IAJ Law, LLC

Month: September 2016

  • Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Turn Bad

    Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Turn Bad

    Supplemental unemployment benefits are confusing.  In fact, this term has been confusing so many people that the Minnesota Supreme Court reviewed a case just a short while ago specific to supplemental unemployment insurance.

    If you are seeking an appeal and anticipate an issue with supplemental unemployment benefits, please contact me.

    What are supplemental unemployment benefits?

    Supplemental unemployment benefits are benefits that derive from an insurance product.  Some workers purchase this product while others are given the product as an element of their employment benefits.

    Generally, supplemental benefits are viewed as a pay check from an insurance company, which is paid to an unemployed person eligible for Minnesota’s unemployment benefit program under rule 268.085.

    When are Supplemental unemployment benefits a problem?

    For quite sometime, the unemployment office has been confused on whether supplemental benefits count as “wages”.  What is or is not a wage benefit is denied under Minnesota rule 268.035.

    If considered wages, supplemental unemployment benefits may have delayed or worse, denied a person’s separate unemployment benefit.

    Are SUB benefits different?

    In Minnesota, supplemental unemployment benefits are also called SUB.

    Exceptions to SUB wages

    Yes, in Minnesota, there are approximately 17 types of payments that are not considered wages.  One of the many exceptions includes payments made to supplement unemployment under a plan established by an employer.

    Just to name a few, other exceptions include:

    • Payments to or from a trust under  United States Code, title 26, section 401(a) ,
    • The value of any special discount or markdowns,
    • Royalties,
    • Non qualified stock options,
    • Sickness or disability benefits,
    • And approximately 12 other exceptions found here.

    Goal for Applicants

    The goal for applicants is to show or prove why their supplemental benefits are the same as an exception referenced above.  Again, there are 17 different exceptions and a worker should use every exception to their advantage.

    Help with supplemental benefits

    As you know, your benefit package is significant.  Because Minnesota laws on this point are very murky, please consider contacting me for help.

  • I Caught Minnesota Per Stirpes

    I Caught Minnesota Per Stirpes

    Minnesota per stirpes is not a disease.  Instead, it is a rule many people use in an estate plan to divide their stuff amongst children and grandchildren or maybe even nephews and nieces.

    In simple terms, this type of plan means we receive the inheritance from the person directly above us, had that person lived.

    Usually, the person directly above us is our parent or grandparent.  In practice, this can be confusing for estates and loved ones to grasp.  Especially if a family has experienced a divorce.

    Thus, I will  use the following chart to illustrate this process:

    Per Stirpes law in Minnesota

    Yes, a person can use many laws and documents to divide their property into an inheritance for specific people.  A process called “per stirpes” is one of many options a living person can use to divide their stuff.

    If you are in a rush, Minnesota’s per stirpes inheritance statute can be found here: 524.2-709.

    For those willing to stick it out, please allow me an opportunity to simply this Minnesota probate law and I encourage you to scroll up time-to-time and review the above graph.

    When is MN Per Stirpes Easy to Understand?

    If a person dies and they only have one child, this rule is easy.

    Likewise, if a person dies before all of their adult children die, the per stripes rule in MN is easy too.

    Unfortunately, easy is hardy the norm and I help people think through their estate in case something other than easy unfolds.

    Minnesota Per Stirpes: Assumption

    For this rule to make sense, lets assume:

    • You are dead,
    • Your spouse is dead,
    • And, you had three children,
    • Two of your children died before you,
    • And, you were blessed with many grandchildren.

    I agree, this is drastic, but not impossible.  If a person wants to understand or change their estate plan in Minnesota, simulating the inevitable is necessary.

    Minnesota Per Stirpes: My Share

    Next, I encourage people to look at their stuff in terms of a percentage.  For example, all of my personal and tangible property (“stuff”) including bank accounts, house, furniture, cars, lawnmowers, computers, and a tea collection.

    In total, I have stuff equalling 100%.  When a person receives my property in the form of an inheritance, they are getting a “share” of my stuff

    Minnesota Per Stirpes: Divide my Stuff

    Here is what people do not like about per stirpes: grandchildren can receive unequal shares while being equally related.

    Personally, I believe this approach is perfectly acceptable if our goal is to treat our children equally.  Again though, this approach is not for everybody.

