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Some of the most common questions around estate planning come down to defining an “estate” and the need for a “plan.” What is an “Estate?” It's not just a house in Kyoto...it's all your stuff. To put it briefly, your “estate” is essentially everything you own (or might possibly own in the future) such as real estate (e.g. home, investment property, rental, condo, townhome, vacant land, farm ground, etc.), bank or financial “cash” accounts (e.g. checking and savings, non-tax s

Recently, while working as corporate counsel for a telecom, I had an experience that I would like to share. Have I got a deal for you!!! It began like this: I received a contractual offer from a vendor who was representing a large cell phone company. We’ll call them “BIGcell.” In terms of background, my company owns cellular towers and provides the high-speed internet connection and the electrical connection to companies that wish to lease space on our towers. Another nuance

From coffee shops to law firms to realtor offices, there has been a noticeable increase in ADA driven lawsuits recently. Many of these businesses (law offices excluded) are not large national chains with huge internal legal departments. Many are local community-based businesses operating in older buildings. The trouble is that these small businesses may not know they are violating the law until they are served with an unexpected lawsuit. Uh, oh! Under the Americans with Disab

Effective March 1, 2026 , the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires federal reporting of certain residential real estate transactions under the new Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule (31 CFR § 1031.320). This rule expands anti-money laundering oversight to non-financed transfers that were previously outside regulatory reach. No, they are not joking. Transactions Subject to Reporting: Must Meet All Three Below A transaction triggers reporting when all thre

Most business owners understand the basics of forming a legal entity. You create an LLC or corporation to separate your personal assets from business risk. That is legal structure on the ABC level. For many growing businesses; however, that first entity might only be the starting point. Over time, legal structures can fail not because they were created or managed incorrectly, but because they were too simple for the level of risk involved. It's sort of like building fortifica

One of the critical issues for small businesses is employee turnover and the costs that come with it. For instance, if a secretary quits, the task of finding and then training a new secretary can be crippling to a small business with tight margins. This cost or loss is intensified when the newly hired and trained secretary also leaves. Resources have been expended, time and patience are exhausted, and there is a considerable risk that it will happen over and over again.   Nex

I often explain the concept of a revocable living trust by relating a story from the early days of my marriage. More than thirty years ago... My wife and I were married in Bethesda, Maryland, and honeymooned briefly in the Poconos in Eastern Pennsylvania. We drove across the country to Utah where I was finishing my bachelor’s degree. After signing our new apartment lease and unloading our meager belongings, my beautiful bride told me that we had to make a quick trip to the gr

There are estate planning situations that simply scream for careful thought and preparation. Divorce is obvious because it would typically be a problem if a former spouse has control of your assets and absolute control over the raising of the children. Blended families are another common situation. Choices regarding separate and jointly held property have to be made as well as potential issues that might arise regarding minor children and will arise regarding eventual inherit

When starting a company, office equipment can be a very difficult issue due to the high cost and the sheer number of competing products. To a degree, the decision on what brand to go with depends largely on your expected use. For instance, if you are a GIS mapping consultant, your needs will deviate significantly from a daycare provider or a solo practice attorney. Coming from a personal perspective, I recommend the following brands within a series of different product catego

Let's be honest, prenuptial agreements have a bad rap. The most common attitude toward these sorts of property agreements is that they are effectively nothing short of planning to get a divorce at some time in the future. They are often viewed as unfair toward the disadvantaged spouse and cruel and selfish in nature. But is that really the case? If we are talking about some super wealthy tycoon and the brand new trophy spouse, well maybe that's exactly what a prenup would be.

Some say “yes!” life insurance is critical. Others say “no!” life insurance is a waste of money. Which one has it right? Well, that’s a complex question and depends on your individual circumstances and how the policy is written! Common Objections to Life Insurance Most Common : When you pay a “premium” (that’s the payment to fund the policy), you are just throwing your money away! Common : Your life insurance agreement won’t perform like other investments, and you could make

It’s fairly straightforward to explain. Many companies are “outsourcing” certain services like accounting or human resources. Why not outsource legal counsel too using a retainer agreement? In brief, a “retainer” is an agreement that helps an organization have an attorney at its immediate disposal…without the substantial cost associated with having full time, in-house counsel. This arrangement not only facilitates a closer relationship between businesses and their counsel but

To put it simply, “Funding” is transferring your ownership or interest in property into the trust. If you think of your trust as a vehicle for transporting your assets to your heirs, then it’s easier to picture loading them into your trust. The reason why this is so critical is that if property or assets are NOT transferred to your trust, then they will have to be transferred, either to the trust, or to your heirs through some other process. Make certain to get your assets in

If you don’t, you definitely should have one! It’s not legally “required” but not having an employee handbook leads to legal risks (like discrimination/harassment lawsuits), inconsistent management (unfairness), poor onboarding, low morale, high turnover, and difficulty proving compliance during audits, creating confusion about policies (pay, leave, conduct) and undermining a company's defense in disputes. It leaves companies vulnerable to claims, damages culture, and signals

That depends. When a business fails to meet its obligations like by breaching a contract or committing a tort (e.g. like injuring someone), injured parties may try to hold the business’ owners personally liable. The most common legal tool to get to the owners’ assets is the doctrine of “alter ego” liability. This doctrine allows courts to pierce the corporate veil and treat the business and its owners as one and the same – “alter egos.” Get it? Piercing the corporate veil, ho

The cyber-threats being directed toward small business entities are increasing on an exponential scale. The time when small businesses were too meager of a target to get attention from cyber criminals and fraudsters is past. An alarming number of businesses are falling to hackers, phishing events and debilitating ransomware attacks. Your business is a source of revenue so you're a target. The following are a series of steps or tips that you should already be undertaking or pu

When selling personal property like vehicles or real estate or business interests, owner-carry contracts will often come into the picture. An owner-carry contract (OCC) is a private contract between the buyer and seller setting out the terms of the arrangement. Typically, a financial institution or title company is not involved in the property transfer and in monitoring the payments, etc. You might be friends, but money can change things... OCCs can be a powerful tool, but th

The U-Haul company was founded by Leonard Shoen who had thirteen children. Following his death, a vicious power struggle over the company erupted primarily between Samuel W. Shoen (the former president) and Edward “Joe” Shoen (the chairman). It lasted for decades and involved physical altercations, libelous accusations, lawsuits, corporate maneuvering and family drama allegedly including the murder of Samuel W. Shoen’s wife… Eventually, Edward “Joe” Shoen managed to consolida

An FLP is a type of limited partnership formed by family members to hold and manage family assets. Typically, parents or grandparents will form the FLP and serve as general partners, maintaining control over the partnership’s operations. Other family members are brought in as limited partners, receiving ownership interests but having little to no control over day-to-day management and limited liability! It's tricky, but it's awesome! For example : Parent forms AnyNameFamily,

Scammers have come up with a new twist on an old scam to collect data and unnecessary payments from owners of state-registered businesses. The scammers hit three or four primary items: 1.) EIN Tax Numbers; 2.) Certification of Existence; 3.) Annual Reports; and 4.) Corporate Transparency Act filings. Tricksters, Scammers, Fraudsters... Employer Identification Numbers One of the standard steps when forming a new business is to obtain a tax identification number. Scammers “warn