Practice Areas
Small Business Law – as a Grand Rapids small business lawyer, I can assist you with the following:
Business Entities – LLC’s, Sub S Corps, C Corps, Limited Partnerships, Partnerships, Sole Proprietorship, etc. Limited liability, tax and flexibility considerations.
Business Start-Up – create & register entity; Sales Contracts; Purchase Order terms and conditions; Employment Agreements & Handbooks; Independent Contractor Agreements; Sales Representative Contracts; Distribution Agreements; Non-Disclosure & Confidentiality Contracts; Non-Solicitation Agreements; Lease Contracts; Insurance Coverages; etc.
Business Expansion – Mergers & Acquisitions; Raising Capital; Finding Investors; Debt Financing; Leveraged Buy Outs; Joint Ventures; Business Acquisitions; etc.
Sale/Transfer of Business – Sale/Gift to family; Sales to Management; Sale to Employees (ESOP); Sale to Outsiders; Strategic Partners; Business Succession planning.
Dispute Resolution – finding win-win solutions; Litigation; Arbitration; Mediation; Breach of Contract disputes; Commercial Landlord/Tenant disputes; Partnership, Shareholder, Member disputes.
Board Member – Chairman of the Board; putting together a Board; Board Member.
Estate Planning– as a Grand Rapids estate planning attorney, I can assist you with the following:
Living Trust – to avoid probate and insure you estate is distributed as you desire.
Wills – to nominate guardians and conservators and pour over assets into the Living Trust.
Healthcare Advocate & Directives – to appoint a healthcare advocate to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated and make your pre-death and post-death wishes known.
Power of Attorney - Finances – to appoint an agent to make financial decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated.
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust – high net worth vehicle to exclude insurance proceeds from your estate valuation.
Probate – court procedure to close an estate if there are assets outside your Living Trust
How to Avoid Probate – TOD (transfer upon death), DOD (due upon death), joint ownership with right to survivorship, Living Trust, retirement plans, exempt assets, gifts.
Estate Taxes – death taxes, gift taxes, exclusion amount, annual gift exemption, generation skipping tax, etc.
As a Grand Rapids small business and estate planning lawyer, I look forward to helping you achieve your goals.