Selling Mom’s Business – Asset or Stock Sale?

Selling Mom’s Business – Asset or Stock Sale?

May 11, 2021

Angelica Bux and her son Duke own a fast-growing, family business Blue Skies Air Conditioning and Heating, LLC in Cotulla Texas. Angelica plans to retire by selling Blue Skies to Duke to fund her retirement. Their business consultant developed their near-term plan to expand and maximize their business’ value. More recently, their tax and estate planning lawyers outlined an effective tax transition plan and the formation of a Blue Skies’ advisory team to support Duke’s…

CDC’s Eviction Moratorium: Legal Limbo for Landlords and Tenants

May 6, 2021

Drake Goodman and Patty Palmer lease a studio apartment to Carter Haynes. But Haynes has not paid rent since last May, when the shelter-in-place orders caused his fledging restaurant to go out of business. While sympathetic to Haynes’s plight, the loss of rental income has severely damaged Goodman and Palmer’s own finances, and they are growing increasingly desperate. Can they evict Hayes? Should they?…

Texas Community Property Law: An Intro for Business Owners

By Kevin Davidson

April 6, 2021

Jack Bux and his high school sweetheart, Diane, have been married a few years, but the pandemic has taken its toll on their relationship, and they could soon be parting ways. Going into the marriage, Jack had a number of property interests – a home with a mortgage, a retirement account and a small part of the family business – and now he’s concerned that Diane will be able to walk away with half of…

Falling Off the Fence: Can You Fire Those with Different Viewpoints?

March 26, 2021

Ernest “Big Daddy” Bux’s daughter Kathy “Kitten” was working for Approval Literary Agency in Blessing, Texas – that is until last month. Kitten, an associate literary agent with Approval Literary was sacked after her boss learned that she owned accounts on the politically charged social media sites Lobby and Blabber. The agency’s owner I.B. Cheef publicly announced on Twitter that the firm had dropped Kitten after making the “distressing” discovery. Kitten tweeted that she…

The Corporate Transparency Act: What Your Company Needs to Know About the New Federal Reporting Requirements

February 26, 2021

Last month’s post explained how setting up a dummy company can help seal a deal. Unfortunately, dummy companies can be used for far more nefarious purposes, including money laundering, terrorism financing, and tax fraud. For example, the New York Times and 60 Minutes revealed how high-end real estate has been snatched up by dummy companies linked to foreigners with ties to organized crime, despotic regimes, or both. They were able to use dummy companies to…

Moving to Texas? Your Personal Checklist for your Move to the Lone Star State

February 25, 2021

Last month we focused on the legal considerations for moving your company to Texas. This month our focus is on your personal checklist – legal issues affecting you personally that will need your attention this year. But first, a quick note about immigration. Together with his kind comments about our last Moving to Texas? article, my good friend and erstwhile immigration attorney Rick Gump urged me to remind both the company management and their…

New to Texas? Considerations for Moving Your Business to the Lone Star State

January 27, 2021

If you’re new to Texas, you’re not the first from California to sing about it. In their 1964 album, The Beach Boys sang about being a “Long Tall Texan.” Nowadays, there’s a lot more to moving to Texas than just singing a song. This is the first of a series addressing tips for moving the entirety of your business and you into the Lone Star State. If you intend to continue to conduct…

Using a Dummy Company Can Be a Smart Business Decision

January 26, 2021

Uncle Pennybags plans to build a hotel on Marvin Gardens, but to do so, he needs to acquire adjacent properties on Atlantic Avenue, owned by Charles Darrow, and Ventnor Avenue, owned by George Parker. Pennybags knows that if Darrow or Parker knew of his plans, they would demand a higher price for their properties and a still higher price would be demanded by the last lot owner to sell. So Pennybags forms a dummy company…

Dereliction of Duty: Can Local Governments Be Liable for Not Protecting Property from Protestors?

November 19, 2020

Eager to spark the socialist revolution, left-wing activists seized Ramsett Park and the surrounding area and declared an independent autonomous community dedicated to social and economic justice. The activists threw up barricades and excluded both the police and the “bourgeoisie” owners of businesses surrounding the park. Fearing a primary challenge, Mayor Gunderson ordered the police to withdraw from the area except for life-or-death situations. As days turned into weeks, the area reverted to a Hobbesian…

Grandma Left the Money to Whom? Legal Options for Undue Influence and Changing of Wills