About Marisa Bowe
Marisa Bowe is a writer, editor, and producer with credits in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, New York Magazine, Slate, and PBS NewsHour, among others. She is co-editor of the oral histories Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs and US: Americans Talk About Love. She graduated cum laude from Columbia University with a B.A. in modern European history.
Articles written by Marisa Bowe
Rules for Contesting a Will
No. 1: Someone has to be deadIf you’d like to contest a will, there are several rules to follow—chief among them, the person has to be dead. “That’s the first mistake a lot of people make,” says Marsha Madorsky, who practices estate planning and probate law at Duane Morris in Miami. “People come in and say, ‘I want to contest my father’s will.’ ‘When did he die?’ ‘He’s not dead yet.’ ‘Well, I’m sorry, you can’t do that.’” The second rule: Not just anyone can contest a will. …
The Rules for Contesting a Will in My State
Beneficiaries and family members can challenge a will to show it is invalid. Grounds to challenge a will can include improper execution, lack of capacity, and undue influence. However, challenging a will can be an uphill battle. There is a limited time to challenge a will. In some cases, contesting a will can put your financial interests in jeopardy. The process for contesting a will varies by state. A qualified attorney can explain the legal requirements to challenge a will in your state. …
Trademarking Your Business in California
To trademark your business in California, submit your trademark application to the Secretary of State and submit the registration fee to get trade name trademark protections. California trademark registration provides brand protection for your business name and gives you exclusive rights for use in commerce. State registration protects your corporate branding and puts others on notice of your intellectual property rights through a trademark search. Businesses can also get legal protection for …
Where There’s a Will …
There are ways to contest it—but not manyThere are only a handful of valid reasons to contest a will, and feeling slighted is not on the list. “There can be a lot of hurt feelings around wills,” says Theresa Balducci, who practices estate planning and probate law at Kelley Drye & Warren. “Especially if, let’s say, the parents favored one child. But just because something’s unfair doesn’t make it illegal.” Here in New York, the grounds for contesting a will are quite narrow. Perhaps the most common claim, …
5 Ways To Contest a Will in New York
There are only a handful of valid reasons to contest a will, and feeling slighted by a loved one is not on the list. “There can be a lot of hurt feelings around wills,” says Theresa Balducci, who practices estate planning and probate law at Herrick, Feinstein in New York City. “Especially if, let’s say, the parents favored one child. But just because something’s unfair doesn’t make it illegal.” The grounds for contesting a New York will are quite narrow. For personalized …
Dollars to Donuts
Bankruptcy lawyer Janice Grubin comes into her ownJanice Grubin and her wife have been together 35 years but came out to co-workers only 15 years ago. “I wasn’t going to allow my situation to impact my career until I was comfortable that there wouldn’t be any negative repercussions,” she says. “I never went with anybody to firm functions or at conferences. I was always alone.” It wasn’t until Connecticut legalized same-sex marriage in 2008 and the couple tied the knot that she came out at work. “It was strangely …
Custody Across Borders
What happens when an ex disappears overseas with a couple’s child?A parent kidnapping their child and taking them to another country seems villainous—but it’s sometimes an emotional decision that wasn’t premeditated, says family law attorney Raymond Rafool, at Rafool LLC in Miami. “It’s more: They go and then they decide not to come back,” he says. “Let’s say somebody met someone abroad, married them, and brought them to Miami,” says Dolly Hernandez, a family law attorney at Miami’s Boyd Richards Parker & Colonnelli. “That person is …
What Happens When Your Ex Leaves the Country with Your Child?
When your ex leaves the country with your child, contact the State Department for a passport alert, file a child welfare emergency motion, and file a return petition with your ex's home country. Wrongful removal in violation of your custody order and parental rights is parental kidnapping. The Hague Convention treaty rights cover wrongful retention and removal and help parents with a recovery plan to regain physical custody of their child. To avoid a criminal kidnapping conviction or FBI …
What You Need for a Cannabis Startup
There are complex licensing structures and restrictions in the cannabis industry. Even a small cannabis dispensary requires a lot of capital. Before getting into a marijuana startup, talk to a cannabis law attorney about your legal options. The California Cannabis Industry Since November 2016, when the state of California legalized adult use of marijuana statewide, the cannabis industry has taken off. "For most people," says Katy Young, a business litigator at Ad Astra Law Group in San …
Custody Across Borders
With international marriages on the rise, so are global custody battlesTrade isn’t the only thing on the increase in a globalized world. So are marriages between people from different countries—and with those marriages, inevitably, come international divorces and custody battles. These can be especially problematic and heartbreaking. “When somebody wants to move with a child far away from the other parent, somebody’s sort of winning and the other person is really losing,” says Patricia Fersch, a family law attorney at Fersch LLC in lower Manhattan. …
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