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You’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into your family and your business. Now it’s time to protect it. Big News! There Are Big Changes Coming for the Firm! 916-545-2790 tqdlaw.com JUNE 2023
When I started the Law Office of Tyler Q. Dahl nine years ago, I was entirely alone. Every day, I wore 100 hats to keep the company running. I was the attorney, the receptionist, the paralegal, and the marketing expert! It was entirely up to me to keep the lights on. But even then, I had a dream.
From now on, Elliott and Danielle will take the lead on all of our work while I guide and oversee them. They’ll take calls from our wonderful clients, answer questions, and offer resources. That said, even if you don’t talk directly with me about your case, I’ll still be involved in every case to some extent. I hold regular meetings with Elliott and Danielle to ensure they’re making good progress and directly provide support if they run into unique situations. I also plan to stay busy making sure our whole team provides the best customer service possible. That means confirming we have the systems, policies, and procedures in place to serve you to the best of our ability. It also means personally ensuring every employee is trained to offer top- notch client support and expertise. As Managing Attorney, I’m even more committed to offering what we call “relationship-based legal representation” at the firm. That’s just a fancy way of saying that we treat all of our clients like people, not case numbers. I know, I know — every attorney claims to do that. But my team and I actually walk the walk. We help everyone who calls our office or walks through our door, just like we’d help our grandparents, mothers, fathers, children, or siblings if they needed us. Sometimes that includes legal work, but
it can also mean passing along the phone number of a trusted partner who can help you better than we can or giving a piece of personal advice. If I’m interviewing a potential employee and they don’t share that philosophy, they don’t make the cut.
With all of this in mind, I’m incredibly proud to transition into the role of Managing Attorney. It means that my nine years of
“I’m incredibly proud to transition into the role of
Managing Attorney. It means that my nine years of hard work have paid off, and I’m excited to help the team accomplish even more in the next nine and beyond.”
hard work have paid off, and I’m excited to help the team accomplish even more in the next nine and beyond. We’re still learning and growing — that’s a lifelong process — but we’ve
I drafted social media posts and answered phone calls with the hope that if I worked long and hard enough, one day, I’d have a whole team of attorneys under my umbrella. I imagined us working together to help California businesses and families plan their legacies and protect them from life’s perils. That vision kept me going for nine years — and now, it’s finally a reality! This spring, I took a big step and started the transition to Managing Attorney of the law firm. I have two fantastic lawyers on my team now — Elliott Harry and Danielle Lawrence — who I’ve personally trained to handle all of our cases with the same care, knowledge, and skill that I would myself (and we’re working on hiring more).
come a long way from my days of wearing 100 hats.
There are more exciting changes in the works, too, and I’ll share them with you soon! In the meantime, keep an eye on this newsletter to hear more from me, Elliott, and Danielle. They’re the cornerstones of our firm now, and I think you’ll enjoy getting to know them better. I hope you like working with them as much as I do.
Cheers to a bright future,
–Tyler Q. Dahl
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Have You Chosen Your Financial POA?
Babies born in the summer have more mood swings! This might sound like an old wives’ tale, but it’s true. According to a 2014 study from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECN), the season you were born in may affect your personality. Summer babies are prone to a condition called cyclothymic temperament, which is “characterized by rapid, frequent swings between sad and cheerful moods.” They’re also more likely to be optimists, as are spring babies. The ECN study delved into the other seasons, too. It found that babies born in the winter are typically more laid-back than their peers, while fall babies are resilient and “show a significantly lower tendency to depressive temperament than those born in winter.” Who knew? It’s not entirely clear where these links come from, but the study’s lead researcher, Xenia Gonda, theorizes that our birthdays may impact our bodies’ dopamine and serotonin production. She’s currently on the hunt for a genetic marker that ties birth season and mood together. Did You Know?
Why and How to Select One Today
The show goes on whether or not you are there to take part in it. There may come a day when you need to pay debts or make important financial or business decisions but are unable to do so because you’re incapacitated or otherwise unavailable. To protect your legacy in those situations, you should establish a Financial Power of Attorney (POA). DETERMINING WHETHER YOU NEED A POA. A POA has the ability to conduct business in your stead. Anyone who is dealing with large business decisions, handling expensive assets, facing deadlines on debts, or caring for dependent children can benefit from establishing one. DRAFTING YOUR DOCUMENT. Your POA document should provide the specifics of the person you have chosen, what powers they will have, the circumstances that must be present for them to execute their authority, and how the POA can be revoked. You, your chosen POA, and a notary public must sign off on the document for it to go into effect. CHOOSING THE RIGHT PERSON. Your POA should be someone you trust with your life, so to speak. They need to be financially savvy and familiar with the matters you need them to deal with. For example, if you manage real estate matters, they should be familiar with real estate contracts and transactions. If you run a business, they should be familiar with the inner workings of your business or at least caught up on the decisions they may have to make for you. If you are paying off debts, they should have access to the necessary accounts and understand the deadlines you have to pay those debts. You are not required to choose a family member or a business partner. Your POA should, however, be accessible if you suddenly become unavailable to make decisions for yourself. If you haven’t chosen your POA yet — or know a fellow business owner, family member, or friend who needs a POA — contact our team. We’ll ensure accurate documents are drafted and the right person is appointed for the job.
