Matthew Miner's Basic-ish BlogMatthew Miner's Blog

Sometimes I might say something

On June 5, 2023, a number of amendments to the Illinois Notary Public Act went into effect. Among these changes are the requirement of a 3-hour course to obtain or renew a notary commission, the permanent establishment of both remote and electronic notarization, and the new requirement that most notaries keep a journal of every notarization they do. Somewhat confusingly, the act was actually passed in 2021, but many provisions required the Secretary of State to issue guidance as to how they shou...

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The purpose of blockchains is to establish unchangeable records of digital assets without any trusted party. "Unchangeable" sounds good to prevent fraud, so some county recorders who seem to understand nothing about the law or technology, like Cook County's Karen Yarbrough, who thought blockchain made sense for government deed records, try to force blockchains onto physical property. But even on its face, this application of blockchains makes zero sense and only exists to appeal to the unwitti...

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Landscaping is a good job that many people do either full-time or on the side. However, people aren't always willing to pay you for providing them your services after the work's been done. Many landscapers are small enterprises that may not have a great process to ensure payment and may not know what their rights are under the law.

One idea is the possibility of filing a mechanic's lien. These allow people get a security interest in the property for certain work they do on a property. Typicall...

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Sometimes you want to operate under a name different than what you named your LLC. This is allowed as long as you file a DBA with the Secretary of State, letting everyone know about your assumed name. This can easily be done online.

However, what if that name is already taken? You've negotiated its transfer, but how do you go about actually doing it?

Assumed names in Illinois must be "distinguishable". Therefore, you can't just apply for the assumed name with the new LLC. What do you do?

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