The Husband & Wife Law Team October 2016 Newsletter

In This Issue

• Birthdays, School and Traveling
• Victory Of The Month
• A Little About Law: AZ Department of Transportation
• A Yummy Recipe: Halloween Spook Cookies
• Monthly Top 10
• Teacher of the Month Winner, Jennifer Hawks

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Birthdays, School and Traveling

Karina, our 7th child, is celebrating her 9th birthday. So what did we do? Held a birthday party at the house, per her request, and shipped her and Ariella off to Boston for time with their grandparents. Editor’s Note from Mark: What did “we” do? “We” did nothing. Alexis, on the other hand, told me to help with the birthday party. Alexis decided weeks in advance that she would send the girls to Boston. Personally? I found out about 4 days before they left... when Karina told me!

We planned Karina’s party for 2 weeks. Editor’s Note from Mark: There goes that “we” again. Actually, Karina planned most of it herself. She even created the invitations by herself on the computer and handed them all out at school even though she told me she had to develop a secret plan to hand the invitations out because it is apparently no longer allowed to hand out invitations at school. She even came up with a theme–Hawaiian. The kids at the party swam in the pool, played games and ate pizza. Editor’s Note from Mark: The party required me to watch the kids in the pool (twice), hold the piñata, and watch the kids over a 5 hour period... on a college football Saturday! It is clear, my now-9 year old daughter does not appreciate the importance of watching college football on Saturdays!

Ariella volunteered to be Karina’s entertainment at the birthday party. Ariella did a magic show and a hula dance. The kids were all impressed by Ariella’s mad hula skills. One kid tried to out hula her but I think Ariella won. Ariella has been practicing to get on America’s Got Talent! When we took Ariella and Karina to the airport they both got super excited when the flight attendant told them they were getting a whole row to themselves... I would have been excited too! Editor’s Note from Mark: Ariella is a fantastic big sister. After helping with the party, Ariella made Karina’s birthday in Boston amazing, too. She wrapped 10 (yes, 10!) different presents and gave her one every hour. Nine (for her age) and one for good luck. Sure, they were small presents and some may have been found around the house, but what an exciting thing to do for a little sister. Ariella Facetimed us on the iPhone every hour so we could be a part of the celebration!

Talia wanted to go to Boston too but we thought three kids may be overwhelming for the grandparents so we decided to keep her home. It worked out perfectly because the mom of one of her friends offered to take Talia and her friend to Mission Beach, San Diego. What an amazing mom! Talia sent me pictures of her on the beach and riding a Segway. About a year earlier Mark had taken some of the kids to rent Segways at the same facility. Apparently, our family left an impression because Talia said the people remembered us saying “Your dad is the lawyer…” How cool that her mom’s friend took off work and took the girls. I’m sure it is something Talia will remember forever. Editor’s Note from Mark: I wonder how loud my kids must have been to be remembered a year later? Seriously, though, I remember the owner well as I spent a lot of time talking to him about running a business in that community. If you are ever looking for a fun way to spend an hour or two in San Diego, that Segway place is a great option.

Kailey has been texting us a lot for help on her essays! We helped her with some research and then decided we are thankful we are done with school! Wow... college is a lot of work. A six page essay on the dynamics between government funding and a new drug. Sound confusing? That’s because it is! In the end, Mark gave her an outline and said this is why she goes to USC and offered her the tip to dictate her essay instead of writing it out. This is one of Mark’s key ways of writing motions. He dictates them and then finalizes the writing. Editor’s Note from Mark: I really forgot how interesting and challenging college work can be. I mostly talked it out with Kailey – through text and a call – and tried to help her brainstorm. The assignment was about the impact money plays on our healthcare system. Finding specific and interesting articles/examples is not as simple as one would think.

We got to see Zev for a weekend which was amazing. It’s always harder to say goodbye – harder each time. We are looking forward to winter break so we can have him longer to ourselves. He is very entrenched in his fantasy football team. Him and Mark are in a league and go back and forth each year as the winner. Editor’s Note from Mark: I think many of the other winners in the league would disagree that Zev and I always go back and forth, though Zev won it two years ago and I got lucky and won last year.

Last year Mark won the league so Zev is determined to win this year. We also have a fantasy football league with our staff. I thought Mark would win that one too but it seems the auto draft is doing a better job for some team members than he drafted. Editor’s Note from Mark: It is early in the season. I predict a great win for me by the end. And, in fact, about 9 of the 12 people playing actually drafted their teams. So the battle is on, with a lot of pride at stake! As far as Zev, that kid knows fantasy football. He is at the top of almost any league he is a part of. Me? I barely have time to spend two minutes changing out players each week.

Tate is playing volleyball and has had a couple of tournaments already. It is always fun to watch him play. Tate got his license in August and we are taking advantage of it. He has been picking up and dropping off kids at their activities, which makes me think we should have done this sooner with Zev and Kailey, although they helped also. Editor’s Note from Mark: Tate is now loving volleyball. How much? He was offered the chance to skip a tournament to go back to an MSU game and he chose his volleyball tournament, instead. A year ago he would have skipped volleyball in a heartbeat to go on a weekend trip.

