Will Bankruptcy Stop Wage Garnishment in NY?

If you’re a New Yorker and your wages are being garnished, filing for bankruptcy may be a way to stop this from happening and to keep all of your wages. 

A wage garnishment immediately ceases upon the filing of a bankruptcy due to the automatic stay; the automatic stay is an injunction that is typically imposed against certain creditors who hope to begin action against a debtor. This is one of the perks of filing bankruptcy since either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 filing will stop a wage garnishment. This will then give you time to repay the debt. Maybe the debt will be discharged in the bankruptcy. Regardless, the garnishment will stop because of the filing. 

What money is eligible for wage garnishment?

In New York, some income can’t be garnished, including the following:

  • 90 percent of your income earned in the last 60 days
  • Court-ordered child support
  • Income from unemployment insurance, disability, and worker’s comp benefits
  • Public assistance
  • Public/private pensions and retirement savings
  • Social security

How does wage garnishment work?

If you’re employed and your income is at a certain level, then a judgment creditor can garnish your wages to collect what you owe them. The creditor files an “income execution form” and has it signed by the proper authority, such as the county clerk. Depending on your specific situation, you may be able to challenge this. 

If it goes through, the court issues an order for your employer to withhold a part of your paycheck to send to your judgment creditor. Of course, this doesn’t decrease your gross wages, but it does lower the amount of money that enters your bank account on pay day. 

While it may be a relief to stop the wage garnishment, it’s critical to understand how the bankruptcy impacts the debt. 

Types of Wage Garnishment

Depending on the type of wage garnishment involved, this will determine how the debt is treated in a bankruptcy.  

  • Federal student loans/income tax: Typically, federal income tax and federal student loans can take 15 percent from disposable income, which means all the money that you make that doesn’t go to the deductions that the law requires. However, the calculation doesn’t include rent or mortgage, or utilities; it does include Social Security and Medicare taxes. The debts will probably not be discharged in the bankruptcy; the garnishments may continue after the bankruptcy is over, and the automatic stay is lifted. 
  • Child support/alimony:  This can take up to 50 percent or more of your wages. If you need a modification, you typically will file it with the appropriate family court instead of the bankruptcy court. The chances for the debts to be discharged aren’t very likely due to the type of debt involved.  
  • Banks/credit card companies: These consumer-based types are typically adjusted or discharged in a bankruptcy, so when you file either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, it could be a long term stop to the garnishment. 

Talk to a NY Bankruptcy Attorney About Wage Garnishment

Filing for bankruptcy can get you back on track financially, and it may be a way to help you if you’re dealing with the garnishment of your wages. Each case is different, so it’s important to speak with an experienced bankruptcy attorney who can advise you on your specific circumstances. You can start by talking to a knowledgeable MOWK Law attorney. Contact us today to help ease your mind about your financial uncertainty. 

Is a Life Estate Deed Right for Your Estate Plan?

A life estate deed is a planning tool that is a part of your overall estate plan. With this type of deed, an individual can deed real estate to someone, but reserve a life estate, which means that they have the right to occupy the property until death. With death, the property will then pass to the beneficiaries. Read on for a breakdown of the life estate deed, so that you can decide if it’s a good option for you.

What’s a New York Life Estate Deed?

To understand how this works, it’s helpful to explain the parties involved. Multiple parties can own property simultaneously. The party that has an ownership interest in property for the duration of their life (life estate) is called a life tenant. They can use and possess the property and are responsible for the maintenance costs for as long as they live. 

After the life tenant dies, their ownership interest passes on to the other party, the remaindermen. While the life tenant can possess the property during their life, they are legally accountable to the remainderman and can’t sell or waste the property without the remaindermen’s permission. 

Benefits and Advantages of a Life Estate Deed

  • The life tenant has the legal right to stay in the house for as long as they live.
  • When the property is transferred, it immediately goes to the remaindermen without going through probate.
  • The property receives an entity called a “stepped up basis” when it passes to the beneficiaries, which means that when the beneficiaries sell it, they would generally pay less in capital gain tax than if the property had been gifted to them during the property owner’s life. 
  • Can help for Medicaid eligibility for the purposes of paying for nursing home care. Because there are limits to the amount of assets you can own, the deed can assist with getting property out of your name.

