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As Seen in NNBW: People: Shelley Martin joins Allison MacKenzie law firm

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Allison MacKenzie law firm announced Shelley Martin has joined the firm as firm administrator.

Martin has worked in business administration for more than 30 years, primarily in the real estate industry, including companies such as CB Richard Ellis, as well as commercial contractors and residential home builders in California and Montana.

She served as a business administration consultant for over a decade, supporting small businesses between 2006 and 2016. In her new role, Martin will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm, managing administrative functions, and supporting the strategic goals of Allison MacKenzie.

Prior to relocating to Carson City, Martin served as a board member for the Missoula Building Industry Association and held a property management license in Montana.

She chaired the Missoula Building Industry Association Parade of Homes event for several years and participated in fundraising efforts for organizations including the Missoula Repertory Theater and the Boys and Girls Club in Missoula.

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By Daniel Judd

When contemplating a divorce, one factor of consideration is how it will significantly change your daily life. Common things to think about very likely include, getting off work and going home to an empty house, trying to figure out and adjust to a shared custodial schedule of the children, and questioning whose side friends are going to take in the divorce. While these are all very significant changes resulting from a divorce, and are valid concerns, there are also very significant financial implications to take into consideration when contemplating a divorce.

Nevada is a community property state, which means that all assets and debts acquired during a marriage belong equally to both parties, provided that the parties did not enter into a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. While assets and debts acquired during the marriage are considered community property, assets and debts acquired prior to the marriage are generally considered separate property and not subject to division. Upon divorce, the court will make an equitable division of the community assets, which generally means each spouse receives half of the community assets and half of the community debts. This means that as a general rule of thumb, getting a divorce equates to losing at least half of everything you own.

In addition to dividing everything in half, there are a number of expenses that eat into the assets. Contested divorces generate substantial attorney fees which must be paid. Very often real estate must be sold and agents’ commissions paid. If real estate is not sold, it most likely will need to be refinanced into the person’s name that is keeping it, which is not cheap and depending on the interest rates and how much money is required to be pulled out to purchase the other party’s interest, the mortgage payments can skyrocket.

It is vital to also consider monthly expenses and living situations. More likely than not, when people are getting divorced they live apart. Generally, one spouse will stay in the marital residence and the other will move out. Instead of having dual incomes for one household, the parties will now have two households to support. It is very realistic that people going into a divorce will not have the funds available to pay for all of the expenses associated with two households. This often results in increased credit card debt and a decrease in all parties’ standard of living.

While a divorce is not fun for anyone involved, it is sometimes necessary. It is not an easy road and will cause significant changes to everyone’s lives. Your regular routine will be changed, you will not get to see your children as much and your finances will take a significant hit. Although making the decision to move forward with a divorce is not one to be taken lightly, and during the divorce life will be difficult, there seems to be a general consensus that after the divorce has been complete, life gets better and normality can be reclaimed.

When thinking about getting divorced, it is important to meet with an attorney and find out exactly how you will be impacted. When selecting an attorney it is important to assess how your goals, expectations and personalities align. You are going to be working with that attorney very closely during the divorce process and very likely afterward, so it is important that you select someone that you trust and get along with. The last thing that you need when facing a divorce is to fight with both your soon to be ex-spouse and your attorney. An attorney-client relationship in a divorce is not only a working relationship, but also a personal relationship, your selection of an attorney is an important one.

Daniel Judd is a native Northern Nevadan and has been practicing family law for approximately five years. Judd is a partner at Allison MacKenzie, LTD., in Carson City and where he resides with his wife and two children.

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Allison MacKenzie law firm announces Daniel Judd as shareholder.

Judd joined Allison MacKenzie as an associate in 2019 and has risen to shareholder in that time. A Nevada native, he graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in criminal justice – pre-law.

In 2017, Judd obtained his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Wyoming College of Law and in 2018, he was admitted to practice in Nevada. His areas of practice include family law, divorce, guardianships and estate planning.

Judd is a former law clerk for both Allison MacKenzie and James Russell, district court judge of the First Judicial District Court in Carson City.

Additionally, he served the community as a deputy sheriff in Carson City.

