​By Terri North, Legal Strategies, PC

Most people are aware that under Proposal A, the property taxes on your principal residence are discounted. In order to obtain that discount, it is necessary to file a Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit.

By signing the affidavit, you are swearing to the following under oath and penalty of perjury: 

• You own and occupy the property as your principal residence
• You have "not claimed a substantially similar exemption/deduction/credit on property in another state..."

A property owner may claim only one piece of property as his principal residence.

The Michigan Legislature recently amended the law to create stronger penalties for those who try to claim two or more homestead exemptions.
​
The law now provides that a person who violates the law with the intent to wrongfully obtain an exemption is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by:

• Imprisonment of not more than 1 year and
• A fine of not more than $5,000.00 or public service of not more than 1,500 hours, or both.

The same penalties can be imposed for knowingly swearing to an affidavit that contains a false statement with an intent to defraud the state or a local municipality.

There are some exceptions to the exemption rules, such as those for a married couple who files separate income tax returns, or active duty military personnel. Be sure you know those rules before you sign under oath on the Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit.

* This blog was originally posted by Legal Strategies, PC.

A good pool of prospects is one of the keys to a successful selling career.  Knowing how to prospect effectively keeps a career vital, and is truly the lifeblood of sales.  Yet, so many sales professionals overlook the crucial element of having a prospecting plan.  With a plan to follow, you can measure your efforts and results. 

The Mix

A good prospecting plan includes several types of activities.  Some examples include:  cold phone calls, referrals, talks, mailings and networking.  While most salespeople have a variety of activities available to them, they tend to use only a few, either because they have a certain comfort level with some activities, or a discomfort with others.  Mixing your activities takes the pressure of any one activity to provide your livelihood.  If you're not comfortable with an approach, invest time to improve your skills, and ultimately your comfort level, to make other activities work for you.
The Action

Prospecting activities are either active or passive.  Active prospecting gives you complete control over how the activity is carried out.  For example, making cold call is active.  You control who you call, how often you call, how many calls you make, and what you say. Advertising is passive ¬ you can't control whether a piece gets to its intended destination, is read, or generates a response.  Although you can increase your response rate by offering free samples, a bonus or other premium, you give up most control by advertising. 
To achieve desired results, mix your active and passive prospecting.  Passive activities may be more comfortable, but comfort may not be the answer to your prospecting challenge. 

The Plan

When you've decided which activities to pursue, put them on your calendar.  Schedule your activities according to time, budget, resources and target audience considerations. And be sure to put your preparation activities (preparing a seminar, writing your newsletter or composing your mailing) in no-pay time.  A budget should accompany your prospecting calendar.  Will there be labor, equipment, facility or print costs?  These elements all factor into your choice of prospecting activities and their weight in your mix. 

The Results

Once you've chosen your mix, planned your actions, scheduled your activities and carried out your plan, what were the results?  Where did your leads come from, and which activities generated the leads that translated into appointments?  Although different activities may produce varying results, you'll probably find that a plan that reflects a variety of methods will pay off.  And you may even find success with an activity you thought wouldn't work for you, or that you were reluctant to try. 

Each prospecting plan is unique, but all have elements in common:  they should include a mix of activities that are feasible for your situation and have action steps for those activities based on resources available and scheduling constraints.  As the saying goes, "If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?" 

​by Brian Barwig, SSR Law

At Schock Solaiman Ramdayal, PLLC, my colleagues and I have dedicated our practice to representing clients across a variety of practice areas with great sensitivity to our clients’ individual needs since our founding in 2013. As elder law attorneys, our expertise lies especially within the realm of navigating these cases with the needs of the elderly in mind—whether this be in the form of special needs accommodations, estate planning, wealth preservation or veteran’s benefits acquisition.

As our practice continues to grow and our client base expands accordingly, we have recently begun to wonder how best to provide the communities we serve with a resource that could be used by our clients and their families. With a number of our clients being former servicemen and servicewomen, our goal was to not only provide something that could be provided to our general client base, but also catered to our former members of the armed forces as a sort of “thank you” for their service and sacrifice.

In Eastern Michigan in particular, there is a large and connected community comprised of active servicemen, veterans, and their friends and families that look to one another for support and guidance. With this in mind, we have recently published a resource guide for veterans living in Eastern Michigan. Our resource guide can be viewed on our website at https://www.ssrlawoffice.com/veterans-resources/.

What is the Purpose of This Resource Guide?

