Business

In a world where everything seems to be public, it is hard at times to escape from everyone being “in our personal life.”

The No. 1 question I have been asked over the last week has been “Now what happens?”

Last week, Lee R. Schroeder wrote about how it was his 10-year anniversary writing for The Lima News. Now the irony is I am writing about Lee’s legacy over his 22 years of practice and over Lee’s 48 years on this earth, which ended unexpectedly on Feb. 18, 2024, due to a short illness.

This week marks the 10-year anniversary of this column. Over the last decade, I have often addressed client questions or traits that the amazing and hardworking people of our region embody.

I usually love doing housework, because, while doing so, I am not wasting any time, but I am also not racking my brain addressing the most intellectually demanding work of our law firm.

Attorneys are hesitant to encourage people to prepare their own contracts, especially because there are hundreds of aspects to every contract that experienced attorneys can ensure are included. There are also common pitfalls in contracts that attorneys can ensure are not inadvertently included.

People often want to purchase land or machinery and equipment for a business. Because cash is always king, borrowers sometimes cannot satisfy lenders’ requirement of a 20% to 30% down payment.

Many people desire to give something to a local charity, church, school or community group after those people die. For convenience, this column refers to all of these organizations as “charities.”

Growing up, I occasionally found coins on the sidewalk or under the counter at my grandparents’ hardware store.

Today’s world of entities and organizations makes it difficult to discern who owns what. Sometimes, hiding the identities of the owners of entities is a goal, as was the case with a recent lottery winner in Florida who claimed the lottery proceeds through an LLC. Other times, the identities of owners of entities, although not intended to be confidential or secret, can be hard to determine.