On April 20, 2024, New York State adopted legislation that allows for so-called transfer-on-death (TOD) deeds as part of its Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget. The TOD Deed Law, which takes effect on July 19, 2024, will be codified as a new Section 424 of the N.Y. Real Property Law.

Similar to a payable-on-death designation

Careening race cars, missing diamonds, and gold treasure provide some of the backdrop for insurance issues that courts had to decide this past month.

We begin in Pennsylvania where the state’s high court reined in some loose analysis by the lower courts.  If a controlled substances exclusion applies to “bodily injury” claims and “bodily injury”

A supplemental needs trust (SNT) is an important estate planning tool for those with a special needs child. It ensures that your special needs child is taken care of after you are gone. Unlike other types of trusts, assets placed in an SNT can only be used for items not paid for by government benefits,

Governor Kathy Hochul signed an amendment to the New York Penal Law this past fall, designating “wage theft” as a form of criminal larceny. In doing so, she and the State Legislature targeted “bad faith” employers who violate New York’s Labor Law by improperly withholding timely payment of their employees’ earned wages.

The amendment covers

Springtime is the time of year to start fresh. This ritual does not just apply to clearing the clutter, refreshing the inside of your house, and completing home improvement projects. It is also a good time to organize and review your legal affairs. As time goes on, your legal needs may change.

The following five

Southern District Rules That Insured Cannot Recover Its Attorney’s Fees for Its Coverage Action

The insured, Match Group, LLC, brought a coverage action against its insurer, Beazley Underwriting Limited, and obtained a judgment against Beazley that Beazley appealed. In turn, the insured moved to recover the attorney’s fees and expenses it incurred in its

On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), issued a final rule designed to promote competition and new business formation that, when effective, will impose a nationwide ban on non-compete agreements across all industries.

Existing non-compete agreements for employees will become unenforceable. Existing non-competes for senior executives can remain in force, but employers

Michael Heller’s, Matthew Spero’s and Lawrence Han’s Winter issue of the Title Reporter was published in the Real Estate Finance Journal.

This article discusses the following court rulings and other title insurance-related developments, among others:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, affirming a decision by the U.S. District Court for the

Recent bankruptcy rulings upended the notion that bankruptcy protections are only for insolvent debtors.

In two different cases, two U.S. bankruptcy judges from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina reached the same conclusion: Lack of financial distress is not a requirement for bankruptcy protection, and the court has constitutional subject

What Happens:

Kate Holbrook discovers that her chances of becoming pregnant are drastically reduced. Kate considers adoption, but a misguided social worker convinces her that her chances of being approved as an adoptive parent are limited because she is not married.

Kate learns of the Chaffee Bicknell surrogacy center and is connected with Angie Ostrowski,

Our April Insurance Update is now available.

Dominance was the theme of this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, with the UConn men’s team winning back-to-back championships and the South Carolina women’s team reclaiming the title with a perfect record. But let’s not forget about the NC State Wolfpack’s magical March run. Led by Miracle Mike and the two DJs, the

New York has an “estate tax cliff,” which can result in heirs paying New York estate tax at a rate exceeding 100%.

The current per-person NYS estate tax exemption is $6.94 million, which is the amount you can leave to your heirs at your death without paying NYS estate tax. If your taxable estate, however,

In the current age of social media, employers have begun to increasingly rely on digital platforms to screen prospective employees.

In an effort to address the growing concerns over privacy and the use of social media in employment decisions, New York has recently implemented a new law to protect employees’ and job applicants’ social media

Marc S. Ullman, of counsel to Rivkin Radler, recently authored “FDA sends a message with two warning letters to Amazon” in Natural Products Insider.

In the article, Marc explains the importance of the FDA warning letters on homeopathic “supplements” and products that contain active pharmaceutical ingredients. Ullman writes, “During the last quarter of 2023,

Frank Izzo and Jeffrey Ehrhardt authored the USLAW article, “New York Joins List of States Prohibiting Geofencing Near Healthcare Facilities.”

The article discusses geofencing laws, enacted partly in response to the Supreme Court Dobbs decision, in depth by state.