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Joliet Business Purchase Lawyer: Pros & Cons of Different Methods to Purchase or Sell a Business

 Posted on January 23, 2023 in Business Law

yorkville business law attorneyWhen it comes to buying or selling a business, the seller and the buyer are both subject to a potentially complicated experience if the right method is not selected. To ensure minimal complications and less of a hassle for all parties involved, the buyer and seller must be aware of the different methods that can be used to buy or sell a business and select the method that best works for the situation at hand. In this instance, there are three different options to consider, an Asset Purchase, a Stock Purchase, and a Merger. Each has its advantages and disadvantages that may help make or break a deal. At Gateville Law Firm, we are Joliet Purchase and Franchise Business Attorneys serving Plainfield, Shorewood, Joliet, Crest Hill, and surrounding areas.

Asset Purchase Agreement in Joliet, Illinois

The first method to consider is an Asset Purchase Agreement. This type of agreement allows more freedom for the buyer side. This is because the Buyer can choose which assets, they want to buy out of the selling business, whether it be a few or the entire business. However, the Buyer must keep in mind that, whatever assets are being purchased out of the selling business will be accompanied by all liabilities associated with that particular asset. If the buyer does not purchase the entirety of the business, then any unsold assets and liabilities must be taken into consideration when the business is in the winding down phase of dissolution.

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What Happens if Your Spouse Dies and the Real Estate Was Only in Their Name?

 Posted on January 20, 2023 in Estate Planning

kendall county estate planning lawyerThis article will discuss what happens if your spouse dies and the real estate title was solely in their name. In Illinois, couples often reside together in real estate where one spouse's name was not on the legal title. Mortgages are secured every day when one spouse's name was placed on a legal title because they had good credit and a high enough income to qualify for a mortgage. 

There are multiple reasons why someone may obtain a mortgage without their spouse being on legal title. The first reason is the person qualifying for a mortgage was the sole (or main) financial contributor in the household. Mothers often stay home and sacrifice their career options to take care of young children. Mothers (and fathers) also tend to work part-time or have flexible work arrangements, so they can cater to their children's extracurricular activities and school schedules. The cost of childcare also is a major consideration for parents. However, these family sacrifices can result in legal challenges, which are costly and harm families. People also may have inferior credit, mortgage foreclosures, or bankruptcy histories, all of which make it difficult to obtain mortgages as well.

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Yorkville Prenuptial Agreement Attorney: The Basics About Pre-marital and Post-marital Agreements

 Posted on January 19, 2023 in Estate Planning

Yorkville Prenuptial Agreement Attorney

Yorkville and Kendall County Pre-Marital and Post-Marital Agreement Lawyers

One usually hears about prenuptial agreements in magazines or pop culture news when celebrities plan to get married. This may lead people to think that you need a lot to protect (like the millions of dollars or valuables that celebrities accrue) to think about prenuptial agreements. This is not the case. In fact, prenuptial agreements can be a helpful tool, as both soon-to-be spouses are amicable and agreeable, to create a fallback plan in case the marriage does not go as planned. Illinois has adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (750 ILCS 10/1), and some key points to the creation and enforcement of a prenuptial agreement are as follows.

What can someone put in the agreement?

Prenuptial agreements are contracts that bring up issues prior to the marriage that the parties agree to. These issues can be in regards to almost anything; from characterizing property as either marital property (defined as (1) any tangible property acquired during the marriage by any party or (2) any nonmarital property that has been commingled with marital property to the point where there is no difference between the two) or nonmarital property (defined as any tangible property (1) acquired prior to the marriage by any party, (2) acquired by gift, legacy, or decent, or (3) acquired after a judgment of legal separation), determining how property is treated during the marriage, determining who gets what property, setting a maintenance amount limit, etc. In fact, couples can attempt to make a provision about almost any matter.

