Social media has now invaded the court system in the most unusual way. Recently, a Broward County Circuit Court judge was thrown off a case for being Facebook friends with the prosecutor. Florida's Attorney General objected to the process by claiming the judge was tried and convicted without due process. Now our local appeals court and the Florida Supreme Court are being asked to clarify the issue and give guidance as to whether or not lawyers practicing in front of judges can be Facebook friends.

This brings up an interesting issue. Lawyers and judges often times cut their legal teeth together either in the State Attorney’s Office, Public Defenders Office or private law firms before evolving their practices into seasoned attorneys or judges. I have known many judges on the bench and have socialized with them frequently. It does not impair their ability to be impartial in the cases where I have come before them. I have only one judge friend who has disqualified himself from hearing cases that I have been retained on as the trial attorney. This is because I asked this judge to be the godfather of one of my children. That relationship was deemed by both of us to be too intimate as to give off the appearance of impropriety. This is the standard by which relationships between lawyers and judges is governed, “the appearance of impropriety." Whether or not a judge can be influenced is not the relevant factor, it is the appearance of whether or not a judge can be influenced is what matters. Perception is greater than reality.

With the advent of social media, people who would not regularly communicate are now able to stay in touch with one another with very little effort. The Internet raises the level of intimacy in conversation. As a personal injury attorney, I warn every one of my clients to avoid posting things that may adversely affect their case in any form of social media. It never fails that one or more clients at any given time will not heed my warning and post something ridiculous on their social media for the world to see.

Now, it seems to have expanded to the relationship between lawyers and judges. I have a few Facebook friends who are judges. I can assure you that nothing improper has ever been communicated between the two of us regarding any legal matter that I may be working on or the Judge is presiding over. The Facebook relationship is purely social and has nothing to do with work. We are professionals and do not cross the line.

However, a litigant on the other side of the case that I may be prosecuting may feel differently. I have to look at it from their point of view as well. I may not feel comfortable with the judge who is a Facebook friend with the attorney on the other side of one of my cases. Therefore, I do not disagree with those who advocate the requirement that judges and attorneys not engage in any social media aspects or conversations. We can communicate the old fashioned way, face to face, and that’s not so bad after all.

The little known law of adverse possession is becoming a popular tool in the foreclosure crises that is still gripping Florida. Adverse possession allows any person who occupies property for seven years, maintains the property, and pays the taxes to take possession. This was a tool that has existed for hundreds of years, the goal was to keep property occupied and to ensure that the property was put to good use. In the American west this prevented out of state buyers from purchasing land and then not utilizing it. In the 21st century adverse possession occurs when someone occupies a vacant house and attempts to remain for seven years. In Boca Raton a 23 year old man has made national news attempting to adversely posses a water front mansion worth 2.5 million dollars. Andre De Palma Barbosa has been living in the waterfront house and last month filed papers with the county asserting his claim for adverse possession. The house is currently owned by Bank of America who took the deed of the house from the previous owner. Currently Barbosa is still occupying the home despite the best efforts of his neighbors to have him removed. According to the Palm Beach Post 38 claims have been filed for adverse possession in the county in the last 3 years.

In 1996 the United States government enacted the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). HIPAA contains Privacy and Security regulations, which require covered entities to implement safeguards to protect confidential patient information, and to inform patients if their information is compromised. In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH”) dramatically increased the scope of HIPAA coverage to include a myriad of entities (“Business Associates”) that interact with healthcare providers.

HITECH and Health Reform have changed the game. If a provider is found noncompliant with HIPAA rules, the organization can now be fined up to $1,500,000.00 per calendar year for each violation. Moreover, the fine is usually just the beginning, as legal fees, additional fines, reputational loss, investigations, consulting and audits can quickly turn the situation into a financial catastrophe. Additionally, patients whose information has been compromised may now receive compensation through civil lawsuit monetary settlements. In sum, the importance of HIPAA/HITECH compliance cannot be overstated; and compliance is mandatory for ALL providers – from the solo practitioner to large health systems.

This means that even as a solo practitioner, you MUST:
i) Have, maintain and update your organizations Policies & Procedures, and be able to prove that you have information handling process in place, and that you adhere to these process
ii) Have written agreements with all Business Associates and prove that your Business Associates comply with HIPAA regulations
iii) Verify and ensure that appropriate safeguards and security measures are in place to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive patient information

HIPAA’s Security rule mandates that covered entities shall periodically conduct a risk analysis. The results of these internal risk assessments will be requested if your organization is selected for an audit. For Providers who have not conducted an internal risk assessment within the last year, they should do so now and start 2013 knowing that their practice will pass scrutiny when selected for an audit. For more information on the HIPAA audit process and to learn why your organization may be at risk, feel free to contact the LaBovick law group.

All trust attorneys and financial advisers aggressively forewarned clients of the possibilities of major tax increases in 2013, but it seems Congress averted going over the fiscal cliff with a last minute resolution.

