Purchasing Homeowner's Insurance- Strategies & Pitfalls
People who have read Mark Kohler’s Lawyers are Liars know that our philosophy with respect to asset protection is the “multiple barrier approaches” to put as many barriers as you can between you and someone who would sue you. For owners of real estate, one of primary...
What Is a Health Care Sharing Ministry – And Is Joining One a Good Idea?
It's that most wonderful time of the year. It's the Obamacare Open Enrollment Period to purchase health insurance coverage for 2018 on the Individual Marketplace. Take note though, The Open Enrollment Period has been shortened this year and expires after December 15,...
Five Benefits of the Solo 401K
For many Americans, saving for retirement is like exercising or eating healthy, we know we should do it but most of us don’t. In fact, a survey published by the Washington Post reported that over 70% of Americans are not saving enough for retirement and a study by...
The New “Centralized Partnership Audit Regime” – A Seismic Shift or Much Ado about Nothing?
An article on IRS audits…just what you needed to read before going to bed tonight, and I’m not kidding. Now, don’t be embarrassed if you haven’t heard of the Centralized Partnership Audit Regime (“CPAR”). If you think it sounds like something out of a George Orwell...
8 Core Tax Concepts Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know
Of the many virtues that entrepreneurs have, one such virtue is the desire and ability to get as much information and knowledge as they can by reading books, attending speaking events, researching on the internet, etc. However, 'taxes' aren't one of the topics...
Creative Planning Options with a Revocable Living Trust
Estate planning is something most know they should do, but most American adults simply haven’t gotten it done. In a survey available from AARP, 60% of American adults do not have an estate plan. The number gets even higher for some minority populations. In most...
Simple is Sexy: Maximize Retirement Contributions for Tax, Asset Protection, and Estate Planning Benefits
Many clients appreciate our ability to see the big picture. For example, when it comes to asset protection, estate planning, and tax planning, none of these practice areas happen in a vacuum, meaning the methods and tools used for asset protection will almost always...
Getting Married? You’ll Need a Caterer, a Photographer, a DJ … and a Lawyer!
The process of getting married can be one of the most wonderful, exciting … and stressful periods in a person’s life. There’s so much to plan for and do (and so many people to impress) that it can be hard to focus on what’s really important – the fact that you are...
Essential Tax & Legal Tips for the NEW Business Owner
Starting a business is a process. It is MUCH more than filing the one or two page articles/certificate of formation with the state. At the same time, it doesn’t have to be so complicated and overwhelming that you never start. Further, not only is starting a...
Til Death Do Us Part – Marriage and Asset Protection
The question of whether a spouse can be held liable for the debts of the other spouse is often asked from married (or to be married) couples, but the answer is not uniform and depends largely on the laws of the state where you reside. MOST STATES - COMMON LAW...
Pokémon No! How Pikachu Ended Up Getting Served with a Class Action Lawsuit
Remember Pokémon Go? About this time last year, the “augmented reality” game in which players use their smartphones to capture and train various species of Pokémon was a global phenomenon, with nearly seven million daily downloads. It was sort of the “thing to do” of...
Estate Planning 101: 5 Tips to Avoid Mistakes
As I work with small business owners and investors throughout the year, I want them to see the big picture when it comes to Estate Planning. Many misunderstand what the Estate Plan is all about and think it's simply an 'asset protection' strategy...that couldn't be...
Legal Tips for Wholesaling Real Estate
Many real estate investors regard wholesaling as a way to learn how to evaluate deals and develop your real estate network. It is also a method to profit from investing in real estate without requiring significant up front capital. Wholesaling is a strategy whereby...
Ask Your Attorney if a “Covfefe” Trademark Is Right for You
On May 31st, 2017, at 12:06 a.m. Eastern Time, President Donald Trump unleashed the following tweet: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” No one has been able to definitively crack the code (if there is one) as to what “covfefe” actually means. The President...
Bitcoin Basics: What is Cryptocurrency?
Questions about Bitcoin have increased dramatically as investors have seen the price of Bitcoin rise from 30 cents per Bitcoin in 2011 to $2,550 per Bitcoin in July 2017. This article answers basic questions about Bitcoin and we'll have two follow-up articles...
The Realities of Litigation
For most people involved in a dispute, declaring the words “See you in Court!!” can seem like the perfect threat or even feel therapeutic at the least. Some even presume that by stating “I’m going to sue you” is like declaring nuclear war against the other side and...
How to Donate to Charity and Beat the Tax Man
I have a close relative who works in fund-raising for a fairly large university. While he loves receiving large charitable donations in the form of immediately available cash or other marketable assets (such as real estate and publicly-traded stock), he knows that...
