It's spring! Time for the International Trademark Association’s Annual Meeting

10,000 black and blue suits, with nametags, in your city’s downtown? 

Must be INTA AM.

Every year I go to the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) Annual Meeting (AM). The Association bills the AM as the premier trademark event for networking, continuing legal education, and committee and client meetings and provides two social events: the Opening Reception and the Finale. The Opening Reception is generally at the Convention Centre and fairly lame. The Finale is usually at a museum and, depending on the museum, can be very good.

Here I am at the Meissner Bolte reception in Berlin in 2008. 

 

My Ladies – you know who you are

INTA AM is a chance for me to get together with all the lawyers I work with on a regular basis who are scattered throughout the world.  I have been meeting with some of them for more than 20 years. Me and my lady friends meet for breakfast or lunch and eat, drink, talk some shop but mostly, as one of them once said, bitch about our husbands (JK honey!) and laugh, or cry, about the antics of our kids.

Oh yeah, there’s some Continuing Legal Education

There are three days of educational programming but it’s hard to fit that in between the two hour breakfasts, quickie mid-morning meetings with unknown but potential new contacts, two hour lunches and reception hopping that starts around 4pm and goes on into the wee hours of the morning.

At the Wax Museum, Washington DC, 2012

Lawyers gone wild

The highlight of the Annual Meeting is the receptions that private law firms and some service providers throw. Since there are many receptions going on simultaneously, my attendance at any given reception is based on 1) venue, 2) host or 3) location. There are certain receptions I always attend because a friend is a host and I want to support them; location and venue are irrelevant. Otherwise, I generally will forego a reception in a hotel to attend one at a restaurant, museum, art gallery, sports venue or other interesting spot.

It's all in the details

As I work out my schedule for INTA AM in Dallas, Texas May 5 - 8, 2013, I plan to offer some tips on getting the most out the annual meeting.   I hope you'll enjoy the blogs and find them helpful.

The Elements Of A Good Estate Plan (Part 4)

Estate Planning

Proper estate planning should, at a minimum include: a Will, a Power of Attorney for Property, and a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. But good estate planning doesn’t end there. Preparing your affairs for the inevitable now will help make your Executor or Estate Trustee’s difficult job an easier one.

Organize Your Relevant Documents

Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an article on this very topic: “The 25 Documents You Need Before You Die”. The article springs from the fact that many insurers do not pay insurance if it is not claimed and that billions of dollars in bank accounts remain unclaimed. The reason for this: the Estate Trustee cannot make claims against things he doesn’t know exist.

The solution: organize your relevant documents and make sure your heirs and/or Estate Trustee are aware of where all your documents can be found.

The Relevant Documents

Here is a list of the kinds of documents:

Will
Powers of Attorney
Proofs of ownership of real property, cemetery plot, vehicles;
Stock certificates, savings bonds and brokerage accounts;
Proof of loans made or debts owed;
Tax returns
Divorce documents
Death Certificates
List of bank accounts, user names, passwords;
List of safety deposit boxes
Life insurance policies
Details of RRSPs
Pension documents
Annuity contracts

Need Help with your Estate Planning?

If you need help with your estate planning contact myself or any Wills and Estates Lawyer. My goal is to deliver personalized high quality Wills and Estate Planning services in a direct, approachable and cost effective way. I implement the efficient use of technology to reduce or eliminate bottom line costs to my clients.

For more information visit my website at www.hunt-law.ca

Wills, Estate Planning and Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey -- Property Law can be fun

In my tweeter feed I came upon “3 retirement lessons from ‘Downton Abbey"  http://blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2013/03/04/3-retirement-lessons-from-downton-abbey/

I was a little disappointed in it because I expected a discourse on how and why Matthew, a middle class lawyer from Manchester, is the heir to the estate and would, eventually, be the 6th Earl of Grantham.

The facts

So back in Series 1, we learned that Cora, an American heiress, had married Robert, a titled but likely impoverished British aristocrat. Cora came with a huge dowry (this was, after all, back in the 1800’s in England). We also learned that the property is “entailed” and that Robert’s father had, somehow, managed to tie up the dowry funds so that they pass along with the title and the estate only to male heirs.

The law

Back in the day, an entail or fee tail was a pretty common way to make certain that the land stayed "in the family". A property held in fee tail cannot be sold, given by Will or in any way passed to others except to the heir. So it was impossible for the family to lose the land. However it left many individuals wealthy in land but still heavily in debt. It also meant that if there was a “failure of issue”, the property could pass to a far distant relative.

