Processes a business should have in place BEFORE they are accepting customers

When you are starting a new business, it is an extremely exciting time and everyone tends to get anxious to get their first client or customer!  While all businesses certainly need clients/customers to become profitable, there are a few things you should make sure you have a procedure and policy in place for before you accept that first customer.

1.  Intake
What procedures do you have in place for intake?  If you are a restaurant or coffee shop, do you have an ordering system?  A system to identify the customer with the order placed?  If you are a housekeeping company, do you have a system to track your customers once you have accepted them as a customer?

Ensuring that you have a system to log your customers and their orders or services you provide for them, allows you to start off with a great impression and look professional.  Aside from that it, and more importantly, perhaps, it allows you to ensure you will comply with all local, state and federal laws.  Make sure your system tracks the amount charged to each customer and the amount paid by each customer (think taxes!).  Make sure your system, if appropriate, provides for a contract between the customer and your business; this helps to reduce any possibility of disagreement or dissatisfaction as well as reduce the possibility of litigation.

2. Payments
How do you accept payments?  Checks, money order, cash, credit cards?  Credit cards may be a great option for your customers but ensure you understand the rules and regulations surrounding credit cards to ensure you are not violating any of those.  For example, for attorneys, if you accept a credit card for a retainer, you need to ensure that the fee charged by the credit card company is not taken out of that retainer (unless agreed in an engagement contract like we mentioned above).  You have to ensure you comply with certifications in accepting credit cards and provide a system to record those charges.

3. Standards of Operation
How are you going to operate once you have a client, or two, or twenty?  How often are you expected to interact with that client and on what basis?  Have you communicated that expectation to your client?  Have you set up a process to remind you when you need to have those communications?  Trust me on this one, you will think at the beginning that you can remember to call your client every two weeks.  But soon, your business will be up and running and so busy that you can't possibly remember everything without a good calendaring system in place.

4. Closing Procedures
How do you end work with a customer or client?  Is payment due at the end?  What follow up procedures do you have to ensure you get paid?  Do you have a closing contract to let the customer know that you have completed all the work?  Do you have a follow up procedure to remind them you are there should they need assistance in the future?

Having these processes in place will help your company run smoothly.  The end result of a smoothly run company is that you stay in compliance with local, state and federal laws and you reduce the likelihood of conflict or litigation.   Get these things in place before you start accepting clients and your job will be much easier down the road.

Are you starting your own company or recently started a company?  If you would like assistance in starting the company or maintaining the company in compliance with laws, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.

Received a complaint for divorce? Meet with an attorney immediately!

You've received a Complaint for divorce in the mail, or on your front door and you probably want to put off dealing with it for as long as possible.  Here's why you shouldn't put it off at all and meet with an attorney as soon as possible.

Once you are served a Complaint for divorce, you have 21 days to file your Answer and any potential counterclaims.  Most likely, you want an attorney to handle those pleadings for you and begin advising you on your divorce case (see here for information on choosing an attorney).  Those 21 days will go by very quickly and means you need to move fast.  Here's an idea of what I mean: it will take you a couple of days most likely to get an appointment to meet with an attorney.  After meeting with an attorney, you may want to take a few days to decide if that is the attorney you want to hire or if you want to meet with other attorneys before deciding (this could take anywhere from a day to over a week).  Once you have retained your attorney (paid them a retainer and have a written agreement they will be representing you), your attorney has to draft the documents.  Most attorneys, after drafting the documents, send those documents to you to review before filing.  It may take a couple of days for you to review, the attorney to make any corrections and for the papers to be ready to be filed.  If you even put off calling attorneys for a week, you have severely limited your options and created a huge time crunch for both you and your potential attorney.  As soon as you get the complaint, start making plans to move forward.

If you fail to answer the complaint in a timely manner, your spouse can ask the court to deem anything stated in the Complaint as admitted by you.  This means, if she alleges you deserted her or were cruel to her, you no longer have the opportunity to dispute those facts.  Not being able to dispute those facts could create major legal problems towards the end of your divorce, particularly with child custody and spousal support.

