The Tucker Law Firm

An Arizona court has ruled that medical marijuana patients can still face arrest when in possession of hashish because it isn’t mentioned or included by name in a marijuana initiative passed by the voters in 2010. Unlike other states like Florida for example, where patients who require marijuana for medicinal purposes can use cannabis doctors florida locations to help get a medical marijuana card.

The Arizona Court of Appeals handed down the decision during the last week of June 2018 in the case of Rodney Jones, a cardholder in the state’s medical marijuana program who was arrested in March 2013 at a Prescott hotel and indicted on one count of cannabis possession and drug paraphernalia possession. Whilst he may have chosen to switch over to other options after this, such as edibles in the forms of protein bar options, this ruling was a surprise to many.

Police said at the time they had found Jones had 0.05 ounces of hashish in a jar, according to the appeals court ruling. After spending a year in jail, Jones waived his right to a jury trial in the case. He was later convicted and sentenced to more than two years in prison with credit for time served.

In his appeal, Jones sought to have his conviction and sentence overturned by the court. But two of the judges on the three-member appeals court panel rejected his request, saying that the state’s medical marijuana act approved in 2010 “is silent” on hashish. “If the drafters wanted to immunize the possession of hashish they should have said so,” the ruling said. “We cannot conclude that Arizona voters intended to do so.” This is why it is important to stay up to date with cannabis news and laws in your location, changes could be made daily and if you’re not in the know you could end up being penalized for such, so keep up to date in your area with sites like this weed blog Canada.

Hashish is a resin extracted from cannabis plants, and it is often used in oils and other medical marijuana products that are a part of the nation’s growing multi-billion dollar marijuana market, those who are interesting can find live resin online there are a lot of resources online to learn more about it.. The ruling found that hashish is recognized under state law as a narcotic, distinct from marijuana by the state legislature because of its potency levels.

What happens to a will upon divorce?

Under Arizona law, a divorced person’s will remains valid but the ex is disqualified as a potential beneficiary of the estate. But, a decree of separation does not terminate the marriage and does not disqualify the spouse as a beneficiary. If a couple chooses to use los angeles divorce lawyers and legally separate, the ex is removed from any position named in the will such as personal representative, executor, guardian or trustee. A new will could be drafted reinstating the ex.

What happens to a revocable trust upon divorce?

In the event of a divorce, Arizona law treats a living revocable trust similar to a will. If one or both spouses dies before the trust is dissolved as part of the divorce settlement, each spouse’s share of the trust would be distributed to the beneficiaries as if there was no surviving spouse. If there are separate trusts, the ex is disqualified as a beneficiary of the trust. The ex would also be removed as a successor trustee. However, if the trustmaker (settlor) wanted to keep the ex-spouse as a beneficiary or successor trustee, the trustmaker could sign a restatement of the trust to stating this. You must do this with a verified attorney to make sure everything is above board and legal. Take a look here at other attorneys that can assist you with this if you are not based in Arizona to receive our services.

What about powers of attorney?

An ex is automatically removed as an agent named in a financial or health care power of attorney. The power of attorney could still be used if an alternate agent is named.

What happens if a divorced person fails to remove the ex as a beneficiary on an IRA?

Under Arizona Revised Statute 14–2804, an ex is automatically removed as an IRA beneficiary. However, the IRA custodian may not have knowledge of the divorce. There are cases where an ex contested the matter in court.

What about pension, 401(k), profit-sharing and other plans governed by ERISA?

ERISA refers to the federal law governing federal retirement plan accounts such as 401(k), profit-sharing plans, pensions, and other federal retirement plans. These are not affected by Arizona law. The beneficiary designation on file with the plan administrator controls.

Is the ex-spouse automatically removed as beneficiary under a life insurance policy?

Yes. However, there are cases where it is part of the divorce settlement or the policy owner wants the ex to remain as beneficiary despite the divorce. To remove these complications, the policy owner should either rename the ex as a beneficiary after the divorce is final, or put a provision in the divorce decree stating the parties intend that the ex remain as beneficiary on a life insurance policy, or both.

How about payable-on-death, transfer-on-death, or in-trust-for provisions?

An ex is automatically removed as a beneficiary on an account with payable-on-death, transfer-on-death or in-trust-for designations. An account holder should update these accounts immediately upon divorce.

What about property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or community property with right of survivorship?

Upon divorce, the property automatically becomes tenants in common – each party owns a separate 50% interest, and his or her interest becomes part of his or her estate at death.

All of these questions and queries are a good reason why you should seek out divorce solicitors so they can guide you this difficult process. If you’re in Atlanta and currently seeking to proceed with a divorce, you may want to get in touch with a family law attorney: https://nsfamilylawfirm.com/

Between the IRS and the recent changes in the tax law, here are a number of significant changes that will impact taxes now and going forward. Should you ever be confused about doing your taxes, fear not. You can get help from a tax preparation service like H&R Block, and you can check https://www.raise.com/coupons/hr-block to see if there are any savings available.

Those who are married and filing jointly will have an increased standard deduction of $24,000, up from $13,000 as under previous law.

Single taxpayers and those who are married and file separately now have a $12,000 standard deduction, up from the $6,500.

For heads of households, the deduction will be $18,000, up from $9,550. So, you may be wondering “where’s my refund?” and that’ll come in due course but there are still a few more things you need to know.

The personal exemption has been eliminated with the tax reform bill.

A new 37 percent top rate will affect individuals with incomes of $500,000 and higher. The top rate applies for married taxpayers who file jointly at $600,000 and over.

The estate tax exemption doubles to $11.2 million per individual and $22.4 million per couple in 2018.

The child tax credit has been raised to $2,000 per child — those under 17 — up from $1,000. A $500 credit is available for dependents who do not get the $2,000 credit.

The deduction for mortgage interest is capped at $750,000 for mortgage loans taken out after Dec. 15 of last year. The limit is still $1 million for mortgages that were established prior to Dec. 15, 2017.?

The itemized deduction is limited to $10,000 for both income and property taxes paid during the year.????

Employees who participate in certain retirement plans ? 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans, and the Thrift Savings Plan – can now contribute as much as $18,500 this year, a $500 increase from the limit for 2017.

Savers who contribute to individual retirement accounts will have higher income ranges following cost-of-living adjustments. Note that the deduction phases out for individuals and their spouses who are covered by workplace retirement plans.? For single taxpayers, the limit will be $63,000 to $73,000.? For married couples, the phase out range will vary depending on whether the IRA contributor is covered by a workplace retirement plan or not. When the spouse who is investing has access to an employer plan, the range is $101,000 to $121,000.

For individuals who don’t have a retirement plan but are married to someone who does, the phase out has been raised to $189,000 to $199,000.?The phase out was not adjusted for married individuals who file a separate return and who are covered by a workplace retirement plan. That range is $0 to $10,000.????