Yes, if you are the owner of a business of any size, you need at least some legal entity that is separate from you. This could include a limited liability company (LLC), limited liability partnership (LLP), or other professional legal entities specifically for lawyers, doctors, etc. No matter the situation or what kind of business you have, the first most important thing you can do to sleep better at night is to ensure you have established a separate legal entity for your business, otherwise your personal assets such as your home, your savings, or your nest egg are at risk of being wiped out if you find yourself in a personal lawsuit related to your business.

In the world of business planning – especially in the world of protecting your personal assets from business liability, the best outcome for you, your family, and your business will be achieved only by working with a lawyer who encounters business planning situations daily. You have worked your whole life for what you have and the business you have created. While financial advisors and CPAs play an important role in your planning, they cannot give you legal advice. Unfortunately, some businesses collapse after the death of the business owner because they either did no planning at all, or if they did, they left gaping holes where they need professional advice. We encourage a lifelong relationship between you and your group of trust advisors (your financial professional, your CPA, and yes your lawyer) so that you can rely on an advisory group for life to be there for your family and your business when you cannot be.

This is the most often asked question when it comes to our LIFT planning model, and that is okay – we know the topic of cost is a sensitive one when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you, and we have designed our fees on a flat-fee basis only so that you know exactly what you are committing to, leaving no surprises. While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone, we invite you to check out our upcoming educational events where we teach you what you should know about our unique LIFT planning model and how we help you through each stage of your business: foundation for enough, growth for yield, and foundation for harvest.

S-corp tax treatment is a popular election for many small business owners because of the potential tax savings. To be an s-corp, you have to first establish your business as a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. The reason you do that step first is because to be an “s-corp” means simply that you are a business entity electing a certain tax treatment; an “s-corp” is not an entity type in and of itself. Once you have established your business as an LLC or corporation with your state, then you can complete the appropriate IRS form to elect s-corp tax treatment. Whether or not you should elect s-corp tax treatment depends on many factors, and before making any decision we recommend you explore the question with your business lawyer, as there is not a cookie-cutter answer as to whether s-corp status is right for any particular business.

Whether you have a job, a side hustle, a practice, a business, or a company that you can sell one day, it can be easy to get lost along the way to becoming the CEO of your life and your business. No matter where your income comes from and how much it is, we know that you want to keep your hard-earned money, and that you cannot afford to keep losing money on the wrong investments, advisors, or simple errors that are easy to avoid when you have clear guidance on your legal, insurance, financial, and tax foundations.

Yes! Any legitimate business expense is deductible, and proper legal, insurance, financial, and tax planning is a legitimate business expense. Of course, check with your CPA for any exact tax rules on how to treat certain types of business expenses. In any event, expenses to get the right LIFT foundation in place for your business is deductible and not subject to personal income tax.