Problems With Guardianship System Is Focus of John Oliver Show
John Oliver recently highlighted problems with the guardianship system on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The comedian provided a scary and funny explanation of how guardianship works, ending with a public service announcement by William Shatner, Lily Tomlin and others explaining steps you can take to avoid the guardianship. The show focuses on the abuses of a professional...
Read MoreWhen Can an Adult Child Be Liable for a Parent’s Nursing Home Bill?
Although a nursing home cannot require a child to be personally liable for their parent’s nursing home bill, there are circumstances in which children can end up having to pay. This is a major reason why it is important to read any admission agreements carefully before signing. Federal regulations prevent a nursing home from requiring a third party to be personally liable as a condition of...
Read MoreCourt Overturns Obama Rule Protecting Investors Saving for Retirement
A U.S. court of appeal has struck down a Department of Labor (DOL) rule that was intended to prevent financial advisers from steering their clients to bad retirement investments, but the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed new regulations to at least partially address the same problem. Prompted by concern that many financial advisors have a sales incentive to recommend to their...
Read MoreTrademark Rights
Q. The publishing agreement for my first novel requires I assign my rights “in perpetuity in any series titles including any trademark, service mark or trade dress rights.” What is this all about? Should I agree? A. It’s all about IP – intellectual property. If this agreement is for a single novel, then no, you shouldn’t agree. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, that identifies...
Read MoreReturn of Rights
Q. My novel is out of print. How do I get my rights back? A. Have you read your publishing agreement? In a typical trade publishing agreement, the author assigns exclusive print and certain subsidiary rights (negotiable) to the publisher for the term of the agreement. The author still owns the copyright, but the author cannot exercise the assigned rights unless those rights are “reverted” to...
Read More