    Now, if I had three children and they outlived me, the per stirpes rule in Minnesota says they all get 33% of my stuff.  If you live to the age of 90 and you take into consideration a person’s life expectancy, this scenario is unlikely.

    On the other hand, if two of my children die before me, their third (1/3 or 33% each) would get divided amongst their children (my grandchildren).  If my child does not have any children, then their 33.3% is redistributed amongst my living children.

    The Per Stirpes Example Above

    In my example above, my youngest child would get 33% of my stuff because they are alive.

    Because My oldest child and middle child are dead, their 33% share gets divided amongst their children (my grandchildren).

    This means the grandchildren of my oldest child would divide 33% of my stuff equally (or each would get half of 33%).  Because I love fractions, this equals approximately 16% or 1/6 for both of my G-O’s.

    Confused by MN Per Stirpes

    I know per stirpes is confusing if you do not work with inheritances on a regular basis.  If it helps, consider this.

    G-M would get 1/3 or 33% of my stuff while both G-O’s would get a lesser amount of 1/6 or 16% of my stuff.

    Again, some people like this idea while others do not.  What do you think?

    Minnesota Per Stirpes: Final Answer

    The final answer to the problem described above will not be the same for everybody.  For this reason, it is important to work through every conceivable possibility.

    For those who stuck with me, our Minnesota per stirpes law would conclude the following outcome for the situation described above:

    • Both of my G-O’s would get 16% of my stuff,
    • G-M would get 33% of my stuff, and
    • G-Y’s would get nothing because my Youngest Child would receive 33% of my stuff.
  • 268.095 Minnesota Law Ends Unemployment

    268.095 Minnesota Law Ends Unemployment

    Introduction to MN Statute 268.095

    268.095 Minnesota law applies to unemployment claims and appeals. Unfortunately, this unemployment law can cause lots of problems for applicants.

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    In general, the Minn. Stat. 268.095 impacts whether or not a person is eligible for benefits.

    Assuming this law pops up, every worker appealing their case should print and read this Minnesota unemployment law over and over, until they feel comfortable with their intended goal.

    Video Discussion UI MN Statute 268.095

    MN Stat. 268.095

    Three Types of Claims for 268.095

    This MN statute is divided into many subdivisions and sections.  In my experience, there are three types of claims:

    • Workers who quit their job,
    • Employees who are fired, and
    • People who believe both laws apply.

    Unemployment Quit

    For workers who know that they quit, subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) may apply.

    Unemployment Discharge

    For workers who know they were fired or discharged, subdivisions (4), (5), (6) and (6a) of Minnesota statute 268.095 may apply.

    That said, applicants must be well adverse for all three issues, just in case the issue is raised by a former employer or addressed by the unemployment law judge.

    MN Unemployment Quit Laws

    Yes, there are many ways for an employee to quit their job and acquire unemployment benefits in Minnesota.  

    Compare a “good reason” with other legal cases. If this isn’t possible, consider the following research tool: WestLaw.com.

    Termination and Discharge Laws for 268.095

    Employees accused of employment misconduct are different and utilize a different section of the law.

    The term employment misconduct in Minnesota is going to be fact specific.  In other words, I believe nearly every case is different because it will involve:

    • A different manager or supervisor or boss,
    • A different customer,
    • A job specific policy or procedure, and
    • Utilize a job history generally specific to each worker.

    Like I mentioned above, utilizing research tools mentioned above may help clarify your situation or goals.

    Employment Misconduct and MN Statute 268.095

    Employment misconduct is another significant element of this section of Minnesota law.

    In general, there are a handful of arguments that employers utilize. This includes intentional acts, duties, and indifferent conduct.

    Luckily, there are far more opportunities for a worker or employee. That said, the first issue is always determining how a job ended and for what reasons.

    Changes to MN Statute 268.095

    Over the years, Minnesota statute 268.095 has changed many times.  In fact, this law office estimates this specific rule or law has changed more than sixty (60) different times since its original enactment in  the year 1927.

    Because this rule has changed so frequently, a situation involving another family member or friend is not necessarily helpful.

    Other Impacts to Minnesota Statute 268.095

    The biggest factors when trying to win a case where this law applies is applying a strong legal precedent.

    Legal precedent is the hundreds and thousands of cases that provide examples of what is considered a good reason to quit or employment misconduct.