I can get custody of my pet? There are many things couples battle over during divorce: the house, the car, the children….Fido? Many people love their pets as if they were a child. Pets are no longer just a companion; they are part of the family and are often victims of custody disputes. Pets were considered to be property, as such, the judge would divide the pet like any other property the divorcing couple had. As more people view their pets as a family member, courts are adopting new views … Read More

You’re going away on vacation for a week, who will take care of your home? Once you choose who you will trust with your home, you should also create a House Sitting Agreement. A House Sitting Agreement is a contract between the home owner and the house sitter which lays out exactly what is expected of both parties. It can cover everything from taking care of the pets (feeding, walking, changing litter, etc) to getting the mail. Typically House Sitting Agreements set forth the house sitter’s responsibilities, such as taking … Read More

Do you own a website? Are you planning on hiring a graphic designer to create the art work on your website? If you answered “yes” to both of these questions, then a Website Art License Agreement is a must have for you. A Website Art License Agreement is a legal contract entered into by both the owner of the website and the artist (graphic designer) hired to design the artwork. With this agreement, the artwork placed on the website becomes licensed to the website owner. The agreement gives the website owner a non-exclusive right to … Read More

Yes! It’s a great idea to memorialize your settlement in a legal document. Due to the rising cost of litigation, settling cases, as opposed to completing a lawsuit, is becoming more and more popular. When people decide to settle, they essentially reach an agreement on their own before a judge decides their case. For instance, a company may be threatened by a lawsuit and doesn’t want the company’s name in the news. Or, the case may begin and the parties withdraw the case from the court and come to an agreement. Whatever the case may … Read More

A power of attorney is created by one person, called a principle, in order to give another person, called an agent or attorney-in-fact, the legal authority to make specific decisions on the principal’s behalf. As principle, you can designate what kind of powers you grant, including limited or durable powers. It’s important to understand the differences between the powers before you create a power of attorney. A limited power of attorney is one that gives an agent the right to act on the principal’s behalf,but only under specific circumstances. For … Read More

A sublease is a type of arrangement that commonly takes place in the real estate world.  It’s a great tool if you need to move out of your rented home or apartment for a period of time.  If you’re going on vacation for an extended period of time or you landed a new job in another state, you may not have to cancel your lease agreement. There are three separate individuals involved in a sublease: 1)    The landlord 2)    The primary renter 3)    The secondary renter. With this type of … Read More

Life changes, and with these changes you’ll want to update your will. If you get married, have a baby or have any other life changing event, one of the first things you should do is update your will. However, you may not want to re-write your entire will just to make a few minor changes. A will codicil is a legal document that changes a specific provision of your will, but leaves all other provisions unchanged.   A will codicil is tailored to your state laws and allows you to … Read More

  Yes, you do ! Any sale of property, whether it’s real property or personal property, should be legally documented. Personal property is any of your possessions that are movable, as opposed to your home which is real property. Most people recognize the importance of documenting the sale of real property but sell their personal property without any legal record.   Whether you are buying or selling personal property, you want to make sure that the bill of sale is legally valid to protect the interests of both parties. A legally valid bill of … Read More

A prenuptial agreement seldom seems like a good idea. The words conjure up images of wealthy people negotiating their somehow inevitable divorce, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, a prenuptial agreement isn’t a roadmap to a divorce, nor does it only help the wealthy. A prenuptial agreement is simply an opportunity for your and your partner to discuss and determine how you want your finances to work during your marriage. Many couples are marrying later, with substantial assets of their own. Many couples are also marrying … Read More

Drafting an Estate Plan brings with it a lot of questions. One of the most basic, but often the most difficult to answer is “Who Gets What?” If you are single person who has only one friend or family member, then the answer is pretty simple – you’d want your loved one to get all of your assets. This becomes more complicated when you factor in all of your friends and family. Who do you want to have your collection of DVDs? Who gets your house? Your car? Your good … Read More