Today, it’s not unusual for a family to include children from prior marriages. These “blended” families can create estate planning complications that may lead to challenges in the courts after your death. Fortunately, you can reduce the chances of family squabbles by using estate planning techniques designed to preserve wealth…

One of the most important choices an organization will make when forming a new business is which legal structure to choose: limited liability company, partnership, sole proprietorship, corporation, nonprofit, cooperative, etc. The type of business entity that will ultimately be the right fit will depend on a variety of factors…

S corporations must comply with several strict requirements or risk losing their tax-advantaged status. Among other things, they can have no more than 100 shareholders, can have no more than one class of stock and are permitted to have only certain types of shareholders. In an estate planning context, it’s…

The “sandwich generation” accounts for a large segment of the population. These are people who find themselves caring for both their children and their parents at the same time. In some cases, this includes providing parents with financial support. As a result, estate planning — which traditionally focuses on providing…

Gifting assets to loved ones is one of the simplest ways of reducing your taxable estate. However, what may not be as simple is determining whether you need to file a gift tax return (Form 709). With the April 17 filing deadline approaching, now is the time to find out…

It’s common for grandparents to want to help ensure their grandchildren will get a high quality education. And, along the same lines, they also want the peace of mind that their wealth will be preserved for their children and grandchildren after they’re gone. If you’re facing these challenges, one option…

As the holiday season quickly approaches, gift giving will be top of mind. While gifts of electronics, toys and clothes are nice, making tax-free gifts of cash using your annual exclusion is beneficial for both you and your family. Even in a potentially changing estate tax environment, making annual exclusion…

Piercing the Corporate Veil Most Often Occurs in Instances of Fraud or Malfeasance Despite the general rule that stockholders are not personally liable to creditors of a corporation (the operational meaning of “limited liability”), there are specific circumstances where creditors may “pierce the corporate veil” to satisfy corporate obligations by…

Many start-ups are interested in protecting their brands, but initially may not have the resources to file trademark registrations with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Trademarks do not have to be registered with the USPTO in order for the trademark to be protected by the owner.  You may have…

If you are starting an online business and collecting information from your users or customers via your website or a mobile application, then you need to draft and implement an online privacy policy. In general, your online privacy policy is your company’s pledge to your customers about how you will…