Unfortunately, we have all heard too many stories of our country’s veterans being under-serviced or otherwise neglected by the communities that they reside in. Too often, these veterans do not know how to best seek out the resources they need, where to find them within their communities or what type of assistance they may require.

By examining what our veteran clients identify as their biggest needs in their day-to-day lives, we have compiled a list of businesses, services and organizations that align with these needs and also offer specialized care to veterans. These include, but are not limited to:

• Alcohol & Drug Abuse Rehabilitation
• Education Resources
• Housing Assistance
• Legal Services
• Medical and Healthcare Providers

Each business and organization listed within our informational guide have been vouched for their service to veterans, and can be easily utilized by veterans and/or military personnel in Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, Monroe, St. Clair, Lapeer, Livingston, Washtenaw, Genesee and surrounding counties.

As mentioned before, these services span a variety of categories, and can be easily viewed and sorted based on the needs of a veteran and his/her family. Whether it is any kind of assistance, a desire to become more involved in an American Legion chapter, or perhaps a desire to return to educational or vocational training, our veteran’s resource guide is meant to empower and support the men and women who serve (and have served) our country.

Many of the businesses listed are not only committed to their respect and services that they provide to veterans, but are also supportive of the local communities that surround them as well. It is our hope that by recognizing these businesses, we can continue with dedicating ourselves to honoring the sacrifices that our active servicemen and veterans have made.

About Schock, Solaiman Ramdayal, PLLC

Schock Solaiman Ramdayal, PLLC has represented clients across a number of practice areas since their founding, but their true expertise lies in their specialized understanding of elder law and how that can affect trial proceedings. From estate planning to Veterans Benefits, their team of expert attorneys have kept the interests of our community’s elderly and veterans at the forefront of their practice since 2013. They have become leaders within Eastern Michigan in the fight for the rights of the elderly and veterans, exhibiting both compassion and conviction in each case they represent.

For more information about their veteran’s resource guide or for questions about legal services, visit the SSR Law Office website at https://www.ssrlawoffice.com, or contact them by phone at (586) 239-0871 for a free initial consultation today.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2018
Zade Alsawah
(313) 505-4810
Allison Green
(202) 834-2281
media@peters.senate.gov
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Jim Risch (R-ID) introduced bipartisan legislation to provide additional cybersecurity resources to small businesses. The bill would create cybersecurity assistance units at Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) throughout the country. The new assistance units will serve as a point-of-contact for small businesses that suffer a cyber-attack, helping businesses find a solution to the problem and prevent more attacks in the future.
 
“In an increasingly interconnected society, it is critical that small businesses have the resources and support to protect against damaging cyber-attacks that often have devastating consequences,” said Senator Peters. “This bipartisan legislation will bolster cyber-resources and information sharing for small businesses in Michigan and across the country, while allowing small businesses to focus on doing what they do best: serve customers in their community.”
 
“While the internet is a necessary tool for small businesses in the competitive marketplace, it also presents a real vulnerability to their information and operations,” said Senator Risch. “Cyber-attacks are increasingly aimed at small businesses, who are entrusted with the valuable personal and financial details of their clients. For the small mom and pops that don’t have the resources to invest in specialized equipment or employees, cyber-attacks can be an existential threat. This bill will offer small businesses a safe place nearby to turn to when a threat or attack happens.”
 
Cyber-attacks can have devastating effects on small businesses, which operate on narrow margins and with less capital. An unexpected breach can result in permanent loss of essential data, customers taking their business elsewhere, or the business shutting its doors. The State of Michigan estimates that they detect over 600,000 attempted intrusions to their information systems every day.
 
To combat this, the Small Business Advanced Cybersecurity Enhancements Act of 2018 would:
 
·         Establish SBDCs as the primary liaison for federal information sharing for small businesses;
·         Ensure that small businesses engaging with SBDCs receive the same protections provided for individuals who make disclosures under the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA); and
·         Coordinate expertise from several federal agencies to provide small businesses with the best resources to prevent and recover from cyber-attacks.
 
Michigan is home to 11 SBDC regional offices, which worked with over 5,500 businesses across the state in 2016 and helped establish over 400 businesses.
 
This bill has received broad support from groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Realtors Association. Similar legislation passed committee in the House of Representatives.
 
Peters, a member of the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, has worked to strengthen public and private sector cyber capabilities. Last year, Peters introduced legislation to expand efforts to train SBDC employees to become certified in cyber strategy counseling, and improve cyber threat coordination between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and state and local governments. In 2016, bipartisan legislation introduced by Peters enabling SBDCs to work with DHS to assist small businesses in planning for and protecting against cyber security attacks was signed into law.