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Avoid Business Litigation With These Six Steps

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Business litigation is an expensive use of both time and money and should be avoided whenever possible. Even the most favorable of settlements can cost a business months—if not years—of productivity and focus. To avoid the high costs of litigation, follow these six preventive steps:

1. Don’t Skimp On Contracts

Instead of spending a fortune on legal fees when facing a lawsuit in the future, make a smaller, smarter investment in solid contracts and getting clear on agreements up front, in the present.

2. Audit Your Insurance Policies

Ensure that you have the breadth and depth of coverage your business needs to be protected. Consult with us to help you  decipher how to protect your business best using the right kinds and types of insurance, so that if a lawsuit does happen, you aren’t footing the legal bill.

3. Keep Good Records

Simply producing key documents can easily thwart expensive, time consuming lawsuits. Keeping excellent records now can help save money on future litigation. Ask about our LIFT records binder to support you in keeping the right records, and letting go of the rest.

4. Establish Good Processes

Hire, train, and manage your staff with processes and procedures that mitigate the risk of future lawsuits.

5. Be Proactive

Small disputes can quickly turn into full-blown suits. Deal with minor disputes early to avoid a trip to court. Contact us at the first rumblings of a disgruntled client, vendor or partner.

6. Only Enter Into Win/Win Agreements

Commit to caring as much about the outcome with the person you are contracting with as you do about the outcome for yourself. We can help you with that when we are working with you to strategize the documentation of your agreements.

With careful preventative planning, you can safeguard your business against unnecessary and costly litigation.

Protecting your business and your time is a strategic and valuable practice. If you’re ready to take the next step toward preventative planning, start by sitting down with us. We can guide you in making the difficult decisions you face every day as a leader in business, including how to safeguard your business against legal risks. We look out for your business’s future, so you have time and energy to focus on growth and expansion.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Start-Up Session™ or a LIFT Audit for an ongoing business, which includes a review of all the legal, insurance, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Call us today to schedule.

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DIY wills are becoming more prevalent as legal services can now be accessed easily online. For better or worse, more and more people are turning to online services to meet their legal needs, maybe even you.

Here’s what you need to know before you decide to create your own will, using an online service, or even a cheap lawyer for that matter.

While these online companies are making legal services more accessible, they’re also doing their customers a disservice, as evidenced in the recent case of In re: Estate of Aldrich heard in a Florida appeals court.

Ms. Aldrich created her will using a downloaded template from E-Z Legal Forms without the advice and guidance of an estate lawyer. It appears that she wished to leave specific assets to her sister, and then to her brother, if her sister died before her. Her sister did die, after which Ms. Aldrich did not properly update her will.

The assets named in the will went to Ms. Aldrich’s brother, but the template she used did not include a residuary clause, which establishes where unnamed assets should go. There was no way for Ms. Aldrich to know that this was missing from the Will because she was not a lawyer, nor was she truly educated about such matters. Most people are not, nor should they be.

As a result and without a residuary clause, the unnamed assets Ms. Aldrich acquired after the creation of the will passed under Florida’s intestacy laws and into the hands of her nieces, children of another pre-deceased sibling, instead of to her brother, as she seemed to have wanted.

This, of course, after a long, expensive and unnecessary court battle between the nieces and Ms. Aldrich’s brother.

Services like E-Z Legal Forms do not provide personal legal advice or ongoing legal support. Had Ms. Aldrich worked with an estate lawyer to craft—and then update—her planning, she would have left her brother an inheritance of love, rather than a nightmare of time, money and heartache.

This is an important lesson to learn because people too often create their will without having a lawyer review it and then forget to update it as loved ones pass on and new assets are acquired. In the end, their wishes aren’t honored because they weren’t clearly defined, leaving the matter in the hands of the court.

If you’re ready to develop a sound estate plan that will leave a legacy of true love, start by sitting down with one of us. We can help you with your legal planning needs. Our Family Wealth Planning Session guides you to protect and preserve what matters most. Before the session, we’ll send you a Family Wealth Inventory and Assessment to complete that will get you thinking about what you own, what’s most important to you, and what you can do to ensure your family is taken care of. Schedule online.

