Oregon Estate + Business Planning Blog

Business Planning: How to Get Started, DIY or attorney?

 

I got this question on my Facebook page, and I’m not entirely clear about whether the question was meant to be about business planning or estate planning, but it’s a great question either way, so I’m going to make this question a two-for. I’m going to answer this as it relates to business planning in the first video, and in the next video, I’ll answer it as it relates to estate planning.

So, the question is: How do I get started? What can I do myself and what do I need a professional for?

Let’s discuss what the point of business planning is, and how you can help yourself, versus when you should seek help from a lawyer.

1. The first general point is organization and legal compliance. You want to make sure your business is legit, and that you’re not breaking any laws. This is a place where you can do a lot of self-help. Here in Oregon, there are a ton of resources provided to the public about how to organize your business and how to comply with laws. Look on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website as well as the Oregon State Bar website and look to groups like MercyCorps for guidance on legal compliance and business organization practices.

2. The second general point of business planning is tax savings. In the beginning of starting your business, you may not be making a lot of money yet, and so tax savings may not be a huge discussion at that point. But when you are getting to a point where you are bringing in more than what a “reasonable salary” would be in your field, it’s time to have that conversation with your tax professional and an attorney about how you can structure your business to save on taxes. In the meantime, you can do some self-education on the difference between different types of business entities, particularly LLCs that are taxed as pass-through entities and LLCs that are taxed as S-Corps.

3. The third general point of business planning is to protect you from creditors. If your business must shut down due to your illness or injury, personal family situation, or just because most businesses aren’t successful beyond five years, you don’t want to be on the hook personally for business debts. Oftentimes, you can do this successfully simply by filing with the Secretary of State in Oregon as an LLC. Usually with small debts, companies will not bother trying to collect against you if your LLC is not active. But you can face trouble with larger debts, where creditors are more motivated to see if they are able to come after you personally for debts owed. If you’re going to be incurring larger debts, it’s a good idea to work with an attorney who can make sure that your LLC is set up the right way so that creditors can’t come after your personal assets.

4. The last major reason for business planning is to protect you from expensive lawsuits. Everyone with a brick-and-mortar business or who holds in-person events faces the possibility of an expensive lawsuit. So do many businesses who have employees or who sell goods or services. The self-help you can do here is to get a really good insurance policy. But you also need to work with a business planning lawyer to really firm up our business foundation to protect you personally if your business is sued. Just imagine the scenario where you are sued by a customer who was injured and sustained $10M of damages, and your insurance policy only covers $5M. That plaintiff will be motivated to try to sue you personally if they can, and if you don’t want to lose everything you own, you should invest in a really good legal plan to protect yourself.

So, to recap, there are a lot of different reasons for business planning: Organization and legal compliance, tax savings, protection from creditors, and protection from lawsuits. There are many preliminary steps you can take, like filing as an LLC with the state, getting a solid insurance policy, and self-help education about tax savings and liability protection. But at some point, you’ll need to meet with a lawyer who can really solidify your business foundation, and the sooner the better. Once you run into a legal issue, it’s usually too late to go back and fix any lack of planning.

For more info on this, go to my website and download the free report, “Business Owners: 5 Reasons Why You’re Screwed If You’re Sued.”

I also offer Business Planning Audits, in which I would go over your family, asset, and business info based on a worksheet you’d fill out ahead of time, and we’d look at where you’re at risk and how you can plan to avoid anything you don’t like. Give me a call or email if you want to set that up.

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family and business?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 or email [email protected] to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

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Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can! Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Legal Planning Attorney for Estates + Businesses in the Portland, Oregon area. She helps people to prepare for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance. If you would like to receive her free reports, please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/. Follow her Facebook page for daily planning tips: https://www.facebook.com/aistonlaw/.

Do I need estate planning if I don't have an "estate"?

 

 

Should someone who doesn't have "an estate" really worry about estate planning?

The answer is YES.

I really want to dispel the myth that estate planning is about taking care of your stuff.

Estate planning is about taking care of yourself and your family, and yes, your stuff, if you die or are incapacitated and unable to make decisions for yourself.

