Category Archives: Small Business

A One Year Extension to the Estate Tax Law?

Posted on by under Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Family Business, Gift Tax, Gifts to Minors, Kansas, Missouri, Small Business, Trusts, Wills

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said in an interview yesterday that he wants the current estate tax law extended for one year. President Obama is opposed to extending the so-called Bush tax cuts. If Congress and the President do not take action, the estate tax will come back at its pre-2011 tax cut level in 2013 – up to 50% tax on any estate over $1 million. Such a move would not only cause confusion and uncertainty for estate planning professionals and their clients, it would also have economic consequences, including plunging America back into a recession, according to the Congressional Budget Office. As we get closer to 2013 and this fall’s election, expect lots of discussion from Washington, D.C. regarding taxes.

In the meantime, married couples can give up to $10.24 million in gifts to family members and friends this year and leave a combined $10.24 million estate without paying federal estate or gift taxes. If our firm, Johnson Law KC LLC, can help you with your estate planning needs, please email (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) or call (913-707-9220) us for a convenient appointment and free half hour consultation.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

5 Reasons to Have an Estate Plan

Posted on by under Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Family Business, Kansas, Missouri, Small Business, Trusts, Wills

From Texas Tech law professor Gerry Beyer, a noted estate planning scholar and author of the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof blog, here are 5 reasons to have an estate plan.

Many people think that only wealthy married couples need estate plans. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are an adult or have children, you need an estate plan. Every adult needs at least a will, a living will, a durable medical power of attorney, and a durable financial power of attorney. Many adults greatly benefit from using a trust to shield their hard-earned wealth from taxes and protecting assets or a professional practice (e.g. law, medicine, engineering, accounting). If our law firm, Johnson Law KC LLC, can help you with your estate planning needs, call (913-707-9220) or email us (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) for a convenient appointment and a free 1/2 hour consultation.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

KC Estate Planning Symposium

Posted on by under Estate Planning, Family Business, Kansas, Missouri, Small Business, Trusts, Wills

I’m looking forward to attending the KC Estate Planning Symposium Thursday in Overland Park. I hope to post some insights from what promises to be a great program of nationally renown speakers on timely estate planning topics. If my firm, Johnson Law KC LLC, can serve your estate planning needs, please call me (913-707-9220) or email (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) for a convenient appointment.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

Heckerling Insights: Part 3

Posted on by under BDITs, Business Succession Planning, Business Transitions, Dynasty Trusts, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Family Business, Family Limited Partnerships, Generation Skipping Tax, Gift Tax, Income Tax, Kansas, Missouri, Probate, QPRTs, Small Business, Trust protector, Trusts, Wills

Here are some interesting insights from our colleagues at the Heckerling Institute from this year’s conference. Among other topics, beneficiary defective inheritor’s trusts (BDITs), generation skipping tax planning (GST), trust protectors, qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), grantor trusts, and various probate planning issues are discussed. If we can help you and your family with any of these issues or address other estate planning or small business issues you have, please call (913-707-9220) or email us (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) for a convenient appointment.

Our firm, Johnson Law KC LLC, is developing a practice in Missouri inheritor’s trust and other beneficiary defective inheritor’s trusts (BDITs) and excited about sharing this new tool with clients to help meet their estate planning needs now and for generations to come.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

Lump Sum Retirement Planning

Posted on by under Business Succession Planning, Business Transitions, Dynasty Trusts, Estate Planning, Family Business, Family Limited Partnerships, Kansas, Missouri, Probate, Small Business, Trusts, Wills

This video from Smart Money has useful strategies for lump sums from early retirement. If you’ve taken early retirement, you need to review and revise your estate planning documents as well. Call (913-707-9220) or email (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) us and we’d be happy to work with you on your early retirement needs.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

Shhhh … You’ve Inherited Money

Posted on by under Business Succession Planning, Business Transitions, Dynasty Trusts, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Family Business, Generation Skipping Tax, Kansas, Missouri, Small Business, Trusts, Wills