Do you have a friend who needs our help? When you’re done reading, give them this newsletter and recommend that they scan this QR code. We can
help them solve their tax, business, or estate planning problems before they get worse.
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The Smart Way to Sell Your Business How to Minimize Capital Gains Tax
So, you’ve grown your business successfully and received an offer — congratulations! In this situation, it can be easy to only see the dollar signs and move quickly, letting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the state of California take a big cut of your transaction. Don’t cave to that temptation. Instead, work with your attorney to develop a proper tax strategy that will help you avoid a large capital gains tax on the growth of your business. WHY BUSINESS STRUCTURE MATTERS? The structure of your business will impact the way the IRS calculates the capital gains tax. If your business does not deal in stock sales (such as sole proprietorships and LLCs), the IRS will consider the value of the individual assets held by your business instead of viewing the business as one asset. This means the value of each asset will have a capital gains tax attached to it.
Other business types avoid this individual capital gains tax application. HOW TO LESSEN YOUR TAX BURDEN. If possible, avoid selling your business in the first year you own it in order to avoid triggering a short-term gains tax. After the one-year threshold, you have a number of options to lessen this tax burden. If your business does not deal in stock sales, then structure the sale to apply a majority of the purchase price to assets that fall into long-term gains as opposed to any that have been owned for less than a year. Additionally, if your business has assets that you have claimed depreciation on, then keep the purchase price on those assets low. The IRS looks favorably upon internal sales to employees or shareholders. If you own a C-Corp, you can minimize capital gains taxes by offering employees the
opportunity to purchase a portion or all of the business. Putting this money into an employee stock ownership plan moves the proceeds of the sale into an investment plan, which defers the capital gains tax. Finally, alternatives such as receiving payments through installments, allocating payments to an Opportunity Zone Investment or using a Charitable Remainder Trust can help you avoid these high tax bills. The more care you take during the sales process, the more money you’ll walk away with in the end!
Goat Cheese and Thyme Stuffed Chicken Ingredients • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts • 3.5 oz firm goat cheese • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus 2–3 sprigs
GET A HEAD START ON YOUR LEGACY INTERVIEW! Scan this QR code to request a FREE copy of our Legacy Interview questions. With them in hand, you
Inspired by BBCGoodFood.com
• 4 pieces of thin-sliced bacon • Olive oil • 2 zucchinis, thinly sliced • 1 large tomato, thinly sliced
can create a precious gift for your children, grandchildren, and other loved ones that will preserve your memory for decades to come.
Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375 F. 2. Split the chicken breasts almost in half along the long side, open them like a book, then flatten the sides out. 3. Put the goat cheese on the “open book” side of the chicken and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Fold the chicken over to enclose the cheese, then wrap each breast in 2 slices of bacon. 4. Lightly oil a shallow gratin or casserole dish, then arrange overlapping rows of zucchini and tomatoes on the bottom. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then set chicken on top. Place thyme sprigs on chicken. 5. Bake for 40–45 minutes until the bacon is crisp and golden and the zucchini is tender.
“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” –Peter F. Drucker
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INSIDE What’s
2. 1. Exciting News From Tyler
How Your Birthday Affects Your Personality How to Protect Your Assets if You’re Incapacitated The Tax-Savvy Way to Sell Your Business Goat Cheese and Thyme Stuffed Chicken Top Tips to Teach Financial Responsibility
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Cut the Financial Umbilical Cord How to Raise Fiscally Responsible Adults
INTRODUCE THEM TO THE CONCEPT OF INTEREST. Interest can be beneficial or a disastrous hindrance, so your teen needs to understand how it works. While it can be beneficial for certain savings accounts, it can wreak havoc on credit card debt. Demonstrate interest with different real- life scenarios to show your teen how they can grow their money or rack up tons of debt. Whether your teen has just started earning their own money or is preparing to handle finances on their own, these simple tips can help you start training a fiscally responsible adult.
Adulting is all about doing your own laundry, cooking, and grocery shopping. It means making informed decisions about time management, organizational skills, and understanding how to be financially responsible. But how do you teach your teenager financial responsibility? Let’s explore five important lessons your child needs to gain financial independence! HELP THEM FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO EARN MONEY. Before your teen can learn to properly manage their finances, they must first make their own money! If they don’t have a job, encourage them to begin the hunt. If your teen is still too young to hold a job,
consider paying them for chores around the house or yardwork. Once your teen has a cash flow, you can then teach them how to separate it into spending money and cash to save. OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT. If your child doesn’t have a bank account yet, it’s time to set up a checking and savings account for them. It’s a great way to provide them with financial independence while they still have access to your guidance. While credit cards can be scary to trust your learning teenager with, you should consider a prepaid credit card they can use to learn the ins and outs of how credit cards work while still having a safety net to protect their credit.
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