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To ensure you are on the right track when buying and maximizing valuations when selling, it is important to minimize mistakes during the due diligence and direct investment process. As a part of that process, there are ten top ways that can help maximize value, including exercising discipline when reviewing a target’s commercial, operational ...

In May 2017, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Although at this point it is just a bill and not the law, the House bill provides insights into what the future may hold for employer plans. If the bill is passed, there are ten key points that impact employer-sponsored benefit plans, including modified continuous...

In a competitive global marketplace, employers across the United States spend countless resources attempting to set themselves apart and claim their share of available business opportunities. Against that backdrop, it is easy to understand why employers will do everything possible to protect the confidential information they have created and the go...

President Trump has directed the Secretary of Labor to re-examine the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final so-called “Fiduciary Rule” to determine whether it “may adversely affect the ability of Americans to gain access to retirement information and financial advice,” and to prepare a new cost-benefit analysis of the Fidu...

When the only tie that binds a family together is sharing business ownership, chances are the Family Enterprise will struggle to remain family-owned and intact for successive generations. However, when the family and the Family Enterprise are mutually supportive, the opportunity for sustainability is greatly enhanced. By taking a family-centric app...

All business owners will transition their business at some point in the future. Whether it is a transfer within their family, such as to the next generation, or to an existing business partner or employee, or sold to a competitor or outside investor, transition will occur. Just as successfully run businesses do not happen overnight, transitioning w...

Recently proposed IRS changes to reduce or eliminate valuation discounts could dramatically increase the transfer tax cost of shifting property to members of your family in the future. The loss of valuation discounts is of significant concern for high-net-worth individuals for whom federal transfer taxes are an issue. It’s possible that some ...

A significant step in the acquisition process is determining the structure of the deal. The two most common deal structures are: (1) the purchase of the ownership interests of the target (such as a stock deal), and (2) the purchase of substantially all of the target’s assets (or an asset deal). In an asset deal, the implication is that the ta...

Commercial agreements come in a variety of types, but most have certain common provisions that should be carefully reviewed in the context of the underlying transaction covered by the agreement. When entering or reviewing one of these agreements, it is important to address the five key provisions that sometimes go unnoticed or are not given proper ...

Data breaches have become an accepted fact of modern business. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, twenty-nine businesses reported data breaches in August of 2016 alone. No industry was safe. For many organizations, the question now is not “if,” but “when.” This year appears to be on pace to surpass the number of ...

Selling a business can be a long and complicated process. One of the more strenuous and time-consuming aspects of selling a business is the due diligence process. Assisting with a buyer’s due diligence can take a significant amount of resources of your family office or employees of the business. Accordingly, if you plan on selling a business ...

Under the IRS’s proposed new regulations, they would permanently and profoundly change estate planning for families that own a controlling interest in a privately held corporation, partnership, or limited liability company. The IRS has requested comments on the proposed regulations by November 2, 2016, and will hold a hearing on December 1, 2...

The long-awaited and much-speculated about regulations to Section 2704 were issued in early August 2016. As issued, the proposed regulations expand the scope and reach of section 2704 to preclude use of various structural techniques to artificially suppress the value of interests in entities transferred by taxpayers or owned by them at death. The I...

Proposed regulations covering the valuation of family controlled entities for transfer tax purposes—12 years in the making—were published by the IRS on August 4, 2016. If newly proposed IRS Regulations are finalized in their current form, nearly all valuation discounts on family controlled entities will be eliminated. Given the December...

Seventy-seven percent of employees want voluntary benefits. But with so many options available in today's market, it's crucial to choose the right benefits, based on your employees' demographics, claims history, and expressed wants and needs. A good place to start is to know the trending voluntary benefits and when top employers are off...