FREDERICKSBURG BUSINESS LAW, CONTRACTS, AND ESTATE PLANNING VIDEO FAQS
What does it mean to have a sole proprietorship?
What does it mean to have a sole proprietorship? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
To have a sole proprietorship means that an individual has started a business. It is one of the easiest types of businesses to form and one of the least expensive. However, one of the issues with a sole proprietorship is the fact that the business and the individual are actually one and the same. They are not considered separate and apart from one another. Therefore, the creditors of the businesses can actually come after the personal assets of the individual, such as your asset in your home, personal bank accounts, or even your vehicle. So it’s not the safest. It’s the easiest, but it’s definitely not the safest type of business to form.
What are the advantages of having a limited liability company, or LLC?
What is piercing the corporate veil? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
Piercing the corporate veil is when a court chooses to disregard the fact that an individual or individuals are separate and apart from a business entity, such as an LLC or corporation. In that, the court would make the individuals personally liable for the debts and liabilities of the company. A situation in which something like this may occur is if the individuals are not operating with the formalities of the business or corporate formalities, LLC formalities, or if they are using the business account as their personal checking account.
When must I register my business in more than one state?
When must I register my business in more than one state? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
There’s going to be a couple of things that you’re going to want to consider in determining whether or not you’ll need to register your business in more than one state. Some of that will include whether or not you have a physical presence in that state, whether or not you are meeting with clients in that state, whether or not you have staff employed in that state, and whether or not you are obtaining a substantial portion of your revenue out of that state. Another situation where you may have to register in multiple states is if you formed your business in one state but you’re actually operating in another state. In a case like that, you will need to register your business in both states.
What is piercing the corporate veil?
What is piercing the corporate veil? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
Piercing the corporate veil is when a court chooses to disregard the fact that an individual or individuals are separate and apart from a business entity, such as an LLC or corporation. In that, the court would make the individuals personally liable for the debts and liabilities of the company. A situation in which something like this may occur is if the individuals are not operating with the formalities of the business or corporate formalities, LLC formalities, or if they are using the business account as their personal checking account.
What is a Registered Agent?
What is a registered agent? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
A registered agent is an individual, can also be a company, that has a physical presence in a state that accepts service of process for a business entity that is conducting business in that state. Service of process is receipt of legal papers for a company. Every company conducting business in the state of Virginia is required to have a registered agents. That registered agent must have a physical presence in the state and they must operate during normal business hours. Some individuals that would be eligible to serve as a registered agent for a business include a member of the business that is a resident of Virginia, a member of the Virginia state bar, or a foreign or domestic company that is registered in the state of Virginia.
Is a covenant not to compete enforceable?
Is a covenant not to compete enforceable? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
It depends. One of the things the court will look at is the reasonableness of the agreement, and part of what they’ll look at to make that determination is whether or not it’s the least restrictive means to protect a business’s legitimate interest, whether or not it violates public policy, and whether or not it prevents the individual from earning a living. If it’s overly broad, it is less likely to be enforceable.
What are trade secrets and how are they protected?
What are trade secrets and how are they protected? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
Trade secrets are any type of information that belongs to a business that provides that business with an economic advantage over their competitors and it’s not available to the general public. Some examples of that may include patterns, formulas, recipes and customer lists. In order to protect that information, a business should limit access to those who need that information. They should also have their employees sign non disclosure agreements in order to protect that information and limit its use. They also should have nay third parties that they are sharing that information with to sign non disclosure agreements or trade secret agreements.
What is detrimental reliance?
What are trade secrets and how are they protected? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
Trade secrets are any type of information that belongs to a business that provides that business with an economic advantage over their competitors and it’s not available to the general public. Some examples of that may include patterns, formulas, recipes and customer lists. In order to protect that information, a business should limit access to those who need that information. They should also have their employees sign non disclosure agreements in order to protect that information and limit its use. They also should have nay third parties that they are sharing that information with to sign non disclosure agreements or trade secret agreements.
My business was sued. What do I do?
My business was sued. What do I do? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
If your business is sued, the one thing you want to make sure you don’t do is ignore it. You want to make sure that you do file a response, but I would highly recommend that you contact an attorney before doing so. You want to make sure that you review the document that the individual has provided, or what’s also called a complaint, in order to determine what you are being sued for, and begin to gather all the documentation and information that you need before you go to see the attorney.
What is the difference between an employee and an independent contractor?
HOW CAN WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Contracts 101
What are the elements of a contract?
HOW CAN WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
What is a personal guarantee?
What is a personal guarantee? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
A personal guarantee is something that a creditor might require for an individual that is an owner of a business to sign in order to guarantee payment of a business debts. For example, a business credit card might require a personal guarantee, which would require the individual that owns the business to state that they are guaranteeing payments on that obligation and that they will pay if the business cannot.
What is a breach of contract?
What is a breach of contract? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
A breach of contract is when one of the parties under the contract has failed to fulfill or meet the obligations that they agreed to under the contract. They basically have broken their promise under the agreement.
What is consideration?
What is consideration? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
Consideration is a payment or benefit that is being exchanged under a contract. For an example, in a real estate contract the individual that is making a payment for the real estate, that is their consideration. The individual that is actually selling the property, the property is their consideration.
What is specific performance?
What is specific performance? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
Specific performance is an equitable remedy in court when a monetary remedy would not be sufficient or adequate in order to make the individual whole. Specific performance would be when a court would actually require an individual that has breached a contract to specifically perform a specific promise or obligation under that contract.
What is an injunction?
What is an injunction? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
An injunction is when a court orders someone to do something or refrain from doing something. An example of that would be, say there were two parties that were having a dispute over land. One of the parties went on the land and started cutting down trees, but there’s a dispute about who owns that land. The party that is not cutting down those trees can go to court and ask the court to enter an injunction to stop the person from cutting down the trees until a determination can be made of who owns that property.
Estate Planning 101
What is a will contest?
What is a will contest? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
A will contest is a situation in which an interested party challenges the validity of the will. This would be something that would be filed in court. Some allegations that may result in a will contest would be if the individual is alleging that there was undue influence present at the time the will was signed and one of the individuals is receiving a significant portion of the assets under the will. Another situation would be if there’s an allegation that the will was actually forged and an additional situation would be if there’s an allegation that the individual lack mental capacity to enter into the will at the time it was signed.
What is undue influence?
What is a will contest? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
A will contest is a situation in which an interested party challenges the validity of the will. This would be something that would be filed in court. Some allegations that may result in a will contest would be if the individual is alleging that there was undue influence present at the time the will was signed and one of the individuals is receiving a significant portion of the assets under the will. Another situation would be if there’s an allegation that the will was actually forged and an additional situation would be if there’s an allegation that the individual lack mental capacity to enter into the will at the time it was signed.
What Happens If I Die Without a Will?
What happens if I die without a will? | TNG Legal | Attorney Tonya N. Gibbs | https://tnglegal.com/ | (540) 632-1864 | [email protected]
Video Transcript
If you die without a will in the state of Virginia, your property and assets will pass to your family members via what’s called intestate succession. Your property and assets will pass via Virginia law. In Virginia law, intestate succession is set up as follows. If you have a spouse, then all of your property and assets will be transferred to your spouse. If you have a child that is not the child of that spouse, then that child will also receive a portion of those assets. If you have no spouse and you have children, then your assets will pass to your children. If you have no children then the assets will pass to your living parents. If you have no living parents, then the assets will pass to your siblings, and it continues to descend from there.
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