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Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) Ruled Unconstitutional

National Small Bus. United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-1448-LCB (N.D. Ala. Mar. 1, 2024) On Friday, March 1, 2024, in National Small Bus. United v. Yellen, Judge Liles C. Burke of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled via memorandum...

Business Licenses and Permits to Start Your Business

Small business owners are no strangers to government regulations. There are many requirements that businesses must be aware of and comply with, including business license and permit rules. Most businesses must obtain licenses or permits, so it is important for each...

Changing Your Business’ Legal Structure

Over time, your business can undergo significant changes. What may have started as a humble, one-person operation can grow into a more complex company, with multiple owners, employees, an evolving mission statement, and increasing risks. As the scope and goals of your...

Managing Business Relationships

Americans have a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality that speaks to our individualism and enterprising spirit. This mindset is especially pronounced among business owners, who have chosen to forego the typical employment route in favor of creating their...

How to Prepare Your Business for Recession

Financial winter is coming. Or is it? Despite renewed optimism that the US economy can avoid a deep downturn, economists say the chances of a recession in 2024 are still about even. Small businesses are feeling the pain from high inflation, declining consumer...

How to Dissolve a Partnership on Good Terms

Many business partnerships eventually come to an end. Like other types of relationships, when business partners decide to split up, the process can be amicable or contentious. For personal and professional reasons, dissolving the partnership on good terms is in the...

What Happens to Your Business When You Die

You spend a significant part of your life building your business, and it becomes a major part of your legacy. But when you die, everything you have built could fall apart if you have not taken the time to create a business succession plan. Without a plan in place,...

Common Pitfalls in Family-Owned Businesses

Your family and your business are two of your top priorities. You would not do anything to compromise either of them. But working with family members in a family-owned business presents unique challenges that can cause lasting damage to both if not properly managed....

How to Handle Conflicts in Family-Owned Businesses

Conflicts are inevitable within businesses and families. Personal rivalries, differences of opinion, competition for resources, and questions of prestige can set individuals at odds and lead to warring factions with competing loyalties. Resolving conflicts in both...

Business Trusts 101: What Entrepreneurs Should Know about Using a Business Trust

Trusts are usually associated with estate planning, but trusts can also apply to business operations. As a small business owner, you can hold the business in a trust instead of using a business entity such as a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. Business...

How to Talk to Your Family About Business Succession

Benjamin Franklin famously quipped, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” From the very beginning, you had a plan for your business to succeed. You set goals and developed methods to achieve those goals. Your business has stood the test of time because you...

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...

Key Considerations for Preparing a Family Legacy Plan

  Over the next 20 years, $30 trillion dollars could be transferred from the current generation to the next, making now a critical time for advisors to discuss multigenerational planning with high net worth clients. Along with planning for the financial...

The Other Reasons For Estate Planning

  Good discussion of incentive trust planning: Many subjects that serve as substantial planning motivators aren’t found on client questionnaires and are frequently absent from planning discussions. Source: The Other Reasons For Estate Planning (Well actually, we...

Independence Is Not Just for Young Advisors

  So how does someone determine if he is “too old” to make independence work? It really comes down to a few key characteristics shared by those advisors who took the leap: They really wanted it. They believed in their ability to migrate clients and grow. They had...

Life Insurance: It Was Never Just About Taxes

  This article raises important points — plan for the long-term and don’t let taxes direct the planning over more important goals — plus it’s a good review of the many benefits of life insurance. But as I’ve previously noted, the...

Six Things Family-Owned Firms Should Know About Succession Planning

  Among the chief goals of succession planning is providing continuity of management and minimizing the tax costs of transferring property interests to new generations.Source: Six Things Family-Owned Firms Should Know About Succession Planning

‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holiday’? Your response says a lot about your politics, study says

Merry Christmas: Two-thirds of Democrats (66 percent) said stores or business should greet customers with “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings” instead of “Merry Christmas” out of respect for people of different faiths. Two-thirds of Republicans (67 percent) said...

#AssetProtection: How “Gamification”’ Can Improve Family Education and Engagement

  Family businesses spend an extraordinary amount of time and capital (financial, human and intellectual) on skill building and education within the family system. Rising members of the family system must master many different skills. Some of these skills can be...