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Nothing contained in this blog or on www.keytlaw.com is legal advice. This is just a website that provides information about the law designed to help people deal with their legal needs. Legal information provided on this website is not the same as legal advice, i.e., the application of the law to a person’s specific circumstances.

We try to make our legal information accurate and useful, but we recommend that you consult a lawyer if you want professional assurance that our information and your interpretation of it is appropriate to your particular situation and legal needs.

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Must I Record a Document to Get the Protection of Arizona’s Homestead Exemption on My Home?

Question:  I have substantial equity in my Arizona home.  I know that Arizona has a law called the “homestead exemption” that protects a home owners’ equity in the home.  To obtain the protection of Arizona’s homestead exemption, do I have to record or file a document with any governmental agency?

Answer:  Arizona [...]

Arizona Senate Bill Would Change Method of Selecting Judges

Arizona Business Gazette:  “State lawmakers are moving to scrap the system used to choose most of the judges in Arizona for more than three decades.  Legislation awaiting Senate action would scrap the “merit selection” process now used to select the judges for the state Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the superior courts in [...]

Arizona House & Senate Bills Would Prevent Arizona Courts from Considering Foreign Laws

Both the Arizona House and Senate are considering identical bills that would prohibit Arizona courts from using, implementing, referring to or incorporating any law or court decision of a foreign jurisdiction in the court’s findings or decisions.  The House bill is HB 2379.  The Senate bill is SB 1026.  Each bill provides:

Arizona Senate Panel Endorses ‘Sexting’ Bill

Arizona Republic:  “When a 14-year-old texts her 15-year-old boyfriend a topless photo of herself, she could be sending him to prison for five years and labeling him a sex offender for life.  Under current Arizona law, ’sexting’ among juveniles qualifies as felony sexual exploitation of a minor.  It doesn’t matter that the recipient [...]

Foreclosure Scams Continue to Menace Arizona Homeowners

Arizona Republic:  “Foreclosure scams that ultimately cost struggling homeowners more than a mortgage payment continue to climb in Arizona.  To combat the scams and help protect homeowners facing foreclosure, legislation has been introduced to regulate the growing number of firms offering loan modifications.  [Arizona] Senate Bill 1130 calls for prohibiting ‘foreclosure consultants’ from [...]

Push is on to Ease Arizona’s Gun Laws

Arizona Republic:  “Arizona has always held tightly to its legacy as part of the gun-toting Wild West and a protector of individual rights.  This year, the state’s Republican governor and a conservative Legislature may continue that tradition by giving Arizonans some of the least-restrictive weapons laws in the nation.  This session, state lawmakers [...]

Arizona Secretary of State Ignores Arizona Law & Refuses to Advance into the 21st Century

Earlier this week I submitted a Certificate of Limited Partnership to the Arizona Secretary of State for filing.  The document contained a photocopy of the general partner’s signature.  It did not have an original signature.  The Arizona Secretary of State rejected the document because it claims “all applications for Limited Partnerships . . [...]

Mesa Cardiologist Indicted on 61 Ccounts of Abusing Patients

Arizona Republic: “Seventeen new victims came forward after a Mesa cardiologist was accused last summer of sexually abusing female patients, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said Tuesday.  Dr. Richard J. Lewis, 53, was indicted on 61 felony counts involving a total of 19 women. The indictment was made public Tuesday.”

Better Business Bureau’s Top 10 Scams and Rip-Offs of 2009

The Tax Lawyer’s Blog:  “The Better Business Bureau has published it’s annual list of the top scams and rip-offs used by human parasites to take advantage of consumers and small business owners across the U.S. in 2009.  Here they are in no particular order:”

Arizona Vets Not Liable for Damages Beyond Value of the Pet

Arizona Business Gazette:  “A pet may be man’s best friend.  But that doesn’t entitle the owner to sue for emotional distress or loss of consortium as part of a claim against a veterinarian for malpractice, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled.  In its unanimous decision, the judges rejected the claim of David [...]

KEYTLaw Attorney Featured in West Publication

KEYTLaw, LLC, is pleased to announce that its real estate attorney Jeana Morrissey is featured in the new West publication Arizona Foreclosure:  What You Need to Know Now, published on December 15, 2009.  The publication includes comments by attorneys and real estate experts as well as useful tables and illustrations pertaining to the foreclosure crisis [...]

Arizona Tuition-credit Practices may Violate Federal Tax Laws

Arizona Republic:  “This month, as the tax year nears an end, thousands of Arizonans are expected to donate money to private-school tuition groups and claim a tax credit  that reduces what they owe the state.   Many taxpayers will recommend that their money go to specific students as scholarships; many tuition groups will [...]

Psssst … Let’s Nail Sheriff Arpaio

Washington Times:  “Controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., is no stranger to hardball tactics, so he probably isn’t fazed by being on the receiving end of rough politics.  Still, that doesn’t excuse the Obama administration’s apparent ideological vendetta against him.   By the (il)logic of the administration and its allies at the [...]

Arizona Cops Stopped Over 50,000 Since Thanksgiving

Phoenix Business Journal:  “Arizona police have pulled over close to 50,500 cars since Thanksgiving as part of an effort to catch drunk drivers and speeders.”

Arizona DES Reports 772 Illegals Who Tried to Unlawfully Obtain Public Benefits in November

Arizona Republic:  “Only weeks after a new state law went into effect, the Department of Economic Security has provided federal authorities with nearly 800 names of people who tried to obtain public benefits but are believed to be illegal immigrants.  House Bill 2008, which took effect last month, established new identity-verification requirements for [...]

