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Changing a Child's Surname
Changing a child's surname in the Civil Court should not be a Sisyphusean task, and generally it is not, if the child is not born out of wedlock; then, both parents can simply petition the civil court either through counsel or pro se. The change is made with a judicial stroke of the pen, in just a few weeks. Generally, these types of name changes are relatively simple because they do not affect parental or substantive rights, such as custody and visitation, child support and inheritance.
When a parent or parents are considering changing the surname of an infant born out of wedlock, legal practitioners are often confronted with difficult questions of law and policy. Attorneys are frequently called upon to answer a host of questions like these: 'My child's father and I are not married, but can I change my child's last name to his father's?'; 'I'm living with my 'common law' husband (or just a boyfriend) who is good to my child from a previous relationship, can I change the child's last name to his?'; 'My ex husband, the children's father, does not pay child support and has left the jurisdiction, can I change their surname by stripping them of his last name and just have them use mine?'; or, 'My child's father did not give him his last name when the child was born. How can we do it now?'
The answers to these and the many more questions clients may ask depends on the specific facts of each case. The following discussion is meant to demystify this often confusing area of practice and provide practitioners with a basic roadmap in order to maximize the attorney's time and minimize the 'red tape' and costs that can ensue from a surname change application in courts of civil jurisdiction.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?