To secure the money necessary to make a buy/sell agreement work, creative financing is often required. One option is a life insurance policy with a cross-purchase agreement. Each owner buys a policy on the other owners. That may not be … Continue reading →

What if two partners, let’s call them Joe and Steve, have irreconcilable differences? Particularly since Joe put up the money while Steve put in the sweat-equity. They have built a business that’s worth several million dollars, but Steve is hacked-off … Continue reading →

Let’s say your business partner is a semi-retired older gentlemen everyone around the office affectionately calls “Grandpa.” Tragically, Grandpa dies in a car accident. Even more tragically, he has a number of children and grandchildren, and his Will divides everything … Continue reading →

A buy/sell agreement only works if everybody involved has enough money. Or at the very least, there is a provision for the necessary money in the agreement. You think a basic life insurance policy will take care of that problem? … Continue reading →

For the next few weeks my posts will focus on issues discussed during the continuing legal education class I taught at the McLean Estate Planning Council in September. The subject at hand is the types of brawls that can arise … Continue reading →

First of all, this is a business decision, not a legal decision. So the lawyer’s input is (or should be) limited to describing the risks and helping the client implement the business decision chosen. Second, my clients always blanche at … Continue reading →

I’m late to the party on this one but I simply could not avoid discussing the case of Nazir v. United Airlines, Inc., 178 Cal. App. 4th 243 (2009). If you want to read the gory details it can also … Continue reading →

What’s the difference? Think of it this way: When a man looks at his children, he believes they are his; when his wife look at his children, she knows they are his. When you are being deposed – don’t say … Continue reading →

Depositions are open by right to attorneys and parties as well as the witness you are deposing. Sometimes opposing counsel will ask for permission for their summer law clerks/externs or other innocuous individuals to attend. That shouldn’t be a problem. … Continue reading →

Before any attorney worth her salt puts a witness on the stand in a trial or arbitration or even a meditation, they absolutely must know what the witness will say. Now, if the witness is friendly, it’s no problem: you … Continue reading →