Welcome to Feld Hyde’s first e-newsletter, Keeping in Touch!  We value our client relationships and hope to use this newsletter to better communicate with you.  As the name implies, Keeping in Touch was created to disperse important legal information and tax developments, as well as updates on what is happening here at Feld Hyde.  Please let us know if there is a topic you would like to see in a future newsletter.  Enjoy! 

What's New at Feld Hyde?

Josh Watkins and Ashley Neese recently joined Feld Hyde, expanding the firm's practice areas to include commercial and probate litigation and a title insurance company.  Josh joined as Of Counsel and Ashley joined as an associate.  Full Article

Don and Jeanette Slatton won Feld Hyde’s recent client drawing for a $1000 donation to charity.  The Slattons chose the Big Oak Ranch as the recipient of this donation in their honor.  Big Oak Ranch is an organization dedicated to helping abused and neglected children.  Check out the website for more information on Big Oak Ranch: www.bigoak.org.

Feld Hyde shareholder L.B. Feld was elected president of the Alabama Chapter of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms (INBLF). The INBLF is an organization of highly credentialed law firms specializing in specific substantive practice areas. Full Article

It's Time to Make Gifts — The Struggling Economy may Allow You to Save Gift and Estate Taxes

Estate planning opportunities are a silver lining among today’s dark economic clouds. Depressed asset values and low interest rates may allow you to gift more to your loved ones at a significant gift tax savings, removing substantial wealth from your taxable estate. Some of the most effective gifting strategies involve the use of trusts. Or you might transfer interests in a family business or other closely held company using a family limited partnership (FLP) or a family limited liability company (FLLC). But, as a sidebar explains, Congress is considering new restrictions on FLPs and FLLCs. Also, when gifting property, you will need to consider income taxes as well as gift and estate taxes.
Full Article

Do-It-Yourself Estate
Planning Can Lead to Costly Mistakes

If you’re interested in preparing your own estate plan, there’s no shortage of software, how-to books, preprinted forms and online services to assist you. Do-it-yourself (DIY) estate planning may save you a few hundred dollars, or even a few thousand dollars, up front. But except in the simplest cases, the risk of unintended results or costly disputes is too great to justify the initial savings. This article looks at one hypothetical example, and one real-life court case, to show why.
Full Article

4 Succession-Planning Mistakes to Avoid

An effective business succession plan spells out the leadership transition process step by step, covering everything from the qualities you expect in a successor to how and when the transition will occur. Unfortunately, many family business owners put off planning until the last minute or neglect to develop an effective exit strategy altogether. This brief article explores four things family business owners should not do.
Full Article

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
You could still benefit from last year’s tax law changes

By now you already know about the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) of 2008 — also known as the bailout act — which was signed into law last October to stabilize the economy by saving failing financial institutions and restoring liquidity to “frozen” credit markets. But what you may not know is how your family business could still benefit from some of EESA’s tax-related provisions. This article reviews key areas, including the Research and Development credit, accelerated depreciation and energy breaks.
Full Article
 

This publication is distributed with the understanding that the author, publisher and distributor are not rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice or opinions on specific facts or matters, and accordingly assume no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. ©2009   ESTja09