Because estate planning involves actively thinking about and planning for frightening topics like death, old age, and crippling disability, many people put it off or simply ignore it all together until it’s too late. Sadly, this unwillingness to face reality often creates serious hardship, expense, and trauma for those loved ones you leave behind. To …
If you are running a business, it’s easy to give estate planning less priority than your other business matters. After all, if you’re facing challenges meeting next month’s payroll or your goals for growth over the coming quarter, concerns over your potential incapacity or death can seem far less urgent. But the reality is considering …
Q & A: Q: How does buying or selling a business affect my estate plan? –Business Buyer A: Dear Buyer: If you are buying a business, you’ll want to ensure your plan is updated to take into account your new assets and put in place a succession plan for the business. Indeed, for every business …
As a small business owner, you may be wondering why you need to hire a lawyer to help you run your company. This is especially true today when you can access just about every conceivable legal document online for cheap from the countless online do-it-yourself document services like LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer. But here’s the …
As with so many things in life, some of the same qualities that help small businesses succeed can also lead to their demise. Fortunately, much of that risk can be lessened through operational excellence. For example, the owners and managers of small businesses often know each other before they go into business together. Sometimes, they’re …
Although you can invest in many different types of insurance to protect your business from lawsuits and other liabilities, one of the greatest liabilities you simply can’t avoid, especially if you are the sole owner of your business, is your incapacity or death. To make certain that your business—and the income it generates for your …
In April 2018, billionaire Matthew Mellon flew by private jet to Cancun Mexico to check himself into drug rehab to deal with his addiction to opioid pain pills. But the 54-year-old heir to the Mellon Bank dynasty never made it to the rehab facility and was found dead in his hotel room after suffering an …
Expensive Mistake #1: Not Choosing the Right Entity For Your Business(or Not Incorporating Your Business At All) Choosing a business structure and creating a separate entity for your business is one of the most important decisions you can make as an entrepreneurial business owner. Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad advice out there about …
Choosing the person to take over your business after you exit isn’t about selecting someone who’s exactly like you or even selecting someone you like. The most important thing is that you choose someone who’s not only well-qualified for the role, but who also has the vision and skills to lead your company into the …
Coming up with a solid concept for a new business and working to get your operation off the ground can be an expensive undertaking. But the good news is that you can write off a number of the expenses involved with the startup process. That said, the rules for deducting startup expenses are a bit …
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