Attorney Southington Connecticut

A Reflection on Bankruptcy and Christmas

December 4, 2017 by Joseph Cekauskas

By Attorney Scott Garver

As a Southington and Waterbury Bankruptcy attorney with over 40 years of experience I have filed hundreds of personal bankruptcy cases for people who found themselves overwhelmed by debt.

Many will scoff at this, pointing out that people should pay their bills and live within their means. They feel there is usually something morally defective or of poor character with those who use the system to walk away from their legal obligations.

Why do we even have a Bankruptcy law? What good is it anyway?

Bankruptcy law is as old as the United States. It is expressly provided for in our Constitution and is a federally regulated matter.

There are some very good reasons for it:

It allows debtors a “fresh start” in life.
It eliminates the need for “debtor’s prisons”.
It encourages people to work “on the Books”, and pay taxes and social security, rather than “work under the table” to avoid wage garnishments by their creditors
It allows an escape hatch for those entrepreneurs who have a risky new business idea.

If it there were no Bankruptcy law there would be no Disney World or Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney had a dream of animated movies, but his business failed several times. He had to discharge his debts so he could start over. Finally, Mickey Mouse became a commercial success and the rest, as we say, is history. This story is repeated almost daily. Would Bill Gates or Steve Jobs ever taken the risks they did if they knew they might have suffered life- long crushing debt? No Apple, no Microsoft.

There was a young couple with a small child. Both worked hard but were only able to find marginal jobs that paid minimum wage. Even together they were unable to make a “living wage”. They fell behind in their bills and the rent. It was a few weeks before Christmas and the landlord brought eviction proceedings against them for unpaid rent. The Marshal appeared at their door to notify them they had one week to move out or he would return with movers and physically put them out. They could not find another place to stay. To make things worse, Eversource notified them it was about to shut the gas off. Small child in an unheated apartment in December is a dismal situation.

I filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy just in time to avoid this disaster. They will find a new home and get a fresh start to rebuild.

Then I realized the similarities with another couple many years ago with a small child and no place to stay about this same time of year.

Tax planning in divorce: Same sex marriage

October 28, 2017 by Scott Garver

The U. S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS have ruled that legally married same sex couples will enjoy the same tax benefits as traditional marriages.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2015 of Obergell v Hodges declared that same sex marriage is legal everywhere in the United State under the Constitution.
Same sex married couples will be treated as married for all federal tax purposes, including income, gift and estate taxes. This includes all federal tax provisions in which marriage is a factor, such as filing status, personal and dependency exemptions, the standard deduction, employed benefits , individual retirement account contributions, earned income tax credits or child tax credits.
As a Family Law attorney practicing in Waterbury, Connecticut and Southington, Connecticut I work hard to keep up with tax planning matters that arise in divorce cases.

Columbus, the NFL, and Robert E. Lee

October 22, 2017 by Scott Garver

It was Columbus Day not long ago here in Southington, Connecticut and a new monument honoring Christopher Columbus was unveiled at the town hall. The ceremony drew a group of protesters who believed that Columbus should not be honored because of the diseases and devastation he brought to the Native American people.

In other communities, mostly in the South, white supremacists and other racists are protesting the removal of monuments honoring the Southern Confederacy. Robert E. Lee has been removed from many public spaces

And there are the protests in the National Football League where players take a knee during the National Anthem to protest racial discrimination and governmental and police policy and behavior.

I am not here taking any position on the merits of these protests. I rather want to make some legal observations. I am a Southington Attorney and a Waterbury Attorney and have taught Constitutional Law at UConn for over 25 years. The First Amendment to our Constitution protects Free Speech and Assembly from governmental interference.

The idea of Free Speech sounds great until we are confronted with a message that we do not like.

This week a horribly racist brochure was distributed in parts of Southington. Disgusting and hateful messages were spread throughout my town.

And as much as I might hate this message, I must honor the right of these protesters to get it out. The Supreme Court has said that the solution for bad ideas is not less speech, but more speech. It is the purpose of the First amendment to allow good and bad ideas to compete in the marketplace of Free Speech.

So let’s not get caught up in thinking that our government must ban hurtful or offensive words or symbols. As a Southington and Waterbury criminal law attorney I am vigilant to protect Free Speech. When the government, whether it be Congress, the President, the police department, the state university, the school board or the library tells us what we can and cannot say, then the experiment in Democracy we call America is in grave danger.

Crawling Out

September 25, 2017 by Scott Garver

by Scott Garver, attorney at law

If a child is abused from an early age, how is he or she ever to become aware that the world they live in is not the way it should be? How is a child supposed to know what behavior is not acceptable to the larger society?

Emotional and physical abuse is bad enough, but it is often compounded with sexual abuse by a family member or friend. Sex is confusing for any adolescent, but the damage is enormous when the abuser is a person in a position of authority.

As a family and criminal lawyer I too often have seen cases like this. The child-victim grows up to become an adult with huge unresolved emotional and psychological issues. Often this results in alcoholism and drug abuse. The adult-victim falls into all sort of legal trouble: criminal behavior, failed marriages, unemployment and bankruptcy. Worse, they have kids who are dysfunctional themselves and have school problems or wind up in Juvenile Court.

