Estate Planning Lawyer

If you’ve been researching all things estate planning, then you likely have heard limitless tips on how to make the task easier for you. Planning for both life and death is something each person will have to do eventually, and if you don’t have your matters in place, it can make things harder for loved ones who will be grieving your passing, and probably won’t be in the mood for a legal issue. 

Here are estate planning tips that you need to know, but may not have heard yet:

Start your estate planning right now

Many people think that you have to be in your retirement or senior years before you need to consider an estate plan. However, this isn’t true, because at any age you are going to have valuables that you want protecting from thereon out. Furthermore, you don’t need millions of dollars in the bank to benefit from an estate plan. Essentially, writing your wishes in a legally-binding document ensures that your legacy is passed down to future generations as you prefer.

Safely share your login and passwords

Within your estate plan, consider writing a page that lists your login and passwords for important accounts such as bank accounts, social media, email address, and any other accounts that your beneficiaries could use. After you pass on, your closest loved ones may need to access your accounts to retrieve family photographs, pay bills, contact specific parties, and more. 

Know what happens if you don’t write an estate plan

If you do not have a properly written estate plan, then the government will be responsible for how and to whom your assets are distributed. As most people would probably agree with, the idea of having the court system handle your legacy is terrifying enough, so taking action now to protect your assets is imperative. 

As our estate planning lawyer friends at Klenk Law can agree with, starting early on planning for the future can prevent issues related to your assets and legacy from arising later on down the line, and prevents the courts from handling it for you

Business Lawyer

Ownership of an LLC is a bit more complicated than ownership of a corporation. Often, owners do not have “shares” and so their ownership is only catalogued in the Operating Agreement of the LLC. This makes selling and buying of LLC ownership complicated for most people to manage without an Attorney, such as our friends at Mughal Law Firm, PLLC, to review different business structures and ownership options.

How to set up ownership of an LLC?

Setting up ownership of an LLC can be done in many ways. Within the operating agreement, an LLC can specify a certain percentage ownership to the various owners. This is the most common practice but not always the best option. For example, an Operating agreement could say something like “Bob owns 49% of the LLC and Sarah owns 51%”. In this scenario, in order for Sarah to become 100% owner, she would have to purchase Bob’s 49%. Another way to set up an LLC is to refer to ownership as a collection of shares. In this scenario we would say something like “LLC shall have 2000 shares” and “Bob is issued 900 shares and Sarah is issued 1100 shares.” This method is more preferable simply because it makes the division of ownership simpler. Instead of having multiple owners having decimal percentages, all owners will have a whole number of shares which then can be valued individually and transferred as needed. 

How to buy and sell ownership of an LLC?

Each LLC may be different and require a careful examination of the Operating Agreement to determine how ownership can be bought and sold. For instance, you may have restrictions in your ownership agreement preventing you from simply selling your ownership to someone on the street. However, if the restrictions allow it, oftentimes all that is needed is a purchase agreement, some sort of valuation of the ownership, and an amendment to the Operating Agreement, reflecting the new ownership.

Should I consult a Lawyer before buying or selling Ownership of an LLC?

The short answer is yes. If there are mistakes in the process of transferring the ownership of an LLC, it may result in the transfer being voidable by a Court of law or ignored by the LLC itself. For example, if you fail to follow the proper restrictions of transfer, an LLC can legally ignore your purchase of ownership and refuse to update their Operating Agreement to reflect your ownership. Alternatively, if your transaction does not have the proper consideration, it can be attacked in court for the transfer to be voided. In this scenario, if you buy 50 shares of an LLC for $1 when in actuality those shares are valued at $1000.00 each, the previous owner could attack the transfer and try to get it struck down as a void transaction due to the failure of consideration. 

Believe it or not, demolitions can be less expensive than a full on renovation. Whether you are looking to update an office for business purposes or your home, you should look at all of the pros and cons of renovations versus complete demolition. You may be surprised with what you find. Always contact demolition services, like the services of Nielsen Environmental, before beginning a project to see what would best suit your needs. Continue reading to find out why a demolition may be the project that you need for your business or home. 

Demolitions Can Be Environmentally Friendly

Believe it or not, but many demolition service companies do their best to have ways to reuse and recycle the items that are demolished. Whether it is repurposing wood to be used elsewhere or recycling plastic to be remade into something else, these companies find it important to be kind to the earth. 

Demolitions Allow for a Completely Clean Slate

Another pro to doing an entire demolition, rather than a renovation, is that you have an infinite number of ways to rebuild everything once the demolition is completed. With a renovation, you need to use the “bones” of the building that you already have. This will give limitations to what you can do and how you can change the space. You can build something that will suit your needs completely and that will be good for you long-term, rather than doing expensive renovations to only be partially happy with the results. 

Demolitions Will Eliminate Toxic Waste and Materials from Your Land

By hiring a good demolition service who is experienced in the field, you are trusting someone to take care of any hazards that may be on your property. Whether this involves getting rid of asbestos or mold in a safe manner or other dangerous waste that was on your property, a demolition service will know how to do this to make your land safe to build on once again. Getting rid of mold and asbestos is a dangerous job that should only be performed by professionals. A demolition service will have the proper gear and protections in place to do so to ensure that people’s health and wellbeing is a priority. You need to eliminate these dangerous things from your property, but do so in a safe manner. 

Contact a Demolition Service Today

You should reach out to a demolition service today with any questions you may have about the process. They should be able to give you an estimate on how much your job will be, how long it may take, and then determine whether this is the right path for you to take for your needs or the needs of your business. Do not hesitate. It is important to have a healthy and safe home or establishment for your workplace. A good home demolition service will be able to go through the pros and cons of hiring them for your own personal needs. 

