Comerford & Dougherty, LLP Blog

It is no secret that filing for bankruptcy can harm your credit. However, compared to simply letting your accounts go past due for months on end, bankruptcy may actually be better for your credit over the long term because there are no repeated “dings” on your credit score. Getting the bankruptcy finished allows you to start fresh and begin to rebuild your credit rating.

Your credit score is closely examined when you enter the home buying process, which means  that filing for bankruptcy may affect your ability to purchase a home in the future. Even if your credit score is not significantly harmed,  a bankruptcy discharge will remain on your credit report for up to ten years. That type of history can make lenders nervous about your creditworthiness.  Nonetheless, it is possible to purchase a house after bankruptcy, but it may take some additional time and extra steps.

Finding yourself in a position to sell your business is a monumental achievement. Establishing a business is hard work, and preparing to sell your business is no different. There are many reasons to sell your business: you may be looking to retire, take a less involved role, resolve an ownership dispute, or perhaps your business is now struggling and you are looking for a buyer to try to turn it around. Regardless of the reason that you’re selling, there are some key considerations that you need to be aware of.

Establishing a Strong Team

Selling a small business has many moving parts that will be discussed further below. As a result, it is essential that you establish a strong team to help you through the sale. The three team members that you will want to identify early on are an attorney well-versed in the sale of a company, an appraiser who can accurately value the business, and potentially a broker who will work hard to identify potential buyers. Your choice on these team members, and whether to include all three, will depend upon the complexity of the business and its potential valuation.

A power of attorney is an estate planning document that has a variety of uses. There are several types of these documents available, and each one performs a slightly different function. One or more of these plans may be a good idea to include as part of your estate plan.

What is a Power of Attorney?

A power of attorney gives another person permission and authority to make decisions regarding various aspects of your life if you can’t make those decisions yourself or if you just want to hand over control to a friend or loved one for any other reason.

A power of attorney gives someone else, who does not have to be an attorney, the ability to make decisions for you. You are essentially authorizing this other person to act on your behalf either generally or if certain conditions are met.

You must complete a document to give this power to someone else. This document may need to be notarized or go through another type of authentication process.

Types of Powers of Attorney

Several kinds of powers of attorney may be useful for your estate plan. These often overlap in many circumstances.

It is important to know the differences between a residential and commercial lease because both are treated differently under the law. The distinctions will set out certain rights and obligations for both parties involved in the contract.

What is a Residential Lease Agreement?

A residential lease is most often between a landlord and an individual tenant or family. The agreement is to provide a living arrangement. It is usually set up to include a monthly payment, but not always. The term varies from month-to-month to a term of several years, although one-year leases are perhaps the most common.

These types of leases usually apply to houses, apartments, townhouses, or condos. The location is generally not used for profit. However, some areas do permit residences to run a business out of their home.

What is a Commercial Lease?

Commercial leases involve a contract between a landlord and a business. The business can be a sole proprietorship or a corporation. The purpose of the arrangement is to provide space so that the business can sell goods or provide service. The goal for the company is to use the area to generate a profit. It is not designed for sleeping or to meet the residential needs of a business owner or its employees.

For many small businesses, getting the sale is just the first step in the process. Many small businesses rely on extending credit to the purchasers in business to business transactions. As a business with many transactions, purchasing on credit from a seller can be ideal as processes are streamlined: purchase as necessary and then making payments within a set period of time. Given the thin cash reserves for many small businesses, having the flexibility to pay at a later date is necessary due to periodic cash flows. All in all, this system of seller-financed credit (the seller not requiring payment at the time of the sale) allows small businesses to flourish.

However, despite the agreement to pay, the purchaser may not always make good on the agreement, and as the seller providing the purchaser’s credit, you may be stuck with attempting to collect on that debt. The failure of the debtor to pay the bill can result from a few possibilities. First, the debtor could have simply forgotten to pay the bill in an administrative oversight. Second, the debtor could be illiquid or have insufficient cash on hand to pay the bill. Third, the debtor could be refusing to pay due to an issue such as nonconformity of goods (the goods received weren’t what they ordered). Finally, the debtor could be refusing to pay in bad faith in hope that you as the creditor will not attempt to collect on the debt, or would be willing to collect at a reduced amount. Regardless of which of the above is the case, you need to act to resolve the outstanding debt.

Most people realize that they can use their last will and testament to set out who should receive particular assets or income. However, few people understand that they can also describe how they would like specific debts paid off in their will as well. Unfortunately, many of your debts do not just disappear when you pass away; they are often passed on to your loved ones to address.

Thankfully, some careful planning and forethought now can help your family and friends deal with these issues much more efficiently in the future, cutting down on confusion and stress.  

Disputes with neighbors can range widely, from loud parties, to poor upkeep, to boundary encroachments. If you are like most property owners, you take great pride in your land, and you do not want anyone to use property that is rightfully yours. When neighbors start taking down shrubs, planting trees, or putting up fences on your property, that is exactly what they are doing—using your real estate. What can you do to deal with these issues?

Know Your Property Lines

Many people generally understand where their property reaches, but they may not know precisely where the property line is located. In many situations, merely pointing out where you think your property lines lie can halt encroachments in their tracks. In other circumstances, it may be a good idea to call in a professional.

You can get a formal land survey done that indicates exactly where your property ends and where your neighbor’s land begins. Having this information can be extremely valuable in dealing with any boundary issues. You may learn that you have misunderstood where your property line is located, or that your neighbor was mistaken about where your property begins.

Land surveys do cost money, but some neighbors will agree to split the costs. In other situations, it may be worth the expense to avoid litigation down the road.

Getting tax withholdings right can be extremely daunting. Failure to pay the IRS or state taxing authority the correct amount could end up costing you thousands of dollars in penalties and interest. For many employers, an outright failure to pay could result in personal liability for employment taxes.

Payroll tax withholding covers more than just federal taxes. It also addresses any state tax obligations, local tax requirements, and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) Taxes. If you, as an employer, do not pay these correctly, you could have both the federal and state taxing authorities upset with you, and your employee may have to pay into the government at the end of the year. You can avoid all of these potential problems by simply ensuring that you are withholding for everything you are supposed to—in the right amount.

Wills and trusts can be extremely complicated, especially when they relate to one another or feed off of each other. You can certainly have both tools as part of your estate  plan. Depending on your unique financial circumstances and personal preferences, it may make sense only to have a will. Moreover, there are some things that a will cannot do that a trust can, and vice versa. Are there ever situations where a trust can completely replace a will? Probably not.

Residential real estate sales can be overwhelming and confusing. Thankfully, the  process is similar for every transaction. This means t you can prepare long before you find the right home, here’s how.

The Listing Agreement

If you are selling your home, you will start with creating a listing agreement. This agreement sets the asking s price,   the commission your real estate agent will be paid, and also specifies the length of time the property will be listed, that is, remain on the market.

In a listing agreement, , you may also be required to disclose certain physical information about the property, such as the age or condition of the roof and any significant problems you have experienced. You are also required by  federal law to disclose any known lead-based paint used in the home.

As a business owner, you have certain responsibilities that must be fulfilled.While being a sole proprietor gives you more leeway, business owners who use any other business formation must be familiar with fiduciary responsibilities. These obligations extend to corporate officers and even managers in some situations. So, what are fiduciary responsibilities for business owners and corporate officers?