The Complete Guide to Business Tort Lawyers and How They Can Ensure Your Business is Protected
The Importance of Hiring a Business Torts Lawyer
A business tort lawyer is an attorney that specializes in business litigation. They may also provide expert advice on important matters like commercial contracts, franchising agreements, and trademark protections.
The best way to protect your business is by making sure it has the proper insurance coverage. A good business insurance lawyer will not only help you purchase the right kind of coverage for your company but also know how to deal with claims should they arise.
What are the Different Types of Business Torts?
Torts are a form of civil wrong that can cause injury to any person. In this lesson, we will be going over the different types of torts in Texas.
In general, there are two types of torts: intentional and negligent. However, in Texas, there are a few more specific ones that you may encounter in a small business or a professional context.
There are many types of torts that can be committed against a small business. These torts include but are not limited to:
1) Negligence: This is when one person or entity fails to exercise the degree of care that an ordinary person would in the same situation. This may range anywhere from not exercising due caution when entering an intersection, to not exercising proper care when assembling a product, or even keeping proper maintenance of public property.
2) Negligent misrepresentation. When somebody makes a statement about something without having full knowledge about it and it causes harm to someone.
3) Interference with contractual relations which is when somebody intentionally interferes with an agreement between two other parties for their own benefit even though they did not sign the contract themselves or they did not have any stake in the agreement at all.
Who is Likely to be Sued by a Plaintiff?
The plaintiff is likely to be someone who has been harmed in some way by the defendant, such as a person who has been injured by the negligence of the defendant.
Some of the most common plaintiffs are:
– Victims of car crashes or other vehicle accidents;
– A passenger in a vehicle who was injured when the driver negligently lost control;
– A person injured at work due to an employer’s negligence.
What are the Steps I Should Take if I am Being Sued?
If you are being sued, or think that you might be sued, there are some steps you should take and considerations and questions to ask yourself.
Some of the first steps to take if you think that a lawsuit is forthcoming include:
– Consider whether your conduct was willful
– Consider whether your conduct was negligent
– Consider which party’s interests will be best served by a lawsuit or settlement negotiations
– Consider whether there is a potential for punitive damages
Conclusion: Hire a Business Tort Lawyer Today to Ensure Your Business is Protected Tomorrow
Call us today at 210-690-3700 to discuss your situation.
The reason a professional such as a lawyer or doctor would incorporate his/her business is
(1) To safeguard his or her assets from unlimited responsibility, a professional such as a lawyer or doctor might incorporate his or her business.
(2) to ensure that, in the event of a hostile takeover, another professional firm would not take control and make decisions.
(3) to limit his or her obligation for other assets.
(4) to be in compliance with the law, as insurance companies need corporations for billing.
Many physicians who work as independent contractors are debating whether or not to incorporate. Physicians are shielded from some sorts of liability and may be able to lower taxes on business profits by incorporating their practice as a distinct business entity.
Some physicians appear to overestimate the benefits of incorporation without taking into account the cost and time involved in the process. Before incurring the additional cost and complexity of incorporating, a doctor should assess a number of legal, financial, and practical issues. We’ll go over the two largest possible advantages of incorporation: lower liability and tax advantages, to assist you decide which company organization is best for your firm.
Know how to shield yourself from liability.
One of the main reasons physicians prefer to incorporate is to reduce their liability. Doctors can assist protect their personal assets from responsibility in a professional lawsuit by switching from a partnership or single proprietorship to a corporation. However, incorporation only reduces some sorts of liability, so it’s crucial to know what’s covered and what’s not.
Pros: In the event of a lawsuit or unpaid debt, LLCs and other corporate structures (e.g., Professional Corporations, Professional Limited Liability Companies) can operate as a barrier between a physician’s personal and professional assets. If an LLC owes money to a vendor, creditors cannot seize an LLC member’s personal assets. In contrast, if a company member or shareholder is sued for hitting and injuring a pedestrian by accident, the plaintiff will not be entitled to seek damages from the medical practice’s assets.
