Bucks County Estate Planning Lawyer

The Law Offices of Yvette E. Taylor-Hachoose is an experienced estate planning law firm serving the needs of clients throughout Pennsylvania. We provide knowledgeable legal counsel and advice for estate planning matters, for drafting wills, creating trusts, and health care powers of attorney.

Our firm understands the importance to plan for the future. We also know that it is difficult to think about a time when you are no longer available to make your wishes known. We make it easier to prepare wills and other estate planning documents by taking a thoughtful, understanding approach with our clients. We welcome you to visit our office and discuss your needs in a initial free consultation. When you are ready to formalize your wishes, we will guide you through the process and help ensure everything is in order.

To schedule an appointment with an experienced and caring estate planning lawyer, call us at 215-321-4033.

From our office in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, we provide a variety of estate planning services, including:

• Drafting simple and complex wills


• Establishing trust funds


• Appointing powers of attorney


• Writing health care proxies


• Establishing guardianships


• Helping with business succession issues


• Appointing estate administrators

Why should you plan for the future?

Estate planning involves more than passing along assets to your family members. It protects your family from confusion and controversy upon your death and helps avoid costly probate fees. It also serves as a way to ensure your wishes are carried out, not the wants of a distant relative.

One very important reason to use our estate planning services is to provide for your children in case of untimely death. You can designate a caregiver for your children rather than have the court appoint a guardian.

Another reason is to communicate your wishes for receiving health care, should you become incapacitated. A health care proxy, or living will, lets your family know what measures to take in case of extreme illness or injury.

By expressing your thoughts in a clear, written document, you make it easier on your family to make difficult decisions and removes potentially conflicting opinions of relatives, who may "think" they know your thoughts on your care.

If you need legal assistance in estate planning, contact an attorney online or call our offices at 215-321-4033.

Should Your Business be a Limited Liability Company?

What is a limited liability company? A limited liability company, "LLC," is a business structure that fits somewhere between the partnership or sole proprietorship and the corporation. Like owners of partnerships or sole proprietorships, LLC owners report business profits or losses on their personal income tax returns; and, the LLC itself is not a separate taxable entity.

Like a corporation, however, all LLC owners are protected from personal liability for business debts and claims -- a feature known as "limited liability." This means that if the business owes money or faces a lawsuit, only the assets of the business itself are at risk. Creditors normally can not reach the personal assets of the LLC owners, such as a house or car. (Both LLC owners and corporate shareholders can lose this protection by acting illegally, unethically or irresponsibly.)

For these reasons, the LLC combines the best features of both the partnership and corporate business structures.

Who should form an LLC? You should consider forming an LLC if you are concerned about personal exposure to lawsuits arising from the type of business you have. For example, if you decide to open a store-front business that deals directly with the public, your commercial liability insurance may not fully protect your personal assets from potential slip-and-fall lawsuits or claims by your suppliers for unpaid bills. Whether your business sells products or provides personal services, running your business as an LLC instantly gives you personal protection against the potential claims against your business.

If you are trying to decide whether the LLC is the right structure for your business (whether you are a new business or whether you want to convert from your current structure), contact our law offices for expert legal advice.

Call (215) 321-4033 with questions and to learn more.

Estate Planning Law Office of Yvette E. Taylor-Hachoose

1234 River RoadWashington Crossing, PA 18977

http://www.ythlaw.com/

Protecting your assets - Family Limited Partnership

Do you have a business or own assets that you want to transfer to your children now while still maintaining control of the business or assets?

What is a FLP? With a Family Limited Partnership (FLP), you can maintain control even after gifts are made. A FLP is a business entity established to segregate and identify specific ownership interests in partnership assets for family members. In most FLP's, the parents are the general partners with at least a 1 percent interest, while the children share the remainder as limited partners. In such a scenario, the parents' exposure to risk of loss of property (assets or a business) held by the FLP is greatly reduced. At the same time, as general partners they maintain full management and control over all partnership assets.

What are the other benefits of a FLP? Besides maintaining control of assets gifted, the benefits of an FLP include, among others:

1. The value of any limited partnership units that the general partner has not transferred and owns at death can be discounted.


2. The value of gifts of limited partnership interest can be discounted so that a donor can transfer a greater value of assets in a shorter period of time by making gifts of limited partnership units.


3. Gifts of limited partnership interest are sheltered from creditors.
   


4. It has advantages over trusts in that the accounting requirements for partnerships are less restrictive and general partners are not subject to the higher standards imposed upon trustees.


5. FLP can address Gas Leasing and the Marcellus Shale. In conclusion, the FLP contains countless opportunities to assist you with an orderly, tax-efficient and non-adversial disposition of assets or a business to younger generation family members.