The Senate on New Year’s Eve and then the House of Representatives the following day passed a bill that was a significant compromise by both Democrats and Republicans. The bill has three major components that should be noted. First, it makes tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 per year and couples earning less than $450,000 from the Bush administration permanent. Second, it makes income that exceeds that threshold taxed at a rate of 39.6%. Third, with respect to estate taxes, the bill will maintain the $5 million lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, but the rate on income that exceeds the exemption has increased from 35% to 40%.

However, just because legislators acted in time to help citizens avoid some financial planning issues in 2012, it doesn’t mean we should sit back and postpone taking care of some major estate planning goals early in 2013. Life changes and estate planning is an ongoing process that should not be cut off by a date on a calendar.

Here are some situations to ponder while preparing an estate throughout 2013:
1. Life events such as birth, death, marriage, divorce, remarriage, etc. are all possibilities
that require estate planning modifications.
2. Effective planning of tax-free gifts.
3. Taking advantage of the $5 million lifetime gift, estate & generation-skipping transfer tax
exemption.
4. Consider creating a trust because it can prevent the court from controlling your assets
after death.
5. Review guardianships if you have children.
6. Review beneficiary and trustee designations in wills, trusts and insurance policies.

Don’t let the bill passed by Congress early this year stop you from thinking about the future of your estate. As they say, failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

Written by Joseph Zebrowski, JD

The Social Security Administration is expanding its program to fast track disability claims. The fast tracking of certain severe and often times fatal diseases means that people who are diagnosed with one of more than 200 disease can be approved for disability without jumping through the standard hoops that millions of applicants must negotiate in order to receive benefits from Social Security. "Why for someone who is going to die within 15 months do we need 15 years of medical records?" Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said in an interview. "If somebody's got a confirmed diagnosis of ALS, you know that in essence, it's not only a disability, it's a death sentence, and there is no use in burdening them with paperwork." The companionate allowances means that some applicants can be approved for disability within just a few days. Expediting these deserving applicants will help reduce the back the Social Security Administration is facing. The amount of applications for Social Security Disability has increased by 20 percent since 2008. The compassionate allowance system is designed to award benefits within 10 to 15 days. Since the Compassionate Allowances program was started, 200,000 people have received expedited benefits, Astrue said. For those who are not eligible for expedited processing but nonetheless are disabled the process can drag on for more than a year before the applicant can come before an administrative law judge. Many applicants turn to attorneys to help guide them through the system and to represent them at the hearing. You may contact the LaBovick Law Group to discuss your claim with a Social Security Disability Attorney. The consultation is free and there is no fee if you are denied Social Security Disability.

The Social Security Administration is closing local offices and reducing the hours that others are open. This is leading to longer lines and even longer waits when you try to call their 1-800-number. For those of you that don’t deal with Social Security think of your last encounter with the DMV or your cable company and you will start to get the picture. Currently Social Security has an administrative budget of 11.7 billion dollars. Their newest cost savings tactic is to stop sending out yearly statements to the 154 million Americans who have paid into the system. Now if you would like to see your statement you must go onto Social Security’s website, create an account, and login to see you statement. For generation Y who does all of their banking on a smart phone this is not a problem, however for their parents and grandparents computer literacy is a little lower. So now American’s who have paid into the system for 40 years or more won’t be able to know what their expected benefit is unless they are able to log in and check. Social Security will not be notifying you of the change you will have to know that your yearly statement you have been receiving for 25 years will no longer be delivered to mailbox. If you have trouble accessing your online statement you can go to your local Social Security office. But now you may have to drive a little further and wait longer because there are less offices left and the ones that are, aren’t open as long as they used to be.

Retirement is something many hard-working women look forward to doing in their golden years. It’s a great way to start enjoying life to the fullest, weather you decide to spend your time volunteering at the library or cruising along the Mediterranean Sea, you must have a plan for the future. Currently, about 43 percent of women who reach retirement are widowed, divorced or decided to never jump the broom. Single women are already at disadvantage compared to women who are married, since they don’t benefit from a dual-income household. There is a lot of misconception of the cost of living and how much it will really cost to be retiree. Many single women are not familiar with how-to or when to start saving for retirement.
It’s important to plan for retirement so that it doesn’t become a financial burden once you are already there. Let’s face it, as we age our health beginnings to dwindle along with our wallets. This is why you must prepare for added health care costs and living arrangements, especially if you are planning to do it solo. Even women who are currently married should have a backup plan just in case things don’t go as planned.
On a positive note, this doesn’t mean that single women are doomed. Single and sophisticated sweethearts must simply plan smarter, save more and most importantly, research the best options to maintain the after retirement lifestyle they desire. The key to making the best of these years is to plan ahead and become financially savvy now. Not sure how to approach this? It can be beneficial to contact a financial advisor who can help steer you in the right direction. What are you waiting for? Start planning today

This week the Supreme Court of The United States is hearing a DUI case. More specifically the justices are deciding if police need a search warrant to forcibly draw blood from a person suspected of Driving Under the Influence.

