​By Associate Attorney Heather McKaig

Failure to plan is planning to fail: make a resolution to prioritize estate planning in 2025. Estate planning allows you to take control of uncertainty and have peace of mind over difficult and unpredictable situations. Dying without a will in North Carolina means your assets are distributed according to state law and not according to your wishes. Even with a will, the probate process can be confusing, tedious and problematic, particularly with the North Carolina Clerks’ Offices transitioning to “e-Courts” filing and document system.  However, many of the “worst-case” scenarios can be avoided with proper planning. Make 2025 the year you plan for emergency scenarios and protect your business and personal assets for the benefit of your loved ones through estate planning.  

Estate planning allows you to plan for what happens when you pass away, including naming a trusted person to handle your final affairs, naming guardians for minor children, and making sure assets are distributed according to your wishes. In addition to planning for death, our office drafts durable and health care powers of attorneys, where you can name agents to make both financial and medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated and cannot communicate. 

Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today: get an estate plan in place before it is ever needed. If you do become incapacitated or ill, it may be more difficult or impossible to get documents in place, as you must have testamentary capacity to create valid estate planning documents. 

Some of our clients delay estate planning because they do not have any friends or family members they trust to serve in important fiduciary roles. In some circumstances, members of the firm may serve in these roles for the client if the client feels comfortable.  It is better for you to take control and name someone yourself than to have the government appoint someone in an emergency or when you pass away.

Your life is what you make it: make 2025 the year you take control. Please call Jesson & Rains if you have questions about getting your estate plan in order or updating an existing estate plan.  While You Build, We Protect.

By Attorney Kelly Jesson

We are writing to clarify the status of the Corporate Transparency Act since there was a lot of activity over the holidays!  On December 23, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted FinCEN’s emergency motion for a stay of the Texas federal court’s order enjoining the Corporate Transparency Act.  Immediately, FinCEN came out with a press release outlining the due dates for Beneficial Owner Report filings.  Social media and inboxes were filled with warnings and panic.

However, after an emergency rehearing en banc on December 26 (these lawyers and judges took no holiday leave apparently!), the Fifth Circuit again entered an order allowing for the injunction to continue while the case is litigated.

What does this mean for you?  Until there is an official ruling on the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act, no Beneficial Owner Reports are required to be filed.

By Attorney Kelly Jesson

In what seems to be the theme of the year, we have yet another new regulation for 2024 overturned by a federal court.  A new overtime law went into place on July 1, 2024, which dramatically increased the number of employees who may no longer be exempt from overtime.  We wrote about here in detail. Employers were faced with either paying overtime if those workers were working more than 40 hours per week or increasing their salaries so they no longer qualified for overtime.  The law also called for future changes, most notably another minimum salary increase to meet the exemption in January of 2025.  The threshold increases were very large and likely would have burdened some employers, while obviously benefiting employees who may be working long hours with low pay but not receiving overtime.

On November 15, 2024, a Texas federal court struck down the new law, saying that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) did not have the authority to replace the “duties” test of whether an employee is exempt from overtime with a “minimum salary” test.   The court's order applies nationwide, effective immediately.

This is the second time in recent years that the DOL has attempted to broaden the numbers of workers who are eligible for overtime.  The DOL has said that it will appeal the court’s decision, but for now, it’s business as usual for your business!  If you have any questions about this law or anything else related to your business, please give Jesson & Rains a call!

By Attorney Kelly Jesson

If you don’t know what The Corporate Transparency Act is, you can read about it here and here. We had been hopeful all year that it would be invalidated, and we had intentionally waited until the end of the year to file the Beneficial Owner Information Reports (“BOIR”) on behalf of our clients.  In the past few weeks, we have been working on getting the BOIRs done since the deadline is less than a month away and we were beginning to lose hope.

Alas, our prayers were answered yesterday!  A federal judge in Texas has issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the requirement to report the beneficial owners of businesses because the law is “likely unconstitutional.” The order states that companies nationwide do not need to comply with the Jan. 1 reporting deadline unless and until a higher court reverses the order.

What does this mean for you?  For now, there’s no need to report.  But we do need to continue to watch this situation, as the law will surely be litigated in the future.  We probably have not heard the last of the Corporate Transparency Act.

By Senior Associate Jeneva Vazquez

On January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) officially took effect, introducing new reporting obligations for nearly all businesses in the United States. The legislation aims to increase transparency in corporate ownership and help combat global terrorism and money laundering. However, it also represents a significant shift for many small business owners who previously enjoyed a level of privacy in their operations.

What the CTA Requires:

Under the CTA, most businesses are now required to submit a report to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), detailing information about their “beneficial owners.” A beneficial owner is defined as any individual who directly or indirectly exercises substantial control over the business or owns at least 25% of the company. This includes key management roles such as LLC managers, board members, and CEOs. The CTA represents a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for small businesses.

The report must include personal details for each beneficial owner, including: full legal name, date of birth, current residential address, and a copy of a government-issued ID (e.g., U.S. passport or driver’s license)

For businesses formed before January 1, 2024, there is a grace period until January 1, 2025, to submit the first report. After the initial report, businesses must notify FinCEN of any changes to the reported information.

Failure to comply with the CTA can result in significant penalties, including daily fines of $500 and potential criminal penalties of up to two years in prison.

Who Must Comply with the CTA?

The CTA applies to most entities formed or registered in the U.S., with certain exemptions for larger operating companies and nonprofit organizations already subject to extensive regulatory oversight.

If your business was formed before January 1, 2024, it’s crucial to make a plan to comply with these reporting requirements by the January 1, 2025 deadline. Failure to do so could result in costly fines.

How We Can Help?

To help you navigate the new CTA requirements, we’ve included beneficial owner reporting as part of our Annual Business Maintenance Plan for clients. If you’re interested in having us handle the reporting for you, the deadline to sign up is November 25, 2024.

We will not only submit the initial report but can also assist with filing any amendments for as long as you remain a member. The Annual Business Maintenance Plan includes quarterly telephone calls, us filing your annual report with the Secretary of State, a discount on future legal services, and other things that you can see HERE.

It’s essential to understand these new obligations and ensure timely compliance to avoid penalties. If you need assistance filing your beneficial owner information before the reporting deadline, please contact us before November 25, 2024.