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My Top Blog Posts of 2020: A Year in Review I think we can all agree that it has been a truly eventful year. All of us have been impacted by shelter in place, civil unrest, and an extremely contentious election. In addition, some of us will be affected by the passage...

What is step-up in basis and what happens if I inherit property from my parents? While this question frequently comes up on both the estate planning and trust administration side, specific California ballot measures and possible changes on the federal level make this...

Congratulations, you’ve filed your trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)! You pat yourself on the back, and then turn your attention to other things while waiting for your application to process. A few months later, you are surprised...

It’s October, the time of year when everyone loves to hear scary stories. In keeping with the tradition, I’m going to share several celebrity horror stories to show what happens when estate planning goes wrong.  These celebrities, for whatever reason, did not create a...

Most of my trademark clients come to me with questions, even before they’ve decided to hire me. There’s a lot of confusion out there about trademarks and how they work. Here are some trademark frequently asked questions that I see on a regular basis: What is a...

I’ve been talking a lot about fair use lately – fair use in copyrights, fair use in business…it’s time to move on to fair use in trademarks. When discussing fair use of someone’s trademark, it’s important to remember the purpose of trademark law. The reason trademarks...

Changing a parents' trust after they’re gone is a touchy subject. On the one hand, people create a trust to make sure their wishes are carried out, and they don’t like the idea of their beneficiaries changing the parts they don’t like. On the other hand, sometimes...

Choosing a trustee for your trust is a big decision. There’s a lot of work involved in administering a trust after a person has died, and a lot of responsibility. For some clients, choosing that poor unfortunate soul is the biggest hurdle to moving forward. To make...

Fair Use in Business aka Can I use copyrighted materials in my business? Finding the right content for your marketing materials or products is tough. Finding content that you can actually afford is even tougher. Add in the possibility that a copyright owner might come...