Scamming, phishing, pharming, vishing -- people in the business world are well aware that hackers and other fraudsters have developed a myriad of schemes designed to obtain sensitive personal information and money. Every year, these schemes cause businesses to suffer significant financial losses. The FBI estimates that in 2020 business email...
The IRS recently extended the period of time during which a surviving spouse can make a “portability election,” which enables the surviving spouse to reduce or eliminate federal estate taxes that otherwise may be due at the surviving spouse’s death. In 2022, every person has a federal estate tax exclusion amount – an amount that can be gifted...
Social media has quickly become engrained in our society, both in the business world and in our personal lives, and the global pandemic has only amplified this impact. Businesses that have traditionally operated out of a physical store have sought to develop an online presence to reach consumers, and individuals have turned to social media to...
For a business owner, nothing is more exciting than seeing your business succeed and grow out of little more than a personal passion. During this expansion, outside help becomes a necessity, and delegation of tasks becomes routine. Throughout this exciting and often hectic period, business owners often overlook formalities as they try to manage...
With the mergers and acquisitions market as hot as it’s ever been, many owners of mid-size companies are considering selling their most valuable asset – the company that they’ve spent years building from scratch. However, there are a few mistakes that I frequently see made by owners selling their companies. #1: Failing to Prepare for the...
A competitive M&A market has continued to support the growing use of Representations and Warranties Insurance (RWI) in mergers and acquisitions by both private equity and the private sector. Studies show the use of RWI in transactions increased from 29% in 2017 to 52% in 2019 and has continued to grow. Why are more and more Corporate...
On June 1, 2022 the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously found that the Plaintiffs – a group of bars and restaurants led by named Plaintiff Colectivo Coffee – did not have insurance coverage for the financial losses they suffered from the COVID-19 shutdown. This is the first ruling on COVID coverage by our Supreme Court. Colectivo and the group of...
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced on May 24 that it had accelerated its transition to electronic trademark registration certificates. Going forward, the USPTO joins other countries, including Canada and the EU, in only issuing electronic trademark registration certificates unless otherwise requested. This change...
The “Great Resignation.” The “Great Migration.” No matter what you call it, the current employment market is placing incredible stress on businesses, many of which are struggling to find enough employees to simply cover shifts. Pay increases and higher recruiting costs, consequently, continue to rise. On top of these challenges, inflation and...
When engaging in the estate planning process, it’s easy to focus exclusively on the big assets such as real estate, retirement assets, investment accounts, and life insurance. It’s equally easy to discount the importance of planning for items of personal property. This is a mistake, because personal items can often times carry value far beyond...
