Even celebrities with vast resources and multiple advisers don’t always use them to their advantage. And at times they seemingly do. The “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown, died in 2006, preparing a will, and even recording a videotape expressing his wish to leave the majority of the assets in his multi-million dollar estate to fund [..]
Many people wonder about the ramifications of a bankruptcy filing. Of course they realize that it has an immediate effect on their credit, but they often wonder about its effect upon their employment. They question whether an employer will look unfavorably on a bankruptcy filing and decide to terminate them. After all, California is an [..]
Typical estate planning tools may not necessarily be the solution if a loved one is disabled or has special needs. Californians have the option of utilizing a special needs trust (SNT), which provides a mechanism to address the anticipated future requirements of a special needs beneficiary. When do you need an SNT and why? A [..]
Harper Lee, the auspicious author of the American literary classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, passed away in February of this year (2016), leaving an estimated estate of 35 million dollars. While this number may be inaccurate, public court records showed that Lee earned $1.7 million dollars in six months during 2009, while sales of her [..]
California requires all corporations, limited liability companies (LLC) and common interest development associations to update their records on file with the California Secretary of State every two years during a specific 6-month filing period based on the filing date of the original form, which is known as a Statement of Information. An LLC’s first Statement of Information [..]
An increasing number of employees are starting to work from home on a regular basis. As computer technology allows workers to accomplish their job duties from outside the office, telecommuting makes more sense. Not only does it lower the cost of providing office space for employees, it can provide the employee more time to efficiently [..]
Employers should be aware that their employees are going to be on social media websites, and not just for personal reasons. Thus, it is important to have guidelines for how you expect your employees to conduct themselves online. Most of the guidelines for online conduct are common sense, but it is better to outline your [..]
When an employee is departing from your company, it is important to follow certain procedures in order to protect your business’s interests. Below are a few guidelines to consider: Review the employee’s file and inform the employee of any obligations that continue beyond his or her termination of employment. For example, a non-disclosure agreement that [..]
One of the most important ways you can protect your trade secrets is to have your employees sign confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements. It is important to make it clear to your employees what their obligations are with respect to protecting the company’s trade secrets and confidential information. You should confer with a local business attorney [..]
If your company wants to protect its trade secrets, it is essential to properly document them in either paper or electronic form. This process is important because it can provide evidence that your business viewed and treated the information as secrets. Documentation shows you identified your trade secrets and treated them as proprietary and secret [..]