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Discussion to offer a monetary incentive to employees considering retirement from the Carson City School District at the end of the 2023-24 school year was tabled until the Jan. 23 meeting by the Board of Trustees on Jan. 9 after members asked for clarification. Superintendent Andrew Feuling and Associate Superintendent of Human Resources Dan Sadler presented the incentive plan with a fiscal impact not to exceed $40,000 this fiscal year, which is not adding expenditures but comes from projected savings, Feuling said. The option differs from a previous legislative mechanism called a Voluntary Separation Incentive Plan (VSIP) in 2012 that was offered to administrative, certified and classified employees who chose to separate from the district and had been reintroduced by former Superintendent Richard Stokes in December 2019 when budget reductions were expected for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Feuling, who was the district’s chief financial officer at the time, said the plan presented now is not the same as before and called the state’s financial status back then “rough times.” The district doesn’t seek to encourage early attrition, Feuling said, but it helps to identify veteran employees early in their decision process.

“As we continue to look at what our needs are and just the natural cycles of our employees and making decisions in their life to continue with us or not to, we’ve talked about trying to identify that process earlier, and really it gets down to looking at the budget and looking at the needs of the district, looking at the needs of staffing and enrollment numbers,” Feuling said.
Sadler explained the 2022-23 school year had been the first time the district was able to get ahead in its hiring process, bringing more than 70 certified staff members on board between January and August 2023.

“That’s the highest we’ve ever had historically, but one thing to our advantage was to get the word out there early, particularly prior to our surrounding school districts and notifying them, saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got positions, we’re open for business,’ and to get people through that hiring process much sooner,” Sadler said.

Sadler said initially the district would require a self-imposed deadline in February for those interested in getting their affairs in order with Nevada’s Public Employees’ Retirement System for benefits.

But during the discussion, there was confusion with the language in the agenda item, and Trustee Molly Walt asked for clarification on retirement versus resignation for employees who had completed over those who had worked in the district for one year. Board members questioned whether employees might view the incentive as an early exit and an opportunity to seek employment elsewhere rather than permanent retirement as they worried about filling ongoing vacancies.

School district attorney Ryan Russell said the agenda’s wording stated employees must provide their “intent to retire from the Carson City School District” and not to resign was a matter of semantics, and Sadler said there was no way to verify that an employee was retiring for the purposes of PERS.

“We don’t have enough people coming out of college to fill these (vacant) positions,” Trustee Mike Walker said. “We have to get creative with the way we look at some of these things.”

Walker recommended tabling the item until the Jan. 23 meeting, seeking clarification on the language.

Bordewich Bray Elementary School Principal Cheryl Richetta spoke before the board voted, saying last-minute resignations often leave administrators scrambling with bigger concerns.

“If you put an incentive in place for people who are leaving, that’s going to have some people who, they know it’s coming anyway, but they’re waiting until last minute to say, ‘Let’s do it in March,’ and they make that decision, but it’s going to help us out tremendously,” Richetta said.

The board approved to table the item until the Jan. 23 meeting 7-0.

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We are thrilled to share the exciting news that Allison MacKenzie has earned a Tier 1 Ranking in the 2024 edition of the Best Law Firms® publication for our work in Energy Law. Karen Peterson, our Energy Law attorney, exemplifies excellence in her field, and we take great pride in having her contribute to our firm.

Read the publication here.

Allison Mackenzie just secured 2nd Place at the 2023 NNBW Best in Business Awards for Best Law Firm. Huge congrats to all winners—you inspire us! We are very grateful for our incredible community; your support is the reason for our success. Thank you for trusting us! Here’s to the future and the continued privilege of being your legal partner.

Check out all the winners here.

See full article here.

We are honored to be a NNBW Best in Business nominee in the Best Law Firm category. Thank you to our community for your support and acknowledgement. Voting is now open! Please take a moment to view all of the 2023 nominees:

https://buff.ly/45MKEVg

Allison MacKenzie is a proud sponsor of the LUNAFEST, a program featuring 7 wonderful films produced by women that aim to empower and inspire. This year’s stories are told from a variety of perspectives that champion women and gender nonconforming individuals, highlighting their aspirations, accomplishments, resilience, and strength.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit https://lunafest23.eventive.org/schedule/63bdf6d7b3184c00a22553f7