10 Small Business Bookkeeping Mistakes Keeping your finances in order is crucial for the success of your business. Even if you're running a small operation, bookkeeping is a critical component that cannot be overlooked. While it may not be the most exciting task, it's important to ensure accuracy to avoid...

Obtaining A Power Of Attorney For Elderly Parents Making important decisions for aging parents can be a challenging task, but power of attorney (POA) can provide peace of mind and clarity in times of need. POA enables individuals to make crucial decisions on behalf of their parents, such as managing...

What Needs To Be Included In A Client Contract Client contracts, or agreements, refer to legal agreements between businesses and consumers. They help establish expectations for the individuals who use a business’s products or services. Additionally, they outline what customers can do if they have an issue with the product...

Will Your Estate Plan Work When Your Family Needs It? Like most people, you likely think estate planning is just one more task to check off your life’s endless “to-do” list. You can shop around and find a lawyer to create planning documents for you or create your own DIY...

5 Ways Your Personal Assets Could Be at Risk From Your Business Activities  One of the main reasons to up your business as a corporation or limited liability company (LLC) is to shield your personal assets from debts and other liabilities incurred by your business. Corporations and LLCs exist as...

Before You Agree to Be a Trustee, Read This!  Being asked by a loved one to serve as Trustee for their Trust upon their death can be quite an honor, but it’s also a significant responsibility—and the role is not for everyone. Indeed, serving as a Trustee entails a broad...

The Benefits Of Employing Your Kids Paying your children—whether they’re tweens, teens, or young adults—to work for your company is one of the greatest advantages of running a family business. By hiring your kids, you can help them develop a strong work ethic, give them experience managing money, and jumpstart...

4 Common Mistakes Made On Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations  Investing in life insurance is a foundational part of estate planning, and when done right it’s a primary way to say “I love you” to your loved ones after you are gone. However, when naming your policy’s beneficiaries, several mistakes can...

5 Tips For Creating A Business Plan That Works Far too many aspiring entrepreneurs jump-start their businesses without taking the time to plan properly. Just as a builder uses a blueprint to ensure a new construction project will be structurally sound, a carefully researched and well-thought-out business plan allows you...

Why Every Adult Needs A Living Will When it comes to estate planning and wills, you have a variety of options for legal documents. The most common of these options is a “last will and testament,” which is also known simply as a “will.” But you may have also heard...

Who Should Own Your Business Entity? If you’ve decided to incorporate your business or review the type of entity you already have in place, it’s essential to not only choose the right entity, but also decide who (or what) should own that entity. Unfortunately, most basic business lawyers overlook this...

Creditors And Your Estate Plan What Happens To Your Debt When You Die? Maybe you’ve wondered about your own debt or perhaps your parent’s debt—what happens to that debt when you (or they) die? Well, it depends, and that’s part of the reason you want to ensure your estate plan...

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR DIGITAL ACCOUNTS AFTER YOUR DEATH-PART 1 If you have preferences about what happens to your digital footprint after your death, you need to take action. Otherwise, your online legacy will be determined for you—and not by you. If you have any online accounts, such as Gmail,...

ANNE HECHE DIES WITH CONFLICT AROUND HER WILL, LEAVING HER SONS & ESTATE IN LEGAL LIMBO—PART 1 Actress Anne Heche died this August following a tragic car accident in which she plowed her vehicle into a West Los Angeles home, where it burst into flames. After being pulled from the...

10 Common Estate Planning Mistakes Your Family Can't Afford to Make-Part 2 Read Part 1 As we discussed last time, estate planning is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. You think your situation is simple, but we've found that this is rarely the case. In part one, we highlighted five of the...

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...

Why Is Transferring My Home To My Child A Bad Idea? Whether it’s to qualify for Medicaid, avoid probate, or reduce your tax burden, transferring ownership of your home to your adult child during your lifetime may seem like a smart move. But in nearly all cases, it’s actually a...

How Do I Protect My Children's Inheritance? As a parent, you’re likely hoping to leave your children an inheritance. In fact, doing so may be one of the primary factors motivating your life’s work. However, without taking the proper precautions, the wealth you pass on is at serious risk of...

What Probate Is, and Why You Want to Avoid It  Read Part 1  Unless you’ve created an estate plan that works to keep your family out of court, when you die (or become incapacitated), many of your assets must go through probate before those assets can be distributed to your...

A Brief Explanation of What Probate Is and Why You Want To Avoid It Unless you’ve created a proper estate plan, when you die, many of your assets must first pass through the court process known as probate before those assets can be distributed to your heirs. Like most court...