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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    February 01, 2000

    Wisconsin Lawyer February 2000: Legal News and Trends

     

    Wisconsin Lawyer: February 2000

    Vol. 73, No. 2, February 2000

    Legal News & Trends


    Help the elderly and disabled get their sales tax rebate

    As state taxpayers cash their sales tax rebate checks, many Wisconsin residents are still unaware that they have a share of the rebate coming to them.

    Individuals who were full-year Wisconsin residents in 1998 but did not file a 1998 Wisconsin income tax return, such as the elderly or disabled, are eligible for a sales tax rebate of $184. However, they must apply for the rebate by June 30 to receive it.

    This means that those most likely to need the money may not realize that they are eligible for the rebate or know how to get it. Retired Amery Attorney Mike Cwayna has been working to ensure that senior citizens get the rebates to which they are entitled - going to senior centers, nursing homes, and churches to get the word out - and helping many complete a simple application form. "Some elderly folks even know they're entitled to a rebate, but they don't want to bother because they're afraid they won't understand the form," says Cwayna.

    "Personally, I've helped complete in excess of 80 forms. Each one is a Christmas present to me; seeing someone's face light up because that person really needs the money."

    Cwayna says this simple public service project "takes very little time, yet offers immense satisfaction. You're helping some of society's most vulnerable get what is rightfully theirs. Even spending just one day distributing forms to the appropriate places makes a difference."

    Call the Department of Revenue at (608) 266-2772 (in the Madison area) or (877) 973-2283 (outside the Madison area) to request sales tax rebate application forms. The form also is available online at the Department of Revenue's Web site or from any Department of Revenue office.

    Revised real estate transfer form now in effect

    As of Jan. 1, Wisconsin attorneys must use a new version of the Real Estate Transfer Return form, which has been revised by the Department of Revenue's Division of State and Local Finance.

    The changes make the form easier to use and improve its ability to be scanned by computer, according to John Rader of the Department of Revenue. The most noticeable change to the form is its size; it has gone from 8.5 x 14 to 8.5 x 11 inches. "There was a great demand for this change from virtually all users of the form," says Rader. "The new format is less cumbersome and more consistent in size with other forms."

    The change in size has led to changes in the form's content. For example, the area for legal descriptions has been reduced to one line. Previously, many legal descriptions were submitted as attachments, according to the Department of Revenue; the change will mean a slight increase in the number of forms returned with attachments. Another concession to the 8.5 x 11 format has the grantor's address moved to the back of the form and much of the information is rearranged.

    A committee of more than 30 people, including local officials, division staff, representatives of law firms, title companies, software firms, and assessors were involved in the form's revision. The State Bar Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section also provided input in the final stages of revision.

    Instructions for the Real Estate Transfer form and a sample of the form are available online. The form itself, however, is not available online. For free copies of the form, call (608) 266-1961.

    In addition, several software vendors sell templates that help attorneys complete the form. These include:

    On the Web...

    Famous trials site offers legal history lesson

    Famous American Trials takes an extensive look at some of the country's most famous trials and their participants through actual court documents and transcripts, recordings, images, biographies, bibliographies, and interviews. University of Missouri law professor Douglas O. Linder, who maintains the site, provides his own brief history of the cases.

    So far, the site covers the Leopold and Loeb, Scopes "Monkey," Rosenbergs, Amistad, Bill Haywood, Salem witchcraft, My Lai court martial, Scottsboro, Dakota conflict, "Mississippi Burning," Chicago Seven, and Johnson impeachment trials. Areas currently "under construction" include the Lindbergh, Sacco-Vanzetti, Rodney King, and O.J. Simpson trials.


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