You may feel like you don’t have an estate, but if you own any personal belongings, bank accounts, or retirement accounts, life insurance, you do own property that needs planning to address.

My mother died when I was 2 years old, and she didn’t have an estate so she didn’t do any planning. That left me in a precarious position, because she hadn’t named any guardians, and she didn’t have a plan created for the large settlement her estate was awarded due to the car accident she died in.

If you’re a parent, you’re planning for the worst-case scenario, and that’s basically dying in an accident while your kids are still young. So you need to name guardians and name someone who will be in charge of managing money you leave behind for your kids.

But also, you’ve got to make a plan for who is going to make decisions for you if you’re incapacitated. You’re about 4 times likelier to be incapacitated than you are to die early, and who will make healthcare, financial, and parenting decisions for you if that happens? If you don’t have a plan in place, your family will have to go to court to get someone appointed, and that person will have to report to the court for the rest of your life.

So the answer is yes, everyone over the age of 18 needs some estate planning.

If you’re a parent, go to my website right now and read my FREE REPORT, called The 9 Planning Mistakes Parents Make. Go to this link and look on the left column for that link.

If YOU have a legal question about estate or business planning that you’d like me to make a video about, you can message me on my Facebook page. It’s facebook.com/aistonlaw.

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family and business?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 or email [email protected] to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

___

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can! Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Legal Planning Attorney for Estates + Businesses in the Portland, Oregon area. She helps people to prepare for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance. If you would like to receive her free reports, please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/. Follow her Facebook page for daily planning tips: https://www.facebook.com/aistonlaw/.

Business Owners: 5 Reasons Why You're Screwed If You're Sued.

Hello, Small Business Owner, did my headline make your heart skip a beat? Good. That means you aren’t about to live in denial and pretend that your livelihood isn’t at risk every day you run a business without the proper structures in place. The truth is, your livelihood is at risk. Every minute of the day, you risk being sued as a business owner, and you are probably not adequately protected. You probably never took the time to learn about why lawsuits happen, what they look like, how to prevent them, and how to protect yourself if they do happen. I’m going to take you through 5 reasons why you’re screwed if you’re sued. But don’t worry. I can get you to a much more solid place.

1. You’ve Got a Million Reasons to Be Sued.

Your business is just a lawsuit waiting to happen. The possibilities for lawsuits are endless. The top reasons businesses are sued are: Employee lawsuits, intellectual property infringement, breach of contract, and torts such as negligence, personal injury, and product liability. But you can really be sued in many different capacities. You can be sued by visitors that never buy anything. You can be sued by customers or clients. You can be sued by employees. You can be sued by vendors. You can be sued by competitors. The visitors, customers, and employees might have attorneys who work on a contingency fee, so they have all the resources they need to bring a lawsuit to fruition. The vendors and competitors might have more resources than you do to pay for attorneys. And when you’re sued, maybe your insurance will pay for your lawyer, or maybe not. Maybe you’ll be stuck paying $300+ per hour to defend yourself.

2. Your Business Isn’t Adequately Legally Protected.

If I had to guess, I’d say that 1 in 100 businesses has the proper legal structures in place to protect the business owner’s personal assets if they are sued. Most people who own small businesses just filed LLC paperwork with the State and paid their $100 and now they think they’re protected. Wrong! Here’s how a lawsuit works: A. A Plaintiff sues you. Let’s say they slipped and fell in your store. So they sue you, Business LLC, and they sue you, Ms. Business Owner, personally. B. You hire a defense lawyer. The defense lawyer answers the complaint asking to dismiss the suit against you personally, because you have an LLC. C. Well, the Plaintiff will reply to that by saying that you have a sham LLC. They will subpoena all of your business formation and annual upkeep docs, taxes, bank information, and anything they find that shows your LLC is a sham will be up for grabs. Don’t have an Operating Agreement? Don’t keep annual minutes? Charge personal items to your business card? Those are a few of many ways Plaintiff’s attorneys will tear apart your LLC defense. Oh, and you’ll be paying your lawyer $300 an hour to even try to defend you.