6 Tax and Legal Tips When Investing in Real Estate
Sir Francis Bacon put it best when he said, “knowledge is power”. Not only does he have a great last name but he gives good advice that applies to all facets of life including investing in real estate. Whether you are new to real estate investing, or a seasoned...
What You Should Know about Administering a Family Member's Estate
Most of us will, at some point in our lives, be called upon to administer the estate of a departed family member or loved one. While it may seem like an honor to have been entrusted with this responsibility, the reality is often it is a thankless, time consuming job,...
Entrepreneurs Raise Money More Easily with Rule 504
The new $5 million cap will make it easier to raise larger amounts of money from unaccredited persons and we expect to see an increase in persons using Rule 504 to raise money for operating businesses and real estate investments.
Owner’s Liability After Your LLC is Closed or Dissolved?
Many business owners wonder whether their LLC will protect them from claims and liabilities after their LLC is closed. Does the limited liability protection of the LLC still apply? Does it only apply for claims when the LLC was active? What about after the LLC is...
What Being Dragged Off a United can Flight Teach Us about Contract Law?
Unless you’ve been in a coma for the past week or so, you’ve probably seen the cell phone camera footage of airport police dragging a kicking and screaming Dr. David Dao off a United Airlines flight at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport last week. At this point, the story is...
What Do I Need to Know About Title Insurance
We all know that title insurance is a necessity when purchasing real estate, but many do not have a sufficient understanding of what title insurance is really for and steps we can take to deal with title insurance companies to prevent being embroiled in a title...
Business Succession: When Corporate Governance and Estate Planning Converge: Are You Setup Properly?
You may have heard in the news recently that there’s been some fighting among the ownership team of the Los Angeles Lakers. When Dr. Jerry Buss, the majority owner, died in 2012, his ownership passed to his six children via a trust, with each child receiving an equal...
Eight Spring Cleaning Ideas for Your Business
Don’t ask me why, but my seven year-old daughter is obsessed with the cheesy early 1990’s goodness that is Full House. Nick at Nite has scheduled a two-hour block of Danny Tanner, Uncle Jesse, Joey and the Tanner girls from 7-9 p.m. most weeknights, and my daughter...
Alternatives for Securing Your Loans or Investments
We often advise clients who want to loan money or participate in an investment to “get adequate security” for their investment. The purpose of getting additional security for your loan is so that you have something else that you can go after if the loan goes south....
Real Estate Investor Escapes Criminal Charges: Legal Factors When Raising Money from Others with Promissory Notes
Thousands of real estate deals/projects involve the use of promissory notes as a way to raise money to fund the project. If you are raising capital for a real estate project using promissory notes and you assume incorrectly that securities laws do not apply to your...
Just "Having" an S-Corp May Not be Enough
Just “having” an S-Corporation may not be enough. It's important you make sure to reap the tax and legal benefits of your S-Corp if you're going to set one up. If you routinely read articles in this space or have heard any of our attorneys speak around the country,...
Who's Liable- The Landlord or the Tenant?
We have many clients that own residential rental and commercial properties and lawsuits involving landlords continue to happen throughout the country, and will continue so long as someone is willing to 'rent a room' and someone is likely not to pay or damage...
Which State's Law Applies in a Lawsuit?
We frequently hear from clients who have been told by others that they should incorporate in Nevada (or other states outside of their home state) in order to take advantage of their favorable laws. We have seen many individuals persuaded into incorporating in a...
What Is a “Holding Company” and When Could It Make Sense to Have One?
We have lots of clients who come to us after dealing with promoters and would-be practitioners who have recommended elaborate (and usually expensive) entity structures for their businesses. This “up-sell” approach tends to happen whether the business sells...
Court Rules Against California Franchise Tax Board on Overreaching Franchise Tax
On January 12, 2017, an appeals court in California ruled, in a closely watched case of Swart Enterprises, Inc. v. Franchise Tax Board (Appeals Case F070922), that a non-resident of CA was not “doing business in California” and therefore not liable for California...
“Piercing the Veil" – Are you Appropriately Maintaining your LLC or Corporation?
Our law firm takes the position that an entity (such as an LLC or corporation, etc.), if properly maintained and used, can serve an important function in terms of liability protection, in addition to other forms of risk management such as insurance. This may be a...
5 New Year’s Resolutions to Make Your Business Great (or Great Again)
The dawn of a new year is traditionally a time for self-reflection on what we need to do to improve our lives. Many of us focus on goals to make ourselves better physically, mentally, spiritually, and yes – even financially. For those of you who own a small...
