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Recent Blog Posts
Red Flags to Be Aware of When Signing a Commercial Lease
For entrepreneurs and business owners, finding a commercial property to run your business out of is often a significant challenge. Once an adequate space is secured, the next step is to sign a commercial lease agreement and make the landlord-tenant relationship official. Unfortunately, most business owners are juggling countless responsibilities, so it is easy for them to overlook red flags in the lease agreement. Signing a bad lease can lead to unnecessary costs and major legal headaches down the road.
Unclear or Ambiguous Terms
A lease should provide detailed information about the obligations and expectations of both the landlord and the tenant. If there is anything that is not clear, it is important to ask questions before signing the lease. Get the answers in writing. Ambiguous or overly broad language can be used to exploit a tenant's ignorance and can leave them vulnerable in the event of a dispute.
What Are the Benefits of a Living Trust?
Estate planning is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Each person's individual situation and wishes must to be taken into account when constructing a plan that meets their needs and the needs of their loved ones. One of the most popular estate planning choices that may be useful to you is a living trust—a written agreement that designates how assets are distributed upon death or incapacitation. Living trusts can offer numerous advantages, including avoiding probate court, reducing estate taxes, and providing more control over the distribution of assets.
Assets Transferred with a Living Trust Do Not Have to Pass Through Probate
Probate is a long, often costly court process involved in settling a deceased person's estate. During this time, assets are frozen until the courts have sorted through them all and distributed them. Understandably, most people want to avoid putting their surviving loved ones through the probate process. Unlike assets transferred through a will, assets transferred through a living trust avoid probate for faster and simpler distribution.
Is Your Small Business Compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act?
In the United States, all businesses with 15 or more employees must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects workers with disabilities from discrimination within the workplace. Any failure to do so can result in hefty fines and penalties and may even result in a discrimination lawsuit against your business. The following can help you avoid such consequences by providing you with information on how to ensure your policies are in line with the ADA requirements.
Protection Against Discrimination
Under the ADA, individuals with disabilities and their family members are protected from discrimination in hiring, termination, and opportunities for advancement. This means you cannot deny employment to someone based on a disability or the disability of a loved one. It also means you cannot terminate someone because he or she, or a loved one, has a disability. Individuals with disabilities and employees who have a loved one with a disability must also receive the same consideration when it comes to advancements and promotions within the company.
Laws and Practices Every Business Owner Must Address for Long-Term Success
Maintaining a successful business begins with establishing an operation that abides by the proper state laws and regulations from the get-go. All it takes is one misstep with hiring compliance, license and permits, or tax filing, and your entire business can end up in serious trouble.
Whether you are a new business owner or have owned a business for some time, it is important to take inventory of your current practices to ensure you are complying with applicable business laws and maintaining an efficient, legal operation. Consider the following examples of areas every business owner must address in order to achieve long-term success.
Licensing and Permit Requirements
There are a number of businesses that require federal licensing, such as those involved with activities that are regulated by a federal agency. These business categories can include everything from commercial transportation and agriculture to the sale of alcohol or firearms. Even if your business is not related to anything regulated by the federal government, virtually every business needs to have a permit or license of some sort. The type of permits required for your company’s operation will depend entirely on your state’s rules, the location of your business, and any additional government rules that apply.
What to Expect at Your Home Closing
After months of searching for the perfect home, you have finally found it. You have made your offer, it was accepted, and now you are ready to move forward and complete the purchase. But before you can officially call a house your own, there is one final step in the process: closing. If you are a first-time homebuyer, the closing process can be intimidating. Fortunately, with a little knowledge and some preparation, it does not have to be so scary. Today, we will take a look at what happens during a typical home closing—and what role an attorney plays in it all.
What Happens During Closing?
