165 articles on Oklahoma tax, IRS controversy, and business law, newest first.
An explanation of the IRC Section 469 passive activity loss rules and what it takes to qualify as a real estate professional, including the hour thresholds and common documentation pitfalls.
An explanation of how cost segregation studies reclassify building components to accelerate depreciation and improve cash flow, and why a properly documented study coordinated with your CPA matters.
A look at the commercial lease provisions that most often cause disputes, including CAM charges, assignment restrictions, personal guaranties, renewal options, and maintenance and default terms.
A practical guide for buyers on why commercial property should be held in an LLC rather than an individual name, and how entity choice affects financing, depreciation, and basis step-up at death.
An overview of how Section 1031 like-kind exchanges let real estate investors defer capital gains tax, including the qualified intermediary requirement and strict identification and closing deadlines.
Covers the unique succession challenges facing law firms, medical practices, dental offices, and accounting firms, including ownership restrictions on non-licensed persons, buy-in and buy-out structures, valuation approaches, transition periods, and coordinating disability and death provisions with personal estate plans.
Explores how wills and trusts can conflict with buy-sell agreements and operating agreement transfer restrictions, and why coordinated review between estate planning and business documents helps avoid litigation, forced buyouts, and family conflict.
Explains how owning property in multiple states can trigger separate ancillary probate proceedings in each state, and how tools like revocable living trusts and LLC ownership can simplify administration and avoid multi-state probate.
Discusses the unique challenges of naming a trustee to hold a business interest, including the tension between business judgment and fiduciary caution, conflicts between beneficiaries who work in the company and those who do not, and practical options like co-trustees, corporate trustees, and trust protectors.
Explains why leaving business interests or wealth outright to children can expose those assets to creditors, divorce, and poor decisions, and how a properly structured trust with the right trustee and distribution terms can protect an inheritance while still benefiting the kids.
Compares Oklahoma's transfer-on-death deed for real estate to standard probate, and explains where this tool helps business owners and where a revocable trust is still needed.
Explains how operating agreements, buy-sell agreements, and probate interact to determine what happens to a deceased owner's LLC membership interest, and why single-member LLCs need special planning.
Covers how business value factors into a taxable estate, the liquidity problem many family businesses face at death, and planning tools like Section 6166 deferral, valuation discounts, and lifetime gifting.
Walks through which assets business owners should typically fund into a revocable living trust, including ownership interests, business real estate, and life insurance, and which assets usually stay out.
Explains why a basic will falls short for business owners and what additional documents and planning, from trusts to buy-sell agreements, are needed to protect a company and its owner's family.
Lays out a two-year pre-sale checklist covering entity cleanup, financials, owner dependence, contracts, IP, and assembling an advisory team before going to market.
Covers how lifetime gifting of business interests, valuation discounts, and structured entities can reduce estate tax exposure while preparing the next generation for ownership.
Explains why a buy-sell agreement needs actual funding through key person or buyout insurance, and compares cross-purchase versus entity-purchase structures.
Walks through the practical fallout when a business owner dies without a succession plan or buy-sell agreement, and what documents prevent that chaos.
Explains how deal structure, elections like Section 338(h)(10) and Section 1202 QSBS, installment sales, and early planning can significantly reduce the tax owners pay when they sell their business.
