Should I Incorporate My Business?
The primary advantages of operating as a corporation are liability protection and potential tax savings. Like any important decision, choosing whether to incorporate involves weighing the pros and cons of the various business structures and should only be done after careful research. Once incorporated, the business becomes a separate legal entity, and assets of the...
Should I Incorporate My Business? Continue reading…Negotiating a Commercial Lease? Be Sure to Address These Issues
When it comes time for your business to move into a new commercial space, make sure you consider the terms of your lease agreement from both business and legal perspectives. While there are some common terms and clauses in many commercial leases, many landlords and property managers incorporate complicated and sometimes unusual terms and...
Negotiating a Commercial Lease? Be Sure to Address These Issues Continue reading…Umbrella Insurance: What It Is and Why You Need It
Lawsuits are everywhere. What happens when you are found to be at fault in an accident, and a significant judgment is entered against you? A child dives head-first into the shallow end of your swimming pool, becomes paralyzed, and needs in-home medical care for the rest of his or her lifetime. Or, you accidentally...
Umbrella Insurance: What It Is and Why You Need It Continue reading…Living Trusts & Probate Avoidance
You want your money and property to go to your loved ones when you die, not to the courts, lawyers or the government. Unfortunately, unless you’ve taken proper estate planning, procedures, your heirs could lose a sizable portion of their inheritance to probate court fees and expenses. A properly-crafted and “funded” living trust is...
Living Trusts & Probate Avoidance Continue reading…Are You Bound by the Terms of a Real Property Letter of Intent?
Complex commercial real estate transactions typically involve a back-and-forth negotiation of numerous terms of the agreement, a process which does not occur overnight. Accordingly, parties to a real estate purchase or lease transaction generally first execute a letter of intent (LOI), which documents the parties’ intent to proceed with the negotiation of a full...
Are You Bound by the Terms of a Real Property Letter of Intent? Continue reading…Do I need a bond for my business?
In many states, certain types of contractors or businesses are required to be bonded. In instances where the law doesn’t mandate bonds, a customer might require that your company be bonded before hiring you. If you are starting a business, it’s important that you understand the concept of bonding so you can determine whether...
Do I need a bond for my business? Continue reading…A Stitch in Time… Strategies to Prevent Business Litigation
A Stitch in Time … Strategies to Prevent Business Litigation A lawsuit can damage more than just the bottom line of your business. In addition to costing money that could be put to better use, a lawsuit is also an unwelcome distraction for the owner, managers and employees. It can also do irreparable...
A Stitch in Time… Strategies to Prevent Business Litigation Continue reading…Limited Liability Company (LLC): An Overview
The limited liability company (LLC) is a hybrid type of business structure, offering business owners the best of both worlds: the simplicity of a sole proprietorship or partnership, with the liability protection of a corporation. A limited liability company consists of one or more owners (called “members”) who actively manage the company’s business affairs....
Limited Liability Company (LLC): An Overview Continue reading…Coordinating Property Ownership and Your Estate Plan
Coordinating Property Ownership and Your Estate Plan
When planning your estate, you must consider how you hold title to your real and personal property. The title and your designated beneficiaries will control how your real estate, bank accounts, retirement accounts, vehicles and investments are distributed upon your death, regardless of whether there is a will...
Coordinating Property Ownership and Your Estate Plan Continue reading…What’s Really Covered By Your Homeowners Insurance Policy?
What’s really covered on your homeowners insurance policy?
A solid homeowners insurance policy can provide peace of mind about securing one of your most valuable assets. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t fully grasp what exactly is covered under that policy, and most importantly, what isn’t. Homeowners insurance policies generally cover your home itself and other physical structures...
What’s Really Covered By Your Homeowners Insurance Policy? Continue reading…Adverse Possession in Rhode Island
Adverse possession is the process by which a non-record land owner can gain title to another record owner’s real property without compensation by holding the property in a manner that is hostile to the record owner’s rights for a period of ten years or more. The transfer of ownership occurs after the adverse possessor...
Adverse Possession in Rhode Island Continue reading…The Condominium Basics: Formation, Conversion, Components, Governance, Sale and Resale
In Rhode Island, a condominium is any real estate project which includes individually owned units (i.e. a residential condominium unit) and common elements (i.e. general common elements and limited common elements) that are owned by the unit owners as tenants in common. A condominium is created in Rhode Island by recording a declaration...
The Condominium Basics: Formation, Conversion, Components, Governance, Sale and Resale Continue reading…