Call 215-321-4033 with questions and to learn more.
Estate Planning Law Office of Yvette E. Taylor-Hachoose

1234 River Road Washington Crossing, PA 18977

http://www.ythlaw.com/

Posted on Wed, Sep 3, 2008

Yardley News

How to ensure your estate is managed appropriately

WHO WILL HANDLE YOUR FINANCIAL/BUSINESS AFFAIRS WHEN YOU CAN NOT:

This is an issue that everyone should address, especially business owners who do not have family members involved or interested in the business. What happens when you can not handle your financial affairs or run your business for a period of time due to an extended illness? Whether you are young or old, planning now for possible future incapacity is important because YOUR assets are at risk.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS

If you do not have a Power of Attorney, it is wise to have one. This Durable Power of Attorney, as it is often called, authorizes someone to act on your behalf. For someone without a business or with a simple estate, this document may adequately cover you for any period of incapacity. For those with businesses or complex estates, there are other alternatives to consider.
One such alternative might be a revocable trust. Among other uses, it can provide for the management of trust assets in case of incapacity.
Your business could be placed in the trust and you can be both the trustee and beneficiary. You make the decisions about trust assets and you would be responsible for the income tax on any earnings of trust assets. Life goes on, pretty much as before, with only the title of the assets being in the trust. You would name a successor trustee for special cases as defined by the trust, ie. incapacity. This would be a person of your choice who would be under a legal duty to protect your assets. It avoids potential conflict among family members and any possible court involvement.

It is best for you to plan now and not leave to others, who are unfamiliar with your business, to plan for you. Call 215-321-4033 with questions and to learn more about estate planning.

Estate Planning Law Office of

Yvette E. Taylor-Hachoose1234 River Road Washington Crossing, PA 18977 http://www.ythlaw.com/

Posted on Wed, Aug 20, 2008

Yardley News

Business Succession Planning: Buy-Sell Agreements

A buy-sell agreement protects each owner's interest, preserves value, and prevents later disputes when an event of transfer occurs. A transition event could be a voluntary departure, disability, retirement or death. Examples of such events include the following:

• One of several owners is in a skiing accident, rendering the person incapable of working.



• A disgruntled owner sells his interest to a stranger. The executor of a deceased owner wants to sell, but the company lacks funds to purchase the deceased owner's share.



• One of the owners gets divorced



• Without a buy-sell agreement to address these issues and assure orderly transition, the resulting chaos could be financially devastating for any business owner.

Critical Note: How do you value your business? Once a value is established, how do you fund a buy-sell agreement? Business valuation is one of the most problematic issues surrounding the buy-sell agreement. There are several business valuation methods and it is important that an appropriate method be implemented. As pertains to funding, if a cash or financial sale is not feasible, a sale funded by life insurance may best address the funding of a buy-sell agreement.

Estate Planning Law Office of
Yvette E. Taylor-Hachoose

1234 River Road

Washington Crossing, PA 18977

www.ythlaw.com
215-321-4033

Posted on Wed, Jul 23, 2008

Yardley News

Business of Diplomacy

Bucks County Courier Times
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Written by John Anastasi

While studying at Georgetown University Law Center, Yvette Taylor-Hachoose was fascinated by both estate planning and international law.

Now, more than 25 years later, the Upper Makefield lawyer finally has the chance to combine the two.

This month, Taylor-Hachoose will travel to Ghana to speak with African women about how to grow their businesses, take advantage of business laws and practices designed to empower the country's entrepreneurs and transfer wealth to future generations.

"It was like a light bulb went off," Taylor-Hachoose said. "It finally came together, the international law and the estate planning."

Her two-week diplomatic mission to Ghana, which starts March 13, came courtesy of a U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant offered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs.

She will visit three of the West African nation's largest cities - Accra, its capital; Kumasi, where its largest marketplace is located; and Takoradi, a southern port town on the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea.

In addition to meeting with women who work as entrepreneurs, Taylor-Hachoose will speak with lawyers, judges, doctors and student leaders. The U.S. state department developed the itinerary.

"There are, in Ghana, a lot of women who are business-oriented," said Taylor-Hachoose, whose trip coincides with Women's History Month. "They look for ways to bring money into the household."

Women's businesses there typically start as barter-and-trade operations. Some graduate to the production and sale of various items - including food, textiles and fabrics - in the marketplace. The most successful businesses grow to include some exporting.

"This economy [in Ghana] does rely on women being active in the marketplace," she said.

Taylor-Hachoose liked the idea of visiting Ghana not only because of women's prominent role in business, but also because it's a relatively stable, democratic nation and English is its official language, she said. It's also a popular tourist destination with plenty of hotels.

She had heard about the U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant program through a former professor who now works in the U.S. Embassy in Ghana. She applied for funding and learned in December that her trip had been approved.

Taylor-Hachoose's goal is to help women get the most out of their businesses and then transfer their wealth to their children as effectively as possible. She said she expects to learn plenty on the trip as well. She said it will teach her lessons she can bring back to her own estate planning clients and help add flavor to a handbook on the topic she will release next year.

"It's great to experience something outside of your general area," she said.