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Yorkville Business Estate Planning Attorney: Strategies for Successful Businesspeople

 Posted on January 18, 2023 in Estate Planning

yorkville estate planning lawyerEstate planning is critical for families, particularly owners of small to medium-sized businesses owners and their families. High-net-worth and high-income families have complex estate planning needs. This article will discuss the core estate planning and asset protection strategies for successful businesspeople. Effective estate planning and asset protection will build a solid legal foundation to protect against incapacity and death. More importantly, building a solid asset protection plan will place roadblocks to shield a person's and family’s business and personal assets from liability concerns that threaten one’s wealth.

ESTATE PLANNING TIPS FOR CLOSELY HELD BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

The first step in advanced planning in representing business owners and their families is conducting a risk assessment. A risk assessment is a review of a person’s assets and the legal risks that could jeopardize a business owner’s financial security and retirement goals. As Yorkville Living Trust attorneys, we interview the client and their families and identify their concerns such as things that keep them up at night. A business asset protection planning attorney can help clients conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation and risk assessment to identify potential threats to their assets, such as lawsuits, creditor concerns, or economic downturns.

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Building Wealth through Commercial Real Estate for the African American Community 

 Posted on January 18, 2023 in Real Estate

yorkville commercial real estate lawyerAurora African-American Commercial Real Estate Attorney

Building wealth is financial empowerment. Building wealth through commercial real estate is important because green is the new strategy for upward mobility. The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday recently passed, and it is a federal holiday celebrating the life and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King had a dream of inclusion for all people regardless of skin color, or ethnicity. Different people celebrate Dr. King’s holiday in diverse ways. One significant shortcoming of the civil rights movement was a lack of focus on financial empowerment.

Nowadays growing up in the right area and attending good schools will have a major factor in your future success and employment opportunities. Individuals become successful everyday despite shortcomings in this country, but those individuals are often in the minority. Regardless of skin color or ethnicity, the value of the dollar remains the same for everyone. For example, $100 will only go so far regardless of your skin color or ethnicity. The new civils rights era must involve economic and financial empowerment tools because wealth and access to wealth is a major tool in providing for your family. Providing for one’s family provides educational and economic opportunities, which changes generations. Traditionally, African American families have lacked access and there has been a significant wealth gap in American. 

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Oswego Premarital Agreement Lawyer: Protecting Your Assets & Securing Your Future

 Posted on January 17, 2023 in Estate Planning

Oswego Premarital Agreement Lawyer

Kendall County Premarital Agreement Attorney

The term “Grey Divorce” is also known as “late-life divorce” or “silver divorce” because a person has decided to get divorced over the age of fifty. Grey divorces have increased and have increasingly become common with the divorce rate of couples increasing in population. The issue of premarital planning and post-nuptial planning is increasingly in popularity because spouses have experienced the divorce process and desire to provide a predictable process in the event of a divorce. 

Prenuptial agreements are also known as “prenups” and post-nups, which are legal agreements entered into couples either before or post-marriage designed to protect one’s prior financial assets and create a smooth process in case of a divorce. Pre-nuptial agreements should cover the following topics:

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Estate Planning From a Women’s Perspective

 Posted on January 16, 2023 in Estate Planning

kendall county estate planning lawyerYorkville Women’s Estate Planning Lawyer

Estate Planning takes into consideration your assets, debts, and wishes for distribution of those assets upon your death. If you die intestate (without a Will or Trust), your estate will have to go through Probate and will follow the intestacy statutes for distribution, which may not be in line with how you want your assets to be distributed when you pass. Having a proper estate plan will eliminate these potential issues and can even avoid Probate if created and funded the proper way. Simply put, estate planning is an essential step for everyone. However, women are at an increased need for a well-constructed estate plan for many reasons. Our Oswego Women’s Estate Planning Lawyer can provide information and assistance in the areas of wills and trusts, estates and trusts, and probate and guardianship law in and surrounding Kendall County.