I have just finished reading a very inspiring book by a Connecticut author who fought her way out of the cycle of generation dysfunction abuse. By her own grit and determination she saved herself and her son.

Crawling Out is an autobiography by Casey Morley. She spend 25 years coping with and crawling out of family abuse, Her book chronicles some of this abuse and follows her as she struggles to overcome the negative things she was taught about herself and shed the shame and guilt that were not hers to carry.

As a family lawyer and criminal lawyer I deal with some of these issues with my own clients or even opposing parties. Casey’s book raise my awareness and compassion for these victims. And as a professor at UConn in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies I recommend this book to my students in Family Law.

According to the Connecticut Coalition against Domestic Violence, 60% of emergency visits are due to domestic abuse and 15.5 million children are exposed to it annually. www.ctcadv.org. With better awareness we have the ability to end domestic violence and its ugly legacy to future generations.

Check out Casey’s website at http://www.crawlingout.net

Bullies and Abusers

September 7, 2017 by Scott Garver

by Scott Garver, attorney at law

I really dislikes bullies. All kinds of bullies: kid bullies, adult bullies institutional bullies and governmental bullies.

When I was a kid I was the “victim” of schoolyard bullies. Often I came home emotionally distraught, often crying in my mother and father’s arms.

At first my parents were soothing and sympathetic, but after a time they grew frustrated.

In those days parents didn’t complain to the school about such things, especially if you were a boy. So my father, a product of an earlier generation, taught me some survival skills. I am not sure how childhood development experts today would think of this, but he found an old pair of boxing gloves and taught me how to throw a punch, using himself as a target. After this he taught me the even more valuable lesson of how to take a punch. He hit me, not so hard as to do any harm, but enough to evoke boyish tears. The lessons continued until I learned not to cry. He reasoned that if I could stand up to a bully and not cry, the bully would lose his power over me. Dad was right.

It might seem as if Dad was brutal and cruel, and yet, nothing was further from the truth. He did the best he could—out of “love,” and I am certain it was not easy for him.

This strategy of standing up to a bully and not crying worked beautifully, I had only two more fights with bullies and then they gave up. The last physical fight I has was in seventh grade.

This lesson gave me a sense of power and self-confidence I carry to this day. As a lawyer I like nothing better than to stand with and fight for a victim.

These days the bullies are different. Cyberbullying is particularly harmful. Harassment in the workplace is common. There is terrible mental and physical abuse in families. Businesses try to intimidate each other and often mistreat consumers. Debt collectors use threats and scare tactics. Police investigators use fear as a tool of coercion.

As a lawyer I often find myself standing between a bully and my client. My father’s boxing lessons in the back yard many years ago make me a better lawyer today.

I just don’t like bullies. Sometimes I have to take a few punches in defense of a client. But if I can make it hurt back, the bully will give up a play fairly. That is what I call justice.

There are three sides to EVERY story

September 1, 2017 by Joseph Cekauskas

by Attorney Scott Garver

In the 35 + years that I have practiced law I have learned an important truth about people. As my wife says, “There are three sides to every story. Mine, yours, and the truth.”

This principle can be seen in all areas of human life. Kids are a great example, whether they are toddlers, teenagers, or adults. It is present at work between co-workers and between the boss and employees. In a family, especially in the middle of a contested dissolution or child custody battle it is in full force. It is also in criminal cases when witnesses contradict each other or when the police report is different than the accused’s version.

Even in foreign affairs between nations, or in politics and journalism, it is wise to keep this principle in mind.

It is everywhere.

I am not here talking about people who deliberately lie and distort the truth. It is human nature that good people “spin” the facts of a situation to place themselves in a more favorable light.

As a trial lawyer rarely do I see a witness admit to an untruth in his testimony. Perceptions, memory, culture, and emotions are in play in how we relate our story. ‘He said – she said’ confrontations are not very helpful in getting at the truth or resolving a dispute by an agreement of negotiated settlement.

A good advocate will listen for what is said and what is not said and how it is said. Most things are never true or false, either this or that. True is usually more nuanced.

Maybe a binary systems work well in the digital world, but when dealing with living, breathing, and imperfect people it is wise to remember the” three sides to every story” principle. That is, if we are more interested in determining the “truth” than just winning an argument.

Good judges are aware of this, so sometimes I try to teach my clients about it. Judges and juries are called upon to determine the credibility of witnesses. I want my witnesses to tell the truth and be believable by not overstating or posturing their testimony. This is a subtle undertaking and shows why legal advocacy is truly an art.

It is a subject not taught in law school.

Navigation

Offices in Southington & Waterbury: 315 Little Fawn Road • Southington, CT 06489 21 West Main Street • 4th Floor • Waterbury, CT 06160

Geographical Areas of Practice

HOME : SERVICES : ABOUT US : FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS : TESTIMONIALS : CONTACT US : RESOURCES : GOOD STUFF

Offices in Southington & Waterbury:
315 Little Fawn Road • Southington, CT 06489
21 West Main Street • 4th Floor • Waterbury, CT 06160