Key Financial Legalities Women Have to know

I happen to be practicing Bankruptcy, Debt/Wealth Management, Wills, Trusts and Estates, Property and Taxation Law for many years now, representing both women and men, and while I have not seen it all, I have seen quite a bit; plus some of the items I have seen with regards the disparate treatment of men and women dealing with their financial legalities, is not very pretty.

As caused by my own observations and my own personal experiences about how exactly some never married and/or unmarried women and/or widows are treated by their former spouses, lovers, or partners, their financial institutions, their fiduciaries, fraudsters, and/or some of the men that make financial decisions about them – including their employers, both outside and inside the courts -, I've come to a place whereby the following iteration of my legal work, I want to create a resource for women within my next venture, that will essentially be: 'Selwyn's Law Digital Platform' including related material and a book that I am writing on the above subject, Ask Selwyn Whitehead, Esquire: What you ought to Learn about Financial and Legalities like a Woman-Headed Household!

Just like the ongoing results of climate change is finally entering stark relief and becoming up into the faces of numerous who have ignored the obvious for years, many in today's world will also be just getting out of bed that the American familial culture is in the midst of the paradigm shift. The heretofore-historic breadwinner-homemaker emotional, physical and financial partnership relationship between men and women has and continues to undergo substantial change; necessitating that ladies realize that there's a new financial and legal reality that ladies of all stripes in the world, especially women in the western world and American women particularly and even more so for American women of color, must come to understand and cope with each and every day.

For example, statistics reveal the following facts:

1. Many young women are remaining single longer plus some will genuinely never marry by choice[1];
2. Most older women are winding up single within their middle age either through divorce[2] or through as the result of widowhood[3];
3. Some divorced women have found that their former spouses will not willingly share the fruits of the marital estate unless and until they are compelled by the Family Court, if at all[4];
4. A record 40 percent of households with children younger than 18 include mothers who are either the only or primary income source for the family, based on the Pew Research Center analysis of information from the U.S. Census Bureau. The proportion was just 11 percent in 1960.
5. Most women to varying degrees are finding that the men that control their incomes in the workplace, either directly or indirectly, do not see they his or her intellectual or competence-related peers and for that reason will readily discount the value of these women's “women's work”, than the men's “men's work”, even in high paying high skilled industries such as STEM or even the law; and,
6. In order to combat gender discrimination within the employment marketplace, increasingly more women are starting their very own businesses and for that reason dealing with more and more debt, including the concomitant tax complexities.

So, weight loss women of all ages, classes, races along with other circumstances find themselves heading their own households and leading their own smaller businesses, they must educate themselves concerning how to cope with the financial and legalities related to this management and control, including how you can manage their assets, liabilities, incomes, expenses and taxes. These women, especially if they are seniors, must also look for signals given off by those both within and outside their extended families who're attempting to take financial advantage of them and learn to combat the different kinds of financial abuse.

This new cohort of women also needs to get sound advice when things do no go as planned, including the fact they may need to unashamedly consider seeking the protection from the bankruptcy court either to reorganize or eliminate some or all their debt to keep themselves, their families and their businesses moving forward.

Here are the key financial issues women will need to address within this new financial environment we all find ourselves facing:

1. Business Formation and Insurance Issues
2. Budgeting for Households and Business Ventures, Obtaining Credit and Raising Capital
3. Federal, Local and state Taxation Issues
4. Retirement Funding Issues
5. Estate Planning and Administration Issues
6. Identifying and Steering Clear of Financial Elder Abuse Scams

Let's begin with the basics: what we should need to consider when starting a woman-owned business. When starting a business, women have to consider their choices for structuring the business.

Why Selecting the Proper Business Structure is really Essential for Success.

The business structure affects the owner's personal liability for business debts, her capability to raise investment capital and credit, the formation paperwork the owner will have to file initially, the ongoing records and books the owner will have to keep, the governmental reports the owner will need to file periodically, and just how much the dog owner pays in taxes.

The owner will also need to choose a business structure before she can register the company with any state or municipal agency. Also, most businesses will also need to get yourself a taxpayer ID number and make an application for the appropriate business licenses and permits within the city and/or county where it is located. As such, the owner should choose her structure carefully. Despite the fact that the owner may convert to a different business structure in the future, there may be restrictions in line with the location from the business. This could also lead to unintended tax consequences or even the unintended dissolution of the business.

The business will even need a number of insurance policies to protect the assets required to run the company and to supply the owner with use of legal counsel when the owner or her employees harm organizations with an act of negligence.

What 10 Factors Should a lady Consider in Forming Her Business?

1. First, the owner must determine how much control she requires within the business. Said one other way: the dog owner must figure out how much control she's willing to quit to others.
2. Second, the owner must determine her initial and reoccurring structuring costs and just what ongoing administrative formalities are related to her selected structure.
3. Next, the dog owner must consider which structure will best serve to limit her personal liability in the debts of the business.
4. The owner must then pick which structure will give you her most abundant in advantageous tax treatment.
5. Next, the owner have to research which structure will best help her reach the desired degree of potential business growth and expansion.
6. The owner must establish what's the best structure for meeting her industry's regulatory compliance requirements.
7. The best structure for raising capital and obtaining credit must then be determined.
8. Then she'll have to analyze and select the very best structure for attracting the “partners” and/or employees desired.
9. Second to last, the owner must figure out what is the best structure for acquiring the appropriate kinds and quantity of insurance necessary to protect the business's assets and shield the dog owner from as must liability as you possibly can.
10. And finally, she must conclude what is the best structure on her desired exit strategy, including succession planning.

