{"id":3664,"date":"2016-01-22T01:57:28","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T07:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/?p=3664"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:28:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T20:28:28","slug":"january-22-2016-weekly-round-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2016\/01\/22\/january-22-2016-weekly-round-up\/","title":{"rendered":"January 22, 2016 Weekly Round Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’ve survived another week! \u00a0This was not a particularly busy week for ag law, with the exception of the WOTUS issue, where the drama moved to the White House and only continues. \u00a0Check it out.<\/p>\n

* US Congress Passes Joint Resolution to Nullify EPA’s New WOTUS Rule, Obama Vetoes.<\/strong> \u00a0The House and Senate passed a Joint Resolution stating that the EPA\/Corps of Engineers new regulation defining “waters of the United States” “shall have no force or effect.” \u00a0This would essentially maintain the status quo regarding the WOTUS definition unless the EPA tried a new rule making process. \u00a0Before you get too excited, President Obama vetoed the measure shortly after it arrived on his desk. \u00a0Reports are that WOTUS opponents do not have the votes necessary to override the veto. \u00a0This means that currently, the WOTUS rule remains in place but is stayed nationally based on litigation in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. \u00a0[Read articles\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo via Jennifer Blackburn, Lubbock, TX<\/p><\/div>\n

* Remember To Send Necessary Form 1099s.<\/strong> \u00a0The deadline for sending 1099 forms to anyone who performed over $700 in services for you in 2015. \u00a0For example, custom harvesters, fence builders, tree trimmers, accountants, attorneys….all of these folks are prime candidates for needing 1099 forms. \u00a0I wrote an article last year discussing this issue and it received a lot of “I never knew that!” comments in response. \u00a0To brush up on the rules, click here<\/a>. \u00a0The deadline is January 31, 2016.<\/p>\n

* What Farmers Need to Know About Security Interests.<\/strong> \u00a0I try and stay far away from security interests after that being by far my least favorite topic on the bar exam. \u00a0Thankfully, my friends\u00a0at the University of Maryland Ag Law Blog recently wrote a blog post outlining what farmers need to know about security interests at a very basic, understandable level. \u00a0[Read post here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

\u00a0* Equal v. Fair Estate Planning.<\/strong> \u00a0Wealth Management had an article this week discussing the difference between\u00a0fair and equal shares when it comes to bequeathing your assets. \u00a0This question often arises for farm and ranch families, particularly if there is one child who has remained at home working on the farm and another who has moved to town. \u00a0It may be that leaving the farm in equal shares would not be a fair distribution, and, likewise, a fair distribution might not be equal. \u00a0As this article mentions, there are a variety of factors to take into consideration in evaluating this issue. \u00a0Most importantly, folks need to have an estate plan in place! [Read article here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

* Don’t Want Your Ex To Get Rich? Update Your Beneficiaries!<\/strong> \u00a0This is a topic I preach and preach on, and a lot of people seem shocked when I am done. \u00a0Remember that there are certain assets (often substantial ones) that pass outside of your estate. \u00a0For example, a 401K or life insurance policy required you to designate a beneficiary when it was started. \u00a0Regardless of what has happened since that time and regardless of what your will says, the beneficiary designation will govern distribution. \u00a0This could mean that if you designated your ex girlfriend\/boyfriend as your beneficiary 10 years ago and have since parted ways, he or she could get rich when you die unless you update your beneficiary designations. \u00a0[Read article here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ve survived another week! \u00a0This was not a particularly busy week for ag law, with the exception of the WOTUS issue, where the drama moved to the White House and only continues. \u00a0Check it out. * US Congress Passes Joint Resolution to Nullify EPA’s New WOTUS Rule, Obama Vetoes. \u00a0The House and Senate passed a Joint Resolution stating that the EPA\/Corps of Engineers new regulation defining “waters of the United States” “shall have no force or effect.” \u00a0This would essentially maintain the status quo regarding the WOTUS definition… Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2444,"featured_media":3684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,10,35,4,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estate-planning","category-federal-regulations","category-tax-issues","category-weekly-round-up","category-wotus"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJanuary 22, 2016 Weekly Round Up - Texas Agriculture Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2016\/01\/22\/january-22-2016-weekly-round-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"January 22, 2016 Weekly Round Up - Texas Agriculture Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We’ve survived another week! \u00a0This was not a particularly busy week for ag law, with the exception of the WOTUS issue, where the drama moved to the White House and only continues. \u00a0Check it out. * US Congress Passes Joint Resolution to Nullify EPA’s New WOTUS Rule, Obama Vetoes. \u00a0The House and Senate passed a Joint Resolution stating that the EPA\/Corps of Engineers new regulation defining “waters of the United States” “shall have no force or effect.” \u00a0This would essentially maintain the status quo regarding the WOTUS definition... 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