Estate Planning Fees
How much do you charge for estate planning documents?” or “How much does a will cost?” These are the most asked questions of estate planning attorneys. Fees generally are less than you fear but more than you wish to pay — but hey, you’re not buying a flat screen tv here. It really IS about your family’s security, and estate planning costs are a significant...
Read MoreThe Forever Agency
I’ve written before about the legal traps in some agency clauses inserted into publishing agreements. Recently, a New York appeals court upheld the lower court decision in Peter Lampack Agency v. Martha Grimes, et al, a case that interprets these clauses favorably for authors. First, some background. At one time, in a galaxy far far away, publishers paid royalties directly to an author, who...
Read MoreFirst Publishing Deal
It’s arrived –your first traditional (not an e-book!) publishing contract: ten pages of single-spaced Times Roman. All the work, the revisions, the seemingly endless waiting for replies from publishers has finally paid off. And you’re grateful, right? Of course you are. Especially because your editor told you it’s a “standard” contract. “Just sign and send it back,” she said, and you...
Read MoreWhy You Need A Will
Contrary to a widely-held belief, dying without a will doesn’t mean your property passes to the State, which then uses the money to buy new park benches. Instead, local laws determine your estate’s beneficiaries; these are the laws of “intestacy.” In most states, one half of non-jointly owned property (titled in your name alone) passes to your spouse, the other half to...
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