Consequences high for unpaid property taxes
Although most of the attention given to taxes these days has to do with income taxes, this is also the time of year when property taxes are supposed to be paid. Here in Colorado, property taxes accrue during the current year, and then come due in the following year. So, 2006 taxes are now up for payment in 2007.

Make sure two witnesses sign will to avoid estate quarrels
The last thing anyone leaving this world should want as a legacy is a will contest. Will contests fracture families.They also cause a good part of the estate to end up in the hands of members of the legal profession, which is not the plan of distribution that most decedents had in mind.

Motor vehicle dealers must follow rules of honest advertising
As you have no doubt noticed, there has been a deluge of advertising for cars and trucks in recent weeks. Although these ads may have convinced you that dealers can use any trick in the book to draw customers to their showrooms, lots, tents, etc., in fact there are multiple legal rules in place intended to rein in the enthusiasm of motor-vehicle-ad writers.

Mold case files: Science can be key to 'evidence'
Going back a few years, the hot new ticket to wealth through litigation was "toxic mold." Lawyers and their clients were able to convince judges, juries and insurance adjusters that mold found in homes and buildings was ruining their health and their lives, and somebody, by golly, was legally responsible for this and should have to pay compensation as a consequence.

E-transfers mean checks clear lickety-split
Writing a check against insufficient funds is a bad thing. In the worst case, when it's done intentionally, there can be a criminal prosecution. For an inadvertent act, the result is likely to be less dramatic, but still painful - a major unplanned expense. Your bank will take the first shot at you, debiting your account for a returned-check fee.

Will must properly address couple's simultaneous death
One delicate issue that people doing their estate planning need to deal with carefully relates to simultaneous or near-simultaneous death. By way of example, let's assume husband and wife - we'll call them Bob and Alice - each have children from prior marriages and no children together. In his will, Bob says that half his estate should go to Alice if she survives him, and half should go to his children.

Take advantage of credit card disclosure rule - read fine print
For nearly four decades, the credit card industry has been regulated by the federal Truth In Lending Act. And, as credit card products have become more complex, this law has become more complex as well.

Regulation should give you more protection from ID thieves
It may give you modest comfort to know that the agencies in charge of the financial-services industry are busy writing a joint regulation intended to further combat identity theft.

Additional insurance protects against underinsured motorists
A couple of recent Colorado Court of Appeals cases reminded me of the importance of uninsured/underinsured-motorist insurance. But before I tell you about those cases, here's a quick description of what this insurance is all about.

Unhappy clients have right to sue lawyers for false advertising
Thanks to a recent Colorado Supreme Court decision, clients unhappy with their lawyer may have a powerful new tool by which to express their displeasure - a lawsuit for false advertising under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

Nonprobate transfers offer alternative way to distribute assets
When you sign a will, what you're doing is giving a legally enforceable instruction for the disposition of your assets at death. But, the disposition of assets at death also can be controlled by what sometimes are called nonprobate transfers.

Specialized courts aren't supposed to exist but are plentiful
An interesting subject (at least to lawyers) is specialized courts. As a general rule, courts are not specialized. They handle everything from murder prosecutions to traffic accidents, divorces to adoptions, contract disputes to dog bites. There are, however, many specialized courts around.

Colorado will require registration, bonding of mortgage brokers
After several years of thinking about it, the Colorado General Assembly has finally decided to regulate mortgage brokers. With the passage of House Bill 06-1161, Alaska - the last frontier - will be the only state that does not provide such regulation. The bill - which creates the Mortgage Broker Registration Act - came into being through an interesting legislative process known as a "sunrise review."

Act protects consumers in electronic funds-transfer disputes
I thought it was time to revisit an important federal law known as the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. The EFTA has been on the books nearly 30 years. And, although the EFTA has had a couple of makeovers, it has served remarkably well in providing consumers with various protections associated with electronic funds transfers in and out of deposit accounts.

'Positive pay' thwarts check fraud through shared information
Although we continue to inch our way toward the checkless society, the banking system in this country still processes more than 35 billion checks a year. And, criminals who prefer to avoid the inconvenience and risk of injury associated with traditional bank robbery continue to use checks as a means by which to steal money.

Writ of garnishment a key tool to ensure judgment is carried out
As lawyers know, it’s often easier to obtain a judgment — an order of the court saying money is owed — than it is to collect it. That’s in part because, after the unfortunate demise of debtor’s prison, the collection tools available to judgment creditors tend to be cumbersome.

Compromises abound at nexus of medical privacy, credit laws
A hot issue in consumer law these days is medical information privacy. Dozens of laws now restrict access to and the use of personal medical information. This is all well and good — except that medical information is necessary for the conduct of a range of beneficial activities.

Scrutinize contingent fee contract with lawyer
A contingent fee is determined by the results produced by the attorney. Contingent fees are prohibited in criminal cases and divorces, and must be fair and reasonable.

Little-noticed House bills produce laws on telemarketing, faxes
The Colorado General Assembly, in addition to dealing with issues of extreme and acute importance (such as, say, the state running out of money), must also debate and make decisions about a long list of lesser matters.

State Senate (Sausage Factory B) OKs lesser-known changes
As noted in last week’s column, the Colorado General Assembly doesn’t always deal with matters of monumental consequence. It also must deliberate and decide issues of lesser import.