Free Law Information Blog

Dealing with someone’s estate after death can be difficult. Here’s a quick guide to probate in the UK.

When a person dies somebody has to deal with their estate (the money, property and possessions left) by collecting in all the money, paying any debts and distributing the estate to those people entitled to it. The term probate often means the issuing of a legal document which is called a grant of representation, to one or more people authorising them to do this.

Organisations holding money in the deceased’s name need to know to whom that money should be paid, and the grant is proof that the person named in it may collect the money. The estate left when a person dies passes to the people named in his or her Will.
Read the rest of this entry »

Inventions may qualify for a utility, a design or a plant patent as set out by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This article attempts to provide you with an overview on each of these patent types.

Examples of utility based inventions are everywhere. Most mechanical objects fit under this category. A rocket engine, paperclip and a new drug are all examples of utility based inventions. The variety between these objects is vast, but they all fit under the same category; those with utility.

Design patents are those that incorporate a design into an object of manufacture. A good example is a new design for a headboard.
Read the rest of this entry »