Life Estate Deed vs. Trust

With an eye toward protecting their home, a homeowner might wonder whether they should consider a life estate deed or create an irrevocable trust. A transfer of a deed into an irrevocable trust transfers the title of the property to the beneficiaries of the trust after the death of the trust creator. Similar to a deed with a life estate, the trust creator keeps the right to live in the house and is responsible for household expenses. 

Both options let you retain specific rights concerning the lifetime use of the property including tax benefits associated with ownership, such as enhanced star benefit, Veteran’s benefit, and capital gains exemptions. 

However, there are benefits that the trust offers that the life estate deed doesn’t have, including more flexibility. For instance, if a life estate deed needs to be transferred back to the property owner and they need to get the property back into their name. 

Get Help with a Life Estate Deed from a New York Attorney
Depending on your specific situation, a life estate deed may be a good fit for you. There may be reasons to consider this if you want to qualify for Medicaid to qualify for nursing home care. These laws are very complex and difficult to navigate. This is why you may want to talk to one of the MOWK Law New York estate planning attorneys who specialize in this subject area. Contact us right away to get started!

What Kind of Tort Damages are Available in New York?

If you’re a victim of a tort, you should know that you may be entitled to different types of damages for the injury that you’ve suffered, depending on the details and facts of your specific case. Read on to learn about torts and the different types of damages that are available in New York.

What is a Tort?

A tort is defined as action or nonaction that gives rise to injury or harm to an individual who can seek recovery through civil court. In other words, the tortfeasor or wrongdoer’s activity or inactivity hurts the victim in a way that is considered a civil violation and the courts can hold the wrongdoer accountable. Tort law covers various types of harm, such as physical injuries, property violations, and deprivations of rights. Some examples of personal injury torts in NY include:

  • Animal attack/dog bites causes of action
  • Emotional distress (intentional infliction)
  • Emotional distress (negligently infliction)
  • Medical malpractice
  • Negligence
  • Premise liability (slip and falls, defective conditions) 
  • Survivorship
  • Wrongful birth
  • Wrongful death 
  • Wrongful life

Although these violations are similar to crimes and there is overlap, torts are their own thing entirely and differ from crimes mostly due to the types of remedies available in tort law.   

Tort Damages in New York

In New York, the victim can try to recover three types of damages:

  • Nominal Damages in New York: These damages are awarded for an intentional act that does not require a showing of a loss or injury; the rationale behind this is that nominal damages are intended to protect the rights of tort victims. For example, an injured plaintiff who proves that the defendant’s act caused their injury but fails to produce medical records to show the extent of the injury. 
  • Compensatory Damages in New York: These damages are intended to make up for any losses the plaintiff suffered due to the injury caused by the action or inaction of the defendant. There are two kinds of compensatory damages, Special Compensatory Damages and General Compensatory Damages. 
  • Special Compensatory Damages: The purpose for special compensatory damages is compensating the plaintiff for the economic losses suffered due to the injury (health care costs, loss of earnings, costs of rehab) that the defendant caused.  
  • General Compensatory Damages: These damages are for the non-economic losses that the plaintiff suffered. This includes mental distress, loss of opportunities, pain and suffering caused by the defendant. 
  • Punitive Damages in New York: Punitive damages are used to show punishment against the wrongdoer. They can be awarded when the action shows “a criminal indifference to civil obligations.” Basically, it’s so bad that the law is used to teach a lesson and to discourage others from following the bad example.  

Talk to a PI Attorney about Available Damages in NY

Becoming familiar with the types of available damages can help you understand what to expect from your personal injury lawsuit. You should contact one of our skilled MOWK Law attorneys who can help you with your specific case. Contact us today for more information.   

What You Should Know about Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Divorce

If you’re interested in starting over both financially and personally, and you want to file for both a divorce and bankruptcy, you want to understand what you’re getting into before you begin either one of these proceedings. Yes, you can file for bankruptcy without your spouse. However, whether you want to do this before, during, or after your dissolution of marriage will depend on the details of your particular financial situation. 

In general, filing a New York Chapter 7 bankruptcy gives you the chance to discharge unsecured debts. But, in order for you to be eligible for filing a petition under Chapter 7, you have to meet the requirements, which is the “means test” where your income must fall below the designated income threshold. If you do indeed qualify, some of your assets (including your home) may be liquidated if you aren’t able to protect them using allowable state or federal exemptions.  

