Fallout from COVID-19: I Can’t Pay My Rent. Now What?
The fallout from COVID-19 is creating troubles for everyone; from the individual tenant renting a residence to the large commercial tenants renting space for their businesses. Landlords are also going to be (and some already are) negatively impacted by the inability of these tenants to pay their rents over the next months, especially as April […]
DOL Issues Guidance and Employee Notice for Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) was enacted into law on March 18, 2020 in response to COVID-19. The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued the following guidance to assist employers and employees understand and comply the FFCRA, effective April 1, 2020: Families First Coronavirus Response Act Notice – Frequently Asked Questions Department of […]
CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT (THE “CARES ACT”) Key Payroll Forgiveness Provisions
On March 25, 2020, the Senate unanimously passed a COVID-19 relief bill known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). The House is considering a voice vote by unanimous consent to pass it. The Act contains significant provisions which impact immediate decisions by Branscomb Law clients. Among the most relevant […]
Access to Texas Courts in a Time of Coronavirus
With the outbreak of COVID-19, state and local governments are responding with their own policies and procedures to protect the health and welfare of our communities. Our firm has locations in Nueces, Travis, Harris, and Bexar Counties. See below for a summary of the different policies and procedures each of these counties and the Texas […]
Branscomb Law Prepared. 100% Available for Our Clients.
To our valued clients and referral sources: Ten years ago, we went paperless. All our client files are electronic. Five years ago, we moved all our local electronic information to the cloud. Two years ago, we created duplicate work stations for our attorneys at home with WIFI and LTE redundancy. This month, we gave the […]
A Deal’s a Deal – Right?
“In Texas, a deal is, of course, a deal.” That’s how the Supreme Court of Texas started off its recent opinion in Chalker Energy Partners III, LLC et. al v. Le Norman Operating, LLC. But by the end of the opinion, the Court had determined—as it has many times before—that an alleged agreement between the […]
Recent Tax Law Changes Impacting Tax Exempt Organizations
Net Investment Income Tax on Private Foundations Simplified The 2020 appropriations legislation signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019 streamlines the excise tax most private foundations are required to pay on their net investment income. The former two-tiered regime taxed private foundations’ net investment income at a default 2% tax rate. However, […]
Branscomb Law Litigators Win High Dollar Mineral Cases
Landowners and holders of mineral rights sometimes find themselves in legal fights over their property. These conflicts can take a nearly limitless variety of forms. They can be over surface usage, surface ownership, oil and gas title, royalty payments, or some combination. Disagreements can arise with rival landowners, oil and gas companies, or both at […]
Do I Need a Survey When Buying Property?
When buying a home or any type of property, such as raw land or commercial property, you might ask: Do I really need a survey? The tried and true real estate lawyer answer, “it depends,” comes to mind, but, you really should consider purchasing (or asking the seller to purchase) a survey when buying real […]
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Overtime Rule
On September 24 2019, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued its Final Rule increasing the threshold amounts for exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA empowers the DOL to define and delimit the requirements for certain employees to be exempt from overtime. The DOL has expressed what is required […]