What Are the Major Business Structures Available to the brand new Business Owner?

i. A sole proprietorship: A sole proprietor is somebody that owns an unincorporated business by hand. In effect, the brand new business is extra time from the existing person legally and for taxation purposes.

A sole proprietor should think about obtaining the following insurance: 1. General Insurance; 2. Property Insurance; 3. Business Owner's Policy ; 4. Commercial Auto Insurance Rider; 5. Worker's Compensation Insurance; 6. Professional Insurance; 7. Data Breach Insurance; 8. Homeowner's Insurance; 9. Renter's Insurance; 10. Life Insurance ; 11. Personal Car insurance; 12. Personal Umbrella Insurance; 13. Family Health Insurance .

ii. A partnership: A partnership may be the relationship existing between two or more persons who join together to keep a trade or business. Each person contributes money, property, labor or skill, and expects to share within the profits and losses of the business. There are two common kinds of partnerships: limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships . Limited partnerships only have one general partner with unlimited liability, and all sorts of other partners have limited liability. The partners with limited liability also tend to have limited treatments for the organization, which is documented in a partnership agreement. Limited liability partnerships act like limited partnerships, but give limited liability to each owner. An LLP protects each partner from debts against the partnership; they won’t result in those things of other partners.

A partnership must file an annual information go back to report the income, deductions, gains, losses, etc., from its operations, however it doesn't pay income tax. Instead, it “passes through” any profits or losses to the partners. Each partner includes their share of the partnership’s income or loss on their individual tax return. Partners are not employees and cannot be issued an application W-2. The partnership must furnish copies of Schedule K-1 to the partners by the date Form 1065 is required to be filed, including extensions.

A partnership should think about acquiring the following insurance:

1. General Insurance; 2. Commercial Property Insurance; 3. Business Owner's Policy ; 4. Commercial Car insurance; 5. Worker's Compensation Insurance; 6. Professional Liability Insurance; 7. Data Breach Insurance; 8.Commercial Renter's Insurance; 9. Life Insurance ; 10. Family Medical health insurance .

iii. A Limited Liability Company : An LLC is a business structure allowed by state statute that lets its owners take advantage of the benefits of both corporation and partnership business structures. Owners of the LLC are known as members. Most states do not restrict ownership, and thus members may include individuals, corporations, other LLCs and foreign entities. There isn't any maximum number of members. Most states also permit “single-member” LLCs, those having only one owner. LLCs protect you from personal liability in most instances; your personal assets – like your vehicle, house, and savings accounts – won’t be at risk if the LLC faces bankruptcy or lawsuits.

Profits and losses could possibly get passed through for your personal income without facing corporate taxes. However, members of an LLC are thought self-employed and should pay self-employment tax contributions towards Medicare and Social Security.

LLCs may have a limited life in many states. When a member joins or leaves an LLC, some states may need the LLC to become dissolved and re-formed with new membership – unless there’s already an agreement in position within the LLC for purchasing, selling, and transferring ownership. LLCs can be a sensible choice for medium- or higher-risk businesses, owners with significant personal assets they would like to protect, and owners who want to pay a lesser tax rate than they would with a corporation.

An LLC should consider acquiring the following insurance:

1. General Insurance; 2. Commercial Property Insurance; 3. Business Owner's Policy ; 4. Commercial Auto Insurance; 5. Workers comp Insurance; 6. Professional liability Insurance; 7. Data Breach Insurance; 8.Commercial Renter's Insurance; 9. Life Insurance ; 10. Family Health Insurance .

iv. A C-Corporation: A regular corporation, sometimes known as a C Corp, is a legal entity that’s outside of its owners. By forming an organization, prospective shareholders exchange money, property, or both, for that corporation’s capital stock. For federal tax purposes, a C-corporation is known as another taxpaying entity. A corporation conducts business, realizes net gain or loss, pays taxes and distributes profits to shareholders. Corporations can make a profit, be taxed, and could be held legally liable. Corporations offer the strongest protection to its owners from personal liability, but the cost to form a corporation is greater than other structures.

Corporations also require more extensive record-keeping, operational processes, and reporting. Unlike sole proprietors, partnerships, and LLCs, corporations pay tax on their own profits. In some instances, corporate profits are taxed twice – first, when the company constitutes a profit, and again when dividends are paid to shareholders on their own personal tax returns.