Smart Money has this interesting video about how to interact with family and friends when you inherit money or have a large financial windfall. Our law firm has decades of experiencing advising wealthy individuals and families. Affluent people don’t always look the same either – some look like a socialite, while others may be a small business owner or farmer. If you have inherited money or had a windfall, be humble and quiet about it, and talk with your financial advisor and attorney ASAP. If we can help you deal with an inheritance and related estate planning needs, call (913-707-9220) or email us (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) for a convenient appointment.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

Small Business Tax Strategy

Posted on by under Business Succession Planning, Business Transitions, Estate Planning, Family Business, Family Limited Partnerships, Kansas, Missouri, Small Business, Trusts

So if you’re like millions of Americans, you own, work for, or are part of a small business. America has long been defined by a vibrant entrepreneurial excitement and stream of thought in its economic life. But just like with trusts, setting up a small business may be a matter of tax strategy. Which state will charge you the lowest formation and maintenance costs (e.g. setting up your corporation or LLC and maintaining the required filings)? What is the state’s business income tax? These factors and more are all important for the financially savvy small business owner or entrepreneur to consider.

Bloomberg Businessweek has this article exploring the tax benefits and costs of having a small business in various states. It’s crucial to remember that you don’t have to be a resident of a state to have a business or trust there. In fact, some of the best deals from a tax standpoint may be available outside of your home state. And other things, like friendliness of corporate law and sophistication of the business law courts can be important too. Consider that many large U.S. companies are incorporated in Delaware. Why? Because Delaware has long been considered the friendliest state to businesses in America and its Chancery Court has a long and distinguished history of providing protections to business owners and shareholders from various corporate lawsuits and liabilities.

So if you’re setting up a small business or trust, be smart about taxes! Call (913-707-9220) or email (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) and we can explore the best place to start your small business or trust.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

Sibling vs. Sibling: The Inheritance Wars

Posted on by under Business Succession Planning, Business Transitions, Dynasty Trusts, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Family Business, Family Limited Partnerships, Kansas, Missouri, Probate, Small Business

Caren Chesler has this interesting article in the March/April edition of Private Wealth magazine. The article addresses the inheritance wars that often arise between siblings when another sibling gets a larger inheritance for their caregiving work for the deceased parent, or one sibling grew up more frugally than a younger sibling who was born after their parents made a fortune, and the business succession disputes that can break out and threaten companies, especially where one sibling is deeply involved with the company’s operation and another sibling is not in the family business.

All of these inheritance wars boil down to a lack of communication. Communication is critical in estate planning and business succession.  Your desires, wishes, and intent need to be clearly laid out for your children or grandchildren and business partners. And your documents need to be crystal clear to help avoid potentially divisive and costly disputes.

Estate planning and business succession planning can be an excruciating process where raw emotions and decades-old resentments and grudges are laid bare and flare up over the continuation of the family name/money. San Francisco attorney John O’Grady is quoted in the article as recommending a healthy alternative where:

“Everyone has a voice. Everyone knows what the plan is. And in the end, [the siblings] participated in that plan, whether or not mom and did did it their way.” Without good communication about estate planning and business succession, siblings may feel ignored, as if “their parents mentioned a plan but never showed it to them, and they have no idea what’s going to happen when their parents die.” The unhappy result of a lack of communication is that the estate planning process may “end in tears.”

Please give me a call (913-707-9220) or email me (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) if I can help you or your family with estate planning and business succession issues.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

Who Inherits Your Debt?

Posted on by under Business Succession Planning, Digital Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Family Business, Kansas, Missouri, Probate, Small Business, Trusts, Wills

An interesting discussion on CNBC’s website of what happens when you die with different types of debt. Spring is the perfect time of year to review and update your estate plan. Give me a call or email me if I can help you with the estate planning process this spring.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.

The Demographics of Wealth Concentration

Posted on by under Business Succession Planning, Business Transitions, Dynasty Trusts, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Family Business, Kansas, Missouri, Retirement, Small Business, Trusts, Wills

The Wall Street Journal has this story about the latest demographic study of wealth concentration. The WSJ notes that (1) the concentration of multi millionaires mainly tracks the population and (2) the number of high network individuals in a community and their relative concentration within that community may be very different. As always, if we can help with your estate planning or small business needs, call or email us for a convenient appointment.

(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.