Legal Knowledge
How To Avoid Using a Descriptive Trademark
Can you imagine spending years of your life working to build the perfect image of your company, products, or services only to realize that you cannot successfully protect the brand that you have so carefully built? That is where the importance of selecting a trademark...
What Are Pre-Incorporation Agreements?
All businesses are started with an idea, and it only takes one person to believe in that idea before business planning commences. Before any work can be done to make that idea a reality, it is very important that some pre-incorporation planning take place. The...
Lower Premiums and Higher Payouts: How Survivorship Life Insurance Policies May Help in Estate Planning
Key Takeaways: Survivorship life insurance offers greater death benefits at lower costs than typical life insurance because the benefits are not paid until two or more policyholders have died. Because survivorship life insurance lists someone other than the decedent’s...
POA 101: Who Has The Power?
When you sit down with an attorney to go through the fundamentals of the estate planning process, one of the questions you will almost certainly be faced with is this: who would you like to designate as your power of attorney. You may be unfamiliar with this legal...
Estate Planning: Tips For Having “The Talk” With Parents
Some people are planners by nature. They have their will and power of attorney drawn up before their first child is even born, and they pre-purchase burial plots long before retirement. If your parents are the planning sort, having “the talk” will probably be more of...
Building “Trust” Into Your Trust
According to the dictionary, the definition of the word trust is a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” When it comes to legal matters, it takes on a whole other meaning. However, you’ll still want significant “trust”...
Estate Planning Is For Everyone (Even You!)
Taking the time to learn about estate planning is one of the kindest gifts you can give to family and other loved ones. While no one wants to think about their own mortality, most people find great comfort and peace of mind once their affairs are in order. This is one...
Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way Forward
When it comes to the estate planning process, one document gets the lion’s share of the limelight: the last will and testament. Often the catalyst for drama in books, films, and soap operas, this legal record is actually a must-have in the real world. While many...
Taxation for Foreign Real Estate Investors
If you are a non-US person living outside the US and are considering investing in US real estate it's important to understand taxation for foreign real estate investors. It's equally important to remember that the information is not a substitute for personal tax...
The Decision in Google v. Oracle
Six months after oral arguments were heard in the matter of Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has issued a decision.[1] However, despite the nearly unprecedented level of speculation that surrounded what the impact of...
What’s in a Name? Avoiding Promoter Liability in Pre-Incorporation Contracts in Presley v. Ponce Plaza
A corporation must file the necessary paperwork with the Secretary of State to be incorporated. The incorporation process might take some time, and while this process is pending, the individuals forming the corporation may need to sign purchase orders, leases, or...
Can Computer Code by Copyrighted?
The issue of whether or not computer code is subject to copyright protection has finally reached the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).[1] Although the particular court case surrounding this controversial issue has only been making its way through the...
Special Rules for Rental Applications for Members of the Armed Forces
Military members are afforded certain protections and benefits while in active duty, including protections relating to housing and accommodations. For this reason, landlords need to be aware of the laws that can affect the landlord’s relationship with its military...
Sarbanes Oxley & “Adequate Internal Controls”: Safeguarding Confidential Information in an SEC-Mandated Blackout
In 2002, the United States Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the “Act”) of 2002 to combat corporate and accounting fraud.[1] The Act was passed in response to a series of corporate bankruptcies and other scandals that occurred in previous years, the Enron...
Landlord and Tenant Obligations to Maintain Residential Property in Florida
The landlord-tenant relationship involves more than the exchange of rent payments for access to residency. In Florida, when a landlord and tenant enter into a lease agreement, they agree to be bound by a plethora of terms, whether express in the agreement or imputed...
Can a Landlord ask for Proof of a Dog’s ADA Service Animal Status?
Service dogs[1] aid people with disabilities so that they can fully participate in daily life routines and activities. Dogs can be trained to perform many significant tasks to assist people with disabilities. These service dogs offer support to people with physical...
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