Category: Blog
The Death of Billionaire Tom Benson Provides Insight Into Privacy in Wills & Trusts and The Dangers of Challenging Your Father’s Competence
Former billionaire owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans, Tom Benson, passed away. He was on his third wife and there was an apparent fight with his daughter in 2015 over his mental competence regarding running these organizations. Yes, predictable result. It should be noted that Wills tend to be made public
Supreme Court Expands Protections for Federal Trademarks
On June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court ruled in Matal v. Tam, that the anti-disparagement provisions of the federal Lanham Act, which governs federal trademark applications, infringes on free speech rights of trademark applicants. The Supreme Court held that Asian-American members of the rock band “The Slants” have the right to trademark their disparaging name
Michigan Court of Appeals Affirms Corporate Limited Liability Protections
Under Michigan law, corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) are treated as separate and distinct entities or “persons.” Shareholders, owners, and members are presumably not liable for business obligations as a general rule. This enables business shareholders, owners, and members to be free from personal liability for business obligations, liabilities, and debts. However, there is
Does My Business Need to Protect Its Intellectual Property?
Whether your business is retail, service, industrial, or otherwise, its logos, names, products, customers, and business practices may be worth protecting from competitors and former employees. Whether you have a successful business or are just starting out, every business needs to determine what its intellectual property is and whether it is valuable enough to protect.
Goodbye, Dower! Hello, Equality!
Recently the Michigan Legislature took a huge step towards furthering the equal treatment of its residents and their real property interests by eliminating an archaic and unnecessary law treating men and women unequally. On January 5, 2016, Governor Snyder signed a series of bills that eliminated dower rights in Michigan. Now, I’m sure most of
New Department of Labor Overtime Pay Rules Put on Hold
On Tuesday, November 22nd, a United States District Judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules nationwide. This essentially places a hold on the new rules, which were set to take effect on December 1st. The blocked rule, issued by the Department of Labor, would have doubled to
Medicaid Estate Recovery Expands to Non-Probate Assets
Recently, the State of Michigan quietly made a change to the State Medicaid Plan. If you or a loved one are currently receiving, or will need Medicaid benefits in the future, this seemingly minor change greatly impacts Michigan residents, including those in Bay, Midland, and Saginaw counties. In 2011, Michigan implemented its “Estate Recovery Program,”
For Estate Planning Purposes, Can a Blind Person Properly Execute a Will or Trust?
I was reading a blog and a question was posed: is a Will valid if it was executed by a blind person? While that struck me as a silly question at first, upon reflection I realized it wasn’t a silly question after all, and it is one that many individuals might ask. The short answer
Prince passed with no Will or Trust. How would his estate be probated in Michigan?
When a person dies without disposing of their assets through a Will or Trust their possessions are called an “intestate estate”. Michigan, like Prince’s home state of Minnesota, has a statute which provides guidance on how to dispose of a person’s estate when there is no Will, Trust, or estate plan in place. If Prince
Update: Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning for Digital Assets and Electronically Store Information
About two weeks ago, our governor signed into law an act known as the “Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act”. This is in response to the uncertainty that surrounds the ownership of electronic information in such places as social media, Facebook, Flickr, Cloud, etc. I commented on this issue in 2014 here and I am