Avoid Drafting a “Pinterest Fail” Estate Plan



Avoid Drafting a “Pinterest Fail” Estate Plan by Madison J. Dressman , Klenda Austerman Estate Planning Attorney Every Pinterest DIY project begins with good intentions. You bundle up your freshly cut plywood, hunt to find the perfect paint color, and purchase at least a dozen hinges with feverous anticipation of potential success. However, once the final product is complete, you may realize that your final product doesn’t look anything like the pretty picture you found …

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Unmasking Assets with Klenda Austerman



Unmasking Assets with Klenda Austerman by Zachary T. Smith, Klenda Austerman Divorce and Family Law Attorney In a world where “till death do us part” can end with a paper shredder and a crypto wallet, your divorce attorney can act as the ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ only with less running and more spreadsheets. In many marriages, hiding assets starts innocently enough: a secret savings account here, an undisclosed investment there. But once divorce papers are …

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Family Law Practices Named Best in Wichita



Each year the Wichita Eagle asks the community to nominate the best places in Wichita in more than 500 categories. The Family Law practice at Klenda Austerman took home the silver award for Best in Wichita. More than 125,000 voters picked their favorites among thousands of nominees. Alex Flores and Chris Vinduska lead our divorce and family law practice. Thank you to all who voted for us. We are honored to serve our community and …

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Todd Shadid Recognized for Community Contributions



Klenda Austerman Member, Todd Shadid, was recently recognized for community contributions to the Wichita Police Department Auto Crime Enforcement (ACE) Unit. As executive director and general counsel for the Wichita Automobile Dealers Association (WADA), Todd accepted the WADA award for contributions to the task force that helped the task force recover more than $2.6 million worth of stolen vehicles and arrest more than 50 criminals in seven months. WADA funded the purchase of GPS tracking …

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How large Wichita employers can prepare now for Biden’s vaccine mandate



Uncertainty surrounds Biden’s vaccine mandate, but Wichita’s large companies can start preparing now by Shelby Kellerman, Wichita Business Journal It’s been almost a month since the White House unveiled plans to order large employers with at least 100 workers to mandate the Covid-19 vaccine in their workplaces or require weekly testing of unvaccinated employees — and there’s still a lot of unknowns. It’s a familiar feeling to Wichita companies, who have been in a strange …

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Vaccine Mandate for Private Employers



Even if you did not watch the Presidential address to the nation on September 9, you have no doubt seen some sort of breaking news or pop-up announcement indicating that the Executive Office will be “mandating vaccines for all employer with 100+ employees.” To clarify, the vaccine mandate rule will actually be coming from the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Currently, OSHA is working on developing a new administrative rule that …

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New Paid Leave Benefits for COVID



Paid COVID Leave Benefits for Employees: Act III by Michelle Brenwald Klenda Austerman Employment Attorney In 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provided paid leave benefits to employees for various COVID related reasons. The FFCRA mandated employers with fewer than 500 employees (with limited exceptions) to provide the paid leave benefit through Dec. 31, 2020, in exchange for specific dollar-for-dollar payroll tax credits. Although the “mandate” that employers provide such benefits expired, employers …

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Kansas Oil and Gas Litigation



Klenda Austerman Attorney Lauren Wright recently had an article published in the Kansas Bar Association “Oil, Gas, & Mineral Law Section Newsletter.” She reported on oil and gas litigation regarding an ACLU case filed against former Kansas Corporation Commission’s (KCC) deputy general counsel arising out of two environmentalists’ participation in protests that opposed oil and gas activities across Kansas. Before moving to private practice, Lauren spent two years as litigation counsel for the state, representing …

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Incorporating Drones into Your Business Model



Security concerns and drone law are often an afterthought for individual entrepreneurs and companies interested in incorporating drones into their business models. This can have serious consequences for unsuspecting operators. Ethan McInteer, Klenda Austerman Aviation Attorney, examines these issues and more in his article, Adapting to the Times: The Questionable Applicability of Article 3bis to Cyberweapons Demands New Approach to Safeguarding International Commercial Drone Operations, which is featured in the Autumn 2020 edition of Issues …

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Extended – COVID Paid Leave Benefits



COVID paid leave benefits for employees extended … kind of. As Americans anxiously await an update on the status of the next stimulus package, many employers have been asking the Employment  Law Attorneys at Klenda Austerman what the ongoing economic relief efforts mean for employees who will need time off due to COVID after the first of the year. With paid time off benefits under the Families First Corona Virus Response Act (FFCRA) set to …

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