In a recent Church Law & Tax Update, Richard Hammar reported the top 5 reasons why churches ended up in court last year.  (Hammar is an attorney and CPA, specializes in legal and tax issues for church and clergy and has authored more than 100 books.)  His findings were the following:

  1. 15% of cases – Sexual Abuse of a Minor
  2. 13% of cases – Property Disputes
  3. 10% of cases – Zoning
  4. 9% of cases – Personal Injury
  5. 7% of cases – Tax

In this report (found at: http://blog.yourchurch.net/2009/11/top_5_reasons_churches_wind_up.html) Hammar provides links to several resources with advice to address these leading issues.