Entity Options for Your Massachusetts Small Business

Posted by Robert L. Arone You know your business better than anyone else: whether that be a professional, trade, occupation, dog-walking, catering, or custom-made crocheted goods. But when it comes to giving your business the best legal and tax footing, you may feel a little lost in what choices there are and the benefits and costs of each choice. In this article, I will give a simplified overview of a few business structures available to Massachusetts entrepreneurs and small business owners. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks regarding registration procedure, tax structure, and personal liability. Some choices are better for taxation and some for liabilities and some structures cost more to maintain. Sole Proprietorship A sole proprietorship is, in many ways, the default legal structure for a Massachusetts business. A sole proprietorship has, as the name would suggest, a single (“sole”) owner (“proprietor”). The procedure for setting up a

Presidential Estate Planning Lessons You Can Use to Advise Your Clients

Posted by Robert L. Arone February 21 is the day on which we celebrate several US presidents who made noteworthy contributions to our country. As with any discussion that involves politics, a discussion about US presidents risks generating a variety of opinions about which reasonable minds can disagree. However, politics is not the focus of this month’s newsletter. Instead, our aim is to examine a few of the important lessons we can learn from the estate planning of some of our country’s most famous political leaders. Armed with these important lessons from history, you can help your clients make better decisions for their own estate planning. George Washington Washington was arguably the most universally beloved and revered US president. Volumes have been written about this man and what he accomplished during his life. One significant achievement that few people know about is the care Washington took to ensure that his

Estate Planning Awareness: Don’t Fall Victim to These Common Myths

Posted by Robert L. Arone Left unaddressed, these myths can create serious trouble for families and individuals, often leading to intrafamily conflict, permanently damaged relationships, and lengthy and expensive court battles. Myth #1: Estate planning is only for the wealthy. When the topic of estate planning comes up, professional advisors often hear their clients respond with phrases like “Oh, estate planning is only for rich people,” or “Why do I need an estate plan? I plan to spend it all before I die!” Unfortunately, this kind of response, perhaps subconsciously, allows the person making the statement to avoid having to expend any further energy thinking about the uncomfortable reality of their own mortality and the consequences of not having planned for their incapacity or death. As their professional advisor, consider whether you have a responsibility to gently push back on such responses from a client. Most things worth doing are

Preparing for the Reduction in the Estate Tax Exemption

Posted by Robert L. Arone In late May of this year, the U.S. Treasury released a publication detailing a number of the proposed tax code changes that the Biden administration would like to usher through Congress in an ambitious effort to modernize the US tax system to meet its citizens’ needs. While reasonable minds may differ strongly on the best way to stimulate the US economy and create wealth and security for the American people, one thing is certain: the need for individuals to engage in careful estate and tax planning to avoid paying more tax than necessary is not going away. The IRS publication,[1] sometimes referred to as the Green Book, outlines a number of key proposals that—if ultimately passed—have the potential to significantly shake up the estate planning world as we know it today by sidelining a number of tried and true estate planning strategies while potentially increasing the

Working with Co-trustees: How You Can Help

When clients select a successor trustee for their trust, they frequently choose one person to serve as a successor trustee at a time. Many attorneys continue to recommend that only a single trustee be appointed to avoid the potential for disagreements or conflicts between co-trustees during the trust administration after the trustmaker’s death or disability. This can be a prudent approach and works well in many situations. This is particularly true when the appointed trustee diligently keeps the trust beneficiaries informed about the trust administration and carefully fulfils the trustee’s responsibilities under both the law and the provisions of the trust document. However, many clients are reluctant to place the entire responsibility for trust administration on one person. As a result, it is increasingly common for a trustmaker to nominate two or more family members or friends to serve as successor co-trustees. In some cases, it may even be beneficial

Trusted Legal Resources

Entity Options for Your Massachusetts Small Business

Presidential Estate Planning Lessons You Can Use to Advise Your Clients

Estate Planning Awareness: Don’t Fall Victim to These Common Myths

Preparing for the Reduction in the Estate Tax Exemption

Working with Co-trustees: How You Can Help

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© 2024 by Orsi Arone Rothenberg Turner, LLP. All rights reserved.

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Trusted Legal Resources

Entity Options for Your Massachusetts Small Business

Presidential Estate Planning Lessons You Can Use to Advise Your Clients

Estate Planning Awareness: Don’t Fall Victim to These Common Myths

Preparing for the Reduction in the Estate Tax Exemption

Working with Co-trustees: How You Can Help

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© 2024 by Orsi Arone Rothenberg Turner, LLP. All rights reserved.

Attorney Marketing by Bardorf Legal Marketing

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