Enter Title PERSONAL FINANCIAL HEALTH CHECK UP        Let us evaluate your financial health THIS WON'T HURT A BIT !!! Our attorneys, financial advisers, bankers and insurance professionals  will evaluate your current estate plan, your debt structure, your  financial plan and all of your insurance needs and will look for ways to save you money, enhance your wealth, provide you better  services and enhance your financial security.  We will provide legal analysis of your estate planning goals to provide for your loved ones and to avoid unnecessary costs and taxes. We will evaluate the performance of your investments and the suitability of life insurance products, including disability and long term care to preserve wealth. We will evaluate/and or bid out your auto and homeowner's insurance and attempt to see if we can offer you better health care coverage at a more competitive price. We will look for ways to reduce your tax burden.  We will analyze your expenditures and make recommendations to improve your economic efficiency. The initial fee for this service can be as low as $750.

(Should we make recommendations to improve your estate and financial planning needs, additional legal work to execute these legal documents/recommendations  may be proposed which would require a separate engagement letter). 

TO GET STARTED: 

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION AND WORKSHEET 

CHARTWELL CAPITAL WEBSITE

CORPORATE CHECK UP

CORPORATE CHECK UP

Let us assess your company's financial health

TIME FOR A CHECK UP

Our attorneