Addressing Common Legal Issues for Small Businesses
For small business owners, understanding the legal challenges they may face is crucial. Legal issues can arise unexpectedly, impacting a company's finances, reputation, and operations. Balancing...
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Choosing an Agent under Power of Attorney- And an Alternate!
Choosing who will serve as your agent under Power of Attorney may seem obvious at first glance. For instance, a married individual may easily choose their spouse to serve as their agent. Choosing...
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Protecting your Beneficiaries Through Ongoing Trusts
Regarding revocable trusts, one of the most important issues estate planning attorneys deal with is how to distribute assets to beneficiaries at the death of the client. For instance, should assets...
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Estate Planning Issues for Blended Families
With the divorce rate in the United States approaching 50%, estate planning for blended families is a big part of any estate planning practice. It is common for spouses to...
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Estate Planning with Alzheimer’s
November is Alzheimer’s awareness month. Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disorder, NOT a normal part of aging. It is caused by brain cell damage and, as it progresses,...
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1031 Exchanges – Defer, Defer, Defer
Tax Free Exchanges of like kind real property used in a trade or business, or for investment, are allowed under to IRC Sec. 1031. Real property generally qualifies as a like...
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Dissolution of a Corporate Entity: When Legal Proceedings are Necessary
In South Carolina, there are three types of dissolution processes for a corporation: voluntary dissolution, administrative dissolution, and judicial dissolution. Planning ahead can help avoid a...
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Important Reminders for Providers’ Professional Review Activities and Civil LiabilityProtections
The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) requires that hospitals and other health care entities report physicians or dentists who have had a professional review action taken against them for more...
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Quiet Title Actions in South Carolina
The need to “quiet title” to real property often arises when someone has recently purchased property without the benefit of a title search; for example, when purchasing property at tax sale, in a...
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Caution to Physicians Regarding Telemedicine Arrangements
Earlier this summer, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert warning physicians and other practitioners to exercise caution...
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What is Probate: A Discussion of Fact v. Fiction
The term “Probate” is a broad term that can often elicit confusion and is misunderstood by individuals when reviewing their estate plan or administering an estate. Simply put, Probate is the...
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Blockchain and Smart Contracts
What is The Blockchain Blockchain is a record keeping technology that is a digital system for recording transactions and related data in multiple places at once. Instead...
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Employee Handbooks: Is your Arbitration Clause Valid?
Recently, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Coady v. Nationwide Motor Sales Corp issued an opinion regarding the enforceability of Nationwide Motor Sales Corporation’s arbitration agreement...
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Importance of Monitoring the CMS Open Payment Program
As the CMS Open Payments program expands towards its 10-year anniversary in 2023, this is a key time for healthcare providers to enact basic compliance procedures that monitor the public database...
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Achieving Asset Protection Through an LLC
Any time you are running a business you have a greater exposure to liability. It is important that you develop a structure or entity for your business to protect your personal assets from being...
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Mediating in Probate Court
Mediation is now required in the majority of courts in South Carolina, which have adopted South Carolina’s Rules for Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”). Probate Courts do not fall within the...
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Making the Most of Compliance Surveys
One of the best opportunities for healthcare compliance officers to engage with leadership and staff is by conducting compliance surveys. These surveys have a number of benefits, and help leaders...
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What Rights Does a Surviving Spouse Have to Inherit?
In many instances, a married individual will more than adequately provide for their spouse in their estate planning documents. However, there are circumstances in which wills and trust materials do...
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The Basics of Guardianships and Conservatorships in South Carolina
Oftentimes, there are estate planning tools (such as trusts, wills, and powers of attorney) that an individual can develop with the help of a Wills and Trusts attorney in order to plan for the...
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HHS OIG’s Spring 2022 Focus on Hospitals and Nursing Facilities
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) office is quickly ramping up its 2022 audit program as identified in its Active Work Plan. There is no...
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Personal Guarantees: What They Are and When They Are Required?
Your new business needs a capital infusion to get off the ground. The only problem is that a new business is not established enough to have generated a business credit...
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Will vs. Trust? How to Choose the Right Estate Plan
An Estate Plan consists of legal documents that govern distribution of your assets at death and memorialize your wishes regarding healthcare and financial decisions if you...
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DRAFTING A POWER OF ATTORNEY: THE TIME IS NOW
Just five years ago, South Carolina adopted a new Act governing all Powers of Attorney executed on or after January 1, 2017. While South Carolina attorneys have been drafting Powers of Attorney for...
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How to Resolve Deadlocks in Your LLC
Membership in a limited liability company (LLC) may come with voting rights. Member voting rights should be addressed in the LLC’s operating agreement, which typically...
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HIPAA Annual Breach Deadline
The annual deadline to report a HIPAA breach is Tuesday, March 1, 2022, for HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates to file their annual breach reports with the U.S. Department of Health &...
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The Business of Marriage: Considerations for Married Business Owners
Owning a business can impact every area of a person’s life. The impact is uniquely felt within a marriage. Married business owners must consider the ways in which their marriage may impact their...
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What You Need to Know about Severance Packages
Business owners agree that people are the lifeline of a company. The people you hire can make or break your business. Yet as an employer, it is essential to recognize that things change. There are...
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Creative Ways to Adjust Your Compliance Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Business owners may be forced to revamp their compliance programs in the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. While compliance programs are designed to provide safeguards for businesses, those...
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Recommendations for Reopening Your Business
Business owners are facing tough decisions as they attempt to safely reopen their businesses to employees and consumers during the pandemic. The workplace as we knew it is on hold as the threat of...
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Why Should I File A Trademark?
Is Filing a Trademark Important For A Business? Although constructive use in the market provides some intellectual property protection, you should look into filing a...
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What is a Contract Employee?
Are Contract Employees Actually Employees? We frequently receive questions about “contract employees.” However, usually these workers are not employees at all; they...
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