"Good facts make bad law" but great TV

As is the case in Downton Abbey where there is, of course, a huge dearth of males on the family tree; Robert and Cora only have daughters. So with the deaths of a couple of male relations on the Titanic, a third cousin, Matthew Crawley, is destined to be the next Earl and owner of Downton Abbey. Fortunately, he’s a handsome young man so marrying the eldest daughter to him is not a terribly disagreeable way to keep it all in the family (as opposed to poor Elizabeth’s predicament in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice). Cue years of troubled on again off again romance between the two.


Want to totally control your heirs? Do it right, ask a lawyer for help.

Taking on Copyright Infringers on Social Media

Just because you can copy the image doesn't mean you should

We’ve had a little copyright excitement here in Ottawa over the weekend. Seems a radio station used a photograph it had no rights in and the owner found out. Yes, a radio station. They used the photo in a print presentation looking for sponsorship of a contest. The owner of the photograph asked for compensation and the radio station believing the requested amount was outrageously high decided not to pay.

Taking it to the Streets

The owner of the photograph decided to take to the airwaves herself – the Tweeter and Facebook airwaves that is.

The radio station then posted its version of the story on its Facebook page using words like “extortion”. The comments weren’t all in favour of the photographer’s rights but enough were that the post has now been removed.

However the post is still available on the Web, here, http://www.phototips.biz/2013/03/radio-station-steal-photographers-image.html

What do I think?

This came to my attention on Saturday when my daughter -- bored silly traveling to Toronto by bus and scouring her Facebook feed for entertainment I have to presume -- asked me what I thought of it. I gave her a quick lesson in copyright infringement. Sometimes it’s so blatant it’s easy.

“Clearly copyright infringement and she is within her rights to demand whatever compensation she likes. They should have had her permission in the first place. Offering to pay a “fair price” after the fact isn’t good enough. It doesn’t teach them a lesson. It just encourages them to do it again and hope the photographer is less vigilant.”

Seriously people, lawyer up!

My final thoughts on the subject were that the radio station might regret its actions. Not only should it not have used the photo in the first place, it surely should not have posted the emails where it admitted doing it!  They should have called a lawyer -- like this wise owl lady lawyer. 

Family Day Weekend February 15 – 18, 2013: Extreme Fun in the Sun (and cold)

Mont Tremblant, Quebec

 Accomodations

Crystal Inn

We have been going to Mont Tremblant Ski Resort for years.  It is located about a two and and a half hour drive northeast of Ottawa.  We have stayed in the Resort village at a bunch of different hotels, we have stayed in the tiny town down the road, we've borrowed a friend's cottage.  But this year, I think we may have found a hidden gem!  Crystal Inn Bed and Breakfast contains numerous murals and four crystal themed rooms. We were in the Amethyst room. It has purple walls and lilac trim. There are purple towels and purple bathrobes.  (I put some photos on my Facebook page.  Go have a look.  Or go to their Facebook page for even more pictures.) The Inn has a hot tub and the night cleared just long enough for us to sit in it under the stars. Then the clouds rolled in and it started to gently snow. Gorgeous. We signed up for a 7am breakfast which consisted of bottomless orange mango smoothies and the best crepes I’ve ever had. An hour and half chitchatting with the owners was thoroughly enjoyable but put us behind schedule so our first run wasn’t until 10am; just as the rest of the gang was taking their first break.

 Snow Conditions

The ski hills of Eastern Canada and the United States are notoriously icy.  Tremblant is no exception and generally in mid February it would be at it's worst.  So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the snow conditions were optimal.  Indeed, you had to try very hard to find those icy patches!  Not once in the three days of riding, did I find myself on my butt crying and cursing that I had taken on too much hill! 

Weather

It was cold.  Going up in the chair lifts was bone chilling!  Everyone had their goggles down and face masks up.  But there was a great big clear.blue sky and at the bottom of the runs in the lift lines the sun warmed you up, a bit. Monday morning it was -19C with the wind chill making it seem like -29C.  I tried to take a picture of the wind blowing Luke around at the summit but I think it was too cold for the camera.  There is no picture anyway. 

Big thanks to my brother's brother-in-law for arranging the weekend.  Planning is something I'm not very good at and committing to a ski vacation months in advance is something I never do.  You can't trust the weather or the snow conditions.  I never would have gone to Tremblant this past weekend if I had been paying attention to the weather.  Just goes to show, you never know.

Nightlife

If you really want to enjoy the nightlife at Tremblant, you need to say on the Hill preferably in the pedestrian village.  The condo the family stayed at was about a 15 minute walk from the bar scene which ensured the young adults would have all kinds of drama on their night out.  Which they did.  

