for these honors!

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Samantha Kain has recently joined Sullivan & Ward, P.C.  Samantha is a 2003 graduate of Drake Law School and she previously worked at Handley, Block, Lamberti & Gocke, P.C. in Ankeny, Iowa.  Samantha practices in the area of family law, real estate and estate planning.  Samantha brings a wealth of knowledge to Sullivan & Ward's practice areas.

Samantha's direct dial is (515) 247-4711. Welcome Samantha!

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I just finished up a modification trial today regarding child custody. As an attorney, I strive not only to represent my client but when the case involves the children, my duty also includes thinking about how the outcome could affect them as well. A recent article on Newswise and included in the Journal on Marriage and Family reported that for children of divorce, what happens after their parents split up may be just as important to their long-term well-being as the divorce itself.

A new study found that children who lived in unstable family situations after their parents divorced fared much worse as adults on a variety of measures compared to children who had stable post-divorce family situations. “For many children with divorced parents, particularly young ones, the divorce does not mark the end of family structure changes – it marks the beginning,” said Yongmin Sun, co-author of the study and associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University’s Mansfield campus. “A stable family situation after divorce does not erase the negative effects of a divorce, but children in this situation fare much better than do those who experience chronic instability”

The study compared children who grew up in three different situations including children who grew up in married households, children whose parents divorced before the study began but lived in a stable home, and children whose family situation changed once or twice during teen years.

Results showed that young adults who grew up in stable post-divorce families had similar chances of attending college and living in poverty compared to those from always married families. But they fared less well on measures of the highest degree obtained, occupational prestige and income. However, those who lived in unstable family situations after their parents divorced did worse on all measures. In fact, they fared more than twice as poorly on most measures compared to their peers who had stable family situations.

This study found that for those in stable post-divorce families, the difference in adult well-being was mostly due to a shortage of economic and social resources. Compared to always-married parents, divorced parents had a lower level of income, didn’t talk to their children as much about school-related matters, had fewer interactions with other parents, and moved their children to new schools more often.

These findings provide a clear message to parents: minimize disruption during a divorce and after.

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Did you ever want to know how much your neighbor or a family member had when they died?  Were they the "millionaire next door"?  Did so-and-so blow through all that money? Well, in Iowa, as in many states, a complete listing of a deceased person's assets are listed in the public court records.  The Report and Inventory, as it is called in Iowa, is a filing that the personal representative (either the executor or the administrator) is obligated to file with the court which breaks down the assets into real estate, stocks, bank accounts, life insurance, miscellaneous property, and annuities (retirement).  The itemized assets also show the value as of the date of death.

To get this information, all you need to do is go down to the courthouse and look up the file number for the deceased individual, have the courthouse personnel pull the file, and then review the information.  Pretty easy to review someone's financial life!

For most people, keeping financial information confidential is very important.  Now, you might say, "what do I care, I'm dead?'"  True, but as far as your family members are concerned, your financial information soon becomes their financial information.

If your estate does not go through the probate process, then this listing of a report and inventory is not necessary.  To avoid probate in Iowa (& most other states) you can use a revocable trust plan.  A properly created trust, that is properly funded,skips the probate process and helps maintain your privacy.

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