Closing is the final step in purchasing a home. It involves signing all of the necessary paperwork to make the sale official and transferring funds from buyer to seller. At closing, both parties sign all relevant documents, such as loan agreements and deed transfers. The buyer pays any remaining balance due on their mortgage loan (if applicable), plus any other fees or taxes associated with the transaction. Once all documents are signed, the title is transferred to the new owner, and keys are handed over.
Protect Your Business Through Effective Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Strategies
While most businesses have anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies in place, many still face harassment or discrimination lawsuits because they fail to enforce those policies. More often than not, these are for repeat incidents that have, for one reason or another, gone unresolved. However, recent reports from across the county suggest that there are more single-incident cases today than there were just mere years ago. This can mean serious trouble for employers who fall short in providing a safe workplace environment for all.
The Increase in Single Incident Cases
As the notion and importance of equality becomes more widespread, and as judges and juries become more sympathetic to the effects of workplace harassment, more and more are ruling “extremely serious” or “severe” single incidents as viable unlawful harassment cases. Under federal law, this places the employer on the hook for liability, and such employers may become responsible for damages considered due.
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of an Irrevocable Trust?
Most people equate estate planning with writing a last will and testament. While a will is a crucial element of most estate plans, it is not the only estate planning instrument available. Individuals with complex estates, significant wealth, or special needs often require additional planning tools. An irrevocable trust is an estate planning tool that can be used to provide asset protection, tax benefits, and asset management. However, it is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of an irrevocable trust before deciding to utilize it.
The Difference Between a Revocable Trust and an Irrevocable Trust
Trusts allow the trust maker, called the grantor, to transfer assets to the trust under the care of a third party, called a trustee. The trustee manages the assets and handles the distribution of assets to beneficiaries. Unlike assets distributed through a will, assets held in a trust usually do not have to pass through probate.
How Can a Railroad Company Defend Itself Against an Injury Lawsuit?
Railroads are a crucial component of commerce in the United States as a whole and Texas in particular. There are more miles of railroad in Texas than in any other state and railroad companies in Texas are estimated to transport more than 8.8 million carloads of freight each year. Without railroads, the transportation of vital cargo would grind to a halt.
Unfortunately, despite the vital role they play in our modern society, railroad companies often become the scapegoat after a train accident or derailment. If your railroad company is facing litigation, it is important to take swift action to defend yourself, your company, and your workers.
Presenting a Strong Defense Against Accusations of Negligence
When a railroad accident happens, the injured party may file a lawsuit against the railroad company for various reasons such as improper maintenance of its equipment or failure to properly train its employees.
Should I Use a Special Needs Trust to Provide for a Disabled Child?
If your child has a severe physical or mental disability, you know just how important it is for them to have the right type of care. One concern many parents have is what will happen to their disabled child after they have passed away. Your child may depend on you for daily needs like bathing and eating as well as money management and other financial needs. How will your child receive care and assistance after you are no longer around to provide this care yourself?
A special needs trust is an estate planning instrument that allows you to place funds in a trust that are used for your child’s benefit. Read on to learn more about the advantages of using a trust and what you can do to get started.
Basics of a Special Needs Trust
A special needs trust or supplemental needs trust is a fiduciary relationship often used to transfer funds to benefit a disabled person. The person who creates the trust, the grantor, transfers money into the trust. A trustee is tasked with managing these funds and using the money to benefit the beneficiary. Trust funds may be used to pay for medical needs, caretaking or home healthcare expenses, transportation, and other needs.
Employment Law Concerns for Businesses with Remote Workers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), just over a third of employers increased remote work opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 60 percent plan to keep those opportunities in place. With so many employers and employees alike benefiting from the flexibility of working remotely, it is likely that this trend will continue well into the future.
However, there are a few employment law concerns that businesses should keep in mind when managing remote workers. If your company currently has remote or hybrid workers or plan to implement remote work in soon, make sure to understand your legal rights and responsibilities as an employer.
Employment Law Considerations for Employers for Remote Workers
As remote work becomes increasingly popular, employers must ensure that they are meeting all local, state, and federal employment laws.
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