Acorn Do you have an estate plan?  It has been reported that approximately sixty percent of people in the U.S. do not have a will.  Of course having a will is critical if you have children but let’s not forget about another baby – your business.

As the owner of a closely held business much of your wealth may be tied up in the business.  If you have not planned properly you may cause tremendous problems for your heirs.  After paying probate and estate taxes your heirs may also encounter liabilities that were payable upon your death.  All this during a time where the business may have decreased revenues due to your death.

Fortunately proper planning may eliminate many of these problems.  Using buy-sell agreements and trusts are two of the ways that business owners can protect their assets and reduce taxes.

Another important life-goal for business owners is charitable giving.  This week’s Des Moines Business Record has an informative article on available options for starting your own philanthropic legacy. 

Even if you are young, consider an Acorn Fund through the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation.  For an initial contribution of $1,000 and a commitment of $600 per year until the amount equals $10,000, a young business owner could start their own permanent endowment fund.  And not only do you get the deductions for charitable contributions but you may also be eligible for additional tax credits.

photo on flickr by Norma Desmond

Come join Brick Gentry attorneys Matt Brick and Douglas Fulton for the 2008 Iowa Employment Law Conference sponsored by HR OneSource at Prairie Meadows on April 23rd.  There will also be speakers from the Department of Labor, Director of Veteran’s Employment and Training Service, and a Committee Chair to the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

By the way, be sure to check out Matt Brick’s new Iowa Lawyer blog.  He is off to a great start with some interesting topics.

One of my franchisee clients offered a very simple question that every prospective franchisee should ask of other franchisees when conducting due diligence:

What doesn’t the franchisor do well?

He says this evoked the best responses from franchisees when he conducted his due diligence.  If you are considering a franchise be sure to talk to as many franchisees as possible.  Speaking to only a handful is not enough. 

For more information be sure to read this article on franchise due diligence resources.

In last week’s Tip of Week (yes, I am a little behind), John Phillips of the Word on Employment Law raises the interesting perspective that it is possible to overdocument in employment cases.

Some of John’s warnings on overdocumentation include:

  • Documentation on trivial matters.
  • Creating a paper trail right before an employee is terminated.
  • Documenting conduct or performance issues for an employee when you have not done the same for others.
  • Summarizing in a document right before an employee is terminated all the things you wanted to document when the conduct occurred but didn’t.
  • Preparing documentation after the employee is terminated.

Granted, John’s point is well taken.  It is important to be fair and consistent in the documentation of employee performance and conduct.  Employees should be treated in a consistent manner and it is best to document performance and conduct as it occurs. 

However, I am not sure I necessarily agree that it is best to go forward without any documentation at all when the documentation has not been done right away.  It depends on the circumstances.  There are times when a summary of events written after the fact may be helpful.  Much of this also depends on the way the document is written.  And of course I would never advocate that anyone fabricate evidence.  

Please consult your employment lawyer for advice in a particular situation.   

The Dickinson Law Firm’s Iowa Banking Law Blog ignores its disclaimer and provides some legal advice:

F-Bombs in a deposition are a bad idea!

It’s just another subprime market meltdown.  One F-bomb is a mistake.  Two might be forgiven.  But 73?  That’s gonna get you sanctioned every time.

 

In Februrary I pointed out that women are starting businesses at a clip that is twice the rate of men.  Now, turns out the Miss USA pageant winner is also an entrepreneur. 

Frankly, I think it’s pretty cool that the headlines about the winner, Crystle Stewart, read, "Texas entrepreneur named Miss USA".  No surprise though.  Models including Tyra Banks and Kathy Ireland are demonstrating they are much more than a pretty face in the business world.  Ireland’s business grosses over $1 billion per year and Banks has likewise demonstrated incredible business acumen.

In my own practice I am seeing more and more women who are becoming entrepreneurs.  The one thing I have noticed about women entrepreneurs as opposed to the men is that they tend to research the business start-up process a little more carefully than men.  Don’t necessarily know why, it just seems to be the case. 

Are you considering a franchise business?  Read this blog post on evaluating the strength of your franchisor before signing on from the First Prize Franchise blog.

Time and time again I see people invest their life savings into franchise operations.  Some of these people achieve great results but others do not.  There is no validity to the claim that franchise operations are less likely to fail than non-franchise operations.  One critical aspect to consider in my view is the brand itself.  Is the brand recognizable?  If not, the franchise better have a fantastic system, unique concept or protected intellectual property.  Otherwise, I think you need to question whether the franchise is right for you.

The term "SEO" stands for search engine optimization and has been around for a decade.  Heck, I’ve probably been familiar with the term for about nine years.  I can’t imagine that someone could trademark a term as generic as SEO but that appears to be happening.

Read Brett Trout’s blog for this interesting development.

P.S.  This just in, Brett Trout to trademark "IOU".

Today I will present at the Central Iowa SHRM monthly meeting located at Copper Creek Golf Course on electronic workplace issues. The electronic workplace is all around us. Computers, voice mail, internet, intranet, e-mail, fax machines, laptops, PDAs, videoconferencing, social media, blogs and more are common features in the American workplace. The development of the electronic workplace has not come without legal implications. The same technology that allows us to perform work more efficiently creates several twists on several areas of employment law. We will explore many of the dangers and pitfalls in the electronic workplace:

I. Email

  • Discovery in Litigation
  • Record Retention
  • Discrimination, harassment and other concerns

II. Internet

  • Accessing Inappropriate Material
  • Social Media and Blogs
  • Copyright violations

III. Employee Privacy Rights

  • Electronic Communications Privacy Act
  • Handbooks – lower expectation of privacy
  • Consistency

IV. Telecommuting

  • ADA
  • Workers’ Compensation

V.  Employment Ads and Resume Posting on Internet

Program details:  Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at Copper Creek Golf Course, 4825 Copper Creek Drive, Pleasant Hill, Iowa.  Registration begins at 7:15 a.m. Business Meeting begins at 7:40 a.m. Program begins at 8:00 a.m.

1.0 General recertification credit has been pre-approved.

Thanks to the Central Iowa SHRM Chapter for the invitation.