The Husband & Wife Law Team September 2016 Newsletter

In This Issue

• A Final Meal Before College
• Victory Of The Month
• Monthly Top 10
• Teacher of the Month Winner, Tina Marie Rey

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A Final Meal Before College

Cade was with Karina in the pool. He kept asking me how many days were left until the start of school. It didn’t really matter what I said because he has no idea of days, weeks or maybe even years. He thinks he does, though, so that’s what is most important. He spent much of the pool time doing cannon balls and talking to Karina about his new kindergarten teacher. I was proud of Karina because she told Cade it didn’t matter what teacher he got because they were all nice. Editor’s Note from Mark: Cade was upset a year ago because he wanted to join Pierce and Karina for school. Now he gets to feel like a big kid and spend a year in school with his older siblings. Cade is the only kid that has no memory of being in school with a sibling so this is really exciting for him.

Our two oldest kids have been away at college for a while. We talk to Kailey almost every day and have already seen her twice. Zev? We talk to Zev whenever he needs something! Well, to cut Zev some slack, he is always very good about answering our FaceTimes and he randomly called the other day. Editor’s Note from Mark: Our FaceTimes? That’s mom virtually 100% of the time trying to reach out to Zev so she can see her baby boy. Also, for those who are not iPhone users, FaceTime is a way to call and see the other person. As for Kailey, I feel like she has met more people in her first few weeks in college than I met in four years!

Zev is probably getting tired of his younger brothers FaceTiming him every night. They have been excited about getting a new video game that they know Zev already has. I joke with Zev that he likes the same video games as his 11-year-old brother. Editor’s Note from Mark: As his 11-year-old brother? That’s nothing. Last year Zev started playing the same game he had played when he was 8 years old! Do not even get me started on the whole Pokémon thing!

Before the kids went off to college, we decided to take them all out to eat. We don’t take everyone out to eat often because as you can imagine anything with ten people is a little chaotic. We do have some favorites though like last month when we went to Detroit Coney Grill in Tempe. A quick point regarding Detroit Coney Grill: Do not go there when you are extremely hungry as you will end up ordering three different meals. Yesterday, we went there for our “lunch” that started about 4:00 p.m. Mark ordered a triple burger and I ate the last of his bun. When Mark reached to finish his meal he got mad because the bun was gone! He usually doesn’t eat the bun so I thought I was safe to eat it. Editor’s Note from Mark: I hope none of you believe this. I don’t eat the bun? No, what happened was…I turned to speak to someone and when I turned back, the last couple bites of my burger had disappeared. Instead of simply admitting she stole my burger when I wasn’t looking, she created the, “You don’t even eat the bun…” excuse. Men, watch your food around your women or it may disappear without notice!

We took the kids to Kobe Japanese Steakhouse before the two oldest left for college. It was quite comical. At one point, everyone was on their phone or looking down at something. Kailey arrived late because she had to get “eyelashes” from the store. It’s funny that our boys were born with long eyelashes and our girls have shorter ones! Editor’s Note from Mark: Kailey is almost always early to wherever she is going. Guess she had an eyelash emergency!

During dinner, Mark kept taking video. Someone has to do it to preserve the evidence that we took them out when they were younger! Cade loved the sushi menu and thought it was cool to write on it with a marker. It was kind of odd for him to do that because I usually tell him that he can’t write on paper that has words on it. Unfortunately, there have been many books found that have Cade’s “drawings” all over them. Editor’s Note from Mark: Yes, Cade constantly gives me gifts of new Star Wars drawings. He has a crazy memory about what he has seen in Star Wars and keeps drawing different scenes of lightsaber battles. Then he wants to discuss each battle.

The older kids were at one side of the table and the younger kids at the other side except for Cade, who had to sit next to Mark, of course. It is always amazing to me that Cade goes straight to Mark when I am the one who birthed him! Editor’s Note from Mark: Smart kid. Finally, a kid who recognizes my value.

Talia sat next to me and had a complex order of steak and shrimp as she was very particular on describing it to the chef so that it was just right. She didn’t want to share, not even her rice or noodles. We had to order a special side for the rest of the family. Editor’s Note from Mark: Talia is a tiny kid. Why does she get her own side? First, because she is the one most likely to insist on it and, second, because her mom often agrees. When you go out to eat as a family there should be a rule that all food must be shared.

Ariella always struggles with whether she is a “big” kid or a “younger” kid. It’s not easy being number four in a family of eight so she really could be looked at it either way. Ariella has been trying to sleep in Kailey’s room since Kailey went to college because Ariella shares a bedroom with Karina and Talia; however, Mark won’t let Ariella move into or sleep in Kailey’s room! Editor’s Note from Mark: Ariella has been telling me she is going to move into Kailey’s room for at least a year. Ariella has probably brought this up over 200 times in the past year and it’s likely that everyone (including Kailey) thinks Ariella should get to sleep in Kailey’s room… Everyone, except me!

When the chef came, Cade blurted out of nowhere, “My mom and dad are lawyers!” The chef said that one of his co-workers had already told him that. I quickly reminded the kids that now they better behave better than ever! Of course, I was kidding.