1st Arizona Business Suspended Under New Sanctions Law

Arizona Republic:  “An Arizona business felt the punitive impact of the Legal Arizona Workers Act for the first time Thursday when Golfland Entertainment Centers had its business license suspended for 10 days under the terms of a settlement reached with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.  The agreement marks the first time that an [...]

Arizona Supreme Court May Sanction Phillips & Associates Attorneys

Phoenix Business Journal:  “The Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Arizona is recommending that the Supreme Court sanction two-high profile attorneys with Phillips & Associates for office practices that violate the state Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct.   The Disciplinary Commission on Monday recommended that the Supreme Court suspend Jeffrey Phillips for [...]

New Arizona Law Links Government Services to Proof of Citizenship

Arizona Republic:  “Confusion surrounding a provision in state law that took effect last month has local governments wondering whether they’ll now have to verify the citizenship of people seeking any public benefit, from a public pool to a library.  The source of the problem: A section in House Bill 2008, signed into law [...]

Arizona Court of Appeals Rules Employer Liable for Workers Comp for Employee Killed While Off Duty Driving Employer’s Car

Arizona Business Gazette:  “Employers that provide vehicles for their workers can end up liable for workers’ compensation benefits if the employees get into an accident, even ones that occur after they leave work, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled.  The judges rejected arguments by Pima County that it was not responsible for paying benefits [...]

Must an Arizona CPA form a PLLC?

Question:  Must an Arizona CPA who desires to practice accounting in Arizona form a professional limited liability company (PLLC) or can the CPA form a standard vanilla limited liability company (LLC)?

Answer:  An Arizona CPA can form either an LLC or a PLLC to practice accounting in Arizona.  The following text is taken from the Arizona [...]

Is Property Acquired During an Arizona Divorce Community Property or Separate Property?

Question:  I am an Arizona resident in the process of getting a divorce.  If I form an Arizona limited liability company before my divorce is final, will my wife own a community property interest in my interest in the new LLC?

Answer:  It depends.  How’s that for a lawyer answer.  Arizona Revised Statues Section 25-211.A defines [...]

Maricopa County Attorney Files Felony Charges Against Superior Court Judge

Arizona Republic:  “The escalating legal battle between county officials manifested itself in more criminal allegations Wednesday when Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio filed charges against Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe.   The direct complaint alleges that Donahoe participated in a scheme to commit bribery, hinder criminal prosecution and obstruct [...]

Arizona Debt Delinquencies Apt to Rise

Arizona Republic:  “A slowly improving U.S. economy should ease credit-card and mortgage delinquencies in 2010, but the improvement won’t show up in Arizona.  That’s the prediction from credit bureau TransUnion, which singles out Arizona as the only state likely to have rising delinquencies on credit cards and home loans.”

Arizona Corporation Commission Takes Action Against Sellers of Unregistered Real Estate Investments

Many people think that an investment in real estate never involves the offer or sale of an unregistered security, but that is not true.  If I buy your home and get a deed to the home without any strings attached to ownership, the transaction does not involve the offer or sale of a [...]

Photo-enforcement Evidence OK in Arizona Criminal-speeding Cases

Arizona Republic:  “Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas was lauded by many opponents of photo-enforcement in February when he announced that he would not prosecute criminal speeders caught by the new technology.  But six weeks later, Keith Manning, Thomas’ law-enforcement liaison, issued a memo to the Arizona Department of Public Safety detailing what steps [...]

School District Alleges IT Guy Put Software that Searched for Alien Life on 5,000+ School Computers & Caused Over $1 Million in Damage

Arizona Republic:  “A Gilbert school district technology director at the center of a criminal investigation into computer equipment theft and unauthorized downloads of an extraterrestrial-searching software issued a lengthy statement Thursday to news reporters and governing board members, claiming he is a victim “of a personal vendetta” by the superintendent. . . . [...]

Arizona Attorney General Targets Home Loan Schemes

Arizona Republic:  “Arizona’s top prosecutor is partnering with federal regulators to stop more loan-modification scams aimed at struggling homeowners.  Attorney General Terry Goddard said his office and federal prosecutors plan to work together to go after the firms that market help to homeowners facing foreclosure but instead ‘heat homeowners out of their last [...]

Woman Fights Phoenix City Hall and Wins $2.5 Million

Phoenix New Times:  “In May, we told you about Miriam Hayenga, the tennis champ-turned-developer who found her plans up-ended by arbitrary bureaucracy at Phoenix City Hall — plus some bungled legal work from prominent attorney Paul Gilbert.  Because of Gilbert’s insider status, we titled the Web version of the story, “Don’t Even Think [...]

Arizona Attorney General Sues Payday Lender

Phoenix Business Journal:  “Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard is suing a national payday lender, accusing the operation of deceptive business practices.  The state wants QC Holdings Inc. (which operates Quik Cash lending stores in the state) to pay $5 million in restitution and to have a Tucson court set aside debt collection judgments [...]

Arizona Independent Contractors can Sue for Employment Discrimination

Arizona Business Gazette:  Independent “Contractors who believe they have been the victims of employment discrimination have as much right to sue as employees, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court has ruled.  The three-judge panel rejected arguments by the attorney for Yuma Regional Medical Center that only its workers are protected by the federal Rehabilitation [...]

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