3. You Definitely Don’t Have Enough Insurance.

Your insurance is not going to cover you in most of the situations you could be sued in. You probably didn’t have a good grasp of the issues you faced as a business owner, heard some options for coverage from your insurance person, and went with one that seemed like it would cover a lot but not cost a lot per month. But let’s go with the slip and fall we just talked about. So now that the judge has ruled that you are personally liable because your LLC is a sham, your only hope is that your insurance coverage will be enough to pay whatever damages you will owe to the Plaintiff. But you probably don’t have enough. And if you don’t have enough – let’s say you have $5 million in coverage, but damages are $10 million – then the Plaintiff can come after most of your assets and garnish your wages.

4. A Lawsuit Takes a LOT Longer Than You Think.

In addition to all that you could lose, this lawsuit will drag on FOREVER. Did you think it would take about a year? Wrong. The average lawsuit takes somewhere between 2-5 years. That’s a lot of your life and it takes up a lot of your mental capacity. I worked on a business partnership dispute for 5 years that started 5 years before I came on board, and lasted 5 more years after I left the firm. That’s pretty extreme, but you can definitely expect 2-5 years of your life to be dominated by a lawsuit if you’re ever sued. That means constant hearings, depositions, sleepless nights, stress and worry about how it will end. Trust me – you will not love being sued. And each month, you’ll get a bill in the mail for thousands of dollars.

5. You’ll Lose Everything You Love about Your Business.

When you get sued in your business, your business changes. It becomes a source of anxiety, fear, and pain, instead of the source of passion, freedom, flexibility, and a promising future that you intended it to be. It doesn’t just take a lot of time and money – it takes a ton of mental anguish as well. It dominates your life while it goes on, and depending on the result, perhaps for years afterward.

Don’t worry. I can help. There is a lot that we can do to help you to protect yourself and your business, so that you can have  solid foundation. Then you can focus on the things you enjoy about your business.

I’m starting an affordable business membership program for business owners who want a solid foundation for their business that protects them if there are hard times. If you want to be the first to know when I unveil the program, sign up for my email list. I’ll only have 12 spots when I open it, and you’ll want to get the introductory price. Sign up for the email list here.

To help you get your plan in place as quickly as possible, call or email today at (503) 235-5150 or [email protected].

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family and business?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

___

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can! Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Legal Planning Attorney for Estates + Businesses in the Portland, Oregon area. She helps people to prepare for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance. If you would like to receive her free reports, please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/. Follow her Facebook page for daily planning tips: https://www.facebook.com/aistonlaw/.

The 5 Steps Women Should Take Before They Announce That They Want a Divorce

Breaking the news you want a divorce is hard for anyone and it is important to plan some things out before you announce you want a divorce.  In my experience, largely because of how our social standards teach women to be more in touch with their emotions, this can often be even harder for women on average than for men.  These five steps likely apply to both men and women, but there are steps that can be taken to ease the emotional toll of the first steps of your divorce that I believe will be more helpful for women.

1. Prepare a safety net financially.  
This is particularly true for the lower earner of the couple.  As that more often than not is the woman, this step can be more crucial for that party.  Regardless of which role you hold, whoever is more dependent on the other person for money needs to take steps to prepare themselves for the early stages of a divorce.  Many times, spouses react with anger to the news, and that anger can sometimes cause them to react by withholding money.  If possible, save up a decent store of money to use in case this happens to you.  You will need to pay your attorney fees, and possibly pay for normal living expenses while the court takes its time ordering your spouse to pay support.  It can take (depending on what county you live in, and how aggressive your attorney is) several months before the court forces the other person to start supporting you, so be prepared for this however you can.

2. Establish a circle of support who can help you through the trauma of the divorce process.  
While men typically hold in their feelings, women often need to be free to talk emotionally about what they are feeling to process through it in a healthy way.  This process should start, if you have anyone you can trust with the news, before you tell your spouse.  It can feel like a betrayal telling your friends and family before you tell your husband, but it's not.  Your friends and family can offer you valuable ideas to help you, but more importantly getting this circle of people willing to help early can let the healing from the trauma of divorce start.

