Articles

How Non-Probate Assets Can Affect Your Estate Plan: A Few Cautionary Tales

Written By Virginia S. Carter and Peter B. von Stein

When you think about the control of your possessions and assets after your death, you probably think of a Will and probate.  A Will is a written, legally enforceable declaration that states how you wish your assets to…

Reasonable Compensation Issues Remain On the IRS Radar

Many professional service corporations ("PSC") such as law firms, accounting firms, and medical practices are organized and taxed as C-corporations.  The earnings of a C-corporation can be subject to double tax (at th…

Losing Control: The USDOL's Latest Independent Contractor Test

The use and misuse of independent contractor status has been one of the most talked about issues facing businesses over the past decade.  Major newspapers have published exposés, lawmakers have threatened new l…

North Carolina General Assembly Makes Public-Private Development Agreements More Available And Attractive

Written By Clifford P. Parson

Background Before 2005, North Carolina's laws on vested rights offered developers some protection, but not enough, for the large, multi-phased, multi-year, mixed use developments that are becoming the norm.  Develope…

North Carolina Court of Appeals Declines to Enforce Arbitration Clause in Construction Contract

Written By Jason T. Strickland

Introduction An arbitration clause in a contract can affect the method parties will use to resolve disputes, what remedies are available to them, and, most importantly, where they will arbitrate and what state's laws will…

Heads and Tails: Liability and Damages, the Two Inseparable Sides of the Same Coin in Litigation

Written By Allen N. Trask, III

With some limited exceptions (the author is an attorney after all), every litigation case has two phases and crucial steps: liability and damages.  The liability phase answers the question of whether one party must pa…