A doctor who is a sole owner or a partner in a medical partnership, on the other hand, is personally liable for an unincorporated practice’s obligations and liabilities. This arrangement exposes physicians to significant professional and personal risk. Partners in a general medical partnership may be held personally accountable for one another’s medical negligence. Physicians who incorporate are protected not just from the business entity’s liability, but also from liabilities arising from the activities of other physicians in the practice. As a result, combining a practice with many physicians is strongly recommended.
Cons: While incorporation can give essential protection from certain sorts of claims, it does not provide any protection against malpractice responsibility for a physician. Malpractice insurance is the only way to protect yourself from professional malpractice lawsuits.
Furthermore, professional corporations may be held liable in the event of an accident or injury on company property or while driving corporate vehicles. However, only the corporate entity’s assets are exposed in such instances, not the personal assets of members or shareholders. Only high liability limits on business, auto, and property insurance can financially protect your company in the event of such accidents, injuries, or other claims. You can also create separate LLCs for rental properties and other assets (such as equipment) with significant liability exposure, separating them from the running side of your business/practice and providing additional protection to the operating entity. However, adding these assets will add to the complexity and cost of the process.
The bottom line: Physician liability is reduced to some extent by incorporation. Other types of insurance, such as malpractice, business liability, property, and auto insurance, cannot be replaced by it. You must compare the time, expense, and effort of incorporation against the value of reduced liability if you are considering it.
Consider your tax advantages.
Another advantage of forming a medical practice is the opportunity for preferential tax treatment. Incorporation, depending on the sort of business you choose and your financial goals for the practice, might result in significant tax savings. The specific tax benefits of incorporation, on the other hand, varies greatly amongst organizations.
Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs)
A simple LLC allows physicians to form a separate corporate entity that distributes profits (and losses due to operational expenses, equipment and real estate depreciation, and other factors) to LLC members directly. The entity itself is not subject to taxation (although it will have to file an informational tax return.) As a result, your federal and state tax burden as a member of an LLC will be similar to that of a single owner.
You must classify your LLC as an S-Corporation in order to reap the tax benefits of getting compensated as a shareholder rather than just an LLC member. Note that certain states do not allow physicians to form LLCs and instead require them to form professional companies.
S-Corporations
You can choose to be taxed as an S-Corp if you have an LLC. S-Corps have the option of passing through profits in the form of dividends to company shareholders while still being a pass-through organization. As a result, doctors can divide their earnings between salaries and dividends. Dividends are taxed at lower, more favorable rates and are exempt from payroll taxes such as FICA, self-employment, and Social Security and Medicare taxes, resulting in a nearly 15% savings in taxation.
Given the considerable tax advantages of dividends, you may be thinking to yourself, “Couldn’t I just pay myself a pittance and then divert the remainder of the profits to be paid in lower-taxed dividends?” Because the IRS is fully aware of the temptation to utilize this method, S-Corps are frequently subjected to increased tax scrutiny. Payments from an S-Corp to a corporate officer must reflect “fair compensation” for services provided, according to tax law. If auditors feel your salaried income is too low, you could lose all of your incorporation tax benefits and end up in a nasty IRS battle.
As a result, while having an S-Corp allows you to split your income between pay and dividends, you may only be able to cut a small amount of your income. Otherwise, the IRS will see an abnormally low pay as a clear red flag. S-corps also have more stringent management and operation requirements than a standard LLC, such as corporate bylaws, shareholder meetings, and stock distribution rules. Physicians should weigh the costs and complexities of running an S-corp against the tax advantages of dividend income.
C-Corporations
If you’re thinking about starting a business, you’ve probably heard about the benefits of forming a C-corporation. C-Corporations, unlike LLCs and S-Corporations, are not pass-through organizations, and their profits are taxed at corporate rates.