Women Live Longer, But Make Less

Women tend to live longer than men on average. In estate planning, it is common for the husband or wife to leave their assets to the surviving spouse to inherit. Since women typically live longer than their male counterpart, it is likely that the woman would be the surviving spouse in the marriage and would then have more assets to be distributed upon her death. Additionally, if the husband dies before the wife, she will have to consider alternative beneficiaries to inherit her assets. This is a major decision to make, and without an estate plan, the woman’s estate would have to follow intestacy statutes over what her wishes might have been had she created an estate plan while she was alive.

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Yorkville Business Estate Planning Attorney: Strategies for Successful Businesspeople

 Posted on January 13, 2023 in Estate Planning

 

Yorkville Business Estate Planning Attorney

Estate planning is critical for families, particularly owners of small to medium-sized businesses owners and their families. High-net-worth and high-income families have complex estate planning needs. This article will discuss the core estate planning and asset protection strategies for successful businesspeople. Effective estate planning and asset protection will build a solid legal foundation to protect against incapacity and death. More importantly, building a solid asset protection plan will place roadblocks to shield a person's and family’s business and personal assets from liability concerns that threaten one’s wealth.

 

ESTATE PLANNING TIPS FOR CLOSELY HELD BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

The first step in advanced planning in representing business owners and their families is conducting a risk assessment. A risk assessment is a review of a person’s assets and the legal risks that could jeopardize a business owner’s financial security and retirement goals. As Yorkville Living Trust attorneys, we interview the client and their families and identify their concerns such as things that keep them up at night. A business asset protection planning attorney can help clients conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation and risk assessment to identify potential threats to their assets, such as lawsuits, creditor concerns, or economic downturns.

Continue Reading ››

Yorkville Prenuptial Agreement Attorney: The Basics About Pre-marital and Post-marital Agreements

 Posted on January 12, 2023 in Estate Planning

 

yorkville prenuptial agreement lawyerYorkville and Kendall County Pre-Marital and Post-Marital Agreement Lawyers

One usually hears about prenuptial agreements in magazines or pop culture news when celebrities plan to get married. This may lead people to think that you need a lot to protect (like the millions of dollars or valuables that celebrities accrue) to think about prenuptial agreements. This is not the case. In fact, prenuptial agreements can be a helpful tool, as both soon-to-be spouses are amicable and agreeable, to create a fallback plan in case the marriage does not go as planned. Illinois has adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (750 ILCS 10/1), and some key points to the creation and enforcement of a prenuptial agreement are as follows.

What can someone put in the agreement?

Prenuptial agreements are contracts that bring up issues prior to the marriage that the parties agree to. These issues can be in regards to almost anything; from characterizing property as either marital property (defined as (1) any tangible property acquired during the marriage by any party or (2) any nonmarital property that has been commingled with marital property to the point where there is no difference between the two) or nonmarital property (defined as any tangible property (1) acquired prior to the marriage by any party, (2) acquired by gift, legacy, or decent, or (3) acquired after a judgment of legal separation), determining how property is treated during the marriage, determining who gets what property, setting a maintenance amount limit, etc. In fact, couples can attempt to make a provision about almost any matter.

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Sugar Grove Estate Planning Attorney: Protecting Your Assets & Securing a Positive Legacy

 Posted on January 11, 2023 in Estate Planning

kendall county estate planning lawyerWealth preservation and estate planning are critical to providing peace of mind and creating a legacy. Estate planning is the process of setting up one’s assets in a manner that facilitates a smooth transition upon one’s death or incapacity. Estate planning assists in achieving the goals of enhancing financial security and protecting one’s family assets from taxes and liability risks such as lawsuits and other risks.

Sugar Grove Wealth Preservation Attorney

Protecting a family’s wealth is important because one lawsuit can threaten a lifetime of good decision-making. Creating an estate planning that fits your family circumstances is critical because it eliminates legal risks, which results in thousands of dollars in saved attorney’s fees and expenses. There are several legal instruments, which enhance a person and family’s economic security and assist to create a solid foundation with regard to estates and trusts.

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