These are important issues you are working through and the best way to protect yourself is to move in a timely manner so that you know and understand your rights and obligations and the best way to protect yourself.

If you are going through a divorce and would like an initial consultation, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.

Why You Should Take Your Child Support Obligation Seriously

One of the most intense arguments co-parents have is over child support and finances.  Typically, this results in one parent taking the other parent to court and having a child support order entered by the court.  In some cases, this amount seems reasonable to both parents.  In other cases, the parent having to pay the child support feels like it is too much and they are unable to pay that amount.  Here's why you should take your child support obligation seriously:

1. It is ongoing and constantly accruing.  Likely, you will be obligated to pay this child support until the child is 18 or graduates from high school.  This means if you ignore this month's payment, next month you owe double.  And if you ignore next month's payment, the following month you will owe triple the amount.  Ignoring the payments only makes it add up to a bigger number.

2.  Child support accrues interest.  When you fail to pay child support, the amount that is owed and not paid (what we call the "arrearage"), accrues interest, typically at a rate of about 6%.  This means, the support you weren't paying that we just talked about above in Number 1, is not only growing as more support accrues, but is growing by 6% every year.

3.  When your child reaches the age of 18 or graduates from high school you still owe the arrearage and interest still accrues.  Your child support obligation will never just disappear; it will constantly grow.  In some cases, the state will even get involved in pursuing you to pay your child support.

4.  You could lose your professional licenses and being held in contempt of court (i.e., jail).  This means if you are a doctor, you could lose your license to practice medicine.  If you are a lawyer, you could lose your license to practice law.

These are just the immediate, direct consequences of failing to pay child support.  Additional consequences could include being denied credit or approval for a home loan due to large amounts of outstanding debt, losing your job, etc.  If you are involved in a child support case and would like an initial consultation on that matter, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.

What's missing from your estate plan?

When we talk about estate planning in the simplest terms, we talk about three main documents: a will, an advanced medical directive and a power of attorney.  Having those three documents will be very helpful in protecting you, your family and your assets in the future.  Here are a few minor things that you should think about and consider to make your estate plan more well rounded.

1. Bank Accounts/Stocks
You may want to look at your bank accounts and stock holdings to see if you have a Pay on Death designation.  If you designate someone to have your account or stocks paid out to upon your death, you can avoid putting those assets through probate, meaning less headache, less taxes and quicker transfer of money.

2.  Life Insurance
Check to make sure your life insurance policies are still sufficient and properly designated.  If you properly designate a beneficiary to your life insurance policies, that money will avoid probate as well.
3. Financial Plan
Meet with a financial planner to fully understand your finances and what your short term and long term goals are so that you have assets to transfer to your family in the future. Financial planners can insure you are investing properly and that you understand your investments and assets.

4. Real Estate
You may want to revisit any real estate you own.  If appropriate for your family and situation, if you add family members to your deed, that property can transfer outside of probate as well.

Some of these items may not be appropriate or necessary for your estate plan but they are all things you should be thinking about and consider when formulating your plan.  If you are in need of an estate plan or would like to have a review of your estate plan, contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com for an initial consultation.

Why I Do What I Do

Typically my posts are informational to help you have a better general understanding of the laws involved in my practice areas.  Today, I want to take a different approach and tell you a little bit about me and why I love my job.

To sum it up: I want to help you move forward in life, whether it is an employment dispute that needs to be resolved, planning for your retirement and ensuring your family is taken care of or helping you handle your family matters through a divorce or custody dispute.  I want to help you resolve the issue the best way possible to allow you to move on in life.

Here's some examples of why I love what I do:
Child custody is tough for everyone involved.  While you and the other parent (or other relatives, sometimes) are trying to figure out what is going to work in terms of child custody, I understand that no matter how simple or complex the situation, it's a tough situation.  I like to bring that aspect and that observation to the table in every matter to help you truly figure out what is going to be best for you and your family in the long term as well as the short term.