For the most part, a C-corporation tax structure will benefit physicians only if they keep a significant portion of their profits in the practice. You can greatly minimize your taxes on earnings kept within the practice if you plan to keep a major amount of the income in the practice to save up for future needs or expansion. However, if you intend to distribute the majority of the practice earnings in the form of dividends to shareholder physicians, you will be taxed twice.
The Bottom Line: It’s crucial to remember that incorporating isn’t a one-stop shop for immediate tax benefits and liability protection. Forming an LLC protects you from operational liability as well as the misconduct of your fellow members, and certain LLC designs might provide tax advantages. Understanding the scope of these benefits might assist you in deciding whether or not to incorporate.
Physicians should factor in the costs of forming and running a corporation. Depending on the sort of corporation you form, the specific legal and accounting charges will vary. Each year, it might cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.
Only you can decide if the advantages outweigh the downsides after weighing the benefits, costs, and workload of merging your medical practice. You may decide that the convenience of operating as a single proprietor is well worth the somewhat higher liability, depending on the scope of your profits or business ambitions. As the number of partners in your practice grows and your firm grows, you should consult an attorney and/or accountant to evaluate which type of corporation will provide you with the most legal and financial protection.
Another reason a professional such as a lawyer or doctor would incorporate his/her business is limited liability.
What is the meaning of limited liability?
You risk what you put in, is the greatest approach to explain limited liability. In other words, limited liability ensures that a person conducting business does not put his or her personal belongings at danger if the business fails. Any investor, partner, or member of the firm who has limited responsibility under the law cannot be held liable for any unfulfilled company commitments or debts in excess of the amount invested.
Jill and Jack are a couple.
Here’s a straightforward comparison. Jack and Jill are acquaintances. Jill is a fantastic cook, and Jack is a handyman. Both decide to create their own firm in order to profit from their abilities. Renovations are Jack’s main source of income. He purchased his own equipment and used his own name to sell his services. Jack runs his business on his own.
Jill made the decision to create a bakery. Jill has formed a small corporation (an S-Corporation) called Jill’s Cakes, Inc. before entering into business. Jill put her funds into Jill’s Cakes, Inc. as a start-up capital, then purchased her baking equipment and rented her shop on behalf of her business. There are essentially no distinctions between the two ways of doing business as long as things go well for Jack and Jill.
When things go bad, though, the distinctions become apparent. Jack scrubbed the floor before leaving the apartment he had just painted one day, but he forgot to put up a sign. When the owner entered, he slipped on the wet floor and shattered his ankle. He has filed a lawsuit against Jack for medical bills and lost pay. Jill slipped a peanut into the wrong batch of batter, triggering a serious allergic reaction in one of her customers. That consumer has filed a lawsuit against her for medical expenses as well as pain and suffering.
What is the danger to Jack and Jill? Jack is putting everything he owns on the line, including his job equipment, truck, home, and personal items. Jack must sell everything he owns to satisfy the judgment as long as it exists. Jill is just putting her business assets on the line: her culinary equipment, cash reserves, and whatever else Jill’s Cakes, Inc. owns. Her personal belongings, such as her car and residence, are, nevertheless, secure. Her company may go bankrupt, but her life will not be devastated (totally).
This anecdote, of course, depicts the worst-case situation. Many firms thrive without encountering many problems. However, many businesses fail, and it is so simple for a business owner to benefit from limited liability that everyone should.
Keeping Liability to a Minimum
Several forms of company structures provide limited liability protection to their owners. Corporations and limited liability companies are the most common (LLC). Each of these entities has its own set of benefits and downsides, but they both provide limited liability protection to their owners.
In the context of limited liability, there are a few points to keep in mind. To begin, a business must be well-maintained in order to provide the full liability protection that it was created to provide. In other words, if a corporation is simply a shell, but is conducted as if it is one and the same as the person running it, the courts will regard it as a sham, and the owners will be denied limited liability protection.
