Written by Ryan Snow, JD, MBA

As an estate planning attorney, you are familiar with the complexities of wealth transfer. When your clients are small business owners, their business is often their most significant asset, but the company’s illiquidity and operational demands can present unique challenges. Business succession and exit planning, while distinct from traditional estate planning, are crucial for ensuring the smooth transition and continued value of this critical asset.

In the past month, we have seen significant developments in estate planning, business law, elder law, and special needs law. We have highlighted the most noteworthy developments to ensure you and your firm stay informed of any changes. From the Internal Revenue Service’s safe harbor provision for the staking of digital assets held in a trust to a ruling denying a private right of action under the Medicaid Act and a decision upholding the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act, read on to learn how these decisions may impact your practice.

Written by Sarah Barton, JD

A fiduciary duty is defined as “a duty to act with the highest degree of honesty and loyalty toward another person and in the best interests of the other person (such as the duty that one partner owes to another).”The law governing a limited liability company (LLC) is similar to that governing a corporation or partnership—the LLC’s older siblings in the family of business entities—in imposing fiduciary duties; however, for LLCs, fiduciary duties may be modified by contract to the extent permitted under state law.