Filing for bankruptcy feels like a severe and permanent decision. You may be afraid that once you file you are going to regret it. This is why it is so important to have a bankruptcy attorney, like one from The Law Offices of Ronald I. Chorches, on your side. He or she will be there every step of the way so that you can feel confident with each decision you need to make. 

Realize that You Are Getting a Fresh Start

Despite possibly feeling like you are doing something detrimental to your credit score and other financial aspects of your life, you are actually also getting a clean, fresh start. By choosing to file for bankruptcy, you are allowing yourself to get a break from being weighed down with seemingly impossible bills to pay. You will be forgiven of the debt that was causing you so much angst and misery, and you will be able to move on with your life and start fresh. 

This Will Not Last Forever

Your credit score will take a hit when initially filing for bankruptcy, but it will not be like this for the rest of your life. It typically takes about 5 years or more for your credit score to begin really recovering, but in the meantime your attorney can give you tips and tricks to help facilitate this recovery. Knowing that you are free from the debt that was weighing you down should offer a sense of relief. 

Create a Budget that Makes You Comfortable

Whether you hire a financial planner to help you or decide to go over your finances on your own, it is important to change your habits and to always be thinking about the future. By doing this, you will lessen your chances of ever being in this kind of situation again. You should always have some amount of money set aside for fun activities or things that you can splurge on, but need to have a good amount of self control when planning as well. You may need to make compromises with your own desires or your partners, but planning ahead will allow you to prioritize all of your expenses. 

Ask Your Attorney Any Questions You Have

Whether you are concerned about something before, during, or after filing for bankruptcy, you should always ask any questions that you have throughout the entire process. Your attorney is there to help and will be more than happy to help put your mind at ease. It is his or her duty to put you on the road to success, so you should not feel shy about asking. No question is too big or too small for your bankruptcy attorney to handle. He or she has handled many cases like yours and has likely seen it all. You hired an attorney so that you would have years of experience on your side and so that you could trust an expert in any areas that you do not understand. He or she will be more than happy to set up a meeting or phone call to go over all of your concerns. 

Estate Planning Lawyer

Estate Planning Tips: When to Update or Start Your Strategy

If you’re like most people, you don’t want to think about your estate plan. Not only is it a difficult subject for a lot of people, but it can also feel complex and redundant. Still, if you want to ensure that your wishes are honored and that your assets go to the right place, you need to start working on an estate plan now, no matter your age or your income. 

Here are some tips on when you need to work on your plan:

Major Financial Changes

Anytime you have a major financial change, you need to think about your estate plan. You especially want to pay attention to your estate plan when it comes to finding a new, higher-paying job. As you begin to save money and perhaps open a retirement fund, you have moving parts to think about. You need to think about who you want to control your assets and who you want to benefit from your estate.

Major Family Changes

Major family changes can include the birth of a child, marriage, divorce, or blended families. You need to ensure that the beneficiaries are up to date. Likewise, if you have an executor, you do not want to fall out with him or her and then forget to remove the person as executor. If you don’t have an estate plan, you need to think of one when you have dependents. Start to think about what would happen to your children if something happened to you or who would inherit your assets.

Major Inheritances

If you recently came into money or assets via inheritance, you need to start thinking about your estate plan. Inheritances add to your net worth and your assets. If something were to happen to you, where would the money, property, or other valuable items go? If you already have an estate plan, then an inheritance could change your financial picture entirely.

If you don’t have an estate plan, now is the best time to do it. While you should never wait until you have considerable assets, you should not hold off once you do. Suddenly, if you were to die without a will or trust, your next of kin could inherit a major tax bill.

When it comes to your estate plan, the general rule is to check it every five years. The exception to the five-year rule is if you have any major life change that could affect your financial situation or the future of your assets. If you’re unsure about when to start or change your plan, consult with an estate planning lawyer in Fort Collins, CO as soon as possible for more information.

Estate Lawyer

Critical Aspects of Designing a Comprehensive Estate Plan

Creating an estate plan isn’t something we do every day. Because of this, the thought of putting one together can be vexing. Still, it’s important that we have one in place so our after-death wishes are carried out. Here are some estate planning matters that need to be handled.

Write a Will

This essential document tells who will inherit your assets once you’re gone. It should also name a guardian for your children in case you and your partner pass away before they’re grown. Be certain these preferences are legally memorialized.

Make a Trust

Trusts allow heirs immediate access to money. Without one in place, they have to go through probate court to get it, which can be an expensive and draining process. Establish a trust so there’s one less hurdle for them to overcome.

Set Health Care Directives

In the event you become incapacitated, others need to know the limits of what treatment you’re willing to endure. Spell out these wishes so you’ll be cared for accordingly. Further, you can designate someone to make medical decisions on your behalf, in the event circumstances that you and your estate planner fail to consider unfold. 

Buy Life Insurance

Passing away before debts are paid means heirs could wind up being saddled with undeserved financial obligations. Life insurance provides a means of negating this possibility. Consult an insurance provider to determine how much coverage you need.

Account for Funeral Expenses

When families are grieving, the last thing they want to discuss is payment for burial. Relieve loved ones of this burden by setting aside money that becomes available upon your death. An estate planning lawyer may also write language regarding end-of-life wishes, such as whether you want to be cremated or buried, and desires regarding organ donation.

Safely File Everything

It’s vital that those responsible for taking care of important concerns after you’re gone have access to every piece of estate planning documentation. Lock paperwork inside a safe, and tell executors where these files are. Don’t forget to provide them with the combination or key that’s necessary to retrieve them. Recommend that they store it in a memorable place where they’ll have no trouble finding it despite being in mourning. 

Estate planning is the only way to make certain our wants are carried out precisely as we desire after we’ve moved on. Contact an estate lawyer in Fort Collins, CO to provide assistance with the legal side of events after your passing.