Pierce is taking a cooking class. So far he has made pizza and raviolis. I wasn’t sure if he would like it; but turns out he loves it. He also has been playing Mark at soccer at the house and every game he says he is the winner. Not sure Mark feels the same. In between the soccer games, Mark plays ninja with Cade. Cade even took me on as a partner. Mark probably will keep the video of me playing ninja with Cade to use against me one day. Editor’s Note from Mark: First, I am proud of Pierce for trying cooking. The kids have started watching cooking competition shows on TV. Pierce already taught me some cool cooking tricks he learned at class. The biggest recent development with Pierce and Cade is their need to challenge me constantly. Constantly! Any time I am in the house, Pierce wants me to play him in a made-up game of indoor soccer in the bedroom. For those wondering, I do not let him win. Cade wants to do sword-fights all the time. It used to be lightsabers and Star Wars battles, but the lightsabers broke and we have moved on to battling with swords. Cade declares himself the winner no matter what happens.

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Victory Of The Month

When traveling on his motor scooter, a vehicle sped in front of our client, and slammed on their brakes. Our client was forced to dump his scooter to avoid hitting the vehicle. He was seriously injured requiring multiple hospital visits resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

After some very intense conversations with the medical companies we were able to get all of his medical bills reduced by 99%! All of the money that would have gone to medical expenses instead went to our client.

Much of a law team’s success is more than just obtaining a great offer, but also negotiating the medical bills with all of the medical providers.

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A Little About Law: AZ Department of Transportation

Did you know that the Arizona Department of Transportation states that your out-of-state insurance may not be acceptable for Arizona?

All vehicles registered in Arizona must be insured by a company licensed to do business in this state. As a new resident to Arizona, you are required to obtain an Arizona driver license and to register your vehicles in this state. Insurance is required immediately, before driving the vehicle.

Arizona residents who go out of state (including military personnel) may submit a “De-Insured Certificate” on a vehicle, on a short-term basis. De-insurance is a method of temporarily not maintaining the required insurance on the vehicle until it is ready to be driven or placed on the road again.

Failure to maintain proper insurance could lead to the suspension of your vehicle registration and/or driver license.

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A Yummy Recipe: Halloween Spook Cookies

• 2 oz. BAKER’S White Chocolate
• 6 peanut butter sandwich Cookies, OREO Cookies, chocolate chip cookies & vanilla wafers
• Decorations, decorating gels, assorted candies & chewy fruit snack rolls

Directions

Microwave chocolate in small microwavable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 min., stirring after 45 seconds.

Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Coat cookies with melted chocolate. Place on sheet of wax paper, then decorate as desired.

Let stand until chocolate is set.

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Monthly Top 10

1. Coming in for your final check is always the best part of the injury claim experience. This client was planning a big trip to celebrate feeling better and the victory of a winning settlement. He asked for some of our promotional items and we sent him off with two Husband & Wife Law Team mugs, two tote boxes and more. We were happy to see the huge smile on his face!
2. Many people think if someone takes a left hand turn in front of you that the other driver is 100% at fault. Under Arizona law, we have a “pure comparative fault law,” which means the insurance company can argue percentages of fault. This month, we had a case with this exact scenario. We were successful at getting the insurance company to drop their claim of fault on our client, got a reasonable offer, and had a happy client.
3. Congratulations to Janice Goodwin, the winner of the $50.00 gift certificate to Detroit Coney Grill! We had a lot of entries. If you have a chance to visit Detroit Coney Grill, don’t forget to try the Faygo and ask about their Superman Ice Cream.
4. We hosted another Motorcycle Safety Course. This time it took place at Scottsdale Harley Davidson. Most of the participants were from a HOG Chapter and many are part of the Drill Team. Mark did a special video for this event on the Bystander’s Rule (Good Samaritan Law) in Arizona. If you would like to see the video, email: Jenn@BreyerLaw.com
5. A driver of a dump truck hit our client causing fractures to both feet, requiring surgery. We obtained a copy of a video which had recorded the entire incident. Videos can be the key to a successful outcome. It is important to send a “spoliation” letter so evidence is not destroyed. We received an amazing offer and the client appreciated our hard work.
6. Many of our employees eat lunch together and during one lunch, two of our employees decided our law team should have a pie baking contest. We had 14 entries and the contest was a hit. Alexis and Mark made a mint chocolate/oreo mint cookie ice cream pie and a rice krispies chocolate pie. Rosi’s chocolate cream pie took home first place but she refuses to share her secret recipe!
7. A current client referred to us a family member who was involved in a rollover car accident. He was very concerned about his injuries and his vehicle. In most cases, we have to fight the insurance company for a reasonable “total loss” offer. We were able to get the property damage worked out and got a policy limits offer. He thanked his family member for the referral and was very happy. It’s always great to exceed client expectations.
8. Our client was rear ended when she was 29 weeks pregnant with twins. These types of claims can be difficult because the medical bills for the delivery would have been incurred at a later date. We were able to receive an offer that far exceeded our client’s expectations and best of all the twins are doing well…two girls!
9. Stay tuned...We are working on our first podcast episode! We will have more info in our next newsletter. We have been approached many times to do a reality show and always said no, but thought a podcast would be fun and informative.
10. Mark spoke at a school assembly which honored another deserving teacher in the Valley. Please visit our website to see all of our winners or to nominate a teacher: BreyerLaw.com/LawyersForTeachers

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Teacher of the Month Winner, Jennifer Hawks

Congratulations to the October Teacher of the Month: Jennifer Hawks of Centennial Elementary School! You can see a video of the presentation of her big check on our website, where you can also nominate your child’s favorite teacher! BreyerLaw.com/LawyersForTeachers.

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