Wisconsin Business Legal Questions

As a 50% ower, you do not have control of the business and do not have the right to be consulted, or to approve, business actions. You may have the right under applicable state law to force a so-called "deadlock" dissolution of the business through litigation. A corporate litigation attorney can assist you in this process.... Read More

Generally speaking, benefits under a so-called "qualified" retirement plan must be offered on a non-discriminatory basis. You should discuss the reasons for your non-participation with your employer. If you are dissatisfied with the answers, you may wish to discuss the matter further with an employment attorney. You will need to bring a copy of the relevant documents to your consultation.... Read More

You misunderstand the duties of a director and the circumstances under which a director may be held liable for the criminal acts of a corporate officer. You and the other innocent directors should consult an attorney. This is different from asking a question anonymously on a computer. Get a lawyer.... Read More

As a general matter, a creditor collecting its own accounts is not a "debt collector" and does not need to be licensed. However, a professional collector who buys defaulted debts in the ordinary course of business is a debt collector for FDCPA purposes and therefore may be deemed to be doing so under state law, although the Wisconsin statute is not a model of clarity. You should engage the services of an attorney to respond to letter.... Read More

You can only receive unemployment compensation if you are eligible for it under the applicable statute. Failure to meet the statutory requirements is absolutely disqualifying. You do not claim that an error was made in the computation of your income. That would be appear to be the end of it.... Read More

You can use the software and art on the same terms if they are available to you under the same license. You then license them to others on those terms. The entire purpose of the GPL is to make sure that you do not restrict downstream users from acquiring the same rights that you are employing. You simply include a reference to the GPL in your software and indicate that it applies to both the software and the incorporated art.... Read More

It depends on if the debt was included in the bankruptcy.  If it was included in the bankruptcy, the finance company is violating a court order.  You should contact a local bankruptcy attorney to review your previous petition and determine what steps to take. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.... Read More

I'm not sure an attorney is likely to be able to assist you. Unfortunately, when you are a minor, moms and dads, not lawyers, tend to make most of the rules. Some of these rules are thoughtless, stupid, venal or just plain mean. This one makes no sense, but it sounds as if mom is going to be the boss.... Read More

As a general matter, in the American legal system, everyone pays their own legal fees, including successful defendants. There is a cause of action for vexatious litigation which may be pursued in a separate lawsuit after an action terminates in the defendant's favor. In order to prevail, you will need to be able to prove that the plaintiff in the current lawsuit reasonably should have known that its claim was groundless and that it sued you despite such knowledge. That may be a hard showing to make. Good luck with it.... Read More

Unless discharged by bankruptcy, barred by an applicable statute of limitations, or otherwise voided or set aside, you remain liable for your prior debts even if you start a new business -- regardless of the form of that business. If the new business is a sole proprietorship, the assets of the proprietorship will be subject to the claims of the proprietor's creditors, including creditors who acquired their claims prior to the formation of the proprietorship. There may be ways of making arrangements with the creditors so that they do not seek to attach the assets of your husband's new business. Those kinds of arrangements are best made through an attorney. They will, in any event, depend on the voluntary cooperation of the creditors.... Read More

There are many such organizations in existence already. You would probably best organize this organization as a corporation and then qualify the corporation as a public charity under I.R.S. Section 501(c)(3). You will require the services of an attorney to do so. You will be able to preserve the anonymity of your donors unless they are very large donors.... Read More