My Blog
Stillman Law Offices, LLC - The Business Law and Estate Planning Firm for Small Business
RSS Become a Fan

Delivered by FeedBurner


Recent Posts

Estate Planning Mistakes and Failures
Estate Freezing Techniques
Health Care Directives and Why You Should Have One
Succession Planning: Why it is Important for Small Business Owners
Planning Ideas for the Highly Compensated. Part 1: Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans – The Basics

Most Popular Posts

The next Hot Insurance product ...Or Not????
Don't let the tail wag the dog: Taxes are not the only reason to have an estate plan
Why a buy-sell agreement should be funded with life insurance
Happy families caring for each other: It is about more than your aging parents
Estate Planning for All Ages and Stages

Categories

aging parents
Annuity
asset management
Attorney
bankruptcy
Business
Business law'
business taxes
business valuation
buy sell agreement
caregiver
charitable annuity
Charitable lead trust
Charitable Remainder Trust
Charity
compassion
compliance
contracts
copyright
corpoation
corporation
criminal
disability
dissolution
divorce
DIY Legal
employment
Estate Planning
exit strategy
Family Business
Family Foundation
financing
foundation
fraud
google
guardians
Insurance
Insurance products
intestate
leases
Legal Zoom
Life Insurance
Limited liability
LLC
LLP
married
minor children
no will
partnership
patent
power of attorney
real estate
regulations
retirement
Revocable trust
Rocket Lawyer
sale of business
service mark
single
succession planning
tax savings
taxes
trade secret
trademark
Trust
trust distributions
trusted advisor
trustee
Uniform Gifts to Minors Act
vendor
Virtual Law Office
Wills

Archives

May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011

powered by

My Blog

Attorney

Why Use an Attorney When Starting a Business

If you are considering starting a new business, you have probably started compiling a list of things and processes you will need to take care of before you even open your doors. Your list of things to do most likely includes setting up an office, getting business cards, and evaluating website options, but have you considered contacting an attorney?

Many small businesses hold off on consulting an attorney until they run into legal trouble. In many cases, this will be too late and will result in major repercussions for the business.

Estate Planning for All Ages and Stages

"I am too young to have a will".  or "Really, Me??? I don't have anything to plan for. These are the most common excuses I hear when younger people meet me and I tell them that I am an estate planning attorney.  Business owners always tell me that they will take care of that when they make their money"!  I have take n the liberty of adapting from a Wall Street Journal Blog an article about estate planning for all ages. 
 
 
"There’s a misconception that

Passing on the Family Jewels: Succession Planning for your Business.

The other day  I was at my mother's house with my sister and my mom pulled us into her bedroom and sat us down.  It was a little scary, but then she pulled out all of her jewelry and said its time to have some fun!  She wanted us to tell her which pieces we wanted when she was no longer here and to tell us what she had already set aside for my niece. I reminded her that she also needed to put something aside for my brother even though he was not there with us.  It brought her joy to hear the stories that we associated with the jewelry, hear her stories of pieces that had been handed down to her and peace of mind for her to know that her prized jewels were going to be in good hands.

Why do you do It? Insight in our firm....

I have been blogging about business law and estate planning issues for a few months now and one client asked me " I love your posts but why do you do it?  Why do you get out of bed and do this work everyday?"  I realized that I have not told my story to too  many people so here it is...
 
I am the daughter of an entrepreneur/business owner who, while he may not have known it at the time, taught me so much about business and I have always wanted to do something with  what I have learned from him.

Don't let the tail wag the dog: Taxes are not the only reason to have an estate plan

Most Americans are not in a situation of worrying about paying estate taxes upon their passing.  In Minnesota you can pass your heirs, charities and special loved ones up to 1 Million dollars before ever having to pay estate taxes. The IRS allows you to pass up to another 4 Million dollars upon your death before worrying about being taxed at the Federal level.  many people ask me with a smirk on their face- "Why do I need to bother with a will or estate plan?  - I will never have to pay taxes".

Someone is running off with your business!!!!!! -Buy/Sell Agreements

You would sound an alarm if someone walked off with half of your money or your household possessions right?  If you are a business owner with partners and have not put a Buy/Sell Agreement in place you could watch part of your business walk right out the door and never know what hit you.   
 
A Buy/Sell Agreement is a must.  This is an agreement between business owners that spells out the terms by which any of you are allowed to be compensated for your share of ownership of the business upon certain events occurring.

10 things to be aware of when starting a business

Just like moving into a new house, starting a business can be so exciting!  Getting your concept off the ground and going gets the adrenaline pumping!!! 
 
But what about the formation of your business and making sure the foundation is strong and stable?  You buy homeowner's insurance to protect your new house - so why would you not get the same type of insurance policy for your new business....  yes,  you would get property and casualty insurance, but your business lawyer can provide a huge amount of protection as well.

C'mon get Happy!

 
 
           C’mon Get Happy!: Advantages of Revocable “Living” Trust 
 
A revocable living trust is an agreement by which you place property in a trust and name yourself and/or some other person as the person in charge or the “Trustee” or” Co-Trustee”, but reserve the right to revoke the trust so that the property can be returned to you. Generally, the trust agreement provides that upon your death the property will go to the people you choose.

Do I need a Will?

Many people think that they do not have "enough" to have a will or do any Estate Planning.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Who needs a will?  Anyone who is married, single, divorced, has children, doesn't have children, owns anything, likes to donate to charity, doesn't like their siblings,  you get the picture....,  If you want to have a say in  who gets your things and money in the event of your death, you need a will. 

Virtual Law Office VS. Online legal services

ShareGet the real thing not a fake.  Check out our blog post!Soooo...... It has finally happened.  Google has challenged Legal Zoom in its march to marginalize the work of attorneys and convince the public thatDIY legal services are the best way to go. Buying on line legal services, such as Legal Zoom and now Rocket Lawyer, versus using a real attorney, whether in person or through an on line Virtual Law Office, is like buying a fake Gucci purse on the street in Chinatown and pretending its real.  Just because it looks the same do not assume the same craftsmanship went into its creation.
Website provided by  Vistaprint
Website
provided by Vistaprint