Legal

I have three short bits for your review. It will only take a minute, but still important stuff.

Plutus Awards: The Plutus guys wanted me to inform my readers nominations are closing July 31st. If you haven’t made your nominations known do so quickly or forever hold your piece. I’d encourage you to consider this blog for Blog of the Year. It’s okay if you choose someone else, but if you do my cat Pinky will have a stern “meow” for you.

Copyright Issues: A lot of things go on behind the scenes of a blog; what you see is only the tip of the iceberg. One of the increasing demands on my time involves copyright issues. Many of the tax issues I cover (and other subject matter, too) is in demand by certain media outlets and academic papers. Several requests per week show up. I point them to my post allowing use of my material. Not good enough, they say. They need copyright paperwork in place. This requires reading contracts which is very time consuming.

Over the years I have used attorneys for a variety of needs. When I started a hedge fund the initial deposit was $25,000 and I was happy to pay it. We laugh at lawyer jokes and sometimes lawyers deserve the bad rap they get, but most of the time attorneys are a powerful part of your team preventing expensive problems before they happen. There is a reason why they are called counselors.

I encourage landlords and business owners to keep a relationship with an attorney. Buying and selling a property requires an attorney in my opinion and landlord/tenant issues can be reduced when a lawyer is consulted before actions are taken. There are also the surprise attorney needs. Who do you call when arrested for a DUI? (The first person who says Ghostbusters will be escorted out the door.) You don’t plan on certain events in life; they just land in your lap. Business owners and landlords have greater legal needs, but the average guy on the street finds himself in need of professional help a time or two in life as well (wills, probate, trusts, sale of property, et cetera).