Identify your Property Interest in your Primary Residence

If you own your home with your soon-to-be ex, it’s important to distinguish the type of ownership interest. Is it as joint tenants with rights of survivorship? Or as tenants in common or as tenants by the entirety? The deed should indicate the interest based on the specific language. However, if it doesn’t, the general rule is that if the property was purchased during the marriage and a divorce hasn’t happened, New York law determines that the property interest is tenants by the entirety.   

Consequences of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy 

Be aware that as of the case commencement date, if you’re the solo filing spouse and you have an undivided interest in the property (tenancy by the entirety, joint tenancy, or tenancy in common), the bankruptcy trustee may sell both the estate’s interest and the non-debtor co-owner’s interest in the property.

Exemptions to Take

There are several exemptions under both federal law and New York State law. However, the specific ones to take depend on your individual situation. If you file alone, the allowable NY state exemption is $89,975 (it’s higher in some counties, including Nassau County and Suffolk County), but if you file as a married couple, the exemption is double, as long as you both own the property.   

Factors that Affect Whether the Trustee Sells the Home

There are many factors that help to determine whether or not the trustee will sell your home, including the following:

  • The value of the property (not the original purchase price of the home)
  • Mortgages and other liens encumbering the property
  • Homestead exemptions

Under Section 363 (h) of the Bankruptcy Code, a trustee may sell these interests only under the following circumstances:

  • The partition of the property is impracticable and
  • The sale of the bankruptcy estate’s undivided interest in the property would end up substantially less for the estate than the sale of the property free on the non-filing spouse/co-owner’s interest and
  • The benefit to the bankruptcy estate of a sale of the property free of the co-owner’s interest outweighs any damage to the co-owners. 

Get Legal Help with your Bankruptcy Issues

If you don’t meet the Chapter 7 income requirement, you may want to file a petition with your spouse that will let you benefit from homestead exemptions if you own your home together. Because bankruptcy is a complex and specialized area of law, you need to talk to an experienced legal professional who can provide detailed assistance specific to your case. Contact an experienced MOWK Law attorney for assistance right away.  

Should you Consider a Plea Deal?

Should you Consider a Plea Deal?

Plea deals are an advantage to prosecutors because it saves time, energy, and resources needed to go to trial, but there are also some reasons why a defendant might consider a plea deal. 

Sometimes people think that a defendant should only accept a plea bargain if they are indeed guilty. However, the process is more complicated than that. Although there are times when you want to mount a solid defense, there are times, even if a defendant believes that they didn’t commit the crime that they’re charged with, they may want to consider a deal that’s been offered by the prosecution. 

Reduced Charges

For defendants, facing reduced charges can be viewed as one of the best advantages that comes from accepting a plea deal. This can be especially attractive if the original charge carries significant incarceration and costly fines. Typically, a reduced charge equals a lighter sentence and possibly no jail time. A misdemeanor conviction probably won’t be as detrimental to your career as a felony conviction would. Additionally, a plea deal can also help you avoid controversial charges like DUI or rape. 

An experienced defense attorney might be able to negotiate a deal with the prosecution that lets you lower a felony charge to a misdemeanor or possibly get some charges dropped completely. 

Avoiding a Jury Trial

With the long delays in the criminal justice system, you could be waiting on a case that could go on for months. By accepting a plea deal, you can save time, money, and stress and can avoid the uncertainty of putting your future in the hands of a jury. You could also avoid the publicity of a trial if that’s a concern. Because you could end up with an outcome that is far worse than what a prosecutor offers you, it might be something to consider.  

Additional Reasons

  • Getting out of custody earlier: While some defendants may be able to get out of custody by posting bail, some can’t; getting out of custody earlier could be a reason for pleas. 
  • Avoiding deportation: for noncitizens who want to remain in the country.
  • Saving money on attorney fees: defendants with private attorneys can save on attorneys’ fees with a plea bargain since it requires less time and energy.
  • Keeping more privacy: if you don’t want the attention of a public trial.  

Talk to a Defense Attorney about Plea Bargains

Each case is unique. Act in your best interest and obtain legal insight from an experienced criminal defense attorney who can explain your rights. With this insight, you can better understand your situation and decide the best course of action for you. Contact a MOWK Law attorney today to weigh your options.  

