When people first open their own business, they envision that it will be successful and meet the needs of their customers, clients, themselves and their families. If the company truly thrives, the founder(s) may want to expand ownership in their business to people that they trust or maybe even family members. If so, the owners…
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I spoke last month on the Federal taxation of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. One of the unknowns at that point was whether the IRS would allow or respect Bitcoin investments in IRAs – that question wasn’t answered in IRS Notice 2014-21 (the Service’s initial attempt to explain virtual…
In my estate planning practice, in certain circumstances, I utilize limited liability companies as a means of transferring investment assets, including real estate, to the beneficiaries under the client’s Last Will and Testament or Revocable Living Trust. Aside from asset protection (protection from creditors and other third party claims), I recommend LLCs to avoid probate…
In business, most everyone has heard of a “limited liability company” or a corporation, which is a “limited liability entity” under State law. But, what does the term “limited liability” actually mean? “Limited liability” does NOT mean NO liability. But most people assume that when they file their entity application with the Secretary of State…
Michael Lynch v. Pacific Foods of Oregon, Inc., et. al. involves the issue of valuing a closely-held family business and its ownership interests in the event of death or other trigger event (disability, divorce, etc.). I’m sure most everyone in the Northwest knows of Pacific Foods, the organic food processing company. In this case, one of…
In my many years of practice, I’ve always advised current and potential clients that Durable Powers of Attorney are very powerful and potentially very dangerous documents. Durable Powers of Attorney allow a person to designate and authorize someone else to act on their behalf in managing their financial affairs (such as investment accounts) and making…
Running a family business is not like running a business where everyone (owners, employees, vendors, etc.) are almost always unrelated. In a family business, you are not only dealing with more emotion than a typical business, you are also bringing in past history and the burden of the sense of obligation. Don’t let the fact…
I’m sure you’ve heard that buying stuff on the internet is becoming more and more common; in fact, internet sales accounted for almost 12{cac35268b59b7e75be776053d4742f8c077751d3c6f5d87e36f9e66cb6a20ae6} of all retail sales in the United States in 2016 (https://tinyurl.com/y9rexb2g). For better or for worse, people are starting to prefer shopping in their pajamas over visiting local businesses (editor’s note:…
In my previous post, I discussed the issue of sales tax collection by individual states on internet purchases from out-of-state companies. The Supreme Court of the State of South Dakota overturned a state law requiring internet retailers to remit sales tax on sales to South Dakota residents, relying on the U.S. Supreme Court holding in Quill…