Second, even with a limited-liability company, an owner may be liable for more than his or her initial investment. When an owner has personally co-signed a loan agreement, this is the case (such as a credit card application). This signature provides the lenders with a personal guarantee of debt repayment, allowing them to pursue the owner’s personal assets in the event of failure. If final repayment is beyond the resources of the business, other owners (or investors) are not accountable, but the owner who co-signed would be responsible for that amount.
Is it possible for everyone to run a limited liability company?
No, in some occupations, the benefit of restricted liability is impossible to obtain. Law and ethics hinder professionals such as lawyers, doctors, accountants, chiropractors, engineers, and architects from minimizing their liabilities. We want these professionals to take personal responsibility for their decisions, so they make them thoughtfully every time.
The final line is that, if at all possible, anyone doing business should consider forming a limited liability company. Consider it a safety net in case the worst happens.
As the internet of things has arrived, you have assets that are digital which, while covered by normal estate planning, may require more instructions.
Have you thought about?
What are your digital assets?
domain names
hosting
phone numbers
online stored photos and videos
email accounts
social media accounts
bank and investment accounts
What will be necessary to access and control these digital assets?
Who will have a list of accounts, usernames, and passwords if you are physically or mentally unable to access them yourself?
Who will be able to access your data backups on your computer or in the cloud?
Do your present legal documents provide the proper consent to be able to access your digital assets?
Most people have some type of planning to pass on physical assets: jewelry, furniture, guns, and other valuables. It could be a written memorandum or even sticky notes (like my mother used).
But what about the 1,587 family photos that are stored in Google, Dropbox or Apple iCloud storage? Will they be lost forever or will someone be able to access them on your phone or computer?
Who will be able to access your Facebook, Instagram or other social media? What about photos or videos that may be stored there? Will they be gone forever?
What about your business digital assets? Websites, domains, hosting accounts, software access and other digital things?
Where are your financial records stored? Phones, computers, the cloud, and websites like banking or financial transactions like Fidelity are all commonly used to transact personal and business transactions.
Here are some you might not have considered:
Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin SV., etc.
Quicken, Quickbooks or other financial programs
Domain names for websites through GoDaddy, Namecheap or other service
Web hosting through GoDaddy, Bluehost or other service
YouTube channels or other online video hosting
Google accounts
Online gaming
Online betting accounts
Blogs or other online content hosting
Normal bank accounts
In today’s world, there are YouTube channels that have been monetized through advertising or affiliate marketing that can generate thousands of dollars in monthly income. Without proper authorization, those assets could be completely lost!
What is proper authorization?
When you logged into an online account last, what did you have to do to get access?
Username
Password
Solve a captcha?
Receive a text code on a mobile phone?
Answer a security question or several?
If you went on an errand and were in an accident and died, would your family be able to gain access to those digital assets?
So how do you preserve authorization and access through your estate plan?
What will be needed to provide access?
Record the proper information.
What are your accounts? Create a list so that your family will know what digital assets you have and how they can get access.
Usernames
Passwords
Security questions
What mobile number is attached
How do you protect the list so that it cannot be used improperly?
A physical record can be kept in a safe place like a safety deposit box or lock storage (also fireproof), just like you keep your original will, passports, etc.
Secure online storage is also available. I always suggest using a name for it that does not indicate what it is. In other words, don’t use anything that indicates or say “Passwords”. Try something like Pet names, Recipes or something that is not quite so interesting to a searcher.
Check into online secure storage. Roboform, 1Password, and Dashlane are highly rated.
Do you really own the asset? Even though you “bought it”, software programs may only be a license to use the program and it may not be transferable. If you used a media company to create a website and pay a monthly fee, you may discover that the media company has complete control and ownership. If you don’t continue to pay the monthly fee, it’s gone!
Website source code can be copied and the site can be cloned but you can’t do that once it is gone!