What You Should Know about New York’s Overtime Laws

Whenever you work at a job, you want to make sure that you get all of the pay that you’re entitled to receive. One aspect of this is to learn about the overtime laws in New York. Read on for a breakdown about what you should know about NY’s overtime laws.

The Relevant Law

The basis of this important employment law information is found in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is the federal law under the US Department of Labor. Every state (including New York) follows this law and also adds additional protections for employees if needed.   

Who is Entitled to Overtime Pay in NYC?

Under the FLSA, employees are classified as either exempt from overtime pay or not exempt (eligible) for overtime pay.

Overtime Exemptions are:

  • Executive exemptions
  • Professional exemptions
  • Administrative exemptions
  • Computer exemptions

How Do You Know if You’re Exempt from Overtime Pay?

To determine your status, the first thing to do is to see if you meet the weekly salary requirement, which is at least $684 weekly. If you get at least this amount, then you’re eligible under the first criteria. The next requirement is that you fulfill the type of duties described by the FLSA. It doesn’t matter whether a nonexempt worker is salaried or not because they always have the right to overtime pay regardless of whether they are salaried employees or not.

What’s Considered Overtime in New York?

The FLSA considers all hours worked over 40 in a workweek as OT. These work hours are examples of what is not considered overtime in New York:

  • Working over 8 hours in a single day: Unlike some states (such as California) that have a daily OT limit, New York does not. If you work 10-hour or 12-hour shifts, you will be paid a regular rate, not an OT rate, unless you go over 40 hours in a week.
  • Working holidays, over the weekends, or at night: Unless this puts you over the 40 hours in a week, then it doesn’t matter when you’re working, you will get regular pay.
  • Exception: The law is different for farmworkers; they are entitled to OT for every hour worked above 60 in a calendar week, in addition. 
  • Exception: If there’s an employee/employer agreement or collective bargaining agreement that requires the employer to pay overtime for nighttime shifts, over the weekend, or holiday work, then the agreement is enforceable. 

Overtime Wages

The FLSA and New York Overtime Law are in sync regarding the overtime wage rate. If you’re a nonexempt employee, your overtime wage rate must not be less than 1.5 times their regular rate of pay. 

However, there are differences between the federal and state law. Some employees are exempt from overtime under the FLSA but aren’t exempt under New York’s; they have the right to the overtime rate of 1.5 times the state minimum wage, not their regular rate of pay.    

Payments Not Part of the Regular Rate

Some payments are not included in the regular hourly rate, including the following:

  • Discretionary bonuses
  • Gifts
  • Pay for expenses incurred by employer
  • Payments for vacation, illness, or holidays
  • Premium payments for holiday and weekend work
  • Premium payments for overtime work

Get Legal Help with New York Overtime Laws

If you’re not sure whether you’re entitled to overtime wages or you just need help understanding NY’s OT laws, then get help from an attorney familiar with employment and labor laws. Contact one of our MOWK Law attorneys as soon as possible to find out what to do in your situation. 

What Happens When You Take FMLA Leave? 

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows you to take time off from your job to take care of your own illness or a family member’s illness or to welcome your newborn into the world by bonding with them. When an employee makes use of the FMLA, and they resume working, it can be difficult to make the transition back. However, it’s important to be mindful of possible violations of your rights upon your return. Read on to learn about your rights when you go back to your job after taking FMLA leave.

Communication Between Your Provider and Your Employer

Because the FMLA allows you to take time off to care of your own serious health condition, (in addition to caring for a family member with a serious illness or taking care of your newborn) you may wonder about your employer talking to your physician or other health care provider to verify your condition. 

Government regulations make it clear that any contact between an employer and an employee’s health care provider must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy regulations. 

Under the regulations, employers are allowed to contact an employee’s health care provider for authentication or clarification of the medical certification by using the following:

  • A health care provider
  • A human resource professional
  • A leave administrator
  • A management official

However, the regulations don’t allow the employee’s direct supervisor to contact that employee’s health care provider due to privacy concerns. The only way that an employee’s health care provider can supply health information to the employer is if the employee gives the provider written authorization to disclose. 

What Should Happen When You Return from FMLA Leave?