3. Consult with a divorce lawyer.  
This is true for everyone, but before you tell your spouse, know what you are getting yourself into. Many times there are steps you can take to protect yourself that can only be taken before your spouse knows the divorce is coming.  Consulting with a divorce lawyer can help you identify the steps necessary to ensure you are going to be in a good position legally before you close certain doors by telling your spouse.

4. In cases where the woman is a victim of domestic violence, you may want to strongly consider getting a restraining order when you file for divorce. 
If there has been a history of domestic violence, filing for divorce can open you up to further risk of abuse.  There are ways to get a restraining order that will go into place before the other person finds out about the divorce, to protect you and let you be safe in your home during those early days when the anger is likely to be the highest.

5. Try to have a plan for your children.  
There are so many variables for each family, making it impossible for me to write a single blog that can cover everything to do to protect a family.  Many of these points would be covered under item 3, being my suggestion to consult a lawyer.  However, you will want to put thought in, before you tell your spouse you want a divorce, about what you think is best for your children.  For some people, they prefer to send the children to grandma's house for the weekend.  Others prefer to move out unexpectedly.  Others still, want to talk to their children first about what the process will look like.  Everyone's situation and needs are different.  But just be sure to put some thought into how you want to help your children walk through the divorce.  This may be best discussed with a counselor or therapist experienced in helping divorcing families.

Tom Brasier is a family law attorney at Brasier Law, a firm specializing in uncontested divorce, contested divorce, custody, and protective orders serving the greater Portland and SW Washington areas. He can be contacted at 1 (503) 855-4777. Follow Tom's firm @BrasierLaw Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

How Will I Pay for the Nursing Home?

Everybody always assumes that Medicare is going to pay for the nursing home, until they find out that Medicare only pays for up to a few months after a hospital stay. It's not meant to pay for long-term care. This is not a fun thing to find out when you're already overwhelmed with the physical care, time off work, and emotional toll that planning for the long-term care of a loved one entails. Most people don't understand that they have options, even when facing a crisis. Sadly, people will sell off assets and spend all of them to pay for the nursing home when that's really not the best way to go. Let's go over the three major ways people pay for the nursing home:

1.  Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-Term Care insurance exists, and if you're young enough and can afford the payments, it's something that everyone should look into these days. People live longer, medical care is more advanced, and your likelihood of spending time in a nursing home or receiving nursing care in-home is high. Make this type of planning part of your overall financial and estate planning. But you can't buy it in an emergency.

2.  Pay Out-of-Pocket

If you didn't have Long-Term Care insurance, you have the option to pay out-of-pocket for the nursing home. If you're rich, this isn't a problem. If you're not rich, this is a huge problem, because you'll have to sell off assets to pay the monthly bill, which averages around $7-8K per month here in Oregon. 

3.  Qualify for Medicaid

The last way to pay for the nursing home is to get Medicaid to pay for it. Medicaid is the healthcare program that is needs-based, and therefore, it comes with income and asset limits. What most people don't understand is that an elder law attorney can help you to qualify for Medicaid a lot sooner than you think by creating what is called a "spend-down plan." Most people think: well, we will spend down all of the assets and then apply for Medicaid. Actually, an attorney can usually help you to preserve at least half the assets by spending assets down on things that are allowable under the rules, gifting assets to family as a sort of pre-death inheritance, and then pre-paying the nursing home for the penalty period you incur by gifting the assets. It's hugely complicated and not worth trying to do on your own. Just know that if you have a loved one facing nursing home long-term care, and the $7-8K per month isn't something that the individual will have an easy time paying, you should immediately talk to an elder law attorney who can get them qualified for Medicaid as soon as possible. 

Think about this: Most people who make it in life financially these days have received some sort of inheritance that boosts them to the point that they can pay off debt, or buy a home, or build up retirement savings. That inheritance is important, and an elder law attorney can help your family to preserve that. Everyone in the family can feel good about that. Mom or Dad going into the nursing home get to feel like they helped their family and are not a burden, and the adult kids get some help in life instead of seeing everything their parents worked for being paid to the nursing home.