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As the baby boomer generation ages—and downsizes—more and more adult children will be tasked with going through their loved one’s belongings to decide what to do with everything. As more and more people downsize after retirement, china sets, furniture, heirlooms, and other belongings are often left behind and unwanted. Have you ever wondered how to handle a surplus of stuff when a loved one ages?

Traditionally, these items have been passed down to the next generation. But today, the next  generation has different needs, tastes, and wants. As a result, there is a surplus of “stuff” baby boomers don’t need or have room for, and their adult children don’t want. Maybe that includes you.

This is an all too common problem with a few helpful solutions.

The thought of tossing a lifetime of belongings in the trash is more than many can bear, which explains the advent of the senior move management industry. Today, there are a plethora of professionals who can help your loved one go through each item to decide what should be kept, what should be given away, and what should go to charity or donated.

The cost of this professional service can be up to $5,000 for a large estate, but it eases the burden on the adult children and ensures the loved one’s wishes are listened to and honored.

Bear in mind, as the baby boomer generation ages, charities and nonprofits that typically accept used furniture and other belongings are faced with the burden of too much stuff. The dated styles baby boomers preferred during their prime don’t fit the tastes and needs of today’s generation. The current generation views belongings like furniture and dishes as functional and more disposable, better suited to their urban, fast-paced lives where minimalism and portability are more prized than sentimentality and tradition.

Another way to decrease the time and effort it takes to dispose of all your belongings is to be very clear about what you consider to be heirlooms and valuable items by indicating in your will, or in a separate writing ancillary to your will, exactly what’s important to you and what isn’t.

Most importantly, talk to your children or other heirs to see what they want and don’t want. And to make sure they know what’s important to you, and what isn’t. The more you can communicate about this now with your loved one’s, the better.

You may be surprised to discover that most family fights that break up families aren’t over money at all, but over the personal property of mom and dad that the kids fight over because there was not clear instructions.

As more baby boomers age and non-profits turn away dated donations,  the need for thoughtful estate planning is greater than ever. A comprehensive estate plan can ensure your belongings either go to those who will cherish them or to charities that will benefit from them.

Schedule our appointment today.

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There are many reasons people decide to start their own business: to be your own boss, set your own hours, control the people and projects you work with. Yet the reality of business ownership isn’t quite as rosy—it’s one of the most stressful endeavors you’ll ever undertake.

While running your own company will inevitably have its maddening moments, some of the biggest stressors can be successfully managed if you know how to approach them. Here are three of the most unnerving parts of owning any business and how to handle them like a champ.

Lack of Predictability

You’d think that running your own business would mean you’re in control of everything, with no one else telling you what to do, how to do it, or when to do it. And you’d be right—mostly. Paradoxically, by going it alone, you’re in control of everything and nothing at the same time.

With a steady 9-5 gig, you can pretty much count on consistent paychecks, predictable hours, a stable office location, and even regular vacations. But when you’re your own boss, consistency and predictability go out the window.

Dealing with inconsistent income can be a huge stressor, as you never know if you’re going to be able to pay your bills. What’s more, it’s often the case that if you’re not working, the business is not functioning, making things like days off and vacations seem like a fantasy.

The Fix:

Before launching a business, it’s crucial to have enough clients to ensure a fairly stable income. So it’s a good idea to keep your day job to pay the bills, while building a stable of regular projects on the side. Of course, there’s no guarantee that any clients will stick around forever, so it’s also prudent to set aside several month’s worth of savings to get you through the lean times.

And though it may be impossible to do in the beginning, make hiring a robust support staff a top priority, so you can eventually take time off when planned—or unplanned—events require you to step away from the driver’s seat.

Not Having Enough Time

Unpredictability and time management go hand in hand. Without a structured and enforced schedule to adhere to, it’s easy to get sidetracked by the day-to-day minutiae that comes with running a business.

Time management is arguably the most important skill for business owners to master, as not having enough time to handle key tasks will freak you out and wreck your business at the same time. It’s vital to establish an effective way to budget your time and then stick to a schedule as if your life depended on it (since it kind of does).

The Fix:

The first step to budgeting your time is to establish your top priorities and then set aside blocks of time each day/week/month strictly dedicated to those tasks. Focus on these items first and fit everything else in around them.

It’s also crucial to figure out the times of day you’re most productive and schedule your top tasks during these periods. Some people like to handle the most challenging items first, but others find their groove later in the day, so pay attention to your own energy and build your schedule around it.

