Benefits attorneys like to focus on businesses and benefit plan structures for employees.  However, there is an overlap between benefits law, family law, and estate law.  For example, a couple where one partner was the primary breadwinner while the other stayed home caring for family, the partner who stayed home may be entitled to part of the working partner’s benefit plan.  However, This can impact all plans when Read More

The final version of regulations coming from Health and Human Services (HHS) includes adjustments for inflation of HIPAA penalties. These civil penalties are for violations of “administrative simplification” rules. Administrative Simplification HIPAA’s administrative simplification rules are a set of national standards for electronic transactions designed to maintain the privacy of protected health information Read More

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are popular both with owners looking for ways to increase employee engagement and involvement and with employees seeking to have some ownership in and benefit from the work they do beyond their salaries. For business owners, considering implementing an ESOP is one of many options they consider when looking at retirement, but there are other reasons to consider ESOPs. Provide Read More

Companies are always looking for creative ways to compensate their top executives.  They want to be able to attract top talent as well as retain the knowledge and experience they already have.  One tool for doing so is profits interests, which are an option for businesses taxed as pass-through entities. A profits interest is an equity right that can be granted to any individual for their service to a partnership Read More

An Employee Stock Ownership Program or ESOP is a way for owners to share the wealth and success of a company with employees. It is often used for succession planning allowing long-term employees a way to buy out an aging owner and continue the business. ESOPs also offer some tax incentives to the company such as using deductible funds when servicing debt and creating deductible cash dividends. Tax Deductible Debt Read More