The Portland Rock Band That Could Change Trademark Law Forever
Supermarket tabloids love to report on the legal battles of musicians: from Michael Jackson’s trial on charges of sexual abuse, to Britney Spears’ conservatorship, to Justin Bieber’s DUI, the more salacious the story, the better. Even the more reputable news outlets get in on the… Read More
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Intellectual PropertyIs your buy-sell agreement up to date?
Over the years I have heard many business lawyers (myself included), tell clients that there are certain agreements that once signed, can be placed in a drawer and do not need to be reviewed until the particular event that is the subject of the agreement… Read More
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Business SuccessionClinton Proposes Estate Tax Increase on Super-Rich
As reported in an article from today’s (September 23, 2016) Wall Street Journal, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has proposed an increase in the federal estate and gift tax. She would lower the federal estate tax exemption from the 2016 amount of $5,450,000 per individual… Read More
Estate Planning Isn’t Just About Dying
Over the course of thirty years as a trusts and estates lawyer I have drafted hundreds, maybe even thousands, of wills. After all, that is what estates lawyer do – we help our clients memorialize the disposition of their assets when we they die. Wills… Read More
Stay in LLC Structure and Go Public Using an UP-C Structure
In the “old days” if your business was in an LLC classified for tax purposes as a partnership and you thought you wanted to take your company public, you were told by the investment bankers to convert your LLC to a corporation. Many new businesses… Read More
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Business SuccessionThe Olympics, Usain Bolt, and Intellectual Property Law
With the Olympics in Rio, we all enjoy watching the competition, the fanfare and the joy when an Olympian wins gold. As I sit watching Usain Bolt cast his “Lightning Bolt” signature pose after winning yet another gold medal, the intellectual property attorney in me… Read More
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Intellectual PropertyTreasury Department Plans to Close Valuation Loopholes for Closely-held Businesses
On August 2nd, the Treasury issued proposed regulations that seek to eliminate the use of several strategies to reduce estate, gift, and generation-skipping tax (“GST”). Specifically, if the new rules are finalized, taxpayers will generally no longer be able to take certain types of voting… Read More
You need a patent! Or do you?
Almost every entrepreneur or startup company that approaches me with an invention starts off by telling me “I need a patent.” They are often surprised when I tell them this may not be the case. When assessing whether there is a benefit to patenting an… Read More
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PatentMaterial Interest Necessary to Obtain Decedent’s Tax Return
This guest post was authored by Mara Smith, a summer associate with Montgomery McCracken. For the last three years, you have spent one weekend during each of the summer months at your favorite great-aunt’s beachfront home in a swanky community at the Jersey Shore. Also, you… Read More
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Trusts and EstatesProfessional Corporation that does not elect subchapter S – be careful of using yearend bonuses to zero out taxable income
Some professional entities are C corporations. The case of Brinks Gilson & Lione, a professional corporation v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2016-20, points out the danger in operating a professional entity as a C corporation. In Brinks, the professional corporation had a substantial number of attorneys… Read More