September 25th, 2024 by admin
I recently received a shout out from a statewide legal publication, NC Lawyers Weekly, along with fifteen other lawyers across the state. This was the first-ever effort by NC Lawyers Weekly to establish this recognition of lawyers for various leadership...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
June 21st, 2023 by admin
My recent column about estate planning documents generated several questions and comments about revocable trusts (sometimes called “living” trusts). Here is a quick summary of how these trusts work. Since the federal estate tax exemption is so high now...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
October 10th, 2022 by admin
JANET AND I recently enjoyed a small gathering among friends in Winston Salem. By chance, three of the invited husbands are from West Virginia, including me.We talked about our growing up days, among other things, and the comments our parents would say...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
June 8th, 2022 by admin
THE CONVERSATION with this young attorney was taxing to say the least.He was well-educated, with a lot going for him. He had a master’s degree in tax law and a solid academic record. He was a good-looking kid with an engaging presence. At least when he...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
March 1st, 2022 by admin
Most every parent of high school seniors knows and covets the phrase “Early Decision.” If one of your children thoughtfully narrows their college search, applies for that college’s early admission program and is accepted, the exhilarating and sometimes...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
January 13th, 2022 by admin
One of the most surprising truths concerning the trial of a lawsuit is about eyewitness testimony. It is often one of the most unreliable forms of evidence there is.But how can a witness who is there to see the event in question be unreliable?Most of...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
January 12th, 2022 by admin
Some of my fraternity brothers and I were studying that night for mid-terms in Alderman Library at UVA when we got the news.Ken Craft came in to tell us that the train delivering the casket of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander in WWII and...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
December 22nd, 2021 by admin
As some of you know, I have been privileged to write a monthly column on North Carolina law for the Winston-Salem Journal for many years. Its purpose in part is to simplify and explain key laws and legal concepts that affect people’s lives, and from time...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
December 13th, 2021 by admin
JANET AND I RECENTLY enjoyed a small gathering among friends in Winston--Salem. By chance, three of the invited husbands are from West Virginia, including me. We talked about our growing up days, among other things, and the comments our parents would...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
December 5th, 2021 by admin
AS SOME OF YOU KNOW, I have been privileged to write a monthly column on North Carolina law for the Winston-Salem Journal for many years. Its purpose in part is to simplify and explain key laws and legal concepts that affect people’s lives, and from time...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
November 23rd, 2021 by admin
Most every television market in the South provides a steady stream of the old black and white Andy Griffith shows. Part of this is regional pride and the sheer entertainment of them, but deep at the heart of them is a series of enduring value stories...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
October 22nd, 2021 by admin
Prequel to On the Way to the CourthouseMy Courthouse pieces are sent to a wide circle of friends and other readers. One of those readers asked me to submit a piece for a podcast series with which he is associated, Luck and Opportunity. I am pleased a...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
October 6th, 2021 by admin
One of the smartest people in the world in our lifetime was Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple. He was a brilliant and driven leader who had the innate ability to see around life’s corner and see matters before others saw them, and who seemingly...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
August 25th, 2021 by admin
When I was in high school the city where I grew up had been given a real deal on a nine-hole golf course that was owned and operated by a country club in the heart of the city. The course was in a very nice and established neighborhood. The club was...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
June 4th, 2021 by admin
You and the Law: Send Mike Wells a QuestionMondays at 6 p.m. on WTOBAttorney Mike Wells of Wells Law practices in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, elder law planning, complex civil litigation, workers’ compensation, personal injury...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
May 21st, 2021 by admin
One of the most valuable lessons I learned about being a lawyer I learned before I started law school.I worked as a runner for a law firm in college. One of the lawyers was particularly bright, and he was well regarded for his intellect. He had graduated...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
May 4th, 2021 by admin
Will Rogers (among others) is credited with saying it’s not the things we know that are the problem. It’s what we think we know “that just ain’t so.”Daniel Kahneman, a brilliant analyst and psychology professor at Princeton, later won a Nobel Prize for...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
April 6th, 2021 by admin
The best legal problems, we often underscore in this column, are the ones which never occur. When we plan, the law can help us avoid many pitfalls.There is another insight which is like unto it: Legal remedies cannot solve what are at the heart personal...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
July 1st, 2020 by admin
It started with a phone call.I was asked some years ago to host a weekly pro bono local legal call-in show for a radio station on a Sunday afternoon from 3-4 pm to fulfill the station’s required public service FCC requirement. The questions of the callers...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
June 3rd, 2020 by admin
All of us would agree we live in decidedly different times than we have experienced before. Never in our lifetimes have so many people been so uncertain about so many things, and literally so afraid.The coronavirus and economic challenges are not the...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
March 26th, 2020 by admin
UPDATED 6.3.2020: Office Procedures During COVID-19As of June 1, 2020, we are meeting with clients at the Wells Law office. We have adopted the following procedures for our lawyers, paralegals and staff who are working in our office. We also will require...
