Blogs

Estate Planning

Safeguarding Frozen Embryos Through Estate Planning

Frozen embryos can create complex estate planning issues because state laws vary widely on whether embryos are treated as property, human life, or a special category in between. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Wills, Trusts and Estates Newsletter, the analysis explains that individuals undergoing in vitro fertilization should think carefully about what should happen to unused embryos in the event of death, incapacity, divorce, or failure to continue storage payments.…

February 1, 2012

Construction

A Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate. Part II.

We will discuss the commercial landlord’s duty to mitigate damages after a default by tenant in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. First, Washington, D.C. is as follows.

January 30, 2012

Construction

A Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate. Part I.

A Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia Under common law, a landlord had no duty to accept or procure a new tenant in order to mitigate damages (i.e., take reasonable action to avoid additional injury or loss) resulting from a tenant’s breach of a lease, including with respect to an abandonment…

January 10, 2012

Business and Financial Services

Fairfax Circuit Court Expands Jurisdiction in Conspiracy Cases

Virginia courts may exercise jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants when those defendants have sufficient contacts with the Commonwealth, even if they never physically lived or worked in Virginia. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that the Fairfax Circuit Court found jurisdiction existed over nonresident defendants in a business conspiracy case involving employees of a pharmaceutical company because they had directed…

January 1, 2012

Business and Financial Services

Finality of Orders in Reston Homeowners Association v. Ramirez

Under Virginia Supreme Court Rule 1:1, a court generally loses jurisdiction over a final order after 21 days unless the order has been suspended, modified, or vacated within that time. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that Reston Homeowners Association v. Ramirez illustrates how courts determine whether an order is truly final. The case involved a homeowners association seeking corrective action against a property…

January 1, 2012

Business and Financial Services

Virginia Supreme Court Limits Transfers of LLC Membership Interest

Virginia law distinguishes between a member’s “control interest” in an LLC and the member’s “financial interest,” and those two rights may not transfer together automatically. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision in Ott v. Monroe held that an LLC member’s control rights may terminate upon death even when the member’s financial interest passes through a will or estate. The article…

January 1, 2012

Business and Financial Services

Virginia Narrows Employer Non-Competition Protections

Virginia employers received another warning in late 2011 that broad non-competition agreements were becoming increasingly difficult to enforce. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Construction & Land Use Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that the Home Paramount Pest Control Companies v. Shafer decision invalidated a non-compete provision that prohibited a former employee from working in nearly any capacity within the pest control industry. The court found the…

December 1, 2011

Business and Financial Services

Details Matter: Family Limited Liability Companies and 1031 Exchanges

Family limited liability companies and Section 1031 exchanges can offer important tax and estate planning benefits, but only if taxpayers follow the technical requirements precisely. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Wills, Trusts and Estates Newsletter, Jonathan C. Kinney explains that the IRS and the Tax Court have increasingly challenged family LLCs, family limited partnerships, and 1031 exchanges when taxpayers fail to satisfy even basic procedural requirements.…

November 1, 2011

Business and Financial Services

Non-Competes in Virginia Civil Settlement Agreements

Virginia courts generally give greater deference to non-competition agreements arising from arm’s-length business transactions than to those imposed in employment relationships. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that civil settlement agreements may fall into that more favorable category because the parties are presumed to have relatively equal bargaining power. The article notes that Virginia courts are more likely to…

November 1, 2011

Tax Law

Portability Rule Clarified

The IRS clarified in 2011 that a surviving spouse can preserve a deceased spouse’s unused federal estate tax exemption only if the executor files an estate tax return making the portability election. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Wills, Trusts and Estates Newsletter, Jonathan C. Kinney explains that portability allows a surviving spouse to use the unused portion of the deceased spouse’s exemption, potentially increasing the couple’s combined estate tax protection…

November 1, 2011