We were not at the condo but at the old railway hotel Hotel Mont Tremblant and Au Coin Resto-Bar in the old village.  We discovered that there is a great bus service and took advantage of it to avoid drinking and driving and enjoy dinner with the family at the condo and a pitcher of beer at El Diablo on saturday night. El Diablo is a great little brew pub we always visit when we at Tremblant.

'til Next Time

Easter is early this year and with the tremendous snowfall we've had, conditions should be great for spring skiing over the Easter weekend.   We have spent many Easters at Tremblant.  It is often the last weekend of the season and part of the Sikwam festival.  There is also the Caribou Splash which is great fun to watch.   

The Elements Of A Good Estate Plan (Part 1)

 Estate Planning

Proper estate planning should, at a minimum include: a Will, a Power of Attorney for Property, and a Power of Attorney for Personal Care.

Your Will

As you probably know, a Will is a written document that sets out how your “estate” should be taken care of after death. It takes effect when you die. A person's estate typically consists of real estate, money, investments, and personal or household belongings.

In the Will you appoint an “executor” who gathers up all your assets (your estate), pays your debts and divides what remains of your stuff among the people you named in your Will.

Powers of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that gives someone else the right to act on your behalf. This is important in the event that something should happen to you and you can’t take care of things yourself but you are alive.

A Continuing Power of Attorney for Property allows someone to deal with your stuff like selling things or getting at the money in your bank accounts.

A Power of Attorney for Personal Care kicks in if you become in capable of making decisions concerning your health care. It allows someone to talk to doctors and others about how you should be treated, or not as the case may be. So that’s the legal documentation you should have in place.

 

Need Help with your Estate Planning?

If you need help with your estate planning contact myself or any Wills and Estates Lawyer. My goal is to deliver personalized high quality Wills and Estate Planning services in a direct, approachable and cost effective way. I implement the efficient use of technology to reduce or eliminate bottom line costs to my clients.

For more information visit my website at www.hunt-law.ca

The Elements of A Good Estate Plan (Part 2)

Estate Planning

Proper estate planning should, at a minimum include: a Will, a Power of Attorney for Property, and a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. But good estate planning doesn’t end there.  There are lots of other things you should consider. Just as you make TO DO lists in your personal and business life, you should make TO DO lists to deal with your death.


In no particular order:

Power of Attorney for Personal Care

Think about is how you want to be treated if you should become seriously ill. That Person who has the authority to direct the doctors (the Power of Attorney for Personal Care) should know what you want. There are lots of places that can help you put this into words. I suggest you start with the Five Wishes program for ideas. Once you’ve figured it out, talk to your family so they know what you want.

Inventory Your Assets

Take an inventory of all your stuff. Make lists. Decide to whom you’d like to give things to. When I’m with a client I have to ask this question. I dread it because if they decide to start dealing with each thing in the Will, it makes my work so much harder.


Nevertheless, if a client says they have nothing special, I don’t let it go at that. If I’m at the client’s home, I look around and point at something that catches my eye. Then I ask about it. This one time I’m sitting at the dining table with the client and her two adult children. I ask the question. The children roll their eyes. On the wall above the client is a collection of carousel horses. Those horses are lovely I say. What about them? She shrugs; kids roll their eyes. Later as we’re wrapping up, I ask her if she has any questions. She says: I want so and so to have the horses. The kids are like “what!?”. When I come back a few days later to sign off the Will, the only thing she’s interested in is making sure I put in the horse collection. All I can think is I’m glad it wasn’t the parrots that caught my eye!

Look out for your pets

All joking aside, single people should worry about what will happen to their pets. It’s inhumane not to. Providing for a pet in a Will is, frankly, no different than providing for young children. Appoint someone to look after the pet and make sure there’s money to cover the expenses. I don’t consider that eccentric. I “inherited” a cat once. My friend’s mother died and all of a sudden my friend developed acute cat allergies! Regrettably no trust fund had been set up for it and I ended up footing the bills for this rather unpleasant animal.

Intangible Assets

An often forgotten asset is Airmiles, Frequent Flyer Points and the like. Frequent flyer miles and other points are a liability for the issuer so be aware that they make it complicated to bequeath them. In fact, by some estimates, 25 to 30 percent of accumulated miles end up expiring when the "owner" dies, letting issuers off the hook for the cost of redeeming them. Check the fine print of your issuer’s policy in the program rules sections of their Web site. Many policies DO NOT allow for any transfer. Others allow the transfer but charge fees for it.

Need Help with your Estate Planning?

If you need help with your estate planning contact myself or any Wills and Estates Lawyer. My goal is to deliver personalized high quality Wills and Estate Planning services in a direct, approachable and cost effective way. I implement the efficient use of technology to reduce or eliminate bottom line costs to my clients.

For more information visit my website at www.hunt-law.ca