Going through a dispute with your employer can also cause a lot of stress in your life, regardless of what stage you are at in that dispute.  Work is such a large part of our lives, I want to help you bring your disputes to resolution so that you can focus on the other parts of your life (family, friends, etc).

There is a lot of stress on people who do not have an adequate estate plan in place.  Many people stay up late at night worried about the fact that they don't have the proper documents and precautions in place.  I want to help relieve that stress and make sure you and your family are properly protected in the most efficient, stress-free way as possible.

So this is why I love my job: my clients come to me with important issues and I help them resolve those dilemmas so that they can move on and fully enjoy life.  I love being in a position where I can truly help people and make a difference in their day to day lives.

I hope this post gives you a little bit of insight into my work and how I approach my cases.  Don't worry, next time I'll be back with an informational post!

Can I ask the court to change our child custody arrangement?

Motions to Amend child custody and visitation are frequently filed.  Typically, in Virginia, they are filed in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.  So, once a motion to amend is filed, how do we know whether the court will consider changing the custody arrangement?

First, you will have to show there has been a material change in circumstances since the last court order.  What does that mean?  Generally, it means something in your life, your children's life or the other parent's life has changed which affects the custody situation.  This may be an illness of someone involved, a parent has moved, the parent has accepted a new job which changes their schedule, a parent has had another child, etc.  The key here is that the change affects the custody arrangement (this makes it a material change in circumstance) and that whatever this change is, that it was not contemplated when the previous order was made (i.e., you didn't consider that the change was coming when the court previously addressed custody).  So, if you've had another child, but when you were in court previously you were pregnant and the court considered that when determining custody, having that child does not necessarily constitute a change.

Second, you will have to prove that the change you are asking the court to make is in the best interests of the child. The court considers the factors listed here when determining what arrangement will be in the best interest of the child.

If you can prove that there is a material change in circumstances, the court will consider amending the custody arrangement.  If you can then prove that the change you are asking for is in the best interests of the child, you may be able to succeed in changing the custody arrangement.

If you are involved in a custody or divorce dispute and would like a consultation, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.

Does your business have all of the necessary licenses?

Do you own a small business?  The amount of administrative requirements small businesses have can grow overwhelming very quickly.  Here's a small thing that you may have missed but is important to ensure is properly handled: business licenses.

Depending on your type of business, you may need additional licenses (i.e., attorneys need to license their law firms with the Virginia State Bar).  Here's what you typically need:

1) Register with the SCC (State Corporation Commission).  To do this, you will need to form a business (LLC, Sole Proprietorship, Corporation, etc) and file the initiating documents.

2) Obtain and register your registered agent.  You can act as your own registered agent in may circumstances or you can retain a registered agent service to act as your registered agent.  Either way, you need to ensure that information is properly filed with the SCC.

3) Obtain your local business license.  Most, if not all, cities and counties require a local business license.  To do this, you need to ensure your business address is in the proper zone (i.e. not residential in most cases).

As I mentioned, there may be additional licensing requirements depending on the nature of your business but these are the three most commonly required licenses.  If you are starting your own business and would like a consultation, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.

3 Reasons Why Your Custody Agreement Should Be Through A Court Oder

Too many individuals come to me with child custody issues that have arisen from an agreement.  The parents separated, agreed on how custody would look and left it at that.  They might have even put their agreement in writing.  While agreeing on child custody and visitation arrangements is typically a great thing and in the best interests of the child, here's why that is not enough:

1.  Child custody can be adjusted anytime there is a material change of circumstances.

Child custody can always be amended if there is a material change of circumstances.  What is a material change of circumstance?  It is subjective but it could be, the child has now become school age, one of the parents has moved, a health issue has arisen.  

If you use the court system to formalize your agreement, you can ensure the court knows the timing of that agreement (i.e. if dad says well I moved after the previous agreement, but the last court date shows it was before the previous agreement, that may not be considered a material change of circumstances).  

It will be the responsibility of the party asking for the change to prove that there is a material change of circumstances. 

