Can My Employer Enforce a Covenant Not to Compete?
Many employers require their employees to sign agreements which contain covenants not to compete with the company. The enforceability of these restrictive provisions varies from state-to-state and depends on a variety of factors. A former employee who violates an enforceable non-compete agreement may be ordered to cease competitive activity and pay damages to the...
Can My Employer Enforce a Covenant Not to Compete? Continue reading…Family Business: Preserving Your Legacy for Generations to Come
Your family-owned business is not just one of your most significant assets, it is also your legacy. Both must be protected by implementing a transition plan to arrange for transfer to your children or other loved ones upon your retirement or death.
More than 70 percent of family businesses do not survive the transition...
Family Business: Preserving Your Legacy for Generations to Come Continue reading…Not All Estates Must Go Through Probate
Upon the passing of a loved one, there is a good chance that their estate will go through the probate process. Probate involves many things, but generally refers to the process of distributing assets of the deceased to the heirs. While often necessary, probate can be time consuming and complicated. Fortunately, Rhode Island...
Not All Estates Must Go Through Probate Continue reading…Where to Incorporate Your Small Business
Should you incorporate your business in your home state? What about Delaware or Nevada, long known as havens for corporate entities? This decision should not be taken lightly because incorporating your business in a particular state will determine, to a significant extent, the laws that will apply to your business. Often times, the best choice...
Where to Incorporate Your Small Business Continue reading…Buying Out a Partner When There Is No Shareholders’ Agreement in Place
Like most relationships, business partnerships frequently experience highs and lows, with periods of both prosperity and turmoil. When ongoing disagreements cannot be resolved, or one partner decides to leave the business, the remaining partner(s) often seeks to buy out the shares of the departing party. If there is no shareholders’ agreement in place, and...
Buying Out a Partner When There Is No Shareholders’ Agreement in Place Continue reading…More Opportunities for Businesses to Solicit Investors but What Are the Legal Challenges and Risks?
Since the 1930s, businesses wishing to secure investment dollars have faced regulations banning them from appealing directly to the public via advertising. Instead, businesses have only been allowed to pursue investment funds via prescribed channels and from wealthy individuals. The reasoning behind the ban was that if the general public were subjected to direct...
More Opportunities for Businesses to Solicit Investors but What Are the Legal Challenges and Risks? Continue reading…Choosing an Executor
The primary responsibilities of an executor are to manage the property of an estate, pay outstanding debts and taxes of the estate, and distribute the remaining estate assets to the beneficiaries. This is a simplified explanation of the role of an executor. In reality, it can be extremely detailed and complex while extremely...
Choosing an Executor Continue reading…Protecting Your Business through Tactical Electronic Evidence Management
Email, intra-office messaging and digital image transference are hardly new concepts, however few business owners realize the long-term implications of this style of free-flowing communication, particularly in light of litigation and e-discovery requests. If you are a business owner either engaged in litigation or preparing for possible conflict in the future, one of the...
Protecting Your Business through Tactical Electronic Evidence Management Continue reading…Does My Business Need a Registered Agent?
A registered agent is someone that you as a business owner designate to accept legal papers if your company is sued or named in any type of administrative agency case. If your business is legally established within a state in which you don’t maintain a physical presence, you are often required to appoint a...
Does My Business Need a Registered Agent? Continue reading…Contesting the Validity of a Will
If someone brings an action to contest a will, he or she is claiming that, for one reason or another, the will is invalid and should not be used in the administration of the estate of a deceased person. You can probably imagine that this will frequently happen if someone such as a...
Contesting the Validity of a Will Continue reading…Protect Your New Business with Preventative Legal Planning
Most Legal Issues Can Be Resolved Before They Even Arise. Here’s How. Most people are familiar with the idea of “preventative” legal action. The term refers to anticipating legal issues and conflicts and working to prevent them, rather than solving them or “winning” them once they occur. Companies can benefit from implementing preventative legal...
Protect Your New Business with Preventative Legal Planning Continue reading…Rhode Island Simplified Probate for Small Estates
Rhode Island estate law provides a shortcut in the probate process for smaller estates. It is a simplified probate process that allows for an easier transfer of property to the heirs of a person who has died. If an estate qualifies as a “small estate,” a form can be filed and the...
Rhode Island Simplified Probate for Small Estates Continue reading…