Federal appellate court affirms ruling that offering a discount to buyer if the buyer uses the developer’s lender does not violate RESPA.

The latest quarterly figures on existing-home sales by state and metropolitan area home prices showed some hopeful signs. Most states experienced gains in resales – both on a quarter to quarter and a year over year basis. And the number of metro areas reporting a year over year rise in the median sales price of homes was also up from the previous quarter.

The most widely-known application for prenuptial agreements is to allow prospective spouses to define their rights in the event of a future divorce or separation. While the validity and ability to enforce prenuptial agreements is determined by the law of each individual state, it is the goal of these private contracts to bypass divorce laws and to instead create a set of private rules that will determine what will happen if the marriage does not endure and ends in separation or divorce. In these agreements, the parties can define or limit their rights in each other’s property (whether owned at the time of marriage or acquired during the marriage), can decide how jointly-held property will be handled, and can address the ability of either person to claim future financial support from the other.

Prenuptial agreements are more common where one or both parties have been married previously and may have assets from that marriage that they wish to protect. Where one prospective spouse is involved in a family-owned business, a prenuptial agreement is frequently desired to protect the interests of all family members connected with the business. Some couples use prenuptial agreements to clarify responsibilities during the marriage as well. For example, provisions can be included to specify which expenses will be jointly shared and in what proportions and which will be the responsibility of one spouse. The specific provisions of a prenuptial agreement can be crafted in many ways and are tailored to the needs and desires of each couple. Assuming that the prenuptial agreement is carefully drafted in accordance with the law of the appropriate state, it can avoid much dispute and expense if the parties do ever divorce.

Not everyone contemplating marriage needs a prenuptial agreement. But the lack of or existence of a prenuptial agreement can have long-term consequences for both parties to a marriage. Because the interests of the parties entering into a marriage are generally different, each party should have independent legal advice about these issues. Consulting an attorney well in advance of the wedding date to discuss the desirability of a prenuptial agreement can provide the information necessary to allow for an informed decision about whether a prenuptial agreement is right for you.

California Western School of Law will host the sixth annual Janeen Kerper Trial Skills Academy Feb. 12-16. The program, sponsored by the school’s Institute for Criminal Defense Advocacy and Proyecto ACCESO, is designed to teach Spanish-speaking attorneys litigation skills.

Officials from the University of California, San Diego and California Western School of Law have formed a joint committee to explore the establishment of a new, public law school.
The new school, which would be called the UCSD School of Law, wouldn’t rely on any state or UCSD campus funds.
The committee was formed in response to a merger proposal by California Western officials.
“We believe the proposal has sufficient merit to explore the possibilities together,” said Paul Drake, UCSD’s senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “A UC San Diego School of Law would enhance the research, teaching and public service mission of the university.”
The two schools currently offer a joint master’s degree program in health law, share faculty and have partnered on other projects throughout the past 35 years.
“The San Diego region could benefit from having a law school that helps advance and support its most important science and technology industries, today and tomorrow,” California Western Dean Steven R. Smith said.
Smith said a merger would enable the schools to offer more interdisciplinary programs and get them started more quickly. The joint health law master’s program took years to get approved because California Western is not part of the University of California system.
The lack of official ties also makes it difficult for the two institutions to perform service projects together, which they do now despite the delays. Additionally, a merger would give California Western many great research opportunities, according to Smith.
“The range of cutting edge research going on at UCSD is remarkable,” he said. “To see that knowledge developing and to think of all the legal issues coming from the new knowledge would b terrific. I think it’d be a real service to society and to San Diego as well to have those legal issues thought through before they becomes problem.”
The new school likely would be housed on the current California Western campus in downtown San Diego, at least initially, and perhaps permanently.
Those will be issues explored by the joint committee.
The committee of faculty and administrators from both institutions also will look at ways in which a UCSD School of Law might build on existing strengths, enhance other academic disciplines and create unique broad-based areas of exploration in law, science and technology.
The group also will consider such issues as integrating existing California Western faculty while planning for new hires, attracting students with strong credentials, ensuring that the law school continues to be self-supporting as a public institution and maintaining consistency with University of California, American Bar Association and Association of American Law Schools standards.
“Joining with UC San Diego will allow us to attract and retain the best and brightest faculty, students, and staff well into the future,” Smith wrote in an e-mail to the California Western community. “It will create new opportunities for research and collaboration, while honoring our mission and values, and enhance the reputation and visibility of our faculty, alumni, and students.”
The joint committee hopes to issue a report by late spring. If it determines the proposal should advance, a planning document will be submitted to the UCSD faculty senate and administration and to the California Western faculty and board of trustees. If these bodies endorse the committee’s recommendation, it will then be sent to the UC president’s office for a final decision. There is no firm timeline for making a determination.
“At a challenging time in the university’s history,” Drake said, “this proposed affiliation would present an opportunity to advance the long-term vision of the University of California system and this campus.”