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SCRIPTUS
P.O. Box 400
Pewaukee, WI 53072
http://waukeshabar.org
A
Publication of the Waukesha County Bar Association
January, 2008
Danni Caldwell-Editor
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| MARK
YOUR CALENDARS |
February
4th, 2008
(noon)
April
26th, 2008
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Support
Staff Luncheon
Country
Springs Hotel
RSVP form here
Spring
Awards Dinner
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A Word From
Your President
Dear Colleagues:
The start of the new
year is a busy time for your Bar Association. The annual Judges
update luncheon was held on January 7, 2008 at noon at the County Inn
Hotel. About 80 bar members and members of the Judiciary attended.
Chief Judge J. Mac Davis announced the rotation of Judges for August of
2008. The information is posted on the Waukesha County Bar
Association website. Information was also provided about prisoner
movement studies being done to look at ways to keep the courthouse and
constituents safe. If you would like more information about that
issue please contact Judge Davis.
The next Bar event is the Support Staff luncheon, held on February 4,
2008, at noon, at the Country Inn Hotel. Each bar member may bring one
staff member for an appreciation luncheon and entertainment. Please
mail in your responses as soon as possible.
The Bar Association is also Planning to sponsor a candidate forum for
the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court races. In the event all the
candidates can make some time in their schedules, we are hoping for a
March forum. The website will continue to provide information
about this event as we receive responses from the candidates.
Please continue to visit the website for more information about events
and information available to you as benefits of being member of the
Waukesha County Bar Association
Sincerely,
Marjorie A. Wendt
President
WCBA Board
Minutes - Meeting of November
15, 2007
Attendance:
Marjorie Wendt, President, Doug Swanson, Secretary/Treasurer, Judge Mac
Davis, Past President, Christine D'Angelo, Craig Kuhary, John Macy,
Michael Morse, Michelle Martin, Danni Caldwell, Victoria J. Schroeder.
Minutes: The
Minutes of the October 18, 2007 meeting were approved.
Old Business and Committee
Reports
State Board of Governors:
John Macy circulated the draft Agenda for the State Board of Governors
Meeting scheduled for December 12, 2007. He reported that a
Hearing was scheduled for September 10, 2007 regarding the rotation of
the State Bar President. We discussed the dues surplus of
$750,000.00 and the various theories and ideas which are being shared
amongst the State Board of Governors as to how to spend the
money. Both John Macy and Mike Morse reported that this is a very
contentious issue. They will report back more after the December
Meeting of the State Board of Governors.
2007 Ethics Seminar:
Doug Swanson reported that he purchased a $50.00 gift card from the
Barnes & Noble Bookstore for each of the four speakers.
Christy D'Angelo presented those gift cards to the speakers.
Scriptus:
Danni Caldwell reported that the Scriptus would be out the following
Monday which would be before the holiday party.
Holiday Party:
Danni Caldwell and Michelle Martin discussed the door prizes.
Also, we discussed that the invitations had been sent out and it will
again be held at the Delafield Brewhaus. We have made
arrangements to have the same food and it is anticipated that the cost
will be consistent with the 2006 Holiday Party.
Bylaws Committee:
Michelle Martin, Danni Caldwell, and Marjorie Wendt are on this
Committee. Michelle will send a draft of the proposed changes to
the Board of Directors for their review. They will also look into
the liability insurance for the Board of Directors Officers; add and
delete Committees that either we have or don't have; clean up the
language of the Bylaws.
Entertainment:
John Macy raised the question of hiring lawyers who present comedy and
law type presentations for local bar services. This type of
presentation could be used as the entertainment section of some of our
functions. John will look into that issue more and report in
future meetings.
The Meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 1:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Douglas E. Swanson, Secretary/Treasurer
(Editor’s Note) Next WCBA Board meeting is February 21, 2008 - Room
G-55
of the County Administration Building.
From the
Clerk of Courts
Calling All Attorneys!
The Waukesha County Family Legal Clinic began offering free, 20 minute,
legal consultations to family court litigants in December of 2007 with
the assistance of 13 Volunteer Attorneys. The Clinics are held on
Wednesdays from 4:30-6:30 pm in the Court Self- Help Center, Room C-108
of the Courthouse. A grant from the State Bar of Wisconsin provides
administrative assistance and malpractice insurance to attorneys during
their volunteer service, and a partnership with Legal Action of
Wisconsin's Volunteer Lawyers Program provides up to 12 CLE
credits.