Coming back to work from any absence can take some getting used to and can be a difficult transition. Here are some acceptable things that may happen when you return to help you get back on track after taking the leave:

  • Meetings with supervisors and colleagues
  • Explanation of what occurred during your absence
  • Slowly getting back to taking over your duties

What Should Not Happen When You Return from FMLA Leave?

Besides the normal things that can happen upon your return, there are activities and responses that aren’t allowed under employment law. Some examples of FMLA violations that may occur include the following: 

  • Losing your benefits
  • Being put in a lower-paying position or demotion
  • Being harassed due to taking the leave
  • Experiencing retaliatory acts, including receiving a negative work performance evaluation due to taking the FMLA leave
  • Being subjected to intrusive inquires and inappropriate questions about your leave

Assert your Rights After FMLA Leave 

Regardless of the reason for taking job-protected leave, you should be able to use it knowing that you can concentrate on the issue at hand, whether it’s to bond with your newborn or to take care of your relative’s medical issue or deal with your own medical condition. If your employer interferes, be aware of the ways that you can assert your rights. An attorney familiar with employment issues can stand with you and help ensure that your rights are protected. Get in touch with a MOWK Law attorney. Contact us right away to learn more. 

Buying a Small Business in New York

After deciding to purchase a business, you will investigate specific businesses to buy. You can find them through the internet, various brokers, or via your own personal and professional connections. Once you’ve settled on a target, you will have to go through a series of actions to complete the sale. Read on to learn how to buy a small business in New York. 

Investigating the Business

You want to know that you’re getting a fair price for the business; you also want to know every facet about the business if some unknown factor could have a negative impact. Therefore, any buyer will perform due diligence before proceeding. This involves heavy investigation, including checking on tax returns, liens, leases, asset lists, permits and licenses. Looking into the employees, any violations or lawsuits should also be part of the process. 

Negotiating the Terms

This is dealt with primarily in the “term sheet” or letter of intent, which puts in writing the basic terms of the deal before the drafting and negotiating of the sale agreement. The term sheet:

  • Shows intent; it lets the seller know that you’re serious about purchasing the business. 
  • Avoids future negotiation impasses about major issues when the parties have already spent much time and money on the transaction.
  • Acts as a guide for the attorney when they draft the sales agreement.

Documentation of the Deal

These are key documents when transferring the business to the seller: 

  • Sales Agreement: Sets forth the major terms and conditions of the transaction and is often executed days or even weeks before the closing.
  • Promissory Note: Sets forth the purchase price owed, the dates for the remaining payments, interest on any outstanding payments, and makes it easier for the seller to collect from you if you default a payment.
  • Security Agreement: Seller may ask for a security interest in the assets being sold to you. Then, the seller may foreclose on the business assets in case you default on payment. 
  • Bill of Sale: Transfers ownership of the tangible assets of the business from the seller to the buyer, including furniture, supplies, inventory, equipment.

The Closing

It’s time for everything to culminate in the closing. This is the end of the process of the purchase when the parties and their attorneys come together to exchange money and property and complete the remaining documentation. Typically, the when and where of the closing is set forth in the sales agreement. It’s best if the closing goes on without incident, but there may be last-minute issues. Perhaps some closing conditions haven’t been met, or there are changes to the documents that need to be addressed, but hopefully the parties are fine with going ahead with the transaction regardless. 

Get Help with Buying a Small Business in New York

Many closings will go off without a hitch due to careful planning and willing cooperation between the parties. You will need an experienced attorney at every stage of the process when you make your small business purchase. They can help you handle barriers that arise in the due diligence process, prepare the paperwork, and deal with last-minute negotiations that occur during closing. Act in your best interest and connect with one of our skilled MOWK Law attorneys. Contact us today. 

What Makes a Witness Credible in a Car Accident Claim?

Driving on the roads of New York can be dangerous. People get into accidents every day. If it happens to you, you want to be able to be compensated for any injuries that you’ve suffered. Determining fault can add further complexity to the issue. Therefore, reliable eyewitnesses can go a long way in making a big difference in your personal injury claim.

Insurance companies will do whatever it takes to avoid paying costly damages, even attacking the credibility of a witness. Because of this, you will want to be sure that any witness that you have testifying on your behalf is really “credible.”

What Does it Mean to be Credible?

A credible witness is one who presents as competent and worthy of belief. Their testimony is presumed to be truthful due to their knowledge, experience, and their appearance of integrity. 

