By Attorney Isaiah M. Richie Schloemer Law Firm, S.C. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should.  Many times, estate planning clients ask their attorney to draft documents for them that will make the administration of their Trust or Estate substantially more difficult than they would otherwise desire, if the whole idea of using a Trust is to avoid a difficult probate process.  You will lose that benefit due to naming too many beneficiaries, or adding too many other complexities and you will have lost the primary benefit of the Trust.  Alternatively, if ..read more

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) requires most US businesses to report information to FinCEN about their owners.  The CTA has led to a number of scams. Scammers have been sending letters to businesses.  The fraudulent correspondence may be titled “Important Compliance Notice” and asks the recipient to click on a URL or to scan a QR code. Those e-mails or letters are fraudulent. FinCEN does not send unsolicited requests. Please do not respond to these fraudulent messages, or click on any links or scan any QR codes within them. If you have questions on the CTA or nee ..read more

On February 24, Schloemer Law Office Manager Tracy Herman was recognized at the Allenton Volunteer Fire Department Appreciation Night at the Addison Town Hall. Tracy, who serves as EMS Operations Lieutenant, was awarded the Allenton Fire Department George H. Moser Member of the Year Award. More information about the event, and the honorees, can be found in the West Bend Daily News. Congratulations Tracy! We are so proud of you for your service to the community and for this well-deserved recognition. Originally published March 5, 2024 The post Schloemer Law Congratulates Tracy Herman f ..read more

By: Attorney Michael J. Keepman, West Bend, Wisconsin Based Elder Law Attorney “I’m concerned with long-term care costs.  How do I protect my assets from the nursing home in Wisconsin?” One of the biggest concerns I hear from clients today is how they will pay for long-term care in a nursing home if the need arises. Seniors today are understandably alarmed by the prospect of paying for room and board in a nursing home with assets they’ve worked hard over the years to preserve for their spouses and other loved ones. If you are concerned with protecting your assets when faced with movi ..read more

By: James A. Spella, Schloemer Law Firm, S.C. Wisconsin employers need to be careful in classifying their workers to make sure they are not misclassifying employees as independent contractors. Wisconsin employers should be aware that on January 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published a new rule, “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act”, effective March 11. 2024. Wisconsin Employers: Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Governmental agencies have long coveted converting the classification of an individual as being an indep ..read more

By: Amanda N. Sacks, Schloemer Law Firm, S.C. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA-get more information about this act in our previous blog) went into effect on 1/1/2024 and requires all US businesses to report information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them. The stated purpose of the CTA is to curb illicit finance and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, and tax fraud. Reporting is completed online on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) website at https://www.fincen.gov/boi. Companies must complete B ..read more

By Attorney Isaiah M. Richie Schloemer Law Firm, S.C. If you read last month’s blog, you will recall that we talked about what you can do to divide your personal property to your beneficiaries in ways that minimizes conflict and ensures that the property gets to the beneficiary you want to receive it. But sometimes even well laid plans will not sufficiently determine the distribution of personal property, so in this post we will discuss some of the options available to the heirs or agents of the estate after a person has passed away.  So if you are named personal representative of a W ..read more

Schloemer Law Firm is proud to congratulate Attorney James R. Danaher, Amanda N. Sacks and Isaiah M. Richie for being selected to the 2023 Wisconsin Super Lawyers list and Rising Stars list. This is an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice—only 2.5% of attorneys in Wisconsin receive this distinction. Schloemer Law Firm is proud of its strong team of attorneys and paraprofessionals who continue to honor our core values and commitment to providing our clients with the best legal services. Schloemer Law Firm, S.C. was founded in 1933 by Atty. C. J. Schloemer and ..read more

By Attorney Isaiah M. Richie Schloemer Law Firm, S.C. With Halloween fresh in our minds, I thought I would keep with the Spirit of the season (pun intended) by reimagining a classic Charles Dicken’s scene.  As you may recall in Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol”, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come illustrates to Ebenezer Scrooge the possible future he has in front of him.  At one point, Scrooge sees, among other visions, people picking through his old belongings in a pawn shop.  Ultimately the Ghost reveals to Scrooge that no one cared about Scrooge’s death and that his belongings ..read more

Wisconsin online estate planning forms – starting at $159! Click here to get your free estate plan! Sounds too good to be true? Well that’s because it is. You would never go online for DIY dental work or DIY surgery, so why do DIY legal forms?  (DIY plumbing videos are dangerous enough!)  The biggest problem with DIY legal forms is they can be completely wrong and have disastrous consequences, but you will never know – you’ll just leave a mess for your kids if you become incapacitated or pass away. Recently I had a new client come in with the Suze Orman Must Have Documents that t ..read more