When Should You Have Your Estate Plan Reviewed?
You may have put your estate plan in place as long ago as the 1980s or 1990s. Most people seem to believe that once the documents have been signed, everything has been completed and the plan will work as expected. In fact, both state and federal laws have changed since then, and thousands of lawsuits […]
Personal Guarantees: What They Are and When They Are Required?
Your new business needs a capital infusion to get off the ground. The only problem is that a new business is not established enough to have generated a business credit report. It may also be lacking assets that can be used as loan collateral. Without a business credit report or business assets, lenders cannot judge whether your company […]
Why You Should Consider Putting Your LLC into a Trust
The limited liability company (LLC) is a popular business structure that offers liability protection and avoidance of double taxation. Trusts are popular asset transfer vehicles that allow you to avoid probate and keep assets out of the hands of creditors. By placing LLC membership interests in a trust, business owners can combine the two types […]
Estate Planning for Crypto-Assets Part 2
This is Part Two of a two-part blog. Part One was designed to educate readers about crypto-assets and the lexicon of associated terms. Part Two is a discussion of the challenges of estate planning for crypto-assets and some ideas for overcoming those challenges. 1 A set of unique challenges arise when it comes to estate planning […]
Estate Planning for Crypto-Assets
Everyone is talking about “crypto” these days. We hear terms being tossed around such as “digital assets,” “tokens,” “wallets,” “keys,” and “blockchain.” Many of us are investing in cryptocurrency and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) yet have never given a thought to what will happen to those assets if we die or become incapacitated.1 This is a two-part […]
Tax and Estate Planning
This blog has information for both Minnesota and Florida residents. We will start with Minnesota. Florida information follows below. MINNESOTA- PTE Tax In 2021, the Minnesota legislature enacted a new law aimed at reducing tax for Minnesota taxpayers hurt by the “SALT cap.” The new law went into effect in 2021, but many Minnesota business […]
How to Resolve Deadlocks in Your LLC
Membership in a limited liability company (LLC) may come with voting rights. Member voting rights are addressed in the LLC operating agreement, which typically provides that LLC members must vote on several issues that are material to the continuance of the business. A unanimous or majority vote may be required depending upon the nature of […]
A Checklist for Remarriage
Older adults have a wide range of experience in long-term commitments and previous loss due to widowhood, divorce, or breakups. After divorce or widowhood, many Americans choose to remarry, including older people. With remarriage comes a host of complications, including dynamics among blended families, preservation of wealth for the children of a previous marriage, and […]
How to Start Your Business Year Strong
It has been a tough couple of years for many small businesses, but, as the adage goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Small businesses that survived the challenges of 2020 and 2021—the worst pandemic in US history, a nationwide labor shortage, supply chain volatility, and rising inflation—are heading into 2022 with fresh hope. […]
A CAUTIONARY TALE: THE RISK OF USING A FORM TO MAKE YOUR OWN WILL AND/OR TRUST
Estate Planning attorneys frequently hear stories about the failure of home-made estate plans. Here is one I heard recently: A man (let’s call him Carl), who was ill with a degenerative disease, moved to Florida to be near his brother (let’s call him Earl). Carl was extremely wealthy. He owned investment assets held in various […]