So you have done your research and have decided it is time to start planning your estate. Great! But what is the next step? When you decide to meet with your estate planning attorney, the very first thing to do is call and make an appointment. It sounds simple, but selecting a day and time […]
What Should Be In My Contract
Many of our clients are increasingly turning to the Internet to find legal forms. Routinely, we see a contract form or other legal document that a client has purchased or downloaded for free from a website. Unfortunately, the use of these forms often causes problems for one or all of the following reasons. First, the […]
Get Paid By Your Customers & Clients – How to Avoid Collection Problems
Times are tough these days, and it is common for a business to have growing Accounts Receivable, as clients stop paying or slow-pay. Businesses often experience difficulties in collecting monies owed to them by their customers and clients, and that is particularly true during a recession. Every business has experienced some difficulty in getting paid […]
Confessions of a Debt Collector: The Statute of Limitations
1. What is the Statute of Limitations? A statute of limitations is a mechanism that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated against a debtor. The statute of limitations period starts on the last date of activity on the account—keep in mind this date could […]
Is Your LLC or Corporation Current & Updated
Limited liability entities- such as corporations and limited liability companies- require basic maintenance. Yet, amazingly, a large percentage of Indiana corporations and Indiana LLC’s are not updated by management or owners. What they risk by failing to upkeep these entities is nothing less than having a court ignore the “corporate shield” by applying liability directly […]
The Rule of Business Decision Procrastination
Far too often, business owners and managers delay making important decisions out of pure fear. They fear the uncertainty that accompanies decision-making, which is understandable but rarely helpful. As an Indiana business lawyer, I have witnessed small businesses suffer from “paralysis by analysis. Consider a sampling of the questions with which small businesses routinely suffer: […]
Rules of Thumb to Protect Your Brand
Critical to branding a business, or its goods or services, are: (1) a tagline that effectively describes your company, product or service and (2) an attractive logo to create immediate awareness. Branding is the art and science of differentiating you from your competition. As part of successfully establishing your brand through an effective tagline and logo, you […]
Outside-In Asset Protection & the Future of the Single-Member LLC
ARTICLE UPDATE- 6.30.22 Starting in the early 1990’s, states began passing statutes permitting businesses to be organized as limited liability companies (an “LLC”). Today, LLC’s are widely accepted and regularly used. Over the past two decades, the IRS, state taxing agencies and the courts have resolved a number of issues regarding LLC’s, and the rules […]
The S- Election for Small Businesses
One of the big advantages of being a small business is that a small business is generally treated as a “tax flow through” entity. That means the entity itself pays no income tax, and all the business’ profits (or losses) are reported on the individual income tax returns of the business’ owners. This advantage is […]
Small Businesses & Liability Risks- Has Your Business Adopted a Safe Driving Policy?
Indiana became the 32nd state to ban text messaging while driving, effective July 1, 2011. The new law calls for “primary enforcement,” which means police can stop and cite violators for that reason alone. Now, drivers can be subject to fines of up to $500 for texting and driving. The new law, called the Indiana […]