It's never too early to meet with an estate and elder law attorney to see what your loved ones face if you need to enter a nursing home, and how you can make that easier on them. And it's never too late to talk to an elder law attorney about how to pay for the nursing home that your loved one is already living in.

To help you get your plan in place as quickly as possible, call or email today at (503) 235-5150 or [email protected].

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

___

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can! Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Estate Planning Attorney for families in the Portland, Oregon area. She helps loving parents to prepare their families for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance. If you would like to receive her free reports, please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/. Join her support group for Sandwich Generation folks who care for young children and aging parents: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sandwichgenerationoregon. Follow her Facebook page for daily planning tips: https://www.facebook.com/aistonlaw/.

Going on Vacation This Summer?

Don’t be like 78% of people who forget to do this ONE vital thing before leaving…...

Here’s a handy checklist of items you should be planning NOW for your summer vacation.

• Hotel reservation
• Airline tickets
• Rental car
• Pet sitter
• Trip insurance
• Estate plan

Whoa, what was that?!

If you are going on vacation this summer, it is critically important to have your estate plan in place and updated BEFORE hitting the road.   Of course this is NOT fun to think about, but everyone should know what to do and where your documents are should something happen to you while away from home.  Here is the minimum you must have:

• You MUST name guardians for your children! Don’t let a judge decide who gets custody of your kids if something happens to you and/or your spouse.
• You MUST have a health care directive in place to ensure someone can make medical decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated on a short-term OR long-term basis.
• You MUST have your financial house in order so your loved ones can access to the money they need in an emergency.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late!

Frequently we get calls from people who think of their estate planning at the last minute and feel unsure about hitting the road without such protection.  Sadly, it is often too late!  It takes several weeks to get a good, solid plan in place.  That is why you must 1) plan ahead and 2) act fast if you are traveling this summer.

To help you get your plan in place as quickly as possible, I will offer you a $250 off your plan if you schedule your appointment before May 1^st. 

Remember, you need to schedule your appointment before May 1^st to take advantage of this offer so call or email today. (503) 235-5150 or [email protected].

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

___

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can! Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Estate Planning Attorney for families in the Portland, Oregon area. She helps loving parents to prepare their families for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance. If you would like to receive her free report, "The 9 Common Planning Mistakes Parents Make," please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/.

FAQ: What will happen to our house if we are married, but I am not on title?

A very common scenario that married people face is when they own a house, but one spouse is not on title. What will happen with the property when the owner-spouse dies? The answer to this question assumes that there is not an estate plan in place yet.

Generally, in Oregon, without an estate plan in place, the surviving spouse inherits all of the deceased spouse's property, but not necessarily without the probate court's approval. This is not always the case, but is the general rule. (If you have a blended family, things are different.)

However, the house and any other assets owned solely by the deceased spouse would have to go through the probate process in order for the surviving spouse to become the owner. Probate is a court process that happens after a person dies. The personal representative (called "executor" in other states), with the supervision of the court, takes inventory of assets, valuates the estate, pays off creditors, and distributes what is left to whomever the heirs are. If that sounds complicated, it's because it is. The probate process can cost a lot of money and take a lot of time, and probate is all a matter of public record. The way this usually plays out is that the surviving spouse continues to pay the mortgage for several years and doesn't find out that the house needs to be probated until he or she tries to sell it. At that point, they discover that the house can't be sold until it goes through probate, so a sale is held up for several months and in some cases, years.

How Do I Fix This!?

Well, you can always just create a new deed that names both spouses. The mortgage can stay in one spouse's name. That's the easiest way to do it. When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse simply records the death certificate with the county and becomes the sole owner. But many people don't want to do that because they wish to keep their separate property separate. The only other easy way to avoid probate in this scenario would be through trust planning. Plus, the joint property scenario won't help your kids to avoid probate if both spouses die. A will is not enough. A will basically tells a probate judge what to do with your property. A trust tells the trustee what to do with the property, and the trustee can handle transferring the assets without ever opening a probate. You can even make your surviving spouse the trustee. 

But guess what. You should consult with an attorney before making any of these decisions. I just want to make you aware that these issues exist, and that there are various ways to solve them. Oh, and by the way, this scenario creates other problems if you and your spouse are not legally married. Consult with a lawyer.

