By Elizabeth McKinney, Partner
English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP
After you’ve completed your divorce, chances are, you want nothing to do with any more legal documents, courts or attorneys. It’s understandable. It’s a big process that can take a lot of time, and many find it to be exhausting.
But you do have one more step to do as soon as your divorce is complete: change your will. I cannot stress enough how crucial this is – and how much it needs to be attended to right away.
Most people create a will around the time their first child is born as a way of ensuring that their child’s welfare and their assets are protected. Typically, each spouse will leave everything to the other spouse. If you die, and your will is still in place from a time before you divorced, it will still be in force. Your ex will receive all of your assets. When a divorce becomes final, Kentucky law does automatically revoke the provisions of a will which provide for a distribution to a spouse, or appointment of the spouse as executor, trustee, or other fiduciary appointments. Nevertheless, it is important to update your will after a divorce to designate who receives your assets, who serves as executor, etc. in place of the former spouse. Read More
By Bob Young, Managing Partner
English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley LLP
In 2012, there was a national outbreak of fungal meningitis caused by poor manufacturing conditions at New England Compounding Company (NECC). Out of the 753 cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control, 234 individuals contacted fungal meningitis, while more than 300 individuals suffered from fungal infections. Sixty-four patients in nine states died.
We represented 32 patients from Kentucky and Tennessee, tracking the cases through the courts for more than five years. Even as NECC filed bankruptcy and the clinic that administered the injections in Tennessee closed down, we still gained settlements for our clients.
It was an incredibly complicated case, but for our team, it was all in a day’s (or a few year’s) work. Read More
By Sarah Jarboe, Partner
English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley LLP
Last month, news outlets reported that HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines’ company would pay a $40,000 fine for violating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (“RRP Rule”) on work sites. The fines are a result of an Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) review of the HGTV show, Fixer Upper, which showed workers on their renovation sites violating EPA regulations.
Magnolia Homes, the Gaines’ company, took immediate steps to rectify problems when first contacted by the EPA in 2015, the EPA said in a statement. Beyond the $40,000 fine, Magnolia Homes will spend $160,000 to abate lead paint in homes in Waco, Texas, where the couple and Magnolia Homes are based.
This large expenditure could have been avoided with good legal advice and sound work practices. Read More
