Discussing Estate Planning at Your Next Holiday Gathering

Posted on November 13, 2014 by JLGI

The holidays are a time for family to gather together and share in the warmth of the season. But filling up on turkey and apple pie are not the only activities in which you can engage this season. For many, the holidays also provide one of the only opportunities of the year when adult children can sit down with their parents and siblings to discuss practical matters. Chief among these are the importance of establishing a plan – and related legal documents – should something go wrong with the well-being of elderly relatives.

A Shocking Look at Estate Planning

Posted on October 30, 2014 by JLGI

Food for Legal Thought

Posted on October 27, 2014 by JLGI

The law affects us in many ways, and in many facets of our lives. Here are a few characterizations of law made by some familiar characters:

“Law is order, and good law is good order.” – Aristotle

“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.” – John Locke

“What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and effort; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly – that is the first law of nature.” – Voltaire

“Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.” – Immanuel Kant

“Common sense often makes good law.” William O. Douglas

“Law is reason, free from passion.” – Aristotle

“Law is nothing else but the best reason of wise men applied for ages to the transactions and business of mankind.” – Abraham Linclon

“That just laws which uphold human rights are the necessary foundation of peace and security would be denied only by closed minds which interpret peace as the silence of all opposition and security as the assurance of their own power.” – Aung San Suu Kyi

“It is not the enactment, but the observance of laws, that creates the character of a nation.” – Calvin Coolidge

“The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free.” – Henry David Thoreau

On the Benefits of a Living Trust

Posted on October 22, 2014 by JLGI

A living trust has advantages that a will cannot offer, so it is valuable to seriously consider acquiring or maintaining both. A living trust, or a trust set up during your life time as opposed to after your death, can be an important addition to your estate plan because it allows your estate to be settled more quickly, as assets in a trust do not have to go through a probate process. It also places someone in charge of your estate should you become incapacitated – an important consideration in the management of your investments. Read more here:

http://time.com/money/3456629/living-trust-benefits-drawbacks/

Hine Litigant Files Complaint Against Mayor and DMPED on Transparency Issue

Posted on October 14, 2014 by JLGI

The complaint alleges that the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development violated the Freedom of Information Act’s mandatory disclosure requirement because, since November 1, 2001, it has failed disclose records (specifically Land Development Agreements) which it is required to make public. In addition, the complaint alleges that DMPED unlawfully denied, delayed and obstructed specific requests for the LDAs on the West End Library and the Hine Development.

Read more here: http://capitolhillcorner.org/2014/09/17/hine-litigant-files-complaint-against-mayor-and-dmped-on-transparency-issue/

Estate Planning Checklist

Posted on September 30, 2014 by JLGI

Click on this link for an article about estate planning that was published on Page 12 of the Capitol Hill Village September 2014 newsletter: http://www.capitolhillvillage.org/documents/09-14_CHVNews.pdf

Privacy and the Doctor’s Office

Posted on August 11, 2014 by JLGI

Under the provisions of the HIPAA privacy act, it appears that the adorable pictures of children lining the walls of pediatricians’ offices everywhere could constitute a privacy violation. Sometimes it seems that the law could be a bit more nuanced. The New York Times has more: http://nyti.ms/1ovHH3h

Estate Planning and Your Digital Accounts

Posted on August 7, 2014 by JLGI

What happens to your Gmail account when you die? What about your Facebook page or your Twitter account?

Well, it’s not clear. A few states have enacted legislation to give executors and personal representatives the power to access the digital accounts of the deceased, while most states rely merely on the privacy policies of the service providers, such as Google, or Twitter or whatever company hosts the account. Click on this link to see where your state falls with respect to this issue: https://www.everplans.com/tools-and-resources/state-by-state-digital-estate-planning-laws.

The current lack of legal clarity can cause huge disruption and frustration in peoples’ lives, as is evident in this story from the Columbus Dispatch: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2014/08/03/access-to-online-accounts-of-deceased-not-a-given.html.

What all this means is that when doing your estate planning, it is vitally important these days to make arrangements for your digital accounts, just as you do for your financial accounts.

Fourteen Steps for a New LLC

Posted on July 22, 2014 by JLGI

Fourteen Steps for a New LLC

Obtain an employer identification number from the IRS and open a bank account.
Determine how the LLC will be taxed. The IRS has a “Check the Box” procedure for declaring how an entity will be taxed.
Determine which assets and liabilities are to be turned over to the LLC.
Register with the local tax authority.
Establish a Worker’s Compensation account.
Obtain a business license, if required by the local jurisdiction.
Register with the local unemployment authority.
Create employment agreements with any employees.
Procure insurance for property and for individual liability of managers and owners.
Develop a strategy for developing accident and health insurance plans, wage continuation plans, medical reimbursement plans, group term life insurance plans, death benefit plans or pension and profit-sharing plans.
Learn when the LLC is required to file reports with the local jurisdiction.
Determine whether operations outside the LLC’s local jurisdiction will require registration in those jurisdictions.
Review the LLC’s operating agreement at least annually to ensure that it continues to serve the LLC’s needs.
Maintain open and regular communications with your accountant and lawyer.

This is not an exhaustive list, but is a start to creating a business framework necessary for success…

Estate Planning

Posted on July 10, 2014 by JLGI

Estate planning is not just for the elderly, and Johnson Law Group is expert in estate planning and administration. We counsel our clients on a wide range of estate issues, including wills, trusts, special needs trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, powers of attorney, estate tax issues, among others. Every adult should have an estate plan specifying what should happen to their property when they die; otherwise, the government will decide for him or her. While most people prefer not to think too far ahead, debilitating illness and death is a reality that is, for most of us, unplanned. It is much better, and far more helpful for family and friends, to plan ahead rather than to rely on your local government to distribute your assets according to its laws, as opposed to your needs. Johnson Law Group recommends that every adult should execute a testamentary document (either a trust or a will or both); an advance healthcare directive (“living will”); and a durable power of attorney. The cost of establishing such an estate plan is nominal, and the process is uncomplicated. By taking this step, Johnson Law Group clients are comforted by the knowledge that should the worst happen, their loved ones will be taken care of in a thoughtful and expedient manner. Call our offices to set up a free initial consultation.

April 2024
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Aug
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30