Cloud storage backups. You may have data backed up in the cloud, but is it also backed up on a “hard drive” that is not on the cloud. You may also choose to have an additional online backup. It is also a good idea to scan very important documents. Bank statements are only stored in your bank online account to be accessible for a year. You may need them for tax purposes when they are no longer available. Scans of birth certificates, passports, licenses, and other important documents is a great idea. Remember though that your original will must be retained. It is difficult to probate a copy of a will.
When backing up thing, remember that “belt and suspenders” overkill is appropriate. Multiple backups are recommended but make sure that you stay secure.
Do your estate planning documents provide proper authorization? Take the time to review your documents. Blanket authorizations may not suffice. Make sure that you have a HIPAA release for medical information. Make sure that your fiduciaries can have access to and reset or recover your passwords and user names.
Review your estate plan at least once a year. Make sure your lists are kept updated. The laws regarding digital assets are constantly changing to keep us with the rapid changes.
If you have not had your annual review, please call us today to follow up, 210-690-3700 or schedule on the calendar, www.scheduleonce.com/JamesMontgomery . We have a checklist that we used in the review but it is important to have the personal review, even by Zoom, to keep things current and make sure what the facts are for the situations.
An estate planning lawyer can provide you with a sense of security and protection by helping you design an estate plan that fits your needs and goals. Most people think that an estate plan only applies when you die to specify who gets your “stuff”. Estates don’t have to be “big” with lots of money and assets to have the proper estate planning. An estate lawyer though can go through a checklist with you to plan for retirement, the potential of disability during your life, the protection of your children in the event you and your spouse are in an accident, as well as planning for what happens when you die.
You may search for an “estate lawyer near me” or “estate planning attorney near me” or “estate attorney near me” but in today’s world that attorney does not have to be in the same town as you are located. It is best to have someone who is in the same state where you reside as laws affecting estate plans and probate differ from state to state. The state where your property is located is the proper place to do a probate if one is necessary.
What is involved in working with an estate planning attorney? Your estate planning lawyer will have a questionnaire that will guide you through the various decisions that you can make. Often, going through a checklist will simplify your plan and make sure that you have not missed important documents and options that you have to choose.
While many people prefer a face to face meeting, most people have found in today’s world that video conferencing and telephone along with email have streamlined the process of doing an estate plan. Documents can be quickly reviewed with email. Final documents can be produced and signed without having to go to the estate planning attorney’s office. Signatures still in most states need to be done in front of witnesses and a notary public. But the signers only have to be in the presence of the notary public normally.
What types of documents should you have as part of your estate plan?
In Texas, where I am located, probate is simple. I refer to it as the 15 minute probate state as the only court appearance in front of a judge takes 15 minutes although you may wait an hour for the hearing. In short, you don’t need to avoid probate in Texas. In states like California, Michigan, New York and Florida, where probate is difficult, lengthy and expensive, a living trust or intervivos trust is recommended because trusts don’t die.
In Texas, you don’t need a trust to avoid probate. A trust lawyer might advise you to use a living trust for other reasons. A living trust attorney can craft a trust for a special needs situation where because of disabilities, an individual cannot or will not be able in the future to manage finances. A special needs trust can protect assets if a person needs to utilize Medicare or Medicaid benefits but does not want to use personal assets before being able to access those programs or wants to avoid reimbursement claims from the government programs. If you have questions about whether a trust should be used, consult with a trust attorney like me near where you are located. If you are going with a living trust, make sure you have an experienced living trust attorney who does those trusts fairly frequently and best has some litigation experience involving trusts.
So if your estate planning attorney does not recommend a living trust, what documents and review should you do? Estate planning should include a complete review of your situation: your assets and liabilities, retirement goals, business ownership(s), cash flows, family situation, education plans, life insurance policies and potential needs, and what should happen to all of your property if you should become disabled or die. Do you have buy sell agreements involving your business and how are they funded? A will lawyer will have an extensive questionnaire and checklist to guide those conversations which might also involve your CPA or tax preparer.
