APRIL 2009
MemphisDivorce.com e-newsletter

The MemphisDivorce.com e-Newsletter is a service provided by Miles Mason Family Law Group PLC to clients, friends, and persons requesting family law updates through e-mail from: www.MemphisDivorce.com. With offices in Brentwood and Memphis, Tennessee we serve Middle and West TN, Northern Mississippi and Eastern Arkansas.

MemphisDivorce.com / / Meet the Team / / Areas we Serve

National Family Law Magazine publishes Mason's Article

Miles Mason, Sr., and Sandy Klevan want to show you the money. The two recently co-authored an article titled "Follow the Money: The Lifestyle Analysis." The article appears in the Spring 2009 issue of the American Bar Association Family Law Section's publication, Family Advocate.

"Working with Your Forensic Accountant", is the title of this Spring's issue and is devoted primarily to accounting issues that may arise in a family-law case."Follow the Money: The Lifestyle Analysis" describes the facts, alimony law, and financial analysis involved when a forensic accountant assists divorce counsel regarding an alimony claim. This report is commonly called a Lifestyle Analysis.

Family Advocate is the quarterly news-and-feature membership magazine of the ABA's Section of Family Law, addressing current family law topics. The ABA's Section of Family Law has more than 10,000 lawyers, associates and law student members across the country and worldwide.

Sandy Klevan is a managing director at Financial Research Associates, a firm specializing in forensic accounting and business valuation for litigation support purposes.

Check out http://www.abanet.org/family/advocate/ to obtain a copy of Family Advocate.

For Richer or Poorer:
The Masons Tell You How to be Smarter

Miles Mason, Sr. and Patrick Mason, attorney and brother of Miles, will speak together at The Crescent Club in Memphis on May 6, 2009, on behalf of Memphis Tax Watch. The duo will be discussing prenuptial agreements.

Prenuptial Agreements allow people contemplating marriage to decide in advance for themselves how they want their estates treated in the event of divorce or death. Prenuptial agreements provide unique opportunities for savvy financial planning. Miles will discuss current national trends in prenuptial agreements and describe several of the most important enforcement concerns.

Patrick, an estate planning attorney, will discuss the most important estate planning concepts and uncover several often overlooked financial planning opportunities.

Patrick is an attorney with the Mason Law Firm, P.C., in Memphis, TN, where he practices in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, and business planning. Patrick received his B.B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 1979 and his J.D. degree from Vanderbilt University in 1986. He became licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in 1981. Patrick has been practicing law in Memphis for over 22 years. In addition, he has lectured to various professional groups on estate planning and asset protection issues. Patrick is a member of the Memphis, Tennessee, and American Bar Associations; The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; The Memphis Estate Planning Council; and Memphis Tax Watch.

Family Law Case Histories of Note

Deborah Gail Davis Morgan Everett vs. Charles Scotty Morgan - E2007-01491-COA-R3-CV View Monroe County - Deborah Gail Davis Morgan Everett (“Mother”) filed a petition seeking to have Charles Scotty Morgan (“Father”) held in contempt of court for failure to pay child support. Shortly thereafter, Mother was contacted by George Raudenbush (“Raudenbush”) who told Mother that he was connected with the court system and that he had been contacted by Father to mediate Mother’s claim for back child support. However, Raudenbush, who was Father’s friend, neither was connected to the court system nor was a certified mediator. After Raudenbush convinced Mother to discharge her attorney, Mother, Father, and Raudenbush “mediated” Mother’s claim. Raudenbush represented to Mother that the most a court would award her in back child support was $8,750.00. Mother eventually agreed to this amount, even though she was convinced much more was owed. An Agreed Decree was entered by the Trial Court incorporating the terms of the “mediation.” Soon thereafter, Mother filed a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02 motion to set aside the Agreed Decree on the basis of fraudulent misrepresentations made by Raudenbush and/or Father. Following a hearing, the Trial Court granted the motion and thereafter determined that Father owed a total of $17,375.00 in arrears. In determining the amount of Father’s arrears, the Trial Court credited him with time that the children were living with him even though no petition to modify his child support payment had been filed. Father appealed, claiming the Trial Court erred when it granted Mother’s motion to set aside the Agreed Decree. Mother appealed, claiming Father was not entitled to a credit for the time the children were living with him because no petition to modify had been filed. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Trial Court’s judgment setting aside the Agreed Decree pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02, and further held that the credit the Trial Court gave to Father was an improper retroactive modification of his child support payment. Mother’s judgment against Father was modified to be $26,125.00, plus statutory interest. The Court of Appeals remanded for further proceedings to award Mother’s attorney fees incurred on appeal and the calculation of the statutory interest.

Jonathan C. Nesbitt v. Kimberly K. Nesbitt - M2006-02645-COA-R3-CV View Davidson County - Wife appealed the lower court’s entry of a Parenting Plan and the division of marital assets in the final decree. Finding error in the division of marital assets, the Appellate Court modified the court’s order in that regard; in all other respects the judgment of the trial court was affirmed.

