Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Changing Your Business Entity Type Requires the Professional Guidance of a Business Lawyer
Many businesses start out in the “see what happens” phase. You start marketing a product or providing a service and see if customers like it. When you go into a business project with a spirit of adventure, you are usually not thinking about details like taxes and legal liability. Consider the bright-eyed aspiring entrepreneurs… Read More »
Challenging a Will Because of a Testator’s Loss of Mental Faculties
It is hard to talk to your parents about their inevitable illness and death, even while they are healthy, even when you are just speaking in terms of hypothetical ways that their final years might play out. It is even more difficult when their health is already fragile or they are already suffering from… Read More »
When Real Estate Properties Go Through Probate
If a family member has named you as the personal representative of their estate, and you are starting the probate process for that estate, friends have probably already started reassuring you that probate is usually formulaic and painless and that, apart from having to pay some bills and taxes from the estate, you will… Read More »
What Factors Should You Consider When Choosing a Business Entity for Your DC Small Business?
Once you’ve decided to start a business, one of the most challenging next steps is to decide what type of business entity you should form. Most small business owners may consider immediately defaulting to a sole proprietorship since it’s the easiest type of business to form. However, don’t think that just because you are… Read More »
Common Types of Employee Lawsuits Washington DC Employers May Face
As an employer, there is always a fear of being sued by an employee for violating employment and labor laws. Even small employers can benefit from the services of a Washington DC labor & employment attorney who can sit down and review your current policies and procedures to ensure they comply with all regulations… Read More »
Should You Open a Payable on Death Bank Account?
A payable on death (POD) bank account is one that is earmarked, from the beginning, to stay out of probate. “Payable on death” means that, immediately upon the death of the original owner, the beneficiary becomes the new owner of the account and all the money in it. Does it sound too good to… Read More »
Should You Choose an LLC Business Structure?
When you go to a family reunion and tell your cousins that you plan to open a business in the next few months, they will usually ask you what kind of business, and they will expect an answer such as “a bakery,” “a dog grooming service,” or “a yoga studio.” If one of your… Read More »
Single Parents Cannot Afford to Wait to Start Estate Planning
If you are a single parent, it probably makes your blood boil when your married friends talk about how unhelpful their spouses are. They might say that they feel like single parents, but they have no idea what it is like when you really are single, and you have to take on 100 percent… Read More »
What Businesspeople Should Know About Breach of Contract Lawsuits
Ask a student in a college of business what led them to choose their field of study, and they will probably tell you about the exciting world of business and entrepreneurship that awaits them. They have probably heard successful entrepreneurs talk about closing a business deal that led to long-term financial stability for everyone… Read More »
How to Keep Almost Any Asset Out of Probate in the District of Columbia
If a person dies without a will (the legal term for “without a will” is “intestate”), then the court gets involved in passing the person’s assets on to the person’s close relatives. If the person does leave a will, then the court still gets involved. The court must honor the deceased person’s wishes about… Read More »