As we begin to advertise, and as the demand for this service grows, so
does our need for additional volunteer attorneys. We have
scheduled a one hour program training session for February 19, 2008 at
4:30 pm, room to be determined. If you are interested in
participating, please review the attached program description and
complete the Attorney Volunteer Registration Form. If you have further
questions, please call Tera Nehring, Program Coordinator, at
262-896-6870, or send an email to tera.nehring@wicourts.gov
with any questions. We look forward to your participation in what
has already been a beneficial and rewarding program for litigants and
attorneys alike!
Information Regarding Probate
Judge Davis and Sally Lunde forwarded this missive, sent by the
Department of Revenue, for inclusion in the Scriptus:
We have made several
changes to the way estates and trusts request a closing certificate for
fiduciaries. I thought it would be helpful for you to be aware of them.
The Form 2 is no
longer used to request a closing certificate. The form has been
revised, and the check box and address section for the certificate
information have been removed. If an estate does not have enough
income to require filing a return, it no longer has to fill out the
Form 2 just to get the certificate.
The closing
certificate is now requested using Schedule CC. This form has been
revised so that it can be scanned and processed in our computer
system. When it is processed, it will automatically go on my list
to get a certificate. (In other words, they don't have to remember to
check the box, they just have to fill out the right form.) The PR
is still required to supply all of the same information as before,
including a copy of the will, any codicils and the inventory.
If the PR files an
income tax return for the estate on Form 2 and also asks for the
closing certificate on Schedule CC at the same time, they can be sent
in the same envelope, but they should be assembled as separate
documents. Previously, the Schedule CC was included as one of the
attachments to the Form 2, but now it will always be processed
separately. They should be sent to PO Box 8918 to get priority handling.
Because of the
significant changes to the forms, we can't accept returns that are
submitted on the wrong form. The 2007 Form 2 and schedules are on
the internet and they must be used to file a 2007 fiduciary return. If
the wrong form is submitted, we are sending them back to the fiduciary
to redo the return on the correct form. Also, since the Schedule
CC is now processed separately from the Form 2, the correct schedule
must be used to request a closing certificate. The correct version has
a bar code on it. Older versions of the form without the bar code can't
be processed.
A return for a tax
year beginning in 2008 is filed on the 2007 Form 2. The preparer must
enter the beginning and ending dates of the return at the top of the
form.
Here are links to the
DOR website:
Please feel free to
contact me if you have any questions.
Laureen Thoemke Plum
Supervisor, Estate
and Fiduciary Unit
Wisconsin Department
of Revenue
(608) 266-2826
Section News
The Real Estate and Probate pages on the WCBA website have been
recently updated.
Please
send section news and information to Michelle Martin at mmartin@murnlaw.com or Danni Caldwell at wcba1@waukeshabar.org.
Member News
CLE Approval
The Juvenile Court Guardian ad Litem Seminar sponsored by WCBA
on December 13, 2007 was approved for 3.5 CLE credits. The entire list
of approved seminars sponsored by WCBA , along with the credits
approved, can be found on our website.
Support Staff Luncheon RSVP Forms Due Now!
The date for the Support Staff Luncheon is Monday, February 4th.
You should have by now received the RSVP form in the mail. If you did
not, please go to the website and print it out or give me a call or
email and I’ll send it to you. Don’t delay getting us an RSVP. If you
do not RSVP, you will not be able to attend, and imagine explaining
that to your support staff. Oh, the chill!
Assistance Sought
The Waukesha County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council has an
opening for a public member. About six meetings per year, with
variable committee work, are involved. Please contact Judge Mac
Davis with questions or if interested.Assistance Sought
New
on the WCBA Web Site
The Waukesha
County Court Commissioners have a new schedule, effective January 7,
2008. You can find that schedule on the WCBA website by clicking on the link
on the right side of the page.
For those of you who practice in Ozaukee County, please be aware that
they have revised two of their local rules. You can see those new rules
by going to the WCBA website opening page and look for the Ozaukee
County Rule change link at the bottom of the left side column.
As reported in December, I accomplished my goal of posting old editions
of the Scriptus on the website. I was able to locate editions that date
back to April, 1971. Simply go to
http://waukeshabar.org/scriptus_archive.html to access any of them.
They are in groups of three or four years and further divided by
decades.
If any of our senior colleagues happen to have any editions from before
1971 or the early 70's (there seems to be some gaps), I would love to
get my hands on them to scan and add to our collection.
The photos from the Holiday Party have been uploaded to our website.
Check the website page for the link. Contrary to popular belief, I will
not accept bribes or gratuities in exchange for removing photos
believed to be less than flattering from the website!
Comments
or questions about the Scriptus should be directed to:
Danni Caldwell, Editor
548-7432
wcba1@waukeshabar.org
KEEP
WARM AND TOASTY!
