The Grave Risks of Using DIY Legal Documents Need instructions for replacing your car’s spark plugs? Want to learn HTML? Looking to find the route home with the least traffic? You can find all of that—and just about anything else—with a quick Google search. Indeed, the amount of information you can gain from the Internet [..]
Overcoming Small Business Challenges through Operational Strategies As with so many things in life, some of the same qualities that help small businesses succeed, can also lead to their demise. Fortunately, much of that risk can be lessened through operational excellence. For example, the owners and managers of small businesses often know each other before [..]
New Tax Savings Available Using Section 179 and Bonus Depreciation With the end of the year approaching, it’s time to think about taxes again. While tax planning might not be the most exciting part of your job, with the right strategies in place, you can keep a lot more of the money your company brings [..]
8 Key Provisions to Include in an Employee Severance Agreement At some point, it is virtually inevitable that some of your staff will leave your employment. Whether they leave of their own volition or they’re terminated, it’s simply the nature of running a business that not all employees will be around forever. In some cases, [..]
4 Key Elements Of a Small Business Owner’s Estate Plan If you’ve dreamed of leaving your company to your family but haven’t sufficiently included your business in your estate plan, that dream could become a nightmare for your heirs—and for your business’ team members and clients, too. To ensure your company is passed to your [..]
How to Fund Your Trust to Avoid Probate A common estate planning mistake many people make is not ensuring the trust you have created holds all your assets. Unfortunately, most lawyers simply do not make sure this is properly handled for their clients, so if you’ve worked with any law office other than ours, you [..]
Donate Appreciated Assets to Charity Instead of Selling Outright For Tax and Income Benefits Using a Charitable Remainder Trust If you have highly appreciated assets like stock and real estate you want to sell, it may make sense to use a charitable remainder trust (CRT) to avoid income and estate taxes—all while creating a [..]
The Key Differences Between Wills and Trusts When discussing estate planning, a will is what most people think of first. Indeed, wills have been the most popular method for passing on assets to heirs for hundreds of years. But wills aren’t your only option. And if you rely on a will alone to pass on [..]
6 Steps to Select and Name the Right Guardians for Your Children—Part 2 Last week, we shared the first part of our series on selecting and naming the right guardians for your children. Here in part two, we discuss the final three steps in the process. 4. Narrow Candidate List, and Rank Your Choices When [..]
One of your most important responsibilities as a parent is to select and legally document guardians for your children. This doesn’t mean just naming godparents or trusting the grandparents will step in if necessary. It means consciously deciding who would raise your children if you cannot. And then it means legally documenting your choices and [..]