Why Witness Credibility is so Important

As with any case, establishing a witness’s credibility in your accident claim can be difficult, but discrediting it may not be as challenging. If fault is uncertain, it gives the defense more leeway to try to poke holes in the case. However, it’s very important to show your witnesses’ believability because there’s a direct connection between the credibility of a witness (or the lack of credibility) and the opportunity of your vehicle accident attorney to negotiate a good settlement offer for you. 

What Factors Make a Witness Credible?

Now that’s it’s been shown how relevant the way that your witnesses come across, what are some of the elements that make a witness credible? The following are factors that can help to establish the credibility of a witness:

  • Strong moral character with a lack of criminal history
  • Not a personal relationship with you (not a relative or friend)
  • Mentally and physically healthy
  • Drug and alcohol free at the time of the accident

What Factors Hurt Witness Credibility? 

Just as certain elements can help to create witness credibility, there are factors that have a negative impact. Here are the following factors that hurt a witness’ credibility:

  • Witnesses who didn’t see the entire accident
  • Witnesses who provide inconsistent accounts of the accident
  • Witnesses who are distracted (they are on their cell phone, talking with others)
  • Witnesses who are biased (they are relatives or personal friends)
  • Witnesses who have a financial interest in the case
  • Witnesses who have trouble discussing the accident due to mental health issues, age, or physical condition)

It’s best for your case to have a witness who has clear vantage point of the accident, with no personal or financial ties. A witness who is not credible may do more harm than good in your personal injury lawsuit. Here, your attorney may even advise you to not use them as a witness.

Discuss Your Case with an Experienced PI Attorney

Determining a witness’ credibility is just one of the many things that a lawyer will do to help you get the compensation that you deserve. That’s why you need an experienced personal injury attorney at your side. Connect with one of our skillful MOWK Law personal injury attorneys who is ready to talk to you. Contact us today. 

What Does a Failure to Function Mean in Trademark Law? 

Picking out a good name for your trademark is just one step on the way to establishing the trademark for your business. Registering your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a worthwhile path to take because it allows you to protect your rights against trademark infringers. But not all trademarks will make it to registration. It may be rejected for many reasons, including the likelihood of confusion or mere descriptiveness. Another common form of registration refusal is the “failure to function.” Before you file for registration, read on to learn more.

What is the Purpose of Trademark Law?

The main purpose of trademark law is twofold: It is to help consumers know where the products and services they use comes from, and it rewards and protects companies who form goodwill and rights by being the first to use a trademark on a service or product. This prevents other businesses from trying to use a similar mark to sell similar products or services.

What is a Failure to Function?

A trademark is a word, symbol, design, slogan, or phrase that is used to identify and distinguish your business’ product or goods from others; it is a source identifier. A trademark can be rejected for registration based on its failure to function when the mark can’t be used as a source identifier in the public’s mind.

Because a trademark must be distinctive, a mark that’s only informational or that’s a widely used phrase, doesn’t connect with a particular business, product, or service. Therefore, it fails to function as a source identifier and can’t be protected under trademark law.

When Will a Trademark be Rejected for Failure to Function?

Typically, the USPTO will reject a trademark for failure to function when the mark fits into one of these categories:

  • It is informational or descriptive
  • It is a message that’s commonly used
  • It is generally used to show religious, political, or social views
  • It shows support or is associated with a particular message

Examples of Trademarks that Were Rejected for Failure to Function

The more familiar the term or phrase is, the less likely it will be a mark that could be used to identify a single source of goods or services.  Here are examples of marks that failed to function as source identifiers:

  • All natural gourmet crabmeat pasteurized
  • Born in the USA
  • God bless the USA
  • I love you
  • Intelligence of things
  • Inventory is evil
  • Legal landmines
  • Mama bear
  • Remember this name
  • Ribbons of hope
  • She knew she could
  • Team Jesus
  • The next move is yours
  • Worst movie ever

Get Help with Trademark Registration

Although you don’t necessarily need to have your trademark registered. But if you do, you want to be sure that it’s not going to be rejected based on a failure to function. Add value to your business by getting your trademark registered and get help with a skillful attorney familiar with intellectual property issues. Contact us here at MOWK Law where our lawyers are available to fill your IP needs.