The “ACTION” items below are critical to the continued success and growth of any business. Protect Your Business Name and Trademarks : Building a powerful and meaningful brand is a top priority for most small business owners. Unfortunately, protecting that brand from infringing, unscrupulous competitors often takes a back seat when we are overwhelmed with…
YES, in my opinion. While an attorney is not a legal requirement, online formation services and document providers will typically only provide you with fill-in-the-blank forms (form Operating Agreement, form Organization Minutes, and form Membership Interest documents), which unfortunately eliminates the main benefit of the LLC – the ability to customize the relationship of the…
I always suggest a course of continuing education where asset protection principles are concerned. Because your education is never really complete and should be ongoing nevertheless ,here are some BEST ASSET PROTECTION principles to carry around in your wallet: Inventory Everything. Make a complete list of your assets and debts. It’s a good idea to do…
The Unfair Competition Law, codified as Business & Professions Code Section 17200, provides for injunctive and other relief for any business practice that is “unfair,” “unlawful” or “fraudulent.” What is Unfair? An unfair business practice is one that has the tendency to deceive the public. Courts have struggled to come up with some sort of formula…
The limited liability company combines the limited liability advantage of a Corporation with the protection of your ownership interest. Yet, there are essential reasons you should prefer a Limited Liability CO. (LLC) or corporation to the Limited Partnership: – As with an S corporation, you can avoid double taxation with a Limited Liability Company. And, the Limited…
Living Trusts Over the last two decades, the popularity of Living Trusts has skyrocketed. No longer are a tool just for the rich, Living Trusts one of the most common estate planning tools in use today. In fact, today’s estate planning is not just about death and taxes, but includes protection of one’s assets from…
How an AB Trust Works Under the old tax laws, each spouse had an estate tax exemption, but typically, the first spouse to die didn’t use his or her exemption. That’s because most spouses left everything to the survivor, and bequests to a surviving spouse aren’t subject to estate tax. (This rule is called the…
I am often asked how liability insurance is different from entity liability protection. Liability insurance is purchased from an insurance company to cover claims against the business. Business entities such as limited liability companies (LLC’s) and corporations provide limited liability protection, which prevents creditors from seizing the business owners’ assets. Business owners do not realize…
Most marriage-oriented trusts postpone payment of estate taxes until both spouses in a marriage have died. A marital deduction trust allows you to put property in trust with your spouse as the beneficiary. Upon your death, your spouse has the right to use the property in the trust. No matter how valuable the property in…
Many times employers improperly classify their employees as independent contractors so they, the employers, do not have to pay payroll taxes, the minimum wage or overtime, comply with other wage and hour law requirements such as providing meal periods and rest breaks, or reimburse their workers for business expenses incurred in performing their jobs. Moreover,…
