While it’s important for the parents of a child with special needs to provide for the child’s financial well-being in their estate plan, it’s equally important to address the issue of transitioning to life with a new caregiver. That’s the purpose of a letter of intent, which is intended to assist future caregivers by describing…

A buy-sell agreement is meant to protect the interests of the business and all the partners involved by establishing guidelines for selling the business shares. A company’s buy-sell agreement should dictate when shares can be sold, in what manner they can be sold, and the price at which they can be sold. The agreement will…

Shareholder agreements are documents that provide businesses with a roadmap of how to act in certain situations.  A shareholder agreement is negotiated and executed so that common procedures will be established before any business problems develop.  Generally, the most important issues contained in shareholder agreements are those that address stock ownership.  A shareholder agreement can…

After completing  an initial public offering (IPO), a company may  decide to offer additional securities, either debt or equity, to the public. These offerings are referred to as “follow-on” offerings because they follow the IPO. There are two different types of follow-on offerings: A primary offering is a public offering of securities that is made…

Some people consider an investment in a Private Placement Offering (PPO) to be speculative and highly risky. While there is a certain amount of risk to investing in PPOs, there are regulations in place that are meant to protect those investors who choose to participate in these offerings. Generally, investors must meet the qualifications of…

As businesses grow, it is not uncommon for them to establish and control several subsidiary companies. Establishing subsidiary companies can be of great benefit to a parent company, as they offer the opportunity to expand the business with minimal risks. Subsidiaries can be formed in different ways and for various reasons. A corporation can form a…

Many parents think that when their child with special needs turns 18, a guardianship will immediately need to be established. While a guardianship is necessary for some children with special needs, not everyone is a candidate.

Bernard A. Krooks, Esq., of Littman Krooks LLP, will teach a course entitled “Special Needs Trusts: The Basic, the Benefits and the Burdens” at the ALI – ABA (American Law Institute | American Bar Association) 2009 conference on “Sophisticated Estate Planning Techniques.” The ALI-ABA presents a yearly course of study consisting of over 13 hours of instruction aimed at estate planning practitioners. This year’s sessions, will be held from September 10-11 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, MA.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has announced that it is expanding its free, online service, BrokerCheck, to reveal additional and more detailed information concerning brokers and brokerage firms. Changes being made to BrokerCheck include the following: •           All historic complaints dating back to 1999 for individual brokers who are currently registered or whose registrations were…

Buried deep in the (literally) thousands of pages in The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act are changes to Regulation D and the accredited investor definition. Currently, individuals are accredited investors if either: their net income exceeded $200,000, or joint net income with their spouse exceeded $300,000, in the two most recent years…