One of the ongoing topics of discussion at any family event is the argument between the kids as to who is the, “smartest child”. They have all sorts of reasons why each is the smartest. Zev and Tate were going back and forth on how they were each smarter than the other because of their math class. Some of the math I had never even heard of before like, “Hyper Planes 4G Linear Math”. Good thing we didn’t have to take such classes when we were younger; although Mark and I happen to be very good at math but probably not graphing the 4G, whatever that is. Editor’s Note from Mark: Yes, our kids are competitive at times. Tate will find any reason to claim he is better or smarter than Zev. I am not sure if Tate even cares if he wins the debate, Tate just enjoys having the debate with Zev. And, Alexis, I am not sure that, “Hyper Planes 4G Linear Math” is even a real thing!

Pierce and Karina sat on the other side of me. They were very occupied with their coloring/game book. Karina kept playing tic-tac-toe and was winning while playing Pierce. She recently wrote a whole chapter book which was about getting married. Pierce ordered his food as if he had a huge appetite but of course when it came, he ate like a bird. Sometimes Pierce eats so much that I can’t believe it and it tends to happen when I don’t make enough food. Often times, he hardly eats anything at all like when I make too much food. It always seems to work that way. I do have a signature meal that he loves which is actually my brother’s recipe. Take Jenny-O Turkey Breast with Bolognese Trader Joe Sauce and mix it up in a frying pan (You can add little slices of different peppers if you like). It’s a hit at my house and super easy to make for the busy mom! Editor’s Note from Mark: Karina is constantly writing. She has a tremendous imagination. If you cannot find Karina, there is a decent chance she is on the computer writing a new story. She loves reading them to everyone. As for Pierce, I agree with Alexis. Particularly about the times when Pierce eats a lot. When there is food he likes, he will have seconds and thirds. In fact, while some kids complain about some meals, you can almost always count on Pierce to eat whatever Alexis makes… and even better, he will let her know how much he loved it.

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Victory Of The Month

We had a client come to us who was involved in an accident and was hesitant to hire a lawyer. She was in a car accident and didn’t know if the other person was cited. Citations are actually not allowed into evidence so many times people do not know that whether or not a citation is given doesn’t necessarily prove fault either way. You could be in an accident, be cited, and still be able to collect a settlement depending on the circumstances.

The insurance company accepted 100% liability and the medical providers gave us significant reductions. Our client got way more in her pocket after all the bills were paid than she ever thought. Most of all, she told us that, “our office is not like the stereotypes you hear about lawyers…. (we were) professional, up front, honest and helpful… making the process almost painless.” That feedback is so important to us and that’s why we are here to help our clients!

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Monthly Top 10

1. Many people in Arizona have as little as $15,000 in insurance. Us, trial lawyers in Arizona are currently trying to convince legislation that the limits should increase to a minimum of $25,000. In comparison, most people in Canada hold a million-dollar policy! Check your insurance policies! That being said, we did find two $15,000 liability policies for our client which we were able to apply to one accident.
2. We were tendered an offer for the policy limits from an insurance adjuster. But through our research realized that the adverse driver was working at the time of the accident and that there could be additional coverage that our client had rights to receiving. We worked with an investigator and uncovered a million-dollar policy.
3. We had a medical provider who insisted on collecting the full amount of their bill after already being paid by health insurance. After many months of drawing up litigation documents, we were able to get the provider to completely release their lien and accept what they received from the health insurance payments.
4. Our ASMI event last month was a super success! ASMI is a motorcycle safety class that offers people real life skills to help motorcyclists who are hurt in a crash with skill levels ranging from beginner classes to advanced. It’s all about protecting motorcyclists.
5. Mark was asked to speak at a seminar on advanced laws when it comes to handling injury claims. He was also asked to speak at a conference regarding brain injuries. We are excited for him to share his knowledge.
6. Fun news at our office... One of our staff members, Jenn, got engaged! Another staff member, Valerie, is getting married soon and the word around the office is that we have someone about to propose as well. We also had 3 families with kids that entered kindergarten last month including Alexis and Mark’s little one, Cade.
7. Many health insurance companies are able to demand reimbursement for their medical bills. We were able to convince one plan to completely waive their right to this. It doesn’t always happen this way, but there are a lot of loopholes out there for us to argue depending on the individual’s plan. We were excited for this win.
8. We suggest you insure your motorcycle and automobiles with separate insurance companies. If your policies are with the same company, the adjuster likely will say that you can only use the underinsured coverage of one of your policies. We recently had a huge success in convincing the insurance adjuster to tender the underinsured on both policies even though they were with the same company but the way most insurance contracts are written this almost never happens.
9. After an accident, our client came to us with no health insurance and many medical bills. We were able to negotiate a settlement where he was awarded a sum of money that covered his medical expenses plus we were able to reduce the amount owed which left him with a substantial sum of money in his pocket.
10. Congratulations to our Teacher of the Month, Tina Marie Rey! An outstanding teacher who is extremely loved by her students. For more information or to nominate a teacher, please visit: BreyerLaw.com/LawyersForTeachers

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Teacher of the Month Winner, Tina Marie Rey

Congratulations to Tina Marie Rey! An outstanding teacher who is extremely loved by her students. To nominate a teacher, please visit BreyerLaw.com/LawyersForTeachers.

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