Coming Soon to a Town Near You
For many years, South Carolina has limited the number of liquor stores an owner may have within the state to three. However, that law is no longer enforceable thanks to the recent South Carolina Supreme Court decision in Retail Services [...]
Where Should I Open My Business In South Carolina?
Note: this blog was updated in October 2019 to reflect the most recent data available In recent years, South Carolina has attracted numerous companies to the state that want to take advantage of various business incentives. Two such headline-making companies [...]
Are You Protected? What You May Not Know About “Piercing the Corporate Veil.”
One of the first things to do when going into business is to select the appropriate business structure for your venture and set it up correctly. A primary advantage of doing so is gaining the protection of the entity so [...]
How Facebook Can Cost You Your Job (Or Even Your Freedom)
Be careful what you post on Facebook – it could get you suspended from your job. That’s what happened recently to a judge in South Carolina. Judge Kenneth E. Johns, Jr., a probate court judge in Oconee County, posted a [...]
Ever Wondered Why That Storm Drain is in Your Yard? Easements 101
Have you ever wondered why that storm drain or telephone pole is in your backyard, or why the telephone company can come dig up your yard and you can’t do anything to stop them? The answer: Easements. An easement is [...]
Transmutation: When Non-Marital Property Becomes Marital Property
Consider this: Sandra and James have been married for 25 years. Once they were married, she gave up her job to become a stay-at-home mom. When the kids were old enough, she began to work in her husband’s dental practice, [...]
How to Determine 1099 or W-2 Status According to the IRS
Update, 02/15/2023: The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division published a notice of proposed rulemaking on the subject of worker misclassification and how to correctly classify workers as employees or independent contractors; read more about this on our blog here. [...]
Avoid the Pitfalls of Estate Planning in “Brady Bunch Marriages”
“Brady Bunch marriages” – in which spouses bring their kids from prior relationships into the new marriage – pose a number of potential problems when it comes to estate planning. Imagine the following scenarios: Husband and wife sign an “I [...]
Why a Judgment in Your Favor is Not as Great as You Think
If you’re awarded a judgment, don’t celebrate just yet – it may not be the windfall you think it is. A judgment is a decision of the court that comes about after a lawsuit is settled or threatened. For example, [...]
Why You Need to Read the Fine Print: A Cautionary Tale
You know you should read “the fine print” of every contract and agreement you sign, but do you? We sometimes assume that there’s nothing truly important happening in the fine print, the section of a contract that’s characterized by small [...]
How South Carolina Courts View Covenants Not to Compete
Update: This case was reversed by the Supreme Court of South Carolina in 2018; find that opinion here. On the surface, covenants not to compete look simple. One party agrees not to compete against another party – either by working [...]
What You Need to Know About Section 1031 “Like-Kind Exchanges”
Under Section 1031 of the US Code, you can sell a qualifying property, take the money from that sale, and buy new qualifying property of a “like-kind” without paying any federal income tax on the first sale. This is what’s [...]
How to Protect Your Interests With Enforceable Covenants Not to Compete
South Carolina is a state that values an individual’s freedom to work. Because of that, it does not look kindly on contracts that try to restrict a person from working. This can be tricky for employers trying to protect their [...]
Did You Choose the Wrong Business Type?
Picking what kind of business you’re going to be – “choice of entity” – is one of the first and most important things you do when you start a business. It’s an area where many business owners can get into [...]
What’s the Difference Between a C-Corp and an S-Corp?
Deciding what kind of entity you want to be is one of the first steps when creating a new business. If you’ve already decided that your business should be a corporation, rather than a limited liability company or something else, [...]
