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Any legal document must be prepared with care, but some are likely to be scrutinized especially closely by courts that are sensitive to the impact they can have, especially if one party has far greater resources than the other.

Arbitration is intended as a faster, less expensive alternative to traditional litigation, and is often an effective way to resolve relatively minor disputes, such as those between a company and a customer. But what if the conflict involves serious claims, and may affect the general public?

For closely held companies, a frequently used estate planning strategy is to have the company buy life insurance policies on each major shareholder to fund the buyout of the shareholder’s shares in the event of his or her death. A recent decision by the Supreme Court requires a fresh look at this approach.

It’s certainly not unusual for at least one member of a formerly married couple to express hostile feelings after a divorce. But when this goes further and becomes abusive behavior, what options are available to the spouse being attacked?

California’s Proposition 13 limits increases in the assessed value of real property – and therefore in the taxes levied on that property – unless there is a “change in ownership” of the property. But if the only change is in the form of ownership of the property, as from a partnership or corporation to a trust, with the beneficial ownership interests remaining unchanged, there is no reassessment.

Setting up a trust allows us to specify how we want our assets to be distributed to our beneficiaries, and to modify those decisions later should circumstances – or just our wishes – change. But a trust must be drafted carefully, to ensure that it meets legal requirements, and any subsequent changes must be made with equal care, as a case recently decided by the California Court of Appeal demonstrates (Trotter v Van Dyck).