Essential Services

The creation and management of a business entails intricate processes and complex business concepts. Contractual relations among parties are inevitable and may often end in up court. We know the rules underpinning planning, negotiating and document drafting in connection with business formations and transactions. Our expertise includes: 

• Acquisitions, Consolidation, Mergers, Reorganization, and Liquidations 
• Shares and Asset Purchase Agreements
• Drafting and Reviews of Contract
• Financial Agreements
• State and Federal Laws Compliance
• Buy-Sell Agreements, Negotiations and Structuring
• Employment and Independent Contractor Agreement Preparation
• Trademark, Patent and Copyright
• Creation and Structuring of Foreign or Domestic Corporation, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships and Joint Ventures

Business laws have become so complex, that almost every business owner should consult a lawyer to ensure their success.

 “Natural resources” is a broad concept. Natural resources law is occasionally confused with environmental law, but the fields are distinct. Environmental law is what you may not do; natural resources law is what you may do and how to do it. It is the body of law that organizes the discovery, development, allocation, ownership, management, and ultimately use of all the raw materials that our civilization is built from, and of the energy sources that make it run. In a practical sense, this term has come to mean the constellation of statutory, regulatory, and judicial law that customarily applies to the major natural resource industries such as mining, oil and gas, water, and forestry.

This body of law draws heavily from contract, property, and corporate law, but also has substantial overlap with environmental, tax, land use, administrative, and even tort law. The set of legal issues that confront, for example, a client wishing to organize a company to develop a particular offshore or onshore mineral deposit, is unique.

Natural resource lawyers must be familiar with the business realities that affect clients. They are experienced with the operational details and points of negotiation in the contracts and physical operations that are common and also unique to a particular resource. They must alert clients to potential traps for the unwary in the case law of their jurisdiction, navigate government regulations to accomplish their clients’ goals, and assemble transactions from the myriad property and operational issues that exist for each particular resource. For example, the mechanics and economics of the development of oil and gas versus hard minerals such as coal has led to dramatically different business structures and contracts to develop these distinct resources.

In recent years, the natural resource industries have acquired a significant international dimension; in this context natural resource lawyers can provide invaluable orientation and counsel to foreign companies investing in mineral projects in the United States, or domestic companies seeking to expand their presence globally.

U.S. natural resources law is a patchwork of unrelated statutes, unique to each resource, with the exception of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Some reflect a pioneer spirit, such as the laws regulating mineral mining, and some are more modern, such as laws regulating ocean fisheries. For the most part, the statutes governing federal lands, timber, coal, oil and gas, minerals, soil, and oceans share a common goal of efficiently and sustainably managing natural resources, but with varying degrees of success. This topic would not be complete without also considering natural resource damages and ecosystem services.

Natural resources, in general, belong to the state or federal government unless found on private property or rights to them have been obtained from the government. States retain primary authority over natural resources within their borders, although federal statutes also apply to many resources, especially those found on federal land.

We can help you the transfer of assets to spouses, family members, to other persons and entities clients wish to benefit, like charities. The practice involves the preparation of trust agreements, wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, and closely held business structures, including partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations.

We will consider your objectives, family relationships, charitable inclinations, and the relationship of federal and state estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax laws. I will work with you to build a plan to meet your goals and objectives, prepare the necessary documents to carry out the desired plan, and assist with the implementation of your plan. In connection with family wealth planning, I can plan and draft trust agreements and wills, create various business entities, and carry out business reorganizations.

We also administer estates and trusts. We confer with family members regarding:

• Assistance to the executor with the preparation of the required probate documents and assist in valuation of estate assets

• Making insurance claims

• Preparation of final income tax returns and the estate’s income and federal and state estate tax returns

• Monitoring of the investment of the estate’s assets

• Arranging for the distribution of the estate’s net assets

• Throughout the administration of an estate, consideration is given to income tax savings through the timing of distributions and the timing and claiming of appropriate deductions.

In the area of trust administration, we’ll advise and consult with corporate and individual trustees concerning the discharge of the trust’s terms and consult with beneficiaries concerning trust administration matters including the preparation of trust accounts. 

We will also help clients with probate and trust litigation. This may involve construing or reforming the terms of a will or trust, prosecuting or defending a will contest action or surcharge actions against trustees.

A guardian is appointed by the court to make personal decisions on behalf of another person, known as the ward, when that person is incapable of making decisions for himself. A ward may be a minor child or an incapacitated adult. 

A guardian may be appointed for a minor child if the child's parents are dead or in prison, if they cannot afford to provide for his basic needs, if they are abusive or if they cannot offer a safe home environment. A guardian may be appointed for an adult if the adult is incapacitated (i.e. unable to effectively make or communicate decisions regarding health, safety or personal care).

A person 21 years of age or older may seek guardianship over a minor child or an incapacitated adult by filing a guardianship petition in the district court of the county of the ward's residence. If the proposed ward is an incapacitated adult, the petition must be accompanied by medical evidence establishing the incapacity. 

A guardian must make day-to-day personal decisions for the ward. The court may grant the guardian broad or narrow authority over the ward depending on the ward's needs. The guardian must submit annual reports to the court and obtain the court's permission before moving the ward out of Colorado.

The guardianship of a minor child automatically terminates on their 19th birthday unless they are incapacitated. It may be terminated while he is still a minor if he marries, joins the military or becomes self-supporting. The guardianship of an incapacitated adult ends when he regains capacity. A court may terminate a guardianship at any time if it determines that termination would be in the ward's best interest.