Sometimes circumstances change, and you want to know if you can get out of a contract. Maybe you found a better price or higher quality option. Four principles should be considered when contemplating ending a contract.
Yearly Archives: 2017
Legal-Ease: Keeping money safe
The question often comes up of what will happen to money in a bank if the bank closes. Typically, there’s no cause for concern when a bank closes, as your money should be safe. When money is deposited in banks, it’s protected in several different ways.
First, money deposited in banks is protected by the government’s bank auditing and examination laws. Second, when banks loan money, it’s not always the bank’s own money. Finally, money in certain bank accounts is protected through FDIC insurance.
Legal-Ease: Small business data loss and protection
Data loss and protection for businesses is often much more complicated than for individuals. A business must protect its own data, the data of its employees and the data of its customers as well as anyone else with whom the business conducts transactions.
Legal-Ease: LLCs and taxes
Limited Liability Companies, or LLCs, are often established by business owners to protect assets and limit liabilities. Most often when an LLC is organized correctly, net taxes are not typically increased or decreased. But, there are some exceptions to this.
Taxpayers can decide to have their LLCs taxed like “S corporations” as opposed to “C corporations.” “S Corporations” are slightly less cumbersome in tax administration than “C Corporations.” Taxpayers can also decide to have their LLCs taxed like partnerships if there is more than one owner. If the LLC only has one member, then it can be taxed as a sole proprietorship. Most business attorneys will consult with a client’s tax preparation professional before advising on how an LLC should be taxed.
Legal-Ease: Facing a medical crisis without prior legal preparation
Advance preparation doesn’t always happen as it should, and sometimes a medical crisis can leave you feeling helpless and underprepared. Fortunately, what you are likely to need from an attorney in a medical emergency is often pretty straightforward.
First, be sure to execute two powers of attorney. This will allow someone to sign documents and make decisions for you. One power of attorney should address financial decisions while the other power of attorney should address healthcare decisions. You can also sign a living will if you’d like, but a good healthcare power of attorney should allow your agent to sign a DNR for you.
Legal-Ease: What to consider when considering retirement
Retirement typically means that while you still may work, the “make a living” phase of your life has wound down. When Lee works with clients preparing for retirement, he typically focuses on four major considerations.
First, Lee asks his clients preparing for retirement about taxes. Second, retirees will need to decide when to take Social Security or money from a retirement plan. Third, people planning for retirement need to consider their healthcare options. Fourth, retirement is a perfect time to get more serious about estate planning and asset protection.
Legal-Ease: Capitalism or price gouging?
Of all the devastation that we’ve seen on the media in the wake of Harvey in Texas, some of the more widely shared photos were of price gouging. One picture that was especially widely shared on social media was of bottled water that was marked up to more than twice its value before a storm. So the question is, is this just capitalism, or is it price gouging?
Price gouging typically means spiking the prices of services or commodities to a level that’s considered to be unfair and that it’s exploiting customers. Price gouging is frequently discussed in the wake of natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey. There is no federal law that governs price gouging, although some people in congress have introduced legislations to try to limit price gouging.
Legal-Ease: Knowing goals creates best estate plans
When it comes to estate planning, knowing goals is the first step to getting great legal advice from lawyers. Clients who go into estate planning knowing specific goals are more likely to efficiently land on the right estate planning tools to achieve what they want. Attorneys can help clients analyze their priorities, but it’s much more efficient (and affordable) if a client goes into estate planning knowing what they truly want.
Legal-Ease: Insurance’s hidden value
Minimizing risk is typically a goal of the type of law that Lee practices. Sometimes insurance policies can’t provide what legal tools can provide, and other times legal tools can’t provide the value that insurance can bring to people, businesses and farmers.
While sometimes successful people just seem to be lucky, often it’s a matter of smart planning and research that leads to success. Lee helps his clients analyze their liability insurance and to decide what additional legal tools are necessary and whether the client is appropriately insured or over-insured.
Legal-Ease: School bus traffic laws
It’s almost time for students to head back to school, which means it’s time for drivers to encounter school buses on the road. Drivers must stop at least 10 feet from the part of the school bus that’s closest to the driver. So if a school bus is stopped on a one-, two- or three-lane road, all traffic going in both directions must stop at least 10 feet from the bus. The bus driver should not move the bus until the students are no longer in the roadway. Other drivers can move again once the school bus begins moving again.