Business Law Services
Outside General Counsel
As an alternative to expensive in-house legal counsel, we represent small to mid-sized businesses on numerous legal issues impacting the business including contract drafting, contract negotiation, entity formation and restructuring, business succession, asset purchase agreements, acquisitions, partnerships, etc. Our experiencing working with businesses in a multitude of industries has provided us with the ability to creatively structure deals and come up with objective solutions while saving our clients the overhead of an on-staff attorney. We offer consistent, reliable communication and are happy to act as liaison between the business and other outside professionals/specialists.
Business Entity Formation & Clean-up
If you are just starting out, we will consult with you on the proper structure for your business from both an asset protection and taxation standpoint as well as help you get your legal documents in order.
If you already have a business, but perhaps are lacking the proper documentation to protect your corporate veil, obtain a loan or save on taxes, we have you covered. We will clean-up your entity and make any changes necessary to ensure you’re protected, compliant, and to save on taxes.
Real Estate Investors
If you have residential or commercial real estate that's in your personal name and you need help and advice about putting it into an LLC, our team can guide you through every consideration, including state to form the LLC, most cost effective way to transfer the properties and how the overall structure affects your income, estate plan, asset protection, etc.
- Operating Agreements
- Partnership Agreements
- Joint Venture Agreements
- Corporate Bylaws
- Shareholder Agreements
- Company Record Books and Annual Minutes
- Buy/Sell Agreements
- Terms of Service Agreements
- Non-Compete/Non-Solicitation Agreements
- Confidentiality Agreements
- Commercial and Residential Lease Agreements
- Entity Dissolutions
- Asset Purchase Agreements
- Promissory Notes
- Deeds of Trust
Documents We Draft
Tax Law Advising
Personal & Business Tax Advice
Business owners and real estate professionals, more than any other taxpayers, have the ability to manipulate their income by playing the tax game (and winning). Our attorneys will review your business and personal tax returns and recommend strategies to reduce your overall tax burden as well as your risk of audit.
Self-Directed Retirement Accounts
We not only advise on the right type of retirement account for your business to reduce taxes and maximize retirement savings, we have extensive experience guiding investors on the ins and outs of self-directing their retirement accounts. We are also equipped to assist self-directed investors in creating "Checkbook Control IRA/LLCs," which provide self-directed investors asset protection if they're investing in real estate as well as checkbook control over their funds as opposed to going through a custodian for every deal.
- 1031 Exchanges
- Depreciation of Real & Tangible Property
- C-Corp Taxation
- S-Corp Taxation
- Installment Sales
- Sales & Use Tax
- Response to IRS Communication
- Tax Payment Advising
- Payroll Advising
Tax Areas We Advise On
Estate & Asset Protection Planning
Your estate plan should clearly express your values and direct those you love in the disposition of your assets in a way that minimizes the potential for family strife, administrative costs, and taxes. There's a common misconception that a will is all you need for a basic estate plan, but a will in and of itself does not avoid lengthy probate administration and it still subjects your assets to public record. Trust planning not only provides you with the opportunity to pass your assets with intentionality reflective of your values, but it avoids probate and provides privacy at death if properly structured and funded.
Our basic estate planning package includes the following documents:
- Pour-over Will(s)
- Revocable Living Trust
- Financial Powers of Attorney
- Health Care Powers of Attorney
- Living Will
- Burial Instructions
- Memorandum of Personal Property
With a collective 25 years of experiencing crafting estate plans for individuals in Ohio and California, our team will assist you in developing an estate plan that grows with the changing needs of your family over time.
Asset Protection Planning
Creditor protection is the process of removing the economic incentive for a person to pursue your assets in a court of law. The more unattractive you make yourself to to potential creditors, the more cost there is associated with the planning and ongoing administration. However, there are numerous ways to provide asset protection for real estate investors, high net worth individuals, physicians, and those with high risk businesses that does not include expensive ongoing administration. Our attorneys will assess where your needs fall on the asset protection continuum and assess a plan that's both cost effective and tailored to your particular need for privacy and creditor protection.
