Protecting your assets from creditors (“asset protection”) is a topic you don’t think much about until a triggering event, and then it can jump to the top of your priorities. The triggering event may be an accident with personal injuries on your property, a contract commitment turning bad, or involvement in a financial project where substantial resources are lost. Asset protection planning can take many forms, including changing asset titles or setting up structures, such as LLCs or Trusts, to own assets. With respect to Trusts, in the past these have probably gotten more press than their actual usage would […]
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Succession Planning: Overcoming Procrastination and Creating Confidence If any of these sound like you, then you may be an entrepreneur who is reluctant to plan for the future of your business: (1) Need for control; (2) Strong work ethic; (3) Immortality complex. We have techniques to help business owners overcome their procrastination about succession planning. These include providing assurance on financial security and cash flow, painting realistic exit strategies, and pointing out opportunities for tax savings. Utilizing these and other success strategies can give you greater confidence about the future, for your business and your family. *Intended as general guidance […]
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The 40th Annual Estate Planning Conference, held as usual in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, just concluded. Below are three takeaways we believe you’ll find useful in your practice. FLP Entities John W. Porter, an experienced tax litigator with Baker Botts LLP in Houston, Texas spoke on several topics including family limited partnership style entities. There were a number of takeaways but a good summary is still “respect the entity.” Too many families treat these as personal bank accounts rather than business entities and do not get the results they hoped for. If your clients have these LLCs or LPs and […]
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Stewart Law, P.A., a boutique corporate, trusts, and estates firm in Charlotte, North Carolina is proud to announce that Founding Partner, Todd A. Stewart has been recognized as Best Lawyers in America® 2020 in Charlotte, NC. The Best Lawyers in America® program is the oldest and among the most respected attorney ranking services in the world. Todd was selected in the trusts and estates category. Attorneys named to Best Lawyers lists are recognized by their peers in the legal industry for their professional excellence in specific practice areas. To read their recently released press release click here.
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Why would I be interested in Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs)? This new tax provision was created to spur investment in certain under-performing economic areas known as Qualified Opportunity Zones. You can find a map of North Carolina’s zones here. Investing in a QOZ is one of the few opportunities in the tax code to defer (and possibly eliminate) tax on gains. Thus, you can put the whole amount of your proceeds from a sale to work rather than the proceeds less income taxes. How long can I defer paying taxes on my gain? Until you sell or exchange your interest […]
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By Todd A. Stewart, Founding Partner Recently, Joe Hernandez talked with our Vistage group about “High Level Negotiation.” One key takeaway for me runs counter to something that you hear a lot. His point is that you should use anchoring (i.e., the idea that people rely heavily on an idea or number they’ve heard recently) to your benefit and be the person who makes the first offer. Our informal class exercise supported this and the final negotiated value for most groups clustered around the first offer, whether it was near $20,000 or three times this amount. For more information: https://www.lionsharenegotiations.com/. *Intended as […]
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