The case that is before the court stems from a DUI arrest in Missouri. The defendant in that case, Tyler McNeely, was pulled over on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence by a Missouri State Trooper. Mr. McNeely’s speech was slurred, and he failed a field sobriety test. He was then arrested for DUI and refused to take an alcohol breath test.

The trooper then transported Mr. McNeely to a hospital where his blood was drawn while he was handcuffed. The case went up to the Missouri Supreme Court. There they determined that the blood test violated the protection against unreasonable search and seizures.

The question now in front of the US Supreme Court is whether police must obtain a warrant before drawing blood from a suspect. The Court has yet to rule on this matter but has previously determined that warrants are required for urine tests. The Court’s ruling will most certainly have a ripple effect across the nation, altering the way DUI investigations are conducted.

Many of us may have overlooked the ramifications of the recent June 28, 2012 amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure in regards to what was previously called Income Deduction Orders (IDO). As a result of significant changes at the federal level, new forms are now required for what are now called Income Withholding Orders (IWO).

42 USC §666(b)(6)(A)(ii) requires Income Withholding Orders to be in a standard format prescribed by HUD. The old pre-June 2012 Florida form IDO did not comply with these federal regulations. The June 2012 amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.996(d) were designed to correct this problem. However, in May of 2011 the Office of Child-Support Enforcement of the US Department of Health and Human Services issued an Action Transmittal which mandated the use of an approved form by the states. Unfortunately, many states appear to have not amended their forms, Florida being one of them.

The June 2012 amendments are designed to correct that. What is disturbing about the Action Transmittal is that it allows employers to unilaterally reject orders that do not follow the approved form. These new federal mandated forms must be used in both IV-D and non-IV-D cases. Therefore, all of us are in the same boat. This is especially true for cases in which an old IDO is in place.

The new rules governing IWO’s puts the burden of getting the new forms prepared, signed and transmitted to the employer on the recipient. Federal employer identification numbers are required to be included. Several of the Florida Circuits have already created explanation brochures for litigants to attempt to follow this new rule. Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge John Phillips’ webpage now references a link to the Florida 13th Judicial Circuit website which contains one of these explanation brochures.

All family law practitioners should take a moment to review these links to get up to speed on these new forms.

Emails are NOT confidential. Get it! Emails are NOT Confidential!

How many times should we repeat it? An email is like sending one of those cheesy post cards on a holiday vacation. You know, the ones you write on the back of a crazy photograph and then send it across the world for every human hand that touches the card to read! That is what an email must be considered. If you can’t write it on a post card, then don’t write it in an email. Let’s make it a daily mantra. Email is NOT confidential.

Recently, the Director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, General David Petraeus, was literally booted out of his job because he forgot the mantra. He decided to write a bunch of personal stuff in an email. Since his job requires a high degree of scrutiny and oversight, the FBI and others eventually read his email and investigated. They uncovered his affair with Paula Broadwell, the woman he hired to write his biography. Let’s not forget that David Patraeus is the modern war hero equivalent General Patton in the “War on Terror." So if our modern war heroes and CIA directors (and sometimes the combination of the two) can’t keep their email private, how can you?

All it takes is that little tip off. In the case of General Patraeus, it started with Broadwell’s “anonymous” email to Jill Kelley. Broadwell wrote the email with the intent to lightly harass her with an anonymous email because she was connected to the Petraeus family. Honestly I don’t know the details of that email. I was so disgusted that this personal relationship was actually considered major news, so I stopped paying attention to the details and looked for the big picture. Which is what? Email is NOT confidential! Let me prove it further.

What does Ms. Kelley do? She had a "friend” in the Tampa FBI office figure out who sent the anonymous email, which set off a chain reaction. This eventually led to Patraeus. So all you need is a buddy in law enforcement to trace your emails... Voila! You are no longer so anonymous.

Wow! An angry girlfriend unwittingly blew up the career and future generational admiration of the greatest general of our time. Why? Because Email is NOT confidential!

At the end of October 2012, Palm Beach County moved to ban the sale of synthetic marijuana, bath salts and other drug-mimicking substances. The county took action after state action failed to stop the sale of the synthetic marijuana. The state previously attempted to crack down by expanding 893.03(1)(c), of the Florida Statute to outlaw as many types of the drug as possible. The county hopes it will be able to react faster to the introduction of new bath salts and synthetic drugs.

These dangerous drugs are available at many gas stations and convenience stores throughout the county. According to the Palm Beach Post, the side effects can be hallucinations that last for days. The ban means a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail for store owners who sell bath salts and incense.

Last August, Davie and Dania Beach both banned the sale of bath salts and herbal incense. Sunrise has banned synthetic marijuana and Lauderhill has banned bath salts.

References: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/crime-law/palm-beach-county-moves-to-ban-sale-of-bath-salts-/nSRXc/
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-10-30/news/fl-palm-digest-1031-20121030_1_bath-salts-salts-and-herbal-incense-synthetic-marijuana