A C-Corporation should consider acquiring the following insurance:

1. General Liability insurance; 2. Commercial Property Insurance; 3. Commercial Auto Insurance; 4. Workers comp Insurance 5. Data Breach Insurance; 6. Life insurance coverage ; 7. Select few Health Insurance.

v. An S-Corporation: According to the Small Business Administration , an S-corporation, sometimes called a “Subchapter S corp”, is a special type of corporation that’s designed to steer clear of the double taxation drawback of regular C corps. S corps allow profits, plus some losses, to be undergone straight to owners’ personal income without ever being susceptible to corporate tax rates. Not every states tax S corps equally, but many recognize them exactly the same way the federal government does and taxes the shareholders accordingly. Some states tax S corps on profits over a specified limit and other states don’t recognize the S corp election whatsoever, simply treating the company like a C corp. S corps must file with the IRS to obtain S corp status, another process from registering with their state. You will find special limits on S corps. S corps can’t convey more than 100 shareholders, and all shareholders must be U.S. citizens. You’ll still need to follow strict filing and operational processes of the C corp. S corps can be a good choice for any business that would otherwise be a C corp, but meet the requirements to file being an S corp.

An S-Corporation should consider obtaining the following insurance:

1. General Insurance; 2. Commercial Property Insurance; 3. Business Owner's Policy ; 4. Commercial Auto Insurance; 5. Workers comp Insurance; 6. Data Breach Insurance; 7. Life Insurance ; 8. Family Medical health insurance .

vi. A B-Corporation: According to the Sba , an advantage corporation, sometimes called a B corp, is really a for-profit corporation recognized in a majority of U.S. states. B corps aren't the same as C corps in purpose, accountability, and transparency, but aren’t different in how they’re taxed. B corps are impelled by both a defined mission and profit. Shareholders hold the company accountable to create some sort of public benefit in addition to a financial profit. Some states require B corps to submit annual benefit reports that report their contribution towards the public good.

A B-Corporation should consider obtaining the following insurance:

1. General Insurance; 2. Commercial Property Insurance; 3. Commercial Auto Insurance; 4. Worker's Compensation Insurance; 5. Data Breach Insurance; 6. Life insurance coverage ; 7. Select few Medical health insurance.

vii. A nonprofit corporation: According to the Sba , nonprofit corporations are organized to complete charity, education, religious, literary, or scientific work. As their work benefits the public, nonprofits can receive tax-exempt status, meaning they don’t pay federal or state taxes and income tax on any profits it can make. Nonprofits must file using the IRS to get tax exemption, a different process for registering using their state. Nonprofit corporations need to follow organizational rules much like a normal C corp. They also have to follow special rules about what they are doing with any profits they earn. For instance, they can’t distribute profits to members or political campaigns. Nonprofits are often called 501 corporations – a reference to the section of the Internal Revenue Code that is most often used to grant tax-exempt status.

A Nonprofit Corporation should think about obtaining the following times of insurance:

1. General Insurance; 2. Commercial Property Insurance; 3. Commercial Auto Insurance); 4. Worker's Compensation Insurance 5. Data Breach Insurance; 6. Select few Medical health insurance.

Conclusion

Although determining the proper business structure requires a great deal of time to consider the different options, the thoughtful undertaking will be time wisely spent. Once a lady gets her business up and going on a firm base, she will have a real chance to generate the income required to fund her female-headed household well in to the future.

LAW OFFICES OF SELWYN D. WHITEHEAD

4650 Scotia Avenue, Oakland, California 94605

Phone: 510.632.7444

Fax: 510.856.5180

Email: selwynwhitehead@yahoo.com

Web Site: www.selwynwhitehead.com

Selwyn D. Whitehead Esq. is really a San fran bankruptcy and tax attorney whose practice concentrates on helping her clients manage their wealth through effective estate and tax planning and/or manage their debt through debt restructuring or bankruptcy. Selwyn likewise helps her clients facing foreclosure to represent clients with emotionally and financially “taxing” issues before the Franchise Tax Board, the government and also the U.S. Tax Court. Selwyn is also a Bankruptcy Law Certified Specialist, whose been Certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

Prior to entering private practice, Selwyn managed a group of attorneys and paraprofessionals in Fireman's Fund Insurance Company's Claims Department, where she was accountable for auditing the claims an incident handling practices, performance, fees, and expenses of outdoor defence counsel. And prior to that assignment, she helped many years like a financial services industry consumer advocate.

[1] Record Share of american citizens Haven't Married As Values, Economics and Gender Patterns Change

[2] Based on the Pew Research Center, Among U.S. adults Half a century or older, divorce rate has doubled since the1990s: In 2021, for each 1,000 married persons ages 50 and older, 10 divorced – up from five in1990, according to data in the National Center for Health Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau. The type of ages 65 and older, divorce rate has roughly tripled since 1990, reaching six people per 1,000 married persons in 2021.

[3] There are more than 13.7 million widowed persons in the United States, over 11 million of these being women. Female survivors happen to be outdistancing their male counterparts with a continually widening margin and now represent approximately 80 percent from the widowed population in the usa. In 1940 there have been twice as many widows as widowers; by 1990 the ratio of widows to widowers had climbed to a lot more than 4 to 1. This ratio is anticipated to widen in the future.

[4] One of the key reasons women get screwed in a divorce proceeding is they believe their husband will treat them fairly. Unfortunately it has been generally observed that once the wedding is over, former husbands will look at the divorce like a competition they must win at any cost.