When we are drafting an estate plan, we start out with what’s called an “advance healthcare directive”. It is a written document that says what you would like to see happen with your healthcare decisions if you cannot make them. It is a power that you give to somebody else to make those decisions. If you don’t have a healthcare directive and you are under a doctor’s care, there are things the doctor can andRead More…
When you go to set up a revocable trust, you are taking substantially all the assets in your estate and putting them into the name of the trust. There may be assets that you leave outside of the trust for specific purposes, but for the most part, all of your assets are in the trust. If you’re married, you and your wife are the co-trustees on this trust. If one of you passes away, theRead More…
When a person goes to buy a business or to set a business, there are two basic types of transactions that can occur. The first is a sale of stock and the second is the sale of assets. A buyer generally wants to buy assets out of a corporation to avoid legacy issues in the old corporation. This is especially the case when the company does or sells high-risk things. When selling a company, itRead More…
Generally speaking, if you are living in California, you will form a corporation here. In the state of California, a company has to be filed as a foreign corporation, pay California taxes, and follow California regulations. However, if your company is doing well, you can form your corporation in any state. The conversion costs a few thousand dollars.
Dear Clients and Friends: With all these changes in life going on, there are aggressive actions that you can you take to protect yourself, and your family, your friends, and your employees. Here are some ideas: Review your leases for a Force Majeure clause (a provision in commercial contracts that excuses the renter from performing when certain situations arise beyond the renter’s control making performance impractical, inadvisable, unreasonably expensive, illegal or impossible). Please note that these clauses often require special notices or timing. Then, contact your landlord in writing, to notify him/her of this situation and your inability to perform. Landlords must work with their tenants in a reasonable way. Contact the lender on your business or home loan to negotiate abeyance or delayed payments. Don’t wait for the government to mandate it. Many loan contracts receive such treatment due to a doctrine called Frustration of Purpose. In such a case, the purpose of the contract was frustrated by an event (pandemic) that would excuse its performance. For example, if your business was ordered to close as a non-essential business, you can argue that the reason for entering into the loan was to operate the business – which is no longer possible. Review and determine how to handle your accounts receivable and accounts payable. Work to make your cash flow match up with revised commitments. Contact the finance company carrying your car loan. Similar to the above, you may not be able to pay your car payments or even use the car. Therefore, you should be relieved of your payment obligations – even temporarily. If you plan to reduce staff, be sure to catch up on the latest employment support plans being made available by the Federal, state, and local governments. Furlough versus termination versus reduction of work time have very different consequences. Go through all of last month’s business and personal bills and see which can be reduced or eliminated. You will be surprised at how many things can be changed without dramatically impacting your employee benefits or work and personal lifestyle. Make sure all of your assets are in the name of your family trust, both for you and for your employees. If something happens to you or your spouse/significant other, or an employee, the costs and time involved in settling the estate can be prohibitive. If all of your assets are in your trust, the transition is usually seamless. Also, make sure your health care directives are up to date with the right decision-makers named. In the meantime, make sure that you are doing the best you can to be positive and aggressively pursuing solutions for yourself, your family, your friends, and your employees.Read More…
Dear Clients and Friends: We are diligently working to keep you apprised of the new laws applicable to small businesses and individuals. Below is a summary of the new laws passed over the last week allowing for significant assistance to almost all small businesses. You will find the rules are relaxed significantly, including no personal guarantees, no requirement that you have tried to find funds elsewhere, and a quick turnaround time for funding that allowsRead More…
Dear Clients and Friends: In today’s volatile economy, many clients have expressed concerns about how to protect their assets from lawsuits or other potential claims. An Asset Protection Plan may allow you to insulate some if not many, of your assets from certain liabilities that may come up both in business and personally. It is a part of your family estate planning. Asset Protection Planning is a proactive legal action that may protect your assetsRead More…
Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends: As those who have been involved in the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) process know, it has been frustrating. Employers eligible for PPP have experienced limited windows to apply and conflicting directions from the SBA and their banks. When the PPP is planned to open to Independent Contractors and Self-Employed on April 10, 2020, we anticipate similar results but hope that the SBA and banks may have figured out their shortcomingsRead More…
Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends: Now is a great time to be proactive and plan ahead should you or a loved one fall ill. One of the most important and relatively easy things you can do (and should do) is to select a medical agent and set up your advance healthcare directive. What Is a Medical Agent? A medical agent (also called a healthcare agent, healthcare surrogate, a healthcare proxy, or a medical proxy) isRead More…
Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends: Many Americans spend a lot of time and effort in managing their finances. While most are worried about how the coronavirus (COVID-19) will impact their income—whether that’s because they are temporarily furloughed, find themselves suddenly without a job, or watching their investment and retirement accounts dwindle—there is another way COVID-19 can wreak havoc on American’s finances: lack of incapacity planning. As the coronavirus continues to expand across the country, thousandsRead More…