There is an interesting article in Popular Mechanics concerning mining asteroids. The article uses a good analogy of the territorial dispute in the South China Sea as an example of what can happen if mechanism for the coordination of space mining is not developed. Since the United States has already developed some law legalizing the mining of asteroids and Luxembourg is on a similar path and the UAE is announcing similar intentions, these three countries should take the lead in creating such a mechanism. This would start the ball rolling so to speak and prevent any disputes in space over mineral rights.
We had a recent inquiry about Real ID. The issue was the spelling of the client's name on the birth certificate does not match the spelling that has been used for the client's life. Client was concerned about how to get Real ID because of the different spellings. Another complicating fact is that the client was born in a different state. We suggested to the client that she officially change her name to the spelling that she has used all of her life. With the court order she can go to DMV and show the progression from the name on her birth certificate to the name she has always used. When obtaining your Real ID you can use a passport instead of a birth certificate.
Using Trusts for Estate Planning purposes is a popular thing to do. Trusts can be as simple or as complex as a person wants. The most common use for a trust is to avoid probate to transfer cars, houses, and other assets that are titled to their heirs after their death. A related reason for trusts is to give bequests after heirs reach a certain age. Another reason we suggest trusts to our clients if if our clients have children who will never be able to care for themselves, such as disabled children. Many governmental benefits are tied to the assets available to or under the control of the person receiving the benefits. Putting the assets in a spend thrift trust puts the assets out of the control and ownership of the person yet available for their benefit without threatening governmental benefits. If you have questions about trusts, please contact us.
One area of law that has seen growth is product liability and specifically hip replacement issues. There are two reasons for product liability 1) design defect and 2) manufacturing defect. In order to prevail on a product liability case the Plaintiff has to show that the product was defective and the injury occurred because of the defect. Proving a product is defective can be difficult. One generally needs experts to prove this. However, if a product has been recalled, it is easier to prove a defect. The FDA's website has information on medical devices that have been recalled. The FDA publishes an Enforcement Report on a weekly basis. If a product has been recalled that is a good place to start research.
We currently have a product liability case involving a medical device that was recalled after it was implanted in our client. If you have any questions about product liability please do not hesitate to contact us.
We have gotten some calls recently about issues with credit history. Some folks have discovered judgments on their credit history and others have discovered different people on their credit report and thus been the victims of identity theft.
When people discover judgments there are a few things we can do about them. When clients come in we will ask them several questions such as are they the proper defendant, did they know about the law suit, were they served, this judgment among others. Their answers will help us decide what our client's options are concerning the underlying judgment and how to deal with the credit reporting agencies.
When people find some one else listed on their credit report we will ask the client questions such as do they know the other person, when did they first learn of the other person, what steps have they taken to correct their credit history among others. Again the client's answers will help us decide how to deal with the person who should not be on the credit report, the entity making the report and the credit reporting agencies, including Equifax.
The initial document we need is a copy of the client's recent credit report. That will help us determine what steps are needed to begin correcting the client's credit history.