Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Life Insurance and Divorce
Does your divorcing client's Statement of Net Worth reflect the fair market value of the life insurance policies he or she owns? This seems like a simple question, but in certain circumstances it may actually be quite complex.
Traditionally, when reviewing a client's policies, most practitioners have first asked themselves, 'Is this a term or permanent life insurance product (universal life, whole life or variable life)?' If it is a term policy, the practitioner concludes that it is worth no more than the unexpended portion of the last annual premium. This is a fair conclusion in most circumstances, assuming the insured is in reasonably good health, and barring an unfortunate incident. If it is a permanent-type product, the practitioner often concludes the policy is worth no more than its cash surrender value, in lock step with the conventional manner of thinking about this issue. Opposing counsel accepts this logic, in compliance with tradition.
To be sure, the Statement of Net Worth in use today asks the policy owner to list the cash surrender value of the policy. There are times, however, when this bowing to convention could potentially leave a significant number of dollars on the table. If you have a client who is ill, retired or approaching retirement age, the situation may be right for a life settlement transaction, which returns a value greater than a policy's cash surrender value, but less than the net death benefit. (A death benefit is the amount an insurance company pays to a policyholder's beneficiary when the insured dies. The net death benefit is the amount specified in the insurance policy or annuity contract, minus any unpaid premiums that are due and minus any outstanding loan balances. In the case of variable life insurance or variable annuities, investment gains and losses can impact the amount of the death benefit.)
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?