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

___

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can! Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Estate Planning Attorney for families in the Portland, Oregon area. She helps loving parents to prepare their families for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance. If you would like to receive her free report, "The 9 Common Planning Mistakes Parents Make," please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/.

*Image courtesy of fantasista at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

5 Ways to Finally Get Your Finances in Order in the New Year

Have you felt a nagging desire to get your finances in order for the past few years?  Have you made resolutions every New Year, only to put them on the back burner when life happens?  Many of us have done so, and to help you to make sure that this is FINALLY the year you make it happen, I have put together 5 Ways to Finally Get Your Finances in Order in the New Year:

1. Schedule a meeting with your spouse (or alone or with a friend if you're not partnered) to discuss and write down your goals.

The first step to achieving your goals is to set them and organize them.  If you have a spouse, you are not the only decision-maker, so it's important to get your spouse on the same page in order to get started.  I recommend setting a specific time to sit down together without kids and hash these things out.  If you're not partnered or married, set a meeting up with yourself or a friend to help you to get started.

2.  Make sure you have covered the Key 5 Financial Areas.

To make sure that you have a financially healthy family, remember PRICE: Protection,Retirement Savings, Investment, College Savings, Emergency Savings. These five elements are the PRICE of financial health. Make sure that you have goals in all of these areas. Protection is important because you want to make sure your assets always stay in your hands and that you always have the income you need to care for your family.  Retirement Savings is important because there will come a day when you can't work anymore and you don't want to be living in destitution. Investment is important because you have the opportunity to see your wealth grow. College Savings is important because financial debt is a huge burden for college graduates entering the workforce. Emergency Savings is important because you just never know when you'll be laid off, injured, or have some sort of expensive emergency. Paying attention to PRICE will ensure that your family is financially healthy.

3.  Protect your financial goals first.

Your financial goals are at risk of being devastated if you don't plan for incapacity, injury, or death. Most families are just one medical crisis away from bankruptcy. Planning now could mean the difference between financial devastation and financial prosperity for your family. The very first thing that you should do to keep your goals safe is to talk with an estate planning attorney. The attorney should be able to help you with planning for your incapacity, injury, and death, as well as recommending a financial advisor to meet with who can walk you through disability and life insurance.  

4.  Hold yourself accountable.

There are a few ways to make sure that you get your goals accomplished, such as telling your friends and family about your goals, setting mini-deadlines for yourself on your calendar, and getting together with a group of similarly goal-oriented friends to hold one another accountable. Make sure that you have some way of making sure that you don't let another year go by without reaching your goals.

5.  Celebrate your successes.

Each time you meet one of your goals, it's important to celebrate that. I don't mean that you have to spend a bunch of money to celebrate, but just make sure to acknowledge it in some way. If it's a big goal that you've reached, then by all means, have a nice dinner to celebrate it. You can also celebrate just by telling someone that supports you how you made a goal and reached it. The continued support you feel from your community will encourage you to keep going.

If you keep these 5 ideas in mind when you're setting out to achieve your financial goals, you'll be setting yourself up for success! Good luck to you and have a Happy New Year!

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

___

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can!  Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Estate Planning Attorney for families in the Portland, Oregon area.  She helps loving parents to prepare their families for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance.  If you would like to receive her free report, "The 9 Common Planning Mistakes Parents Make," please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/.

How Should Your Clients Take Title To Their Home in Oregon? A Guide for Real Estate Professionals

Have you ever wondered if you are doing right by your clients in how you have them take title to their new home or rental property?  It’s a situation I encounter all the time as an estate planning attorney.  You have the opportunity to make sure that your clients have all the benefits of correctly titled property and they will definitely thank you for it.

Why is titling property correctly so important to  property owners?

First, if titled incorrectly, the property owner cannot control what happens to the property after he dies; second, if titled incorrectly, the owners and their heirs can lose the property to creditors, the government, or even an ex-spouse. 

Three Common Ways to Hold Title:

Tenancy by the Entirety:  Tenancy by the Entirety is the most common way for married couples in Oregon to hold property, but it ensures that there will be a probate upon the death of the second spouse. 

Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship:  Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship is a common way for UNmarried couples in Oregon to hold property, but it ensures that there will be a probate upon the death of the second joint tenant.

Tenants in Common:  Tenants in Common is where each owner wants to maintain their interest in the property even upon death, but this can cause a lot of problems for the surviving owner.

The Best Way to Own Your Home – A Revocable Living Trust: 

The best way for homeowners to own their property is in a revocable living trust. 

• A properly drafted and funded trust will avoid time consuming, expensive and public probate upon the first death and the second death.
• A revocable living trust will make sure that the right people receive the property after the death of both owners and that it doesn’t go to creditors, predators, or future spouses.

The Best Way to Own Your Rental Property – An Asset Protection Trust or LLC: 

The best way for your homeowners to own their property is in an asset protection trust or LLC. 

• A properly drafted and funded trust or LLC will avoid time consuming, expensive and public probate upon the first death and the second death.
• A properly drafted and funded trust or LLC will make sure that the right people receive the property after the death of both owners and that it doesn’t go to creditors, predators, or future spouses.
• A properly drafted and funded trust or LLC will ensure that if renters or guests have a cause of action against the owner, the owner’s other assets are not vulnerable to being collected against.
• A properly drafted and funded trust or LLC will protect the assets inside of that entity from being vulnerable to lawsuits arising from other causes of action.

BOTTOM LINE: Your clients are going to need to talk to an estate planning attorney to determine the best way to title their property. Stand out from the competition by bringing these concerns to your clients' attention.

To your family's health & prosperity,

Candice N. Aiston

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

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Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can!  Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Estate Planning Attorney for families in the Portland, Oregon area.  She helps loving parents to prepare their families for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance.  If you would like to receive her free report, "The 9 Common Planning Mistakes Parents Make," please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/.

Should I Have My LLC Prepared by My CPA or Financial Advisor?

 

From time to time, I come across a situation in which a client has had an LLC or other business entity set up by a CPA or Financial Advisor. Usually, the lawyer was going to charge $2000 or so, and the CPA/Financial Advisor tells them it only costs $100 to do, so why pay the lawyer. Is this a smart way to save money or a terrible idea?

IT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA.

This is an unauthorized practice of law. A license to practice law is required to give advice about business formation, and for good reason. The main purpose of setting up an LLC is to limit the business owner's personal liability if something goes wrong in the business. A CPA or financial advisor doesn't know jack about how to protect you and your assets. The CPA probably knows about tax saving entities, and usually a lawyer will involve a CPA in the business setup process. In most situations, a financial advisor has nothing of professional value to add to the LLC setup conversation. (This includes Financial Advisors who have access to a "Legal Department," which is usually located out of state and inexperienced in business law and therefore completely useless in this situation.) To be completely honest, most lawyers have nothing of value to add to this conversation unless they are practicing in estate planning and business law. 

In 100% of these situations that I have seen, the client has simply filed Articles of Organization with the state and maybe applied for an EIN. (Although I have seen clients who have a totally inadequate LegalZoom operating agreement.) That may be enough to allow you to do your taxes the way you want, but it will not help you if you are ever sued and want to protect your personal assets. So really, you are not saving yourself a couple thousand dollars; you are wasting the time and money it took to set up an inadequate LLC. Would you rather throw $200 in the garbage, or pay $2000 to adequately protect your assets?

Be wary of any CPA or Financial Advisor who is comfortable practicing law without a license, especially when it comes to the possibility of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars if things go wrong. Like everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

To your family's health & prosperity,

Candice N. Aiston

P.S.  Want to get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family?  Give our office a call at (503) 235-5150 to get started.  You'll be glad you did.

___

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog or website?

 

You can!  Just please be sure to use this complete blurb with it:

 

Candice N. Aiston is an Estate Planning Attorney for families in the Portland, Oregon area.  She helps loving parents to prepare their families for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance.  If you would like to receive her free report, "The 9 Common Planning Mistakes Parents Make," please visit http://candiceaistonlaw.com/.