The Business Lounge Podcast

In Iowa, if a father’s name is not on a birth certificate, they will usually not have custodial rights of a parent, absent other action. The exception is if the mother and father are married at the time of birth. If the mother and father are married, Iowa law assumes the husband is the father. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/fathers-name-is-not-on-the-birt...

In Iowa, sole proprietorships are more or less the “basis” format for a business. Sole proprietorships aren’t a legal business entity. It is considered one and the same from the person operating the entity. Read the full article here: http://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/iowa-business-structures-sole-proprietorships O’Flaherty Law now serves over 105 counties across Illinois, Iowa, and Ind...

In most marriages, the family home is the single largest asset that they have. More likely than not, it is going to be a major point of contention in reaching a final distribution of marital assets. The issue only becomes more complicated when the parties had children during the marriage as the children will also be affected by this decision. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.c...

Trusts are often used in estate planning to determine where the title of a property goes. Sometimes there are living trusts that are created when the party creating the trust is still alive. In this article, we will discuss how living trusts are creating and what they do for your property. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/living-trusts-in-iowa O’Flaherty La...

Don't fear the tax audit. If you're not engaged in illegal activity, you have little to fear beyond some extra administrative work. That being said, having your financials reviewed by the IRS isn't ideal. There's no guaranteed strategy to avoid an audit; roughly 1% of taxpayers are audited each year. However, understanding what the IRS looks for when considering an audit can go a long way to avoid...

When an order for child support is entered, the state where the order was entered will have continued exclusive jurisdiction over the order. Only that state may enforce or modify the order. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/iowa-child-support-jurisdiction-and-enforcement-when-parties-move-to-different-states The obligations generally do not change unless all...

One of the major concerns when going through a divorce is what happens with the retirement funds that were accrued during the marriage. Often, one spouse maintains or accrues a significant retirement account while the other spouse has a far lesser interest in their own retirement account. The State Legislature has set forth the procedure for a spouse to transfer their interest in an accrued retire...

At O’Flaherty Law, our team of skilled lawyers have years of experienced in dealing with the complex and confusion issues that immigrants face as they navigate the United States’ immigration system. Dealing with immigration and border patrol officers can be a scary and intimidating process, but the compassionate attorney’s at O’Flaherty Law have the knowledge and resources to help you complete the...

Divorce in and of itself is difficult, but if you or your family have a farm, the process is especially difficult. In Iowa, courts handling divorce matters make an “equitable division” of “all property, except inherited property or gifts received by one party.” Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/inherited-or-gifted-farmland-in-iowa-divorces O’Flaherty Law now...

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is an attractive debt restructuring option for those looking to keep certain assets, such as their car and home. But, there is often confusion on which debts are reduced under Chapter 13 and which are just lumped together under one monthly payment. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/do-i-have-to-repay-unsecured-debt-under-chapter-13-bank...

Discrimination is a serious issue that many face, but it’s reassuring to know that Iowa housing and landlord laws keep you from being discriminated against when renting a property. Learn more about these laws and what rights you have when renting a property. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/iowa-housing-discrimination O’Flaherty Law now serves over 105 coun...

Illinois is an "equitable division" state. In divorce, equitable division means that marital property must be divided equitably or fairly, regardless of the circumstances. Some assets are easy to split, such as vehicles and shared savings accounts. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/dividing-a-business-in-an-illinois-divorce Negotiating who gets to keep the f...

An important consideration for a separation or divorce is taxation. During marriage, spouses can be in the dark regarding their household finances and, more specifically, anything their spouse may be hiding from the IRS. This may come to bite the spouse post separation when the IRS sends you a notice of proposed deficiency, attempting to hold you liable for underreported income to the IRS while yo...

In this episode we have Ken “Mr. Biz” Wentworth on to discuss how the impact of the 2020 election on you as a business owner can. We discuss how can maneuver through the upcoming changing political and economic climate to make sure you are ahead of the curve to protect your business. The Business Lounge is a shared office space, a podcast channel, and a way to enhance your business and expand your...

Estate Planning Documents are legal instruments that help your family and the Court, in certain situations, determine how you would like your affairs handled when you are unable to manage on your own. Ideally, the planning documents you have created will ease a difficult time in your family’s lives. It is very important to ensure that everything is executed in the legally required manner or the do...

A background check includes a credit report and a copy of the applicant's public record. Whether you were evicted in the past for a good reason or the eviction is false isn't designated on your public record and credit report; the landlord will simply see that you have an eviction. An eviction stays on your credit report for seven years and may remain on your public record indefinitely in many sta...

Managing a rental property can be a stressful experience. That experience can be made significantly worse when you have rented to a bad tenant. In damages, destroys, or removes property from the rental unit, a landlord must take swift and well-detailed actions if they plan on having the tenant held responsible for their actions. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about...

Many large companies have robust sexual harassment training programs in place, but small businesses sometimes fail to handle this sensitive subject. A limited or non-existent sexual harassment training program won’t be an option for any business in 2021. An amendment under the Illinois Human Rights Act requires that all companies have a baseline sexual harassment training program that meets specif...

Many start to think about estate planning when they have their first child. Questions such as, "How will my children be taken care of if I die unexpectedly?". But what about those, whether through divorce, widowing, or never having been married, who won't have a spouse or children when they die? Unless they don't care about what happens to their worldly possessions when they die, estate planning i...

Marriage Annulment is separate from divorce in Iowa. Instead of ending a valid marriage (divorce), an annulment means that there was no valid marriage in the first place. If either of the parties can show the marriage is invalid, you may be able to have your marriage annulled. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/marriage-annulment-in-iowa O’Flaherty Law now se...

This video will discuss employee privacy rights when working from home. We will answer the following questions: Do employees have any privacy rights when working from home?, How much can an employer monitor your work-from-home activities?, Do workers have the right to know what their employer monitors?, and Can my employer monitor my activity on my personal device? Read the full article here: http...

There are a variety of factors that affect a divorce in Iowa. Spouses going through a divorce may wonder whether an affair by either spouse impact the proceeding or outcome of their divorce case. This video covers how extramarital affairs are taken into accounted when going through a divorce. Read the full article here: https://www.oflaherty-law.com/learn-about-law/how-affairs-impact-iowa-divorce...

Under Iowa Intestacy law, if a child dies without a spouse and without children, their parents will inherit everything. Iowa Chapter 633.222 says “under such circumstances (paternity established and father recognizes child), if the recognition has been mutual, and the child has not been adopted, the father may inherit from his biological child.” What happens if the child is illegitimate? Read the...

Like many other aspects of our lives, Covid-19 and the resultant shift to working from home will wreak havoc on our 2020 taxes. A growing number of companies have announced that they will allow employees to continue to work from home after the pandemic has subsided. Freedom to work remotely means an employee may not work in the state that the company operates. For some, the impact on their taxes w...

In this episode we have an international speaker, Ronny Leber on to discuss the importance of having a winning mindset. The world continues to become a more and more complex place to live and operate in. So, to be successful, you must have a wining mindset to achieve that. Ronny discusses his own experiences and even interactions he has had with some extremely successful people like Tom Brady and...