Louisville Legal Blog

For many entrepreneurs, the thought of starting a business in Louisville is fun and exciting. Many of them do not realize how important it is to plan carefully and have a sound business plan in place. If you are the owner of a recent startup or intend to open a small business, you must plan for the possibility of bankruptcy. 

There are three types of bankruptcy for business owners to file: Chapter 7, 11 and 13. Your company’s tax structure determines which protections it can benefit from. Sole proprietors can utilize all three types of bankruptcies. Chapters 7 and 11 are most suitable for corporations and partnerships. The business world is tough and highly competitive. Many small businesses go belly up within the first few years. To circumvent many of the financial and operational challenges your venture might encounter, review the following information on small business bankruptcies. 

Once you and your spouse get married, the law takes your legal relationship very seriously, especially when it comes to property. In the absence of a prenuptial agreement, most property that either of you owns becomes marital property, which you now both own as a married couple. While you may both still buy vehicles or homes individually to take advantage of one spouse's income or credit rating, the law does not recognize this distinction as clearly as a lender might.

In fact, if you choose to commingle your assets, even property that might otherwise remain separate can become marital property. One of the most common ways this can grow complicated is when it involves an inheritance. In many instances, inheritance does not count as marital property automatically. However, if the inheritance commingles with other assets, it grows very difficult to distinguish them from each other.

When divorce comes knocking at the door, spouses tend to think in terms of their own survival and long-term well-being rather than focusing on treating each other fairly or even within the bounds of the law. For many spouses, the process of divorce has a way of bringing out the worst, especially when it comes to property division.

Of course, hiding any kind of assets during property division in divorce is both unethical and illegal, but that doesn't seem to deter thousands of spouses from doing it anyway. The easier it is to hide an asset, the more likely a spouse is to try to hide it and keep it for themselves after the dust of divorce settles.

Leasing a space for a commercial venture is only one aspect of an enormously complex process -- one where many things can go wrong before you even open the door for business. One of the most common complications that businesses run into with commercial leases is the matter of zoning restrictions. Failing to understand how zoning impacts your business may mean the difference between the perfect location and a total lemon.

Zoning regulations restrict or allow certain kinds of uses for different properties depending on where they are located. This is why it is usually uncommon to see a storefront in a residential neighborhood. However, zoning is often very, very specific. Therefore, just because a property is in a business-supporting zone, that doesn't mean it is a good fit for your needs.