No Work/Life Balance

Even if you’re one of those people who “live for their work,” if you don’t devote enough time to rest and relaxation both your work and life will suffer. Ironically, many people launch their own business specifically to have more time for themselves, but once you see what’s actually involved, you’ll often find the business is the one who owns you—not the other way around.

Having an effective work/life balance is the key not only to being effective at your job, but also being healthy and happy. Running a business can take a toll on your mental and physical health, and if you don’t find a proper balance, it can lead to literally fatal outcomes.

The Fix:

One of the first steps to work/life balance is to set realistic work hours and adhere to them just like any other job. When you work from home or don’t have a regular office, it’s easy to let “work time” eat into your “me time,” until all you have is “work time.”

Consider personal time just like your top business priorities—set aside blocks of time for it, and stick to that schedule religiously. In addition to scheduling time to spend with your family and friends, also make time for rejuvenating activities like exercise, meditation, hobbies, and other things (don’t forget sleep) that allow you to relax and recharge your batteries.

Rather than seeing these things as distractions from work, you’ll ultimately find they’re essential for maximizing performance and productivity.

One great way to reduce stress is to implement systems that allow you to streamline your day-to-day operations. We offer a wealth of turnkey solutions that will give you maximum control over your business—and your mental health. What’s more, we’ll guide you through those tough decisions, so you can rest easy knowing you’ve done everything to ensure your company is as secure and successful as possible.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Start-Up Session™ or a LIFT Audit for an ongoing business, which includes a review of all the legal, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Call us today to schedule. Or, schedule online.

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Like everyone else, you’ve probably been getting a ton of emails and online notices announcing that companies are updating their privacy policies and/or website tracking tools. So, what is the GDPR?

Although businesses do this from time to time as part of routine updates, practically all of the latest notices are aimed at complying with a new European Union (EU) law known as the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR).

Some of you probably don’t even know what GDPR is, and for those of you who do, I’m betting only a fraction of you have made serious efforts to comply with the new law.

The good news is—you’re not alone.

Surveys have shown that up to 90% of U.S. business owners are currently not in compliance with GDPR, which went into effect on Friday, May 25th. But just because only a few people are following the law doesn’t mean it’s something you should ignore.

With the maximum fines for non-compliance as high as 4% of your annual revenue or $24.6 million (whichever is higher), doing nothing could potentially devastate your business. But before you go into panic mode, realize that a lot of the hype surrounding the law has been overblown, particularly for small US-based companies.

The GDPR’s vague language, conflicting media reports, and fear-mongering from newly minted “GDPR consultants” have all fanned the flames of anxiety. Fortunately, we’ve thoroughly researched the GDPR, and we’re going to highlight our findings here to clarify what the new law is, who it applies to, and what—if anything—you should do to comply.

Should I be worried?

The first thing you should do is stop stressing! First of all, the EU regulatory bodies charged with enforcement have made it clear that excessive fines and other penalties will be a last resort, not the norm.

That said, if your company does business within the EU—even just collecting names and addresses—then you should become familiar with GDPR and possibly take some basic actions to ensure your company is in reasonable compliance.

What is GDPR?

In a nutshell, GDPR is aimed at enhancing EU citizens’ data protection and privacy rights. While the law is primarily designed to protect people’s personal data found online, it impacts all of the ways businesses collect and store customer data.

At its core, GDPR gives EU citizens the right to decide how their personal information is collected, stored, processed, and destroyed. According to GDPR, if you collect personal data from people living in the EU, your company must ensure that these customers:
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  • can easily request access to their personal data
  • can easily update their own personal information to keep it accurate
  • can easily request deletion of their personal data
  • can easily request that their data be delivered to themselves or a third party
  • can easily object to profiling or automated decision-making that might impact them

Given its vast scope, GDPR is being touted as the world’s most sweeping privacy law. At the same time, because the law just recently went into effect, it remains to be seen how it will actually work when it’s put into practice and enforced.

Does GDPR apply to my business?

