Five Reasons Small Business Owners Should Hire A Lawyer

Typically there are only two reasons. One, protect your business. Two, protect your personal & family assets.

There are, however, five (5) mistakes that hiring an attorney can help you avoid. There are actually many more than 5 mistakes, but the consequences of falling victim to one of these 5 mistakes can be devastating to the business owner and her or his family. The consequences can be criminal. Some of the civil consequences can feel like a debtor’s prison.

Some entrepreneurs know or should have known about these mistakes, but had no idea how devastating the consequences are. Most, unfortunately, didn’t know to avoid the mistakes or they would have. They don’t know what they don’t know. They never had a reason to know, but had they employed an attorney like those at Bellenot & Boufford, LLC, they would have known. They would have been well educated.

  1. Don’t Fail To Incorporate. Incorporating / forming an LLC creates a “Corporate Veil”. The corporate veil protects your personal and family assets.
  2. Don’t Break The Corporate Veil. Certain actions can break through the protection that the corporate veil provides. The attorneys at Bellenot & Boufford, LLC can help educate you on how to avoid this often devastating mistake. Help save your home, your bank account, investments and protect your wages.
  3. Don’t get by without Workers’ Compensation Insurance. There are cases where an employee is injured on the job and the medical expenses, tax consequences and out of work benefits cost the small business owner in excess of a million dollars. Yes, more than $1,000,000.00. This is money that will be assessed against the small business owner. It is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Short of winning the mega million jackpot, these business owners will never be able to own anything again.
  4. Don’t skip quarterly or estimated tax payments, especially sales taxes and withholding taxes. In addition to the overwhelming financial penalties, there is the significant potential for criminal charges. A criminal conviction, jail and financial penalties.
  5. Don’t mistake an employee as a 1099 subcontractor. Neither you nor the employee / contractor can classify the status. The IRS determines who is an employee from a contractor. The financial consequences for this mistake can, again, be devastating and last a lifetime.

The best reason a small business owner should hire an attorney is to protect their life and their family’s future. The cost to hire an attorney at the beginning is minuscule to the cost and devastation of falling victim to a mistake that you didn’t even know to protect yourself against.

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Limited Scope Legal Representation?

What: Limited Scope Legal Representation is partial representation which is relatively new and allowed in family legal matters.

How it works: Both the attorney and the client file appearances with the court. The client, with the assistance of the attorney, decide what parts of the matter the attorney will handle and what parts of the matter the client will handle. Each is allowed to work independently but often confer for strategic purposes.

Why: Cost savings and control. Ideally, everyone would be able to afford full representation for their legal matter. Legal representation is expensive and many people just cannot afford the full boat. Limited Scope Representation gives the client the option of representing themselves with the benefit of an attorney for the parts of the case they feel is most important or complicated. It also gives the client more control over how their legal matter proceeds which some people see as a benefit instead of a burden. Up until recently, this hybrid representation was not an option; the attorney was either all in or not. This arrangement makes expert legal assistance available to more people going through family legal issues. The problem is, many people don’t know about it and many attorneys do not discuss it.

For more information, please visit our A-La-Carte Legal Services page

Wills & Living Wills: What They Are and Why We Need Them

Everyone has heard it and everyone knows it – everyone should have a Will and Living Will. But, like most preventative measures, the advice goes unheeded. Why? For most, they are way too busy to worry about something that is not a pressing issue – like what they are going to give the kids for lunch tomorrow. Others don’t like to think about death or illness and live by the, “that won’t happen to me…” scenario. And some either have never worked with an attorney and don’t know how to start the process or don’t want to spend the money on something that isn’t going to provide immediate gratification (or in this case, any – for them…)

  1. Make the time to put obtaining your Wills in your schedule. Like anything else, if it’s not on the calendar, it won’t get done.
  2. I can’t make thinking about death and illness pleasant. All I can say is that you will probably only have to do it once and people are always very happy to have finally gotten it done.
  3. Prices of Wills vary depending on the complexity of them. Most people have simple wills and they are on the lower end. I’m going to borrow the Mastercard tag line: Knowing your children are protected/Peace of mind = priceless.
  4. Beginning the process is as easy as contacting an attorney. They will do the rest. I should note that there are many do-it-yourself books available for completing your own Wills. You would have to invest the time and be willing to take the risk that you did it correctly. Unfortunately, the validity of these documents is not tested until you are incompetent or deceased….Not very convenient for making any corrections.

What is a Will

A Will is a document that allows you to state how you want your possessions and money to be distributed upon your death. More important it gives you the opportunity to appoint guardians for your minor children. If you die without a Will, your possessions and money will be distributed according to state law, which may be different than you’d like. The absence of a Will also causes a more costly and protracted Probate administration of your estate. The Court, instead of you, appoints an executor for the estate and a guardian for any minor children.

What is a Living Will

A Living Will is a document that conveys your wishes for medical treatment in the event you are determined to be in a permanent vegetative state. It includes the appointment of a Health Care Agent who is someone that has the authority to make the decision to “pull the plug.” I advise clients to speak in detail with their Health Care Agent about their wishes and with their priest or other spiritual advisor about the terms of the Living Will.

While any legal document can be challenged, the proper execution of these documents will greatly reduce the likelihood of family discord and anguish and allow your family to address your death or illness as quickly as possible and with peace of mind.