2.  Agreements, not formalized through court orders, are less enforceable.  

Agreements are enforceable as a contract, assuming they meet the requirements to be considered a contract.  Court orders are enforceable through the courts as the court enforcing their own order.  This means the court has more power to enforce the agreement and can fine or potentially hold the party in contempt for not complying.  The court cannot hold a person in contempt of court for simply violating an agreement.  

3.  Your agreement may be invalid or void.  

Going through the court and making it a valid court order means that it will be valid and enforceable.  Depending on the laws of your particular state, a verbal agreement or even a written agreement not notarized may not be sufficient to be a valid agreement.  With something as important as your children, you want to make sure that all legal requirements are met to ensure it is valid and legal.  

Now, here's the good news.  Going through the courts does not have to mean a fight.  If you and the other parent agree, you can go to the courthouse and file an agreed order.  As always, I strongly suggest you consult with an attorney about your specific circumstances before moving forward.  

If you are involved in a custody dispute and would like an initial consultation, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.  

How is child support calculated?

Many of my clients need to know and understand how child support works.  The formula can be somewhat complicated, but child support is typically based off of a formula.  This formula is called the child support guidelines.  In Virginia, the result of the child support guidelines is the starting point for how much child support one parent should pay the other.  From there, the court may increase or decrease that amount depending on the specific circumstances of the case.

So how does this formula work?  First, you have to have a custody and visitation arrangement in place.  The court looks at that arrangement to determine what percentage of the time a child is with each parent.  At the same time, the court looks to the incomes of each parent and combines them.  The court also takes into account day care expenses, medical expenses and health insurance for the children.

Overall, the court uses the combined incomes to determine the total "cost" of raising the child.  From there, the court looks at who's expending additional money for things such as day care and health insurance for the child.  The court then takes the total "cost" of raising the child and pro-rates that amount to each parent based on the amount of time the child is in his/her care and custody.  The difference in those amounts is what one parent will be paying the other parent.

Many courts will not award child support unless there is a petition for child support.  That means, if dad petitions the court for child support, the court runs the child support guidelines and according to those guidelines, mom is actually the one owed support, the court may not award mom child support.  Mom would have to file her own petition for child support in order for that award to be made.

In most cases, child support is also back dated to the date of the filing.  So if you file for child support March 1, and the court does not hear the case and make an award until April 1, the person owing child support will owe approximately one month's worth of back child support for the time between the filing of the petition and the award of child support.

This is a basic formula that the courts use to get to a starting point for child support.  The court may increase or decrease this amount but using this formula will give you a general idea of what a court may award for child support.

If you are involved in a child support case or looking to petition for child support and would like an initial consultation, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.

Resolving Divorce Through a Judicial Settlement Conference

In Virginia, we have a great option for people going through a divorce.  While in any type of legal case, both parties can always come to a settlement agreement without involving a third party, Virginia provides an experienced third party to help the parties resolve their differences.

This is called a judicial settlement conference.  As with any settlement conference, the parties sit down and try to work through each issue until it is resolved to everyone's satisfaction.  In a judicial settlement conference, a retired judge helps the parties come to that resolution.

So now you might be thinking why involve a retired judge instead of trying to resolve it on your own?  A retired judge has the experience of knowing what many judges are likely to do when faced with your facts and circumstances.  He/she may be able to provide some insight to help you see what might happen if you do not resolve the case before trial.  A retired judge also has the experience of understanding the emotions that come into play when you are going through a divorce and may be able to help you separate your emotions from the facts that you need to deal with in order to resolve the case.

Involving a third neutral party in settlement negotiations can always be helpful because that person has no real interest in how the case is resolved.  Using a retired judge as that third party provides you with someone who knows the law and is experienced in the law to help you resolve the issues to the best of your ability.

If a judicial settlement conference is unsuccessful, the parties always have the option to continue negotiations or take the case to trial and have a judge rule on all of the issues.  If you are going through a divorce, a judicial settlement conference may be a good avenue for you to attempt to resolve the case as amicably as possible.

If you are thinking about divorce or in the process of a divorce and would like a consultation, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.