When a loved one dies it can be difficult to know how to access their assets, manage their mortgage and other debts, and wind up their affairs. With limited exceptions, the only way to access assets owned by a person in their individual name is through probate, even if they have a valid will.
Many otherwise sound rep contracts are subject to termination for any reason or for no reason. Even if the parties agree to an initial contract term of three or more years to give the relationship time to develop and to enable the rep to create demand for the manufacturer’s products, most reps understand that if their three-year agreement allows termination on 30 days’ notice, they don’t really have a three-year contract. Instead, they’re working on a 30-day contract.
Each of these dispute resolution avenues includes certain advantages and disadvantages of which you need to be aware.
Since April 23, when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its final rule regarding noncompete clauses, I have received numerous calls and emails asking if such clauses are no longer binding and effective.
An insured buy-sell agreement is a solution that allows your business to continue operating by providing a source of funds to compensate the deceased owner’s family for his or her share of the company, without having to liquidate company assets. The surviving owners rarely wish to become partners with a deceased owner’s heirs and the heirs rarely wish to get involved with the day-to-day operations of their loved one’s business. So, what exactly is a buy-sell agreement?
The warm climate and urban environment in the twin cities of Dallas and Fort Worth lends itself to infestations of pests, including ants, termites, mosquitoes and rodents. Recognizing the opportunity this creates, Julien’s Pest Control d/b/a Evolve Pest Control (“Evolve”) handed sales representative Brad Liston a five-year contract beginning in January 2021 to market pest control services in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Promoting the sale of electrical insulation used in power transmission and distribution lines is undoubtedly a seductive enough field all by itself. But mix in a lawsuit over unpaid commissions and a flailing attempt to dismiss it, and soon, the same way sex and violence sells movie tickets, the enchantment with electrical insulation sales becomes palpable.
Lack of familiarity with fringe benefits can cause business owners to overlook tax-free perks and incentives they could be offering to prospective hires or providing to their current employees (and their spouses and dependent children) at minimal cost.
Many individuals continue to work into their retirement years, whether due to financial need, personal desire or some other motivation. A meaningful portion of these workers are high-wage earners who pay tax at the maximum or near maximum income tax rates and do not wish to withdraw funds from their retirement accounts which in most cases are fully taxed at ordinary income tax rates.
The Fall edition of this Legally Speaking column reported on the verdict delivered in the summer of 2023 in favor of an ERA rep given the pseudonym Rigorous Electronics Performers, LLC or REP. A suburban Philadelphia jury found that Manipulating Financial Results, Inc. or MFR (also a pseudonym) owed REP over $600,000 in unpaid commissions.