Marta Molchko Myers v. Phillip Dwight Myers - M2007-01435-COA-R3-CV View Grundy County - In this divorce action, Wife appealed the trial court’s classification and division of the marital estate and the decision to not award her alimony. The principal marital asset is Husband’s interest in the business known as Myers Trucking; however, it was disputed whether the business and the commercial trucks used in the business were solely owned by Husband or whether the business was a partnership in which he only had a 50% interest. It was also disputed whether many of the business’ valuable assets were owned by his parents. The trial court awarded Myers Trucking to Husband and awarded Wife $125,000 for her marital interest in the business without determining whether Husband solely owned the business or whether the business was a partnership equally owned by Husband and his father and without determining whether the business or the parents owned the trucks used in the business. The Court of Appeals determined the trial court failed to determine the ownership and value of the disputed assets and to value the marital property; therefore, the court could not have made an equitable distribution of the marital estate. The Appellate Court also determined that the record was inadequate to determine these issues on appeal. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court was reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

Jane Everette Burchett (now Holt) v. James Thomas Burchett - M2008-00790-COA-R3-CV View Montgomery County - This appeal arises from Father’s Petition for Modification of the Final Decree of Divorce seeking increased parenting time with the parties’ minor child. The trial court found that Father had not proved that a material change in circumstances had occurred; nevertheless, the trial court, sua sponte, stated “the issue” was a question of interpretation, rather than modification, and awarded Father increased parenting time. Mother appealed. Having determined Father failed to prove a material change in circumstances and that his petition did not seek an interpretation of the Final Decree of Divorce, the Appellate Court reversed the decision to award Father increased parenting time and remanded with instructions to reinstate the visitation schedule set forth in the Final Decree of Divorce.

Jackie Wayne Ballard v. Sonya Renee Ballard - M2008-00713-COA-R3-CV View Davidson County - In this appeal, the Court of Appeals is asked to determine whether the trial court erred in awarding Wife $5,015.00 as her share of the appreciation of the marital home, and are also asked to determine whether the trial court erred in awarding Husband $18,780.00 for attorney’s fees when he made no claim for alimony, and failed to show both his need for such an award and Wife’s ability to pay. The Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court’s award of $5,015.00 to Wife, and found that Wife was entitled to no appreciation of the marital home as she made no “substantial contribution to its preservation and appreciation” such that the appreciation became marital property. The Appellate Court further affirmed the circuit court’s award of $18,780.00 to Husband for attorney’s fees.

Felice Scala v. Venera Scala - 2009 N.Y. Slip Op.00895 (New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, February 6, 2009). View
Husband appealed a Judgment of Divorce that confirmed the report of the Matrimonial Referee appointed to hear and report and, inter alia, ordered Husband to pay Wife nondurational maintenance to Wife. Referee further found that Husband’s closure of his profitable masonry business constituted a wasteful dissipation of assets. The Supreme Court affirmed the Referee’s finding that the closure of Husband’s business constituted a wasteful dissipation of assets; and further, based on the statutory factors, including the parties’ respective ages and financial circumstances, the Supreme Court concluded that the Wife was entitled to maintenance for 12 years from the date of the Judgment, and modified the judgment accordingly.

Why Do We Pick These Particular Cases? Each month, many appellate decisions are available from which to choose. We include in the e-Newsletter all family law cases from the Supreme Court of Tennessee, most appellate cases originating from Shelby, Davidson, and Williamson County Circuit and Chancery Courts, and a handful of cases from across the state and occasionally from across the U.S. Our goal is to provide an array of cases most likely of interest to our readers.

Double Duty

Miles Mason takes his work seriously. And now he's taking his recently reacquired CPA license to the streets or, more appropriately, conference rooms. Miles, a prolific speaker on a wide range of topics from business valuations to forensic accounting, has been selected to speak at a multitude of conferences across the country as an expert in the business.

Miles also participates in educational webcast forums through the Tennessee Bar Association's online course program. Viewers can either actively participate online on the conference day or view the online program at their own convenience later.

Although practicing family law is Miles' top priority, his expertise and training as a CPA, to Miles, is simply an extension of his knowledge of the law. Through his involvement with the American Bar Association's Family Law Section, where he serves as Liaison to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Miles knows having both professional designations was important to both his business and his clients.

"In making important family law decisions, it helps to be knowledgeable in many financial spectrums," says Miles." I want to give clients the tools to receive the most beneficial settlements and provide them with practical financial solutions to the issues at hand."

He continues, "It's about knowing the inter-relationships between the financial decisions clients make and what they are entitled to legally. My CPA helps me see both legal and financial solutions."

Upcoming Miles Mason Family Law Group PLC Seminars

Memphis Tax Watch - May 6, 2009, at 8:00 a.m., at the Crescent Club. Miles Mason and Patrick Mason will be speaking on Premarital Agreements. Tax Watch is an elite group of tax professionals, including attorneys and CPAs.

Real Boston Legal - Mason to speak at NACVA's 2009 Sixteenth Annual Consultants Conference: "Mock Deposition for a Business Valuation Engagement" by Robert Vance, Miles Mason, Sr., & Brent McDade on May 27-30, 2009. Register at the NACVA's website,

TennBarU - Business Valuation in Tennessee Seminar by Miles Mason, Sr., July 29, 2009, Nashville, Tenn.

It's a small, small world - Hear Miles speak about forensic accounting issues and earn CPE credits at the AICPA National Forensic Accounting Conference from Sept.23-25th at the Walt Disney World Swan in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Go to www.cpa2biz.com for more information.

Premarital Agreements - Miles Mason, Sr. and Patrick Mason, Financial Planners Association, on November 4, 2009, Memphis, Tenn.

AICPA National Business Valuation Conference - "Mock Deposition for a Business Valuation Engagement" by Robert Vance, Miles Mason, Sr. & Brent McDade, November 15-17, 2009, San Francisco, Ca.

Miles Mason Family Law Group PLC

Memphis Office
Clark Tower / 5100 Poplar Ave. / Suite 3200 / Memphis, TN 38137
901.683.1850

Nashville/Brentwood Office
Suite 350 / 109 West Park Dr. / Brentwood, Tennessee 37027
(615) 679-4700

If you received a benefit from this free service of the Miles Mason Family Law Group PLC, please consider making a donation to St. Jude's Children's Hospital: http://www.stjude.org/donate.

To unsubscribe from the MemphisDivorce.com E-Newsletter
reply to this email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

©2009 Miles Mason Family Law Group PLC