Legal Articles, General Practice

On August 9, 2016, a New York Surrogate’s Court entered an order requiring an attorney, who had drafted a decedent’s Last Will & Testament which was now the subject of litigation, to produce his computer during discovery.

The devastation of Hurricane Harvey will be felt for years to come. While relief efforts are underway to assist victims of the storm the Internal Revenue Service has also established procedures, via announcement or news relief, to assist those adversely impacted.

In Ajemian v. Yahoo!, Inc., (Mass., No. SJC-12237, Oct. 16, 2017) the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court addressed the issue of whether the personal representative of a decedent’s estate was entitled to access their email account. Yahoo had refused to provide the personal representative with access to the account and the estate was subsequently forced to commence a declaratory judgment action to gain the access it sought. In reliance on the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA) , 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et seq., which prohibits unauthorized third parties from accessing communications stored by service providers, the matter was initially decided by the Probate and Family Court Judge by summary judgment. The personal representatives then appealed the ruling. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the issue, reversed the lower court ruling and found that the SCA did not prohibit the personal representatives, who stepped into the shoes of the decedent, from accessing the decedent’s emails since the personal representatives consented to the disclosure on the decedent's behalf and granted them unrestricted account access.

On November 13, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit narrowed a preliminary injunction against the portions of President Donald Trump’s September 24, 2017 proclamation that restricted entry for individuals from eight countries.

What is your business worth? Today? When you’re ready to sell? When you retire? When you want to borrow money? If, God forbid, you had to liquidate the company?

Good investment opportunities in real estate are abundant. This means that narrowing your target is vital to your success in finding the best deals.

A young woman who has been sexually assaulted, or harassed in an unlawful manner, often feels doubly injured because the justice system seems to offer so little help to them.

The major immigration issues are as follows: green cards, H1b and EB5 visas, and political asylum.

It’s becoming difficult to find a family who doesn’t have a parent, grandparent or other family member receiving care in an assisted living or nursing home setting. On top of the housing itself, many families hire a caregiver for whoever is living in the residential facility.

On October 5, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed Lee Francis Cissna as the new Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by a vote of 54-43.