The FBI recently released the 2021 IC3 Elder Fraud Annual Report. Along with the Department of Justice Elder Fraud Initiative and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the FBI is committed to identifying, investigating and prosecuting criminals who target seniors. I commend this effort having an elderly grandmother who was a victim of a fraud …
Sometimes, the family business will not pass to the next generation, even though the kids currently work in the business. There are many reasons why the kids do not want to take over the business. Reasons range from their current lifestyle is pretty good so they do not want to spend day and night being …
You have built your small business on your hard work and sweat. You may even have your son/daughter/niece/nephew or other family members working with you in the company. Now you are ready to move on, or at least slow down. You may start planning on gifting your business to someone else. Often times a small …
It’s no secret that pension plans around the country are in trouble. The financial crisis of recent years has not only affected the value of securities and other investments, but has contributed to the failure of key businesses, and has caused many pension plans to become underfunded. What may come as a surprise to contributing …
It was reported in January 2015 that the Department of Labor (DOL) will abandon the “appraiser-as-fiduciary” rule from its planned re-proposal of a broad set of rules affecting fiduciaries and prohibited transactions. This story goes back to 2010 when the DOL issued a proposed regulation that would impose a fiduciary obligation on business appraisers in …
On June 2, 2014 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reached a $5.25 million settlement with GreatBanc Trust Company (GreatBanc). It was alleged that GreatBanc, as trustee to the Sierra Aluminum Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), allowed the plan to purchase stock from Sierra Aluminum’s co-founders and top executives for more than fair market …
There are many ways for a business owner to successfully plan for his/her exit. A survey conducted by the Business Enterprise Institute, Inc. shows the break down by successor type as follows: The largest allocation of 41% is to key employee(s), a co-owner, or an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). As of 2013 there are …
With proper planning and execution, a leveraged ESOP can provide benefits to all parties of the transaction, including the company, the owners, the employees and lenders. The Company The most significant benefit for the company is the tax deduction for the contributions to the ESOP, which are essentially returned to the company and available to …
With proper planning and execution, a leveraged ESOP can provide benefits to all parties of the transaction, including the company, the owners, the employees and lenders. The typical leveraged Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) transaction is described below. The company borrows money from the lender, typically a bank (“Bank Loan”). The company then loans the …