The use of a commercial lease to rip off minority owners in a closely held business
The Informed Board Podcast | CEO Succession Planning on a Clear Day
Succession Planning to Safeguard Your Law Firm’s Future: On Record PR
Law Brief ®: Alan Gaynor and Richard Schoenstein Explore Business Divorce
Episode 8: Minority Oppression in the LLC: Interview With Professor Douglas Moll
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the most significant US tax overhaul since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The OBBBA includes critical changes impacting family offices,...more
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (the “Act”) was signed into law last week, on July 4. As promised by the White House, the Act extends – i.e., purports to make “permanent” – many of the otherwise expiring provisions that were...more
Charitable organizations are dependent, in no small part, upon the financial support of many successful business owners. The generosity of these individuals and their organizations may be a manifestation of several factors...more
If you’ve worked with the owners of closely held businesses for even just a few years, you have realized they are only half joking when they complain about having the government as a partner. Consider how much federal, state,...more
Closely-held business entities come in all shapes and sizes. By definition, under Partnership Law § 10, it takes “two or more” owners to form a general partnership. But corporations and LLCs have no such impediment, ranging...more
Last week, Sen. Warren reintroduced her “Ultra-Millionaires” wealth tax proposal to the Senate. Query her timing. The measure has the proverbial snowball’s chance in Hell of being enacted by this Congress.Perhaps the Senator...more
Earlier this year several Warner attorneys attended the annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the country’s most well-respected educational event for professionals working in the trusts and estates area. The...more
Few individual owners of a closely held business would be surprised if you explained to them that the IRS and the Federal courts generally will subject many transactions between certain “related” persons to heightened...more
In this episode of On Record PR, Jennifer Simpson Carr goes on record with Patrick Cusick, Director of Law Firm Services at Armanino LLP, to discuss important considerations for law firms when creating a sustainable...more
Have you ever wondered whether you were barking up the wrong tree? That the solution to a problem may be found, not in the approach to which you were already committed and invested, but in an altogether different direction?...more
To avoid the manipulation of tax consequences to which transactions between certain related taxpayers may be susceptible, the IRS and the Courts generally require that such transactions be closely scrutinized to ensure that...more
Withdrawing Value- In general, the owners of a closely held business have several options by which they may withdraw money from the business without selling their interest in the business....more
“Would I ever leave this company? Look, I’m all about loyalty. In fact, I feel like part of what I’m being paid for here is my loyalty. But if there were somewhere else that valued loyalty more highly, I’m going wherever they...more
Timing- I had planned to post this piece during the third week of December, a day or so after the exchange between Senator Manchin and the White House sealed the fate of the Build Back Better plan, at least in its current...more
“I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.” – Pres. Ronald Regan- That line probably describes the exasperation with which many Americans...more
It is an old saw that partners, co-venturers, and insiders to closely held businesses owe fiduciary duties of loyalty and due care when dealing with one another. Importantly, these fiduciary duties modify the common law of...more
Same old in D.C.- On Monday, November 15, the President will sign into law the approximately $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was finally passed by Congress when the House approved the Senate’s...more
Ownership status in a closely-held business is the first and most vital box almost every business divorce petitioner must check....more
The House Ways and Means Committee recently released legislative proposals as part of the “Build Back Better” reconciliation legislation that the committee is currently developing (the Proposed Legislation). The Proposed...more
What A Ride- No one anticipated that the Administration’s proposed tax increases would fly through Congress easily – at least no one residing in a state in which the recreational use of marijuana has not been legalized....more
Recap- Last week, we considered several of the revenue proposals included in the Biden Administration’s 2022 Budget that are probably of interest – or should we say, “of concern”? – to the owners of closely held...more
Tax Gap- In a report released last week, the U.S. Treasury Department explained that the so-called “tax gap” – i.e., the difference between the amount of federal income taxes owed by taxpayers for a taxable year and the...more
Closely-held businesses come in all shapes and sizes. Some owners own 100% of their businesses. Some have partners. Some have children in the business. Some do not. A common question that a client asks the business and...more
The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") announced that as soon as it reopens its collection and examination functions on July 15, it will immediately begin the examination of hundreds of high-income individuals and private...more
It is a particularly thorny question – one faced by owners of businesses both large and small: Is it time to promote this employee to co-owner? Panelists at our 2019 Closely Held Business Summit recently noted the...more