"When a small business owner dies with an active amortized loan, the debt does not vanish. The balance remains an obligation of the business entity and a valid claim against the owner's personal guarantee and estate", the Small Business Administration website...
Estate Planning
Stand-By-Your-Spouse Estate Planning
"Before assets reach children or charities, they most often move to a surviving spouse," Erica Ellis, J.D. reminds financial advisors."Women will control a growing share of wealth in the coming decades, driven largely by longevity, Ellis reminds readers of Financial...
Before and During –Not After –Estate Planning Talk
"When it's love vs. money, Americans prefer the hefty bank account," the results of a Northwestern Mutual survey of 4,375 U.S. adults revealed. A majority of couples in a serious relationship, the survey revealed, feel financial compatibility is more important than...
With Talk, Opportunity Can Come in Small Packages
"Trump Accounts - Focus on their merits, not branding," Mickey Kim advises parents and grandparents in the Indianapolis Business Journal. "Importantly, the Treasury will provide a one-time $1,000 seed contribution for U.S. citizens born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec....
Attorney and Power of Attorney — You Need them Both
"It's easy to see how an advisor could feel they were doing the right thing", Steve Garmhausen explains in Financial Advisor, describing a situation where a financial advisor acted as Power of Attorney for a client. When an advisor at an SEC (Security and Exchange...
Couples’ Estate Planning Takes at Least Two
"Before assets reach children or charities, they most often move to a surviving spouse," Erica Ellis points out in Financial Advisor Magazine, urging financial advisors to establish relationships with both spouses. "The moment of transfer" (after one spouse has...
Are Americans Beginning to be More Open About Life’s End?
"Survey reveals Americans' increasing openness to new methods of burials," Tanya D. Marsh, a professor at Wake Forest University explains in an Indianapolis Star piece. Of the six legal methods of disposition of human remains (cremation, casket burial, green burial,...
Before the Business Sale, Bolster the Estate Plan
Last week in our Geyer Law blog, Cara Chittenden discussed the importance of having estate planning attorneys, CPAs, and financial planners work together to help clients realize their goals. Nothing demonstrates the need for precisely that kind of coordination than...
Franchising for Growth? Adjust Estate Plan to Achieve Long-Range Goals
When you want to expand your business, you evaluate possible sources of capital: finance the growth through personal savings and credit cards? apply for a government-backed (SBA) or bank loan (paying interest) as well as personal guarantees? solicit angel investors or...
Bizarre Reminders of the Importance of Pre-Planning
"Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent," Steve Jobs is known to have said. "Not every historical figure meets a cinematic or heroic end," Colin Scanlon writes in Mental Floss. While the article may have been...