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January 28th, 2020 by admin
The first lawyer I ever heard my father speak of was Andy Blair.Mr. Blair was a hard working lawyer who had climbed his way up from his small town roots. My father admired hard work as much as most any other virtue, and he had deep admiration for this...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
January 28th, 2020 by admin
The Last Valentine’s GiftForty years ago this month, my mother gave to my three siblings and me the last Valentine’s gifts we would ever receive from her. Cancer was diagnosed shortly after Thanksgiving, and our mother was in the last battle of her life,...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
January 28th, 2020 by admin
One of the more surprising truths concerning the trial of a lawsuit is about eyewitness testimony. It is often one of the most unreliable forms of evidence there is.But how can a witness who is there to see the event in question be unreliable?Most of...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
January 27th, 2020 by admin
THE MOST IMPORTANT OPINION OF JOHN ROBERTSChief Justice John Roberts has written many legal opinions for our nation's most influential court of law. But his most important opinion may be about his insights concerning what really matters in the court of...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
January 27th, 2020 by admin
I have been asked literally thousands of questions about the law through several venues over the years. Some of these questions are about legal judgments on the official courthouse book of record.But the answers about courthouse judgments may surprise...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
January 27th, 2020 by admin
WHAT WOULD YOUR MAMA SAY?It was Pete Sparks' idea.Pete Sparks lived down the street from me when I was just a boy. He was a year older than me, so he of course knew a lot of things. One of which was the way to get to the Valley Bell,where one could get...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
December 10th, 2019 by admin
Over the last several years Mike Wells has written nearly 200 “On the Way to the Courthouse” pieces. Many of them are published in various state and local publications as well, including the North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, the Winston-Salem Journal, the...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
September 16th, 2019 by admin
Friends,Following is a piece about the importance of learning to say No from time to time in our busy lives. I am pleased that it was published by the NC State Bar in the North Carolina State Bar Journal (Fall 2019), which is sent to all the lawyers...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
November 20th, 2017 by admin
Over the last several years our firm has written nearly 200 “On the Way to the Courthouse” pieces, which are reflections of partner, Mike Wells. Many of them are published in various state and local publications as well, including North Carolina Lawyers...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
May 22nd, 2017 by admin
Studies tell us our process for making important decisions could be improved, and sometimes in some significant ways. Many wrong choices could become better choices if we did a more disciplined job of handicapping true facts, and we learned to value largely...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
October 21st, 2016 by admin
Most of us have a favorite pet, especially pets we had as children. Cushman was a big brown boxer we had when I was a very young boy. The older kids in our neighborhood, Chris Cortney, Tommy and Ricky Dickerson next door, and the Corey brothers kept their...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
October 28th, 2015 by admin
She was way ahead of me on this one, as older sisters often are with their little brothers.Halloween has always been a great time for children. The best part for me as a child was the stash of candy you collected. For a period of time, your mom indulged...
Posted in: On the Way to the Courthouse
