TLD's General Counsel Blog

Your Money In A Declining Economy

In this declining economy, I am always concerned where my clients are putting their money. Cutting costs and minimizing litigation are at the forefront in preserving small businesses. For my clients that are in the business of distribution of name-brand goods, a primary concern is counterfeit goods, or knock-offs. When dealing with new suppliers, I advise distributors to negotiate a situation where the goods are paid upon delivery in order to give the distributor a chance to inspect the shipment for authenticity before paying for the goods. The last thing a small business needs is to have paid for goods only to discover that they are counterfeit after it is too late. Loss prevention is a priority for a small business, and a strategy that we can help implement.

Article Submitted By: Attorney Min N. Thai

Estate Planning and Small Business Owners

One important aspect for small business owners is to make sure that their estate plans are also put in place along with their appropriate business entities. If you own an interest in a Corporation (C or S corp), LLC or partnership, it is important to address what happens to that business interest should something happen to you or if you pass away.

A buy-sell agreement is one option (which won't be discussed here in this post) and setting up an estate plan is another option often considered. If you set up an estate plan to include a revocable living trust, you can assign or transfer your business interest into your trust and specify what happens to that share of the business interest.

One common approach for married couples is to transfer the business interest to the trust and allow the surviving spouse to manage the interest and upon the death of both spouses, the interest is then transferred to the surviving children either in equal shares or to the child who is most interested in the business interest (for whatever reason). Additonal lanugage can be included depending on the type of business interest involved and what your wishes are in case something happens.

Please consult with an estate planning attorney to determine if your business interest should be included as part of your personal estate planning. Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle has four estate planning attorneys to assist clients with these kinds of issues. One of our partners, Mark Doyle, is also a corporate and tax attorney who can provide additional insight and expertise in this area should you have a very successful small business in need of estate planning or other corporate work.

Article Submitted By: Attorney Jennifer Sawday

ARC Walk - ARC of Southeast Los Angeles County

A rowdy gang of 34 TL&D supporters showed- up to the ARC Walk on Saturday, April 5, 2008 to show our great support for ARC of Southeast Los Angeles County. TL&D also donated $2,500 to become a diamond sponsor of this special event.

Arc of Southeast Los Angeles County is committed to providing for people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities the ability to form and work towards goals through training and education, based on their individual abilities. Arc of Southeast Los Angeles County is further committed to helping to reduce and limit the incidence and consequences of mental retardation through education research, advocacy and the support of families, friends and community.

Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle has supported ARC for many years through special events such as this, and by hiring people with developmental disabilities as support for the law firm. “Community service is important for any business, but its particularly important for lawyers,” said Joe Lumsdaine, senior partner for the firm, “Lawyers serve in a privileged position. They should be willing to support the community in return.”