Author: Kelly Schwab

The Office of School Safety (OSS) within the Wisconsin Department of Justice, a vital statewide resource dedicated to maintaining the safety of schools, faces potential budget cuts that could impact its operations and effectiveness. Wisconsin’s Attorney General, Josh Kaul, had requested $2.2 million and 16 full-time positions to support the OSS, an initiative that started…

A gift consists not in what is done or given but in the intention of the giver or doer -Lucius Annaeus Seneca Unlike the quote above, Wisconsin law regarding gifts to school districts considers both the gift given and the giver’s intention.  Both factors impact whether a school district can and will accept a gift…

As a layperson trying to navigate the legal world of real estate, a lot of times the vocabulary used is hard to understand.  Herein, I define some common legal terms and provide examples of the use of those legal terms that are commonly used in real estate law.  This should help one to better understand…

Does your business or public entity have outstanding balances due and owing from clients, customers, or families that need to be collected?  Before embarking on the debt collection journey, it is important to have a general understanding of the process that a creditor must take to collect upon a debt and the laws that apply…

The officials for our school district, municipal, and other institutional clients often inquire about estate planning resources and legal counsel.  This article is intended to provide an introduction to estate planning and to remind you that our firm has the capability of assisting individuals with estate planning and other related legal issues. One topic that…

Contrary to what most know, easements, like most things, are not immortal and they do have a specific lifespan.  However, appropriate action can be taken to renew the legal enforceability of the easement.  An easement is simply defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as “a right of use over the property of another”.  There are multiple…

You realize that a neighboring property owner is encroaching upon District property.  Your first instinct is to confront the neighboring property owner with a claim of trespass.  However, there are necessary procedures to protect the District’s legal interest to the land in dispute before pursuing litigation on this matter.  According to Wisconsin Statute 943.13[1], trespass…