| Volume 58 Number 5 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
As a general rule, relatives and beneficiaries of a person who dies do not owe the deceased’s debts. If a debt collector contacts you about paying the debts of a person who dies, tell him to contact the executor of the estate. Click here for more.
Smartphone: Photos Tagged With Location
Today, most smartphones are made with GPS sensors. The GPS sensors allow consumers to use location services, including price locators and navigation. What most consumers don't know is that the GPS sensors also tag mobile photos with the precise location of the snapshot. Accordingly, if a consumer takes a photo in her front yard and posts the photo online, the geotagging feature will assign her home address to the picture. Although the feature allows consumers to sort photos by location, it also opens consumers up to more intrusive consequences. To read about geotagging and how to disable location services, Click here for more.
100 Best Companies to Work For
Fortune magazine has released an updated list of the 100 best companies to work for. SAS, Boston Consulting Group, Wegmans Food Markets, Google, and NetApp lead out the top five of the list. The companies are known for a variety of employee perks, including: cafeterias, climbing walls, laundry service, employee challenges, on-site healthcare, and large fitness centers. Which company offers the most impressive employee perks? Click here for more.
Free Tax-Prep & Filing Options
Every year, Americans spend an estimated 6.1 billion hours trying to navigate the complicated tax code. For filers who don't itemize, there are a number of free, time-saving services available, including CompleteTax, H&R Block At Home, TaxACT and TurboTax. Did you lose your job last year? If so, CompleteTax is offering its premium federal product for free (normally $40). In addition to the free home software, H&R Block is offering free preparation of federal 1040-EZ forms at participating locations. Do you qualify for free tax preparation software? Click here for more.
Your Money
What is the return on your stock if you sell it now? Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Option to customize software does not make it a service rather than a good. A U.S. District Court in Illinois held that the four-year statute of limitations that attaches to contracts under the Illinois Uniform Commercial Code bars the plaintiff's action arising from the purchase of customizable pricing and “eAuction” software. The plaintiff unsuccessfully argued that the UCC does not apply if the “predominant feature of the [contract] was a transfer of intellectual property rights.” Click here for more.