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Archive for the ‘Elder Law’ Category

“Doctor, there is an attorney on the phone to speak with you about…”  Not too many things get your blood pressure up as quickly as that statement!  Regardless of the reason for the call, the normal initial reaction is the fear.

The greatest protection against such fear is knowledge and planning.

The first thing you should know is that, according to a recent analysis by the Harvard School of Public Health, approximately 40% of the medical malpractice suits that are filed in the United States are groundless.  Analysis of many cases indicated that there was no evidence of a medical error being committed or any injury suffered by the patient.

The second, and perhaps most important, factor to know is that many such calls are a fishing expedition by the lawyer.  Presenting a friendly demeanor, the lawyer hopes to gain information that will be beneficial to the client.  This is why you really don’t want to talk to the attorney without preparation and possibly counsel.

Having knowledge of those two facts, you now need to plan what to do when that attorney does call.

Normally your staff fields your calls and they should be instructed to take messages, as opposed to ringing the call through to you.  If possible they should ascertain the reason for the call and, if applicable, the patient under question.

Once you receive the message, you should first review the patient’s chart to determine if there is any possibility of medical malpractice – or patient dissatisfaction.  If you think there is any chance of a claim being made, contact your insurance agent or company immediately and follow their instructions.

If it is necessary to reply to the attorney, one of your staff should return the call and explain that any communication from an attorney must be in writing.  This enables you to begin documentation and seek advice or counsel.  This is particularly helpful if the call is about a colleague.  The attorney may be seeking a free assessment of the case, looking for free expert testimony or even attempting to involve you in the lawsuit.

You are not required to provide any facts, documents or charts, except by the due process of law.  If documents are subpoenaed or you must appear for a deposition, your attorney can shield you from immaterial or incriminating questions.  Your attorney can also evaluate requests for charts or documents that may be unnecessary.

There is one critical mandate.  Do not, under any circumstance, decide to rewrite, revise or clean up any chart entry or patient records. Regardless of how well meaning you might be, any alterations can come back to haunt you in a trial.  Plus, many malpractice carriers will refuse to defend or pay claims for a physician who altered medical records.

Referring back to the opening analysis that 40% of claims are groundless, very few malpractice cases ever go to trial.  Even a request for patient records does not guarantee that you are being sued.  Most cases are dropped by the plaintiff or dismissed by a judge for lack of evidence.  That is why you do not want to react from fear or anger and perhaps create further problems for yourself and your case.

Business Activity Statements (BAS) are used by business’s to report and pay a number of tax obligations, including GST, Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding and Fringe Benefits Tax. This is the ATO’s way of combining a range of taxes into one statement to make it easier for you to collect and report information and monies that are due to the ATO, making sure that none are forgotten. Promote your business today with custom silicone wristbands as part of marketing program.

The ATO will generally issue your activity statement around 2 weeks before the end of your reporting period. It will need to be completed and lodged by the due date which is set by the ATO, and any amounts owing will also need to be paid. It is important to keep a copy of your activity statement and the records used in the preparation of it for five years in case the ATO have any enquiries or choose to carry out an audit on your business and its books.

You activity statement is personalised to your situation and if your business has previously lodged a Business Activity Statement subsequent statements will include any options that you have previously included. Generally it will show the items that you need to report against, which could include:
• Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• PAYG Instalments
• PAYG Withholding
• Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT)
• Luxury Car Tax (LCT), and
• Fuel tax credits.

There are a number of ways that you can lodge your BAS. It can be lodged online, through your accountant, via mail or over the phone. If your BAS is not lodged on time you may be subject to a failure to lodge penalty (FTL). If you are late in lodging your BAS, for every 28 day period (or part of) that you failed to lodge you can be charged $110; however, you can not incur charges that exceed $550. NB: the penalty is x2 if your business turns over more than $1 million but less than $20 million, and x5 if you turnover more than $20 million.

If the BAS you submit contains information that is not correct, the least you will be charged – in the case of a genuine mistake, is general interest on the underpaid tax or extra credit received. If however, the mistake was attributable to carelessness or purposefully ignoring the law, you will be charged a penalty based on a percentage of the shortfall amount in question – the exact percentage charged will be dependent on the reason for the incorrect amount.

Important Dates:
You can lodge your BAS either monthly, quarterly, or annually. The following is important dates you need to know in relation to the lodgement and payment of your BAS:

• Monthly: The 21st of every month for the period just gone.
• Quarterly: The 28th of the following months – October, February, April, and July. (In the case of a lodgement/payment being due on a weekend or public holiday, it is due by the next business day.)
• Annually: (pertaining to GST Return): Is sent out after the fourth quarter BAS, and needs to be lodged by either the 28 February, or before your yearly income tax return is due, whatever comes first.

Refunds:
The usual outcome of a BAS being processed is either a refund (from the ATO), or you will owe them money (in relation to your tax collections). When it comes to your refund, sometimes the ATO will keep some or all of it. Their basis for this can include:

• You have a previous outstanding tax debt owing to the ATO,
• Information provided in your BAS needs clarifying,
• You failed to nominate a bank for the payment to go to, or the information you gave the ATO regarding that account was incorrect,
• You forgot to lodge one of your BAS, etc.