Whether a small US business needs to comply is based on whether or not the company stores and processes personal data from EU citizens. What’s considered personal data covers a wide range of identifiers, including:

  • Names, addresses, phone numbers, and ID numbers
  • Web tracking (“cookies” and other tools that record who visits your website)
  • Social media posts
  • Health and genetic data
  • Race or ethnicity data

If you collect and use this kind of information from EU residents, your company is technically required to comply with GDPR. If you don’t store such data on EU residents and don’t plan to in the future, the law doesn’t apply to your business.

How do I comply?

At the very least, you may want to perform a basic data audit to see how much personal information your company is storing from EU residents. If EU residents don’t make up a significant portion of your customer base, you might simply choose to delete that data and stop doing business in the EU. Or you may decide to take the risk of non-compliance.

If you decide that you want to keep working with and/or marketing to customers in the EU, the level of your company’s compliance will need to be determined on an individual basis. One simple way this can be done is to complete a risk/reward analysis that looks at the costs of compliance, the risks your business faces from non-compliance, and the potential rewards compliance might offer. If you’d like our help with such a risk/reward analysis, call us to help you weigh the pros and cons for your particular business and discuss your compliance options.

It’s possible that small businesses with few EU residents in their database will not be targeted at all, and even if they are, they might simply receive a warning letter about future compliance. At this stage, however, it’s impossible to know for certain how GDPR will be enforced and whether such minimal collections of data will create a serious liability for US business owners.

What does the future hold?

Ultimately, GDPR is not intended to stop companies from marketing or processing personal data for aboveboard business reasons—it’s aimed at stopping companies from collecting and using individual data for shady purposes, a la Cambridge Analytica.

In the end, GDPR may turn out to be much ado about nothing, or it could transform the way countries, including our own, handle the privacy rights of their citizens—only time will tell. Until then, you should call us as your Creative Business Lawyer® to set up an appointment to discuss the law’s potential impact on your business. Armed with that knowledge, if and when the GDPR does impact your business, you won’t be caught unaware.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Start-Up Session™ or a LIFT Audit for an ongoing business, which includes a review of all the legal, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Schedule online today.

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As digital currency becomes increasingly common for businesses to conduct business online, the fees associated with online transactions rises to the top of the list of liabilities to be considered. The convenience of taking virtual currency comes at a cost. When looking for financially sound solutions to this problem, you may hear about Bitcoin and the possibilities this new form of currency brings for managing online transactions around the world.

Bitcoin is a digital currency which can be used to purchase goods and services online. Unlike credit cards, however, Bitcoin transactions do not require credit card processing fees. Bitcoin is also a global currency, meaning it is not governed by any specific country’s rules and regulations.

As Bitcoin grows in popularity, Bitcoin holders are beginning to seek out businesses that will accept Bitcoin in exchange for products and services. Sounds like a win/win for any business that conducts transactions online, right? Bitcoin certainly has its advantages, but let’s take a look at exactly what it is, the purchasing power it has, and how to do business with it.

Bitcoin is acquired through online marketplaces, transferred between parties, or mined using computers that process data. In this respect, Bitcoin isn’t as widely circulated as other forms of currency, and as such, is limited to those who know and understand the Bitcoin marketplace. This may or may not apply to your customer base.

Bitcoin is currently unregulated, though the US Securities and Exchange Commission has just indicated that initial coin offerings (ICOs) for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will be regulated as a security.

Bitcoin is stored in a digital space, either on servers or on the owner’s personal computer. Though you can now find terminals where you can acquire Bitcoin and POS devices that allow brick and mortar stores to accept them, Bitcoin is always stored digitally. So, like anything else stored digitally, Bitcoin is vulnerable to hacking efforts, viruses, deletion and being lost in the event of your death or incapacity because your family cannot access your account. Bitcoin is also uninsured by the FDIC.

Transactions conducted with Bitcoin are anonymous, which may or may not serve your business’s interests.

Some companies now provide merchant solutions for companies wanting to accept Bitcoin in exchange for goods or services. While the logistics of doing business with Bitcoin may be covered using these merchant services, the issues with the currency itself, such as the lack of regulation, remain.

If you are interested in accepting Bitcoin as a payment method in your business, let’s talk and we can evaluate the potential risks and liabilities associated with your specific business and advise you on how to maximize your success when getting into the world of cryptocurrency.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Start-Up Session™ or a LIFT Audit for an ongoing business, which includes a review of all the legal, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Call us today to schedule. Or, schedule online.