Will Attorney
What documents do you need if you are using a will as the basis for your planning:
Will
Financial power of attorney (Statutory Power of Attorney)
Medical power of attorney (Durable Power of Attorney)
HIPAA Release
Directive to Physicians (Living Will)
Beneficiary Designation for bank accounts and life insurance
You can find will attorney by searching “will attorney near me” on google. Of course, you are already on the page of a will attorney so you need look no further.
You can call 210-690-3700 to schedule a time to get to know each other. You can also use our online calendar, www.scheduleonce.com/JamesMontgomery
If you have questions about the documents above, I have prepared a series of lessons that will educate you on each of the documents. Although I strongly recommend against it, you may wonder how to make a will without a lawyer. One of the lessons covers how to do make a will without a lawyer and the pitfalls that await the non-lawyer doing his or her own legal work.
Two of the most important documents are the financial power of attorney and the medical power of attorney. Perhaps worse than death, if that can be said, is the debilitating injury that disables one from being able to make decisions, a stroke or severe head injury or other situation that destroys ones capacity to make decisions. If one knows that a medical condition like Alzheimers or other diseases will result in that status, then a living trust or special needs trust should be considered. But one never knows when a serious injury or stroke might occur, having the powers of attorney in place can avoid the necessity of hiring a guardianship lawyer to file a guardianship.
A guardianship is a guardianship attorney’s dream. Imagine having to file a motion and get a court order to handle the day to day affairs of a person. The attorneys fees in a guardianship are large and ongoing. Yet that situation is easily avoidable simply by having the durable power of attorney (medical) and the statutory power of attorney (financial) in place. Those powers of attorney allow someone to stand in your shoes and make decisions for you without any court intervention.
Why a medical power of attorney? We have all seen the medical shows on TV that talk about how in an emergency the next of kin can make decisions. What people don’t realize is that decision making power like that is very limited. If you need a blood transfusion or elective surgery, the hospital needs someone with full power to make decisions. Perhaps you don’t have any next of kin or they live in New York or the west coast and are unavailable. Your girlfriend, boyfriend, or significant other is not your next of kin. There is no need to take a risk, just get a medical power of attorney signed.
Likewise the financial power of attorney allows someone to make financial decisions, pay bills, and take other day to day actions that we all do without thinking about. If you are the only person on your bank account, who will pay your bills if you are in a bad car accident and can’t function for months (or forever)? What if you get sick with COVID or something and are in a medical induced coma? There is no need to take a risk, just get a financial power of attorney signed.
What does getting an estate planning package cost? Our firm does everything on a fixed fee basis, no hourly fees unless we agree on that in advance for special services. Typically, a complete estate plan will run $2500.00 and includes not only the document preparation but also a financial overview and insurance overview. That fee also includes annual review sessions for five years and a reduced fee for any changes that you want to make during the five years (five years from the date of signing). We also provide options that you may choose for additional fees like a transfer on death deed, a children’s trust, minor child protection plan, and other specialize but desired options.
You can call 210-690-3700 to schedule a time to get to know each other. You can also use our online calendar, www.scheduleonce.com/JamesMontgomery
Probate Attorney
So what happens when you die? What do we do as your probate attorney?
The process for probate in Texas is to locate the original will (copies only in very limited situations can be used. Then an application to probate the will is prepared and filed with the probate court where you live. A search for a “probate lawyer near me” might be appropriate if you live a significant distance from San Antonio, Texas. However in this hopefully post-pandemic world many of the hearings are now conducted by Zoom so probates can be handled all over Texas.
The process that I, as your probate lawyer, will guide you through will first be to gather the information about all of the assets and liabilities of the deceased’s estate. What property was owned: real estate, personal property, bank accounts, insurance policies, intellectual property, etc. What did the deceased owe: mortgages, loans, credit cards, debts, bills, etc.
