Generally, trusts must have one or more human beneficiaries, but there’s an exception for certain “purpose” trusts. One type of purpose trust that you may be familiar with is the charitable trust. But don’t overlook the noncharitable purpose (NCP) trust as a potential tool for achieving your estate planning goals. What is an NCP Trust? […]Continue reading

Is business going so well that you’re thinking about adding another location? If this is the case, congratulations! But before you start planning the ribbon-cutting ceremony, take a step back and ask yourself some tough questions about whether a new location will grow your company — or stretch it too thin. Here are four to […]Continue reading

If you expect your estate to have a significant estate tax liability at your death, be sure to include a well-thought-out tax apportionment clause in your will or revocable trust. An apportionment clause specifies how the estate tax burden will be allocated among your beneficiaries. Omission of this clause, or failure to word it carefully, […]Continue reading

“Sorry, we don’t carry that item.” Or perhaps, “No, that’s not part of our service package.” How many times a year do your salespeople utter these words or ones like them? The specific number is critical because, if you don’t know it, you could be losing out on profit potential. Although you have to focus […]Continue reading

The IRA’s value as a retirement planning tool is well known: IRA assets compound on a tax-deferred (or, in the case of a Roth IRA, tax-free) basis, which can help build a more substantial nest egg. But if you don’t need an IRA to fund your retirement, you can use it as an estate planning […]Continue reading

From the time a business opens its doors, the owner is told “cash is king.” It may seem to follow that having a very large amount of cash could never be a bad thing. But, the truth is, a company that’s hoarding excessive cash may be doing itself more harm than good. Liquidity Overload What’s […]Continue reading

What could stop your company from operating for a day, a month or a year? A flood or fire? Perhaps a key supplier shuts down temporarily or permanently. Or maybe a hacker or technical problem crashes your website or you suddenly lose power. Whatever the potential cause might be, every business needs a disaster recovery […]Continue reading

Most people – even lawyers – choose to do business in some corporate form, rather than individually, in order to protect personal assets from business liabilities. The most common forms of business entities are corporations and limited liability companies. The choice of entity often depends on which entity offers the best tax attributes for the […]Continue reading

Every person has skin and bones that protect their body from bumps and bruises from the outside world. A corporation or other business entity is no different. In short, a corporation (or limited liability company or partnership) is a legal “person.” The corporate body is supposed to protect the owners from bumps, bruises and liabilities […]Continue reading