Estate Planning After a Spouse's Death
It's hard to consider the grief and sorrow that comes when a spouse passes. However, the year following the death of a spouse is an important one for the surviving spouse as there are number estate planning considerations and decisions to be made. This article is...
The Law of Christmas Light Displays according to the Hon. Clark W. Griswold
According to a 2011 survey, Americans spend in excess of $6 billion per year on Christmas decorations – and there’s no truth to the rumor that more than half of that number was spent by Clark Griswold for his annual Christmas light extravaganza. What is true is that...
Hulk Hogan & Asset Protection Lessons from Bollea v. Clem
In one of the more highly publicized cases of this year, in March 2016, a Florida jury in the case Bollea v. Clem awarded Hulk Hogan $115 Million in compensatory damages and $25M in punitive damages against the owners and operators of the Gawker website. Gawker was...
The Election Didn't Kill ObamaCare (yet): What You Need to Know
As Americans awoke on the morning of November 9, 2016, the reality of a Donald Trump presidency began to sink in. Many believed that a Trump administration would mean the end of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. the ACA or ObamaCare) on day one. Well, the reports of...
Thinking About Starting a Business? Consider These Ten Tax Tips
As the end of the year is fast approaching and 2017 will be here soon, if you’ve been thinking about starting a new business, keep in mind that once you are self-employed, a huge portion of the tax code opens up and becomes available to you for tax write-offs. Of...
How to Negotiate a Solid Contract
Lets face it, we all have to deal with contracts, many of us on a daily basis, and it is the law of contracts which forms the very foundation for our civil and commercial society. The main purpose of a contract is to memorialize and confirm the intentions and future...
Series LLC’s (Somewhat) Demystified State-By-State
Many of our clients, especially real estate investors, have heard of the Series LLC. However, the Series LLC seems to have a bit of a mysterious aura that keeps it from being understood. I think this comes from the fact that the Series LLC is relatively new...
What are My Options if I Disagree with the IRS?
Many view the IRS as an agency shrouded in mystery and the IRS is generally perceived as the omnipotent “big brother” that we should all fear. It is true that the IRS does have the ability to unilaterally garnish wages or levy on assets, whereas almost every other...
Starting Your Solo 401k By Year-End
The end of the year is approaching fast and many small business owners and real estate investors are looking for end of year tax savings! One of the typical year-end tax strategies is to make a tax deductible retirement account contribution. If you’re self-employed...
Estate Planning: Recent Questions from our Clients
In my experience, estate planning is one of the most important, and simultaneously least understood, areas of the law. Perhaps this is because none of us ever see how our own estate plan (or lack thereof) plays out after we are gone. Maybe it’s because there’s just a...
How to Properly Use Credit Reports to Screen Tenants
Experienced landlords and property managers understand the importance of carefully screening prospective tenants and anyone who has had to go through the process of evicting a tenant knows how cumbersome the eviction process could be. The ability to screen tenants...
Putting the Pieces Together: Tax, Asset Protection, Small Business Law, Real Estate, Raising Capital, Self-directed IRA Law, and Estate Planning
As an Attorney at KKOS Lawyers, I work under Mark Kohler and Mat Sorensen, the managing partners of the Firm. Mark is also a CPA and advises clients in the areas of small business tax planning, asset protection, etc. He has written books on these subjects (Lawyers...
Divorce and Taxes – What You Need to Know to Avoid Getting Burned by Uncle Sam
Going through a divorce can be one of the most emotionally and even physically draining events in life. The process of sorting out child custody issues, dividing assets, and deciding how much child support and alimony are to be paid can take months in the courts,...
The 'ABCs' of Buy-Sell Agreements
Most of us know that in business it is crucial to choose your partners carefully as the success of your business (and perhaps your livelihood) depends on it. We also encourage our business owners to have frank discussions with their partners regarding the details of...
LLC's and Limited Liability Protection: A Primer for the Small Business Owner
KKOS Lawyers is the Entrepreneur’s Law Firm. By definition, an entrepreneur is someone who assumes the financial risks of a new enterprise and who undertakes to provide its management. The LLC or an s-corporation are typically the preferred business entities of...
Go for the Gold…and Keep It – What to Do If You Receive a Financial Windfall
I don’t know about you, but right now, every evening, I find myself riveted to the screen, breathlessly taking in action in synchronized diving, archery, water polo, and even rhythmic gymnastics! This can only mean one thing (because I would never otherwise watch any...