Who are the heirs of the person who has died and how can they be contacted?
When the application to probate is filed, notice must be given to the heirs and beneficiaries. Public notice is given by posting notice on the courthouse bulletin board. Ten days later the Court will hold a hearing on the application and enter an order admitting the will to probate. The executor has to attend and testify although many of the hearings are done online rather than in person due to current conditions.
The next steps with your probate lawyer are to inventory the estate. We don’t file inventories at the courthouse anymore unless there is an issue and the judge insists.
Our firm will assist with making sure any assets are transferred and all funds in accounts properly collected and delivered to the designated beneficiaries. Our goal is to make the process as painless as possible and with as little of your time as possible.
You can call 210-690-3700 to schedule a time to get to know each other. You can also use our online calendar, www.scheduleonce.com/JamesMontgomery
IRAs are among the largest assets inherited by heirs and beneficiaries. These accounts have been able to grow to such large amounts because income taxes are deferred until the owner begins to take distributions, usually after reaching age 70 ½.
Those who inherit an IRA must be very careful to follow the rules, which are complicated and often confusing. It is possible to keep an account growing tax-deferred for decades, but an innocent error can cause the recipient to lose the tax-deferred advantage and force her to pay tax now on the entire account balance. As a result, it is critical to talk with an expert before making any decision or taking any action, and to understand all available options. Here are some to consider.
Cash Out Option
Anyone who inherits an IRA can cash it out and withdraw the full amount. But because income taxes must be paid on the full amount at one time, this is not usually the best choice.
Spouse Options
A surviving spouse who inherits an IRA from his/her spouse can roll it into a new IRA or merge it with his/her own IRA. In either case, the account can continue to grow tax-deferred and the surviving spouse can continue to make contributions until he/she must start taking required distributions (after age 70 ½).
If it is rolled into a new IRA, the surviving spouse will name new beneficiaries. It is highly advantageous to name someone who is much younger (e.g., children and/or grandchildren) because after the surviving spouse’s death, distributions will be based on the beneficiary’s actual life expectancy. This will allow the account to continue to grow tax-deferred for decades. Under IRS rules, this rollover and stretch out can be done even if the original owner spouse had started taking required minimum distributions before he/she died.
Non-Spouse Options
If the original owner died before beginning to receive required distributions, a non-spouse beneficiary can establish a Beneficiary IRA and start taking annual distributions based on his/her own life expectancy, with the option to take a lump sum at any time. (This is called the “life expectancy option.”) This must be done by the end of the year following the original owner’s death. If the first distribution is not taken by then, all of the IRA must be withdrawn by December 31 of the fifth year after the owner’s death. (This is called the “five year rule.”)
If the original owner died after beginning to receive required distributions, a non-spouse beneficiary must take a distribution equal to the owner’s required minimum distribution for the year he/she died if one had not been taken. For subsequent years, distributions can be based on either the new owner’s life expectancy or the original owner’s remaining life expectancy (whichever is longer).
The original owner’s name must be listed on the title, but the inheriting beneficiary will name new beneficiary(ies). A non-spouse beneficiary cannot roll an inherited IRA into his/her own IRA or make contributions to an inherited IRA, as a spouse can. But when distributions are stretched out over a longer period of time, the tax payments are also stretched out. And by keeping more money in the IRA for as long as possible, the tax-deferred growth can be maximized…which will result in a much larger balance.
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
“I could end the deficit in 5 minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just
pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election.
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds)
took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple!
The people demanded it. That was in 1971 – before computers, e-mail,
cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year
or less to become the law of the land – all because of public pressure.
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to
a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask
each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will
have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed
around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2012
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void
effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.
Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in
Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their
term(s), then go home and back to work.
The material on this site is general information about how business sales work in Texas. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not make me your lawyer.
