By Ted Sutton, Esq. Ryan was always ambitious and hard working. As a teen, he would regularly work on house flips with his dad. But when Ryan turned 18, he decided to start his own house flipping business. After listening to his dad’s advice, Ryan formed an...
The Colonial Pipeline shutdown last week raised troubling questions. How vulnerable is our own infrastructure to cyber attacks? Should cyber pirates be paid, as they were by the Colonial Pipeline authorities? Most importantly: What can we do to prevent such attacks?...
Corporations A corporation must have bylaws. Bylaws are the road mapby which the corporation operates. Bylaws set forth how annual and special meetings are called and held, and how officers and directors are elected or removed. Bylaws provide a framework. A lack of...
One of the biggest questions we’re asked when clients are forming an LLC is: Should we be manager managed or member managed? The LLC allows for great flexibility. You can be managed by all the members, which is actually the case in most common business settings. The...
California continues to fight for its $800 minimum franchise tax. If you live outside the state but passively own real or personal property worth over $50,000 inside California you are doing business in the state. Sayeth California’s Franchise Tax Board: Please pay...
Are you aware of the new filing nearly EVERY Corporation and LLC must file beginning in 2022? The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) passed by the Senate and House now requires annual reporting of an entity’s beneficial owners to the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes...
Is Your Retirement Safe? Are you certain of your pension? Can you count on Social Security to pay you in the future? A recent case allowed the State of Rhode Island to unilaterally - and retroactively - reduce public employees' pension benefits. The case, Cranston...
An Evolving Way To Attack Assets Piercing the corporate veil. It sounds painful, and it is. A judgment is entered against a corporation with no assets. To collect the court allows the judgment creditor (the winner in the case) to pierce through the corporation and...
Mom’s Mistake Is No Excuse! Do you have your registered agent service properly in place? A recent Ohio case illustrated the significant pitfalls of lax procedures. Your registered agent’s job is to accept service process, meaning notice of a lawsuit. If you don’t...
Let's start with the good... California Raises their Homestead Exemption The homestead exemption is an excellent creditor protection strategy for personal residences. It all started in Texas when they were an independent republic from 1836 to 1846 and in need of...
You’ve set up your LLC. Now it’s time to make money, and flow the profits into your bank account. It's time to think about how you will be distributing LLC Money between bank accounts. In the example we’ll use in this article, you have transferred title in a real...
California’s minimum tax on business entities is $800.00 per year. The California Franchise Tax is the highest in the nation and also comes with corporate income tax and personal income tax. California traditionally is a tough state to own a small business due to all...
Matt wanted to open a confidential mail order business and he needed to operate with absolute privacy. No one could ever know that he ran a business that sold sensitive supplement products over the internet. Matt lived in Las Vegas and knew he needed a Nevada LLC for...
Joe exchanged emails with Mary. They were investigating whether Joe wanted a consignment of Mary’s embroidered toilet seat covers for Joe’s hardware store. The email conversation trailed off and Joe went on to other things. Two days later, to Joe’s surprise, the...
Scam-Proof Your Assets: Guarding Against Widespread Deception comes out in October. It is my newest Rich Dad Advisor book in several years. It covers the very important issue of cyber criminality now harming all of us. The monetary losses are staggering. The emotional...
Force Majeure is a French term meaning superior force. It is also a contract clause that relieves parties from performance when an extraordinary event occurs. Such challenges, known as ‘black swan’ events or generically ‘Acts of God’, may be mitigated by a force...
Asset protection planning defends your assets from future creditors, divorce, lawsuits or judgments. How can you best plan to protect your personal and business assets? Here are some guidelines to implement strong asset protection. Plan Your Asset Protection Strategy...
Do you live in a high-tax state? Would you be better off having assets in a trust in a state with no taxes? The U.S. Supreme Court just answered the second question with a resounding “Yes” in the Kaestner case. States cannot tax out-of-state trusts. A case summary of...
By Ted Sutton Imagine your elderly parents living a peaceful and happy life after having retired from the workforce. Both of them are staying active whether that includes traveling to new places or taking part in community activities with others their age. They may...
Starting your business from scratch is a big deal. There are a million details to take care of, and the list of demands can seem endless. Small business owners have to hire employees, worry about taxes, and find ways to maximize profits while keeping costs as low as...
Have you heard that land trusts provide asset protection? Do you believe it? Applicable Law Two cases from Illinois concluded that, in a land trust, although the legal and equitable title lies with the trustee, most of the usual attributes of real property ownership...