Over the last few decades, marijuana (aka cannabis) laws across the United States have become increasingly more permissive. In 1996, California was the first state to allow medicinal cannabis.[1] In 2012, Colorado and Washington approved legal recreational cannabis.[2] Today, 38 states and the District of Columbia permit medical-use marijuana, and 24 states have legalized recreational marijuana.[3] Changing marijuana laws also include state and local measures to protect employees who legally use cannabis products away from the workplace and during off-work hours. However, marijuana remains a h ..read more

It’s one thing to figure out how to bring up the topic of divorce with your spouse. It’s quite another to have that conversation with your children. But once you and your spouse have decided to part ways, you should inform your children sooner rather than later, for they will undoubtedly pick up on the change in the atmosphere. Fortunately, there are clear steps you can take to help this conversation go smoothly and to increase the level of security and stability that your children feel at this time. 1. Reassure them that the divorce isn’t their fault Remember that children often blame themsel ..read more

The decision to hire family members for your business is a delicate balancing act that involves both personal and professional considerations. Working with loved ones can create a sense of trust and unity within the workplace and has been shown to increase business resiliency. However, mixing family and business may create challenges as familial dynamics overlap with professional responsibilities and undermine the morale of non-family staff members. Outside of some legal and tax implications, family members should be treated no differently than regular employees. This is easier said than done ..read more

With Easter over, many parents’ minds will be turning to the summer vacations. Maybe you want to go away, or perhaps you are just wondering how you will keep the children cared for and occupied while still holding down a job. If you are about to divorce, this will complicate things further. However, with appropriate preparation, you can make the first summer apart as successful as possible for everyone. 1. Coordinate time off work with your co-parent You may not get much time off work, but by coordinating with your co-parent, you can double the total amount of time available to look after the ..read more

A trust is a legal document included in an estate plan that helps people distribute assets without the estate being taxed, disputed or put through probate.  In a previous post, you can learn about a few common kinds of trusts, including a revocable and irrevocable trust. However, there are many different kinds of trusts. Here are a few more that you could include in your estate plan: Incentive Trust If you worry about how your estate will be used after your estate, you could create an incentive trust. An incentive trust can allow you to set a condition that must be met before a beneficiar ..read more

Parents sometimes choose to stay in unhappy marriages because of their children. People worry that divorce can be disruptive and stressful for children, so they try to make the marriage work for their kids. They may eventually decide that they need to leave to set a better example. Usually, when parents divorce, the courts order them to share custody. In Minnesota, most divorces with children result in shared parenting arrangements. Many people dislike the idea that they have to see their co-parents regularly and split time with their children, but they may come to embrace that such arrangemen ..read more

The limited liability company (LLC) has only been around since the first LLC statute was enacted in 1977. Within a few decades, it has become the most popular legal entity formed by new US businesses due to its ease of formation, flexibility, low start-up costs and limited liability for members. Each state has its own LLC statute. These laws set forth default rules, which may not provide strong protections for minority members facing oppression – such as a squeeze-out or freeze-out – at the hands of other members. A minority member’s best protection against oppressive conduct lies in negotiati ..read more

Starting a business requires a great deal of planning and execution. Exiting from your small business should entail a similar level of forethought and preparation. Nevertheless, some surveys indicate that nearly half of all business owners have no exit strategy.[1] After years of expanding your business, you may be closing in on the finish line. Whether you intend to sell the business, liquidate its assets to fund your retirement or leave the business to family members, you need a plan to achieve your objective. You cannot run your business without a good team of legal advisors and other busin ..read more

When two things are mixed together, they are said to be commingled. This is a term that often relates to financial accounts, but it can technically be used with other types of assets, as well. For example, you and your spouse may each have had a personal bank account when you got married. You then closed down these personal accounts, opened a joint account and commingled your financial assets by depositing them together in that shared account. This can also happen with an inheritance. It is generally a separate asset, meaning that it only belongs to the person who inherited it – even if they’r ..read more

There’s no legal requirement to have a will and, in fact, for a variety of reasons, the majority of Americans die intestate (i.e., without a will). Regardless of the reason for foregoing an estate plan, passing away without one can make things vastly more complicated for your family, and it can derail your intent, hope, and assumptions about what will happen to your assets after you die, not to mention guardianship of your minor children, and the care of your pets. So, what happens if you pass away without having made an estate plan? Inheritance laws Like other states, Minnesota has inheritanc ..read more