by Lisa Paine | Apr 22, 2025 | Business/Corporate
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, many companies are seeking ways to operate not just for profit, but also for a purpose. Arizona has embraced this movement through its recognition of Benefit Corporations, a business structure that enables companies to pursue social and environmental goals alongside financial success.
What Is a Benefit Corporation?
A Benefit Corporation, or B-Corp, is a for-profit entity that voluntarily meets higher standards of purpose, accountability, and transparency. Unlike traditional corporations, which are legally bound to prioritize shareholder returns, Benefit Corporations are empowered (and required) to consider the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders—not just shareholders, but also employees, customers, communities, and the environment.
Why Choose Benefit Corporation Status?
- Mission Alignment: Founders can embed their mission into the culture of the company, ensuring it endures through leadership transitions and investor involvement.
- Public Trust/Marketing: Consumers and partners increasingly support businesses that demonstrate commitment to ethical and sustainable practices.
- Attracting Talent: Many workers—especially younger generations—want to work for companies that reflect their values.
Is It Right for Your Business?
Whether you’re starting a new venture or thinking about converting an existing company, the Benefit Corporation structure could be a good fit if:
- You want to formally commit to a social or environmental mission.
- You want to signal your values to customers, investors, and employees.
- You want legal reinforcement for making decisions that prioritize more than just profit.
However, this model isn’t for everyone. It comes with ongoing obligations—like producing annual benefits reports —and may not suit businesses focused solely on short-term financial growth.
Final Thoughts
Benefit Corporations reflect a broader cultural shift toward sustainable, ethical, and inclusive business practices.
Incorporating purpose into profit isn’t just good ethics—it’s good business.
Lisa is well versed in challenges faced by small businesses and their owners. Her unique prospective benefits her business clients with agreements, employment advice, copyright violations and succession planning. She also assists families with estate planning not only guiding them through the estate planning process but also understanding why this is so vital to their families.
by Lisa Paine | Mar 26, 2025 | Business/Corporate
On March 21, 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule declaring that U.S. companies are no longer included in the definition of a “reporting company” under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). This means that U.S. companies, including LLCs and Corporations are no longer required to file a beneficial ownership report pursuant to the CTA. Only companies formed outside of the U.S., but registered to do business within the U.S. are required to report beneficial ownership information. These foreign companies will not be required to report any U.S. persons as beneficial owners.
FinCEN Removes Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for U.S. Companies and U.S. Persons, Sets New Deadlines for Foreign Companies
WASHINGTON––Consistent with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s March 2, 2025 announcement, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing an interim final rule that removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act.
In that interim final rule, FinCEN revises the definition of “reporting company” in its implementing regulations to mean only those entities that are formed under the law of a foreign country and that have registered to do business in any U.S. State or Tribal jurisdiction by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or similar office (formerly known as “foreign reporting companies”). FinCEN also exempts entities previously known as “domestic reporting companies” from BOI reporting requirements.
Thus, through this interim final rule, all entities created in the United States — including those previously known as “domestic reporting companies” — and their beneficial owners will be exempt from the requirement to report BOI to FinCEN. Foreign entities that meet the new definition of a “reporting company” and do not qualify for an exemption from the reporting requirements must report their BOI to FinCEN under new deadlines, detailed below. These foreign entities, however, will not be required to report any U.S. persons as beneficial owners, and U.S. persons will not be required to report BOI with respect to any such entity for which they are a beneficial owner. For more information, click here.
Lisa is well versed in challenges faced by small businesses and their owners. Her unique prospective benefits her business clients with agreements, employment advice, copyright violations and succession planning. She also assists families with estate planning not only guiding them through the estate planning process but also understanding why this is so vital to their families.
by Lisa Paine | Feb 26, 2025 | Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills
Divorce is an emotional and complex process, but one important aspect that often gets overlooked is your estate plan. If you don’t update it, your estranged spouse could still inherit your assets or make crucial financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf. In Arizona, unless you specify otherwise, your spouse remains a beneficiary until your divorce is finalized.
To protect your interests, here are key steps to updating your estate plan during a divorce:
1. Update Your Will and Trust
One of the first things you should do during a divorce is review and update your will or trust. Many estate plans automatically designate a spouse as the primary beneficiary, executor, or trustee. If these documents aren’t revised, your assets could unintentionally pass to your estranged spouse.
While Arizona law revokes provisions for a former spouse once a divorce is finalized, these provisions remain in effect during the divorce. That means your spouse may still inherit from your estate unless you update your documents in advance.
2. Understand Arizona’s Community Property Laws
Arizona is a community property state, meaning most assets acquired during marriage are jointly owned and subject to equal division in a divorce. This can impact your ability to transfer assets or update beneficiary designations before your divorce is finalized.
Before making any changes, consult both your divorce attorney and an estate planning attorney to ensure you’re following Arizona law and protecting your financial future.
3. Review and Update Beneficiary Designations
Certain accounts—such as life insurance policies, retirement plans, and payable-on-death bank accounts—have designated beneficiaries. If you don’t update these designations, your estranged spouse may still inherit these funds.
However, some changes may require spousal consent while the divorce is ongoing. For example, in some cases, retirement account beneficiary changes need written consent from your spouse. Always check with your divorce attorney before making any updates.
4. Update Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives
Estate planning isn’t just about assets—it also covers financial and medical decisions if you become incapacitated.
If your estranged spouse is listed in your power of attorney or healthcare directive, they may still have the legal authority to make medical and financial decisions for you. If that’s not what you want, you should update these documents as soon as possible to appoint someone you trust.
5. Remove “Right of Survivorship” on Jointly Owned Property
If you and your spouse own property jointly with “right of survivorship,” the property automatically passes to the surviving spouse, regardless of your will or trust. You may be able to terminate this designation during your divorce, ensuring your share of the property is distributed according to your wishes.
6. Protect Your Children’s Future
If you have children, updating your estate plan is especially important.
- Review and update guardianship designations in your will to reflect your current wishes.
- Consider setting up or modifying a trust to protect your children’s inheritance and provide for their education, healthcare, and living expenses.
Stay Proactive with Your Estate Plan
Divorce brings a lot of legal and financial changes, and your estate plan should not be left behind. By updating your documents, you can ensure that your assets go to the right people, the right decisions are made on your behalf, and your children’s future is protected.
To navigate this process smoothly, work with a qualified estate planning attorney in Arizona. They can help you make the right changes while staying compliant with state laws and the terms of your divorce.
Disclaimer: Any changes to your estate plan, asset transfers, or beneficiary designations should be reviewed with both your divorce attorney and an estate attorney. This ensures compliance with Arizona’s community property laws and the terms of your divorce.
Lisa is well versed in challenges faced by small businesses and their owners. Her unique prospective benefits her business clients with agreements, employment advice, copyright violations and succession planning. She also assists families with estate planning not only guiding them through the estate planning process but also understanding why this is so vital to their families.
by Lisa Paine | Feb 21, 2025 | Business/Corporate
There has been a recent development in the ongoing ride that is the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). A U.S. District Court ruling as of February 18, 2025 put the CTA back into effect with a filing deadline of March 21, 2025 for most companies. There is currently pending legislation before Congress to extend CTA deadlines for companies in existence prior to January 1, 2024, but as of the date of this notice, that legislation is not final.
The latest guidance from FinCEN reinstating the filing of beneficial ownership reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act follows:
With the February 18, 2025, decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Smith, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, et al., 6:24-cv-00336 (E.D. Tex.), beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) are once again back in effect. However, because the Department of the Treasury recognizes that reporting companies may need additional time to comply with their BOI reporting obligations, FinCEN is generally extending the deadline 30 calendar days from February 19, 2025, for most companies.
Notably, in keeping with Treasury’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden on businesses, during this 30-day period FinCEN will assess its options to further modify deadlines, while prioritizing reporting for those entities that pose the most significant national security risks.
FinCEN also intends to initiate a process this year to revise the BOI reporting rule to reduce burden for lower-risk entities, including many U.S. small businesses.
Updated Deadlines
- For the vast majority of reporting companies, the new deadline to file an initial, updated, and/or corrected BOI report is now March 21, 2025. FinCEN will provide an update before then of any further modification of this deadline, recognizing that reporting companies may need additional time to comply with their BOI reporting obligations once this update is provided.
- Reporting companies that were previously given a reporting deadline later than the March 21, 2025 deadline must file their initial BOI report by that later deadline. For example, if a company’s reporting deadline is in April 2025 because it qualifies for certain disaster relief extensions, it should follow the April deadline, not the March deadline.
- As indicated in the alert titled “Notice Regarding National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-01448 (N.D. Ala.)”, Plaintiffs in National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv01448 (N.D. Ala.)—namely, Isaac Winkles, reporting companies for which Isaac Winkles is the beneficial owner or applicant, the National Small Business Association, and members of the National Small Business Association (as of March 1, 2024)—are not currently required to report their beneficial ownership information to FinCEN at this time.
Lisa is well versed in challenges faced by small businesses and their owners. Her unique prospective benefits her business clients with agreements, employment advice, copyright violations and succession planning. She also assists families with estate planning not only guiding them through the estate planning process but also understanding why this is so vital to their families.
by Lisa Paine | Jan 8, 2025 | Estate Planning, Tax, Trusts, Wills
As we enter 2025, it’s important to stay informed about the current federal estate and gift tax laws, including annual exclusion limits and significant changes anticipated by the end of this year.
Annual Exclusion Amount
The annual exclusion amount for gifts in 2025 allows individuals to give up to $19,000 per recipient without incurring gift tax or needing to file a gift tax return. This exclusion is a valuable tool for wealth transfer and estate planning, as gifts within this limit do not count against your lifetime exemption amount.
Estate and Gift Tax Exemption
The federal estate and gift tax exemption for 2025 remains historically high at $13.99 million per individual. This exemption permits significant wealth transfers without triggering federal estate or gift taxes. Married couples can combine their exemptions, effectively shielding up to $27.98 million from taxation.
Sunset of the Current Exemption
The current exemption levels are set to sunset at the end of 2025. If no legislative action occurs, the exemption amount will revert to pre-2018 levels, estimated at approximately $7 million per individual (adjusted for inflation). This reduction could significantly impact estate planning strategies, potentially exposing more estates to federal estate tax liability starting in 2026.
Planning Considerations
Given the scheduled sunset, 2025 presents a strategic window to utilize the historically high exemption amounts. Potential strategies include:
- Lifetime Gifting: Maximize the use of your lifetime exemption through substantial gifts before the reduction.
- Irrevocable Trusts: Consider establishing irrevocable trusts to transfer wealth outside of your taxable estate.
- Spousal Planning: Use spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs) to preserve wealth while maintaining indirect access to gifted assets.
- Charitable Planning: Consider charitable donations and charitable remainder trusts to support causes you care about while reducing your taxable estate.
Review your current estate plan with our office to see how these changes may impact your financial goals. Proactive planning can help minimize tax liability and protect your legacy for future generations.
For questions or to schedule a consultation, contact Lisa Paine today.
Lisa is well versed in challenges faced by small businesses and their owners. Her unique prospective benefits her business clients with agreements, employment advice, copyright violations and succession planning. She also assists families with estate planning not only guiding them through the estate planning process but also understanding why this is so vital to their families.
