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Rice & Rose sponsored the Volusia League of Cities dinner at the Casements in Ormond Beach on December 5, 2013. Guests at the dinner party were in for a treat as they were able to see The Casements in all of its holiday splendor.

YES: Create a level playing field. In response to the story on the sales tax not being charged to out-of-state retail­ers such as Amazon and Overstock.com, I am extremely disappointed in U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis’ opposition to legislation that would require out-of-state businesses to collect sales tax for Internet sales made to Floridians.

Every business, whether home-based or filling a corner of a business park, needs a good lawyer. So says James Rose, a managing partner of Rice & Rose, a Daytona Beachbased law firm that opened in 1982. The firm, whose other managing partner is Paul Rice Jr., specializes in business law, family law, criminal law, wills, trusts, probate and real estate law.

A question I get often during consultations in dissolution of marriage cases is what are the tax implications for paying or receiving alimony or spousal support. The presumption under the IRS Regulations is that alimony paid is a tax deduction for the payer spouse or former spouse, and is taxable income for the recipient spouse or former spouse.

One of the best things you can do for your family during a divorce is to think hard at outset about what it means to put your children first. Determine what changes you need to make in your own attitude and conduct to reflect that decision. This advice applies regardless of your spouse’s anticipated behavior in relation to the children.   Don’t get drawn into the blame game and the “tit-for-tat.”

Attorneys Beth King and Sandy Upchurch facilitate the Lean In book discussion at the November meeting of the Volusia Flagler Association for Women Lawyers at the Halifax River Yacht Club.

A will is the most common instrument associated with estate planning and is a document most people are familiar with due to movies, television, and other forms of media.  One question many clients have is how formal does a document have to be in order for it to be considered a valid will.  Technically speaking, any piece of paper can serve as a will so long as it satisfies certain requirement as to formality.

Congratulations to our Partner, Philip Bonamo, who has been selected for membership into The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers, for 2013. 

The Florida Supreme Court recently handed down a ruling that increased the potential liability of developers and home builders throughout Florida for shoddy infrastructure work.  A homeowner’s association in Orange County sued its developer, Maronda Homes of Florida, because of streets cracking, driveways sinking, storm drains collapsing, lawns eroding and retention ponds overflowing in its gated subdivision. 

Ashleigh Drexler, a Florida Registered Paralegal in the Family Law Division of Rice & Rose, P.A., recently attended a seminar in St. Petersburg, Florida, that was hosted by the Paralegal Association of Florida – Pinellas Chapter.