Legal-Ease: CDLs and farmers

A CDL is required to operate many motor vehicles in the state of Ohio. Buses, trucks, semi-tractors, dump tracks and more require that the driver have a CDL. But the requirement to have a CDL excepts farmers in some situations. The way in which the farmer uses the vehicle is what defines whether it would be excepted from Ohio’s CDL requirements. There are five requirements for a farmer in place by the state of Ohio that would except the farmer from the CDL requirement under the farming exception.

Legal-Ease: Was I robbed, or did I ask for it to be taken?

Even when items are relatively easily accessible, if someone takes the items, it’s their responsibility to return them. While it’s smart to secure items and lock them up, it’s not always legally necessary in order to retain the ownership of those items. With personal property, the question is whether the owner of the item “asked” for the item to be taken.

Legal-Ease: In-laws in the will?

A question that often comes up in estate planning is how in-laws should be treated, especially daughters-in-law and sons-in-law. This should be addressed in each individual situation as there’s not an easy answer to the in-law question in estate planning. Some things to consider are whether this is the first marriage for the spouses, how long the couple has been together and if there are kids from previous relationships. Most often people do not include their in-laws in their estate planning as they prefer their family assets to stay within the family.

Legal-Ease: Perfect tender, when a Pepsi is a Coke

In the legal world, the use of a brand name sometimes can include non-brand name substitutes.

In 1921, New York’s top court clarified a law that has been adopted nationwide regarding a brand name being used to describe an entire line of products. In the case, the court ruled that some contracts and agreements should be interpreted practically and not always necessarily literally.