In order to avoid late or incorrect lodgment and to ensure that you are getting the maximum tax that is legally due to you it is recommended that you have an accountant or tax agent prepare and submit your Business Activity Statements. This also gives you more time to worry about the day-to-day running and growth of your business.

Should you have any queries, require assistance with your Business Activity Statement or would like more information please contact The Quinn Group on 1300 QUINNS or click here to submit an online enquiry.

All the obvious technological marvels aside, one of the greatest inventions for some individuals has been a bail bond. It is hard to imagine but once upon a time these did not exist.

If you were arrested, then you sat in jail until the judge sentenced you. Bail bonds are for the benefit of the people that have been arrested but cannot afford to sit in jail until the trial occurs.

Bail bond agents work on a pretty simple premise. A bail bond is a guarantee that you will show up to court. It works like this: the person is arrested, the judge decides what the bail will be and bail bond agents then pay a percentage to the court to allow the defendant to leave.

The bail agency is guaranteeing that the person will show up to court. If that does not happen, then trouble starts because they want to get their money back. If the defendant does not show up for the court appearance, then the money placed for bail is forfeited.

Bail bonds are not always used. There are times when the judge will release a defendant on his own recognizance. That means he will trust the person to show up to court and not flee before the court date.

The worse the crime, the less likely the judge will be to do this type of bail bond. He or she does not want the person to flee if the defendant thinks that he or she will be found guilty.

Bail bond agents act as a surety. They are a third person that agrees to be responsible. The usual arrangement is that the bail agency puts up a certain amount of money towards the total bond.

This is usually ten percent. Unlike posting a cash bond yourself, you will not get this ten percent back because it is the fee that the agency charges for getting you out of jail and putting up the guarantee that you will show for the trail or sentencing. If you put up a cash bond, then you will get the money back once you show up at court, minus the fees of course.

If you find yourself in need of bail bonds, either for yourself, a family member or a friend, then they work in the favor of the defendant. It allows them to get back to their lives while waiting for a backed-up court system to get to their case.

Crime is an inexcusable offence that may take different forms. For example, sedition, treason and espionage are crimes against the state where as murder, rape, kidnapping and assault are crimes against a person. Under criminal law, the government always files the suit where as in case of civil law a private party always files the suit.

Criminal law explains criminal offences and its elements and the punishment for the convicted offenders as an effective means of social control. The most important feature of the U.S. criminal law is its provision for common punishment. Certain criminal laws prescribe rules and regulations to observe and maintain higher standards of conduct. For example, helping the police in investigation when asked to do so and reporting to authorities immediately after a culprit is identified are examples of moral or ethical criminal laws.

According to the U.S. constitution there are certain crimes called strict liability crimes like drug abuse and weapon offences where the act itself is sufficient to punish the offender. Here the criminal law imposes liability without fail. In the U.S. crimes like conspiracy, terrorism and sexual harassment are dealt under inchoate crime laws where anyone aiding in planning and execution of the crime is subjected to the same penalties as a person who actually commits the crime. The crime could be the result of a direct cause or a legal cause or an intervening cause. Therefore, criminal law gives immense importance to the concept of causation.

Everybody wants the criminal to be punished for the crime he has committed. Penalties should be of such nature that the criminal would not dare repeat the act he has committed.

A Bench Warrant is a written order by a Judge directing law enforcement to arrest someone and bring them before the Court. Bench Warrants usually arise when someone is charged with a crime and then fails to appear at Court when directed. If you had a Bench Warrant issued against you, it’s not the end of the world but you will want to take care of the warrant as soon as possible. The process of getting rid of the warrant is called “Quashing the Warrant.”

There are several ways to get rid of a bench warrant: contacting the Court, having your attorney file a Motion to Quash, or sit back and do nothing. No matter which decision you make, you will eventually have to go before a Judge and ask them to remove the warrant.

Contacting the Court

Every Court will have a procedure in place for dealing with Bench Warrants. You can contact the Court, either by phone or in person, and ask them what you will need to do. Most courts will allow you to call their Clerk’s Office and ask about the procedure in your case. Before the Clerk’s Office will set a hearing for you, you will need to come down and make a personal appearance. Depending on the circumstances, they may require you to pay a fee or post a bond before they will set the hearing.

Remember that having a Court set a hearing to determine if a Bench Warrant will get quashed is NOT the same thing as actually having it quashed. The warrant will remain active until a Judge signs another order quashing it.

Motion to Quash

The easiest way to get rid of a Bench Warrant is to have your attorney do it for you. He or she can contact the Court and ask for a hearing before a Judge. This is generally accomplished by filing a Motion to Quash Bench Warrant. Although some courts will require a personal appearance by the Defendant before allowing any hearing to be set, most won’t.

Sit back and do nothing

Believe it or not, this is the most common way of dealing with a bench warrant. The downside of this method, of course, is that you have no control over when you get picked up. The only thing you can be sure of is that it will happen at the most inconvenient time. For example, if you are stopped for a minor driving offense and have kids in the car; who will take custody of the kids while you are on your way to jail?

What happens if the warrant is not quashed?

If the warrant is not quashed, then you will be taken into custody and you will remain there until either the case is finished or a Judge grants another Release Order.