Business Succession Planning with Trusts
For a quick assessment of your needs – let’s talk to discuss how Trusts can help your business. Business Succession Planning with Trusts Understanding how a trust can help with your business succession is key to assuring your financial stability, both in planned transitions and unplanned transitions of your business. You may be looking ahead […]
When Is An LLC Needed
We want to help you out on your business journey and explain to you when a corporate liability shield, like an LLC or corporation is needed or not. As small business owners it can be extremely valuable to find guidance in what you should be doing for your business and when. We are going […]
How To Stop Check Kiting Scams
Check Kiting constitutes a type of bank fraud very popular before the early 2000’s. A federal regulated called Check 21 prevented most check kiting schemes since its passed in 2004. Even though not as common as it used to be, check kiting is still present in many fraudulent transactions. Here we explain to you everything there […]
Fiduciary Duty Litigation
A fiduciary duty is an obligation that exists in a relationship in which one of the parties has the best interest when acting on the other party/es behalf. There are multiple types of fiduciary duties. Some examples can be the obligations between lawyers and clients; shareholders and directors; between business partners; and many others where […]
Why Do You Need a Buy Sell Agreement Lawyer
A buy-sell agreement is a legally binding contract between the owners of a business where they agree on what happens to a partner’s shares in the event of life-changing situations that may result in chaos that could potentially ruin the business and bankrupt its owners, assuring the remaining owners that the business will carry on […]
Victory for Hemp
Illinois Hemp Ban Overturned in Rural Oakland The City of Oakland tried to ban hemp farming inside its city limits by claiming authority under the Illinois Municipal Code section regarding Urban Agricultural Areas. Collateral Base represented the prejudiced farmer and had the municipal ordinance tossed by an Illinois Court. Because the City of Oakland is […]
Agriculture Bankruptcy & Marshalling of Assets
General marshaling principles. The equitable doctrine of marshaling rests upon the principle that a creditor having two funds to satisfy his debt should not be permitted to arbitrarily prejudice a junior creditor who may resort to only one of the funds. Meyer v. U.S., 375 U.S. 233, 236, 84 S.Ct. 318, 11 L.Ed.2d 293 (1963). Bankruptcy and […]
Filing Financing Statements and Determining Priority
Determining Priority in Perfected Security Interests Who’s on first? This question decides what creditor gets paid, and what becomes an unsecured creditor whose best option is to recover pennies on the dollar for the money loaned to a business that purportedly had collateral. Priority to collateral needs determination to see who can seize it in […]
What is an Agricultural Lien under the UCC?
What is a UCC Agricultural Lien As we detailed in our introductory article on security interests, a security agreement gives a creditor some form of legal right over the property of a creditor. While this definition is fairly straightforward, there are all kinds of quirks which are unique to agricultural liens. Under the 2001 amendment […]
How Do You Perfect a Security Interest in Agriculture?
A “security agreement” is defined by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) as “an agreement that creates or provides for a security interest.” 810 ILCS 5/9-102(a)(74). A security agreement is “effective according to its terms between the parties, against purchasers of the collateral, and against creditors.” 810 ILCS 5/9-201(a). Or, put simply, a security agreement gives […]
