You will have at least one person (if not multiple people) involved in the disposition of your assets in your estate plan. This could be the executor of your Last Will and Testament, Health Care Directive agent, or trustee. The job of a trustee is multifaceted and is not for everyone, but the position is vital for countless estate planners and beneficiaries. Without an effective trustee, your assets might not go to Read More
The Ins and Outs of Forming Your Business Outside Your Home State
It’s a popular myth that it’s always best to form your business in a business-friendly state, like Delaware, Wyoming, or Nevada in order to save on taxes, benefit from increased privacy, and possibly have an easier time raising capital. However, for many businesses, incorporating in these states is completely unnecessary—and it may even cost your company in the long run. Let’s break it down here, so you can make the Read More
New Developments Transform the Role Life Insurance Plays in Your Estate and Financial Planning
Within the past year, a combination of new legislation and the recent change of leadership in the White House and Congress stands to dramatically increase the income taxes your loved ones will have to pay on inherited retirement accounts as well as increasing the income taxes you owe on your taxable investments. However, purchasing life insurance may offer you the opportunity to minimize the effect of these Read More
Managing Your Digital Afterlife: A Guide To Facebook’s Legacy Contact
If you use Facebook to share, track, and report on important life events, it can provide an intimate snapshot of your life, and it can also serve as a key part of your legacy—and one you’ll likely want to protect following your death. With this in mind, as with any other digital asset you own, you should include your Facebook profile as part of your estate plan. While you’ll want to include your Facebook profile Read More
Saving Taxes for S-Corporations
There are many reasons why the owners of an LLC or corporation would choose to have their company receive S-corporation tax treatment. Corporations might want to take advantage of the pass-through taxation (shareholders must still report dividends on personal income tax returns). Members (owners) of an LLC might also be attracted to the S-corporation tax treatment due to recent tax reforms. Depending on your reason Read More
What You Need to Know About Boilerplate Contract Terms
Every legal agreement you sign is going to contain boilerplate terms, which are sometimes referred to as the “fine print.” It’s important that you understand these terms before you sign any agreement, because even though they may seem tedious to read, these terms will impact you and your business if and when you ever have to go to court to enforce the agreement. Common Boilerplate Terms Found in Legal Read More
Does Your Estate Plan Protect Your Intellectual Property?
If you own a business, you almost certainly have intellectual property. However, because your intellectual property is intangible, it can be invisible to you and those who aren’t familiar with the nature of intellectual property and its value, so it often gets overlooked, especially when it comes to estate planning. Yet, if you fail to properly document your intellectual property, your estate plan will likely not Read More
Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh Dies Without A Will—Part 2
In part one of this series, we discussed how Tony Hsieh became an Internet pioneer, starting two wildly successful companies, LinkExchange and Zappos, the latter of which he sold to Amazon for $1.2 billion. It was as CEO of the online shoe brand Zappos where Hsieh developed his vision for life and business: delivering happiness. A Double Life Hsieh outlined this mission in the 2010 book, Delivering Happiness: Read More
What is a Heggstad Petition Used For?
For all the usefulness of a living trust (revocable and irrevocable) in the context of estate planning, many planners, unfortunately, fail to transfer the title of their assets to the trust after they create it. Living trusts allow property and assets to be distributed to beneficiaries in an efficient manner (outside of probate court) when the trustor passes away or becomes incapacitated. What can you do if a Read More
Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh Dies Without A Will—Part 1
On November 27th, nine days after being pulled unconscious from a house fire in a beachfront home in New London, Connecticut, Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of the online shoe retailer Zappos, died due to complications of smoke inhalation. Hsieh, who was single and had no children, was just 46. Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, law enforcement ruled his death accidental. At the time of Read More
