Report from Counsel 
A college town can be a good place to own rental property. Students are continually rotating through, and even faculty can be a transient group in need of temporary places to live. With dorm costs rising and space at a premium in certain college towns, some parents are investing in off-campus property as a way … Read more
Following the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, many businesses are wrestling with whether to change their company structure. The issue is whether to shift to a C corporation, which pays business taxes, or to remain a pass-through company, which pays taxes through the owners’ individual returns. Although taxes are not the only … Read more
If you’ve ever visited an indoor family entertainment center, like a trampoline park, indoor rock-climbing facility or bounce house, you’ve probably signed a liability waiver agreeing that you can’t hold the facility accountable for any injuries you or your family may suffer. Alternatively, you may have agreed to take your claim to “arbitration” — a … Read more
Lower income tax rates make this an attractive time to convert your traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. By converting, you’ll pay taxes on those funds now instead of at some future (likely higher) rate. The main hurdle will be paying taxes owed. If you convert $50,000 from a traditional IRA to a Roth, your … Read more
Crowdfunding is a growing resource for innovators and entrepreneurs. Typically associated with startup innovations, it’s a way to fund a special project by collecting money from a large group of people in exchange for a future, not-yet-built reward. In concept, crowd-funders get a good deal on your new product while you get the resources to … Read more
What happens to business value when you die? If you’re the CEO of a publicly traded company, stocks typically drop. Investors see risk and volatility and decide to get out before things go sour. If you’re the owner of a privately held business, your entire legacy could evaporate. A sudden death or disability can wreak … Read more
Every day, 77 percent of Americans go online, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, and most of us maintain at least some kind of digital data in the cloud (whether or not we are aware of it). We save emails, post to social media, and store photos in online albums. All of this … Read more
Sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct have been front and center in the media for months now. Reports of film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s conduct, followed by reports of similar behavior from other famous and powerful men in entertainment, politics, sports and business, have sparked a new awareness and intolerance for conduct that crosses … Read more
At any age, the death of a parent is a difficult experience. But these days more adult children are dealing with an added stressor: the realization that Mom or Dad died with debt. In the past decade, there’s been a steep increase in debt among senior households. According to a report from the Employee Benefit … Read more
Let’s say you make Acme Product 334, designed to work in tandem with Acme Widget 338. But one of your competitors sells a viable alternative to Widget 338. Can you predicate Product 334’s warranty on the condition that it’s only paired with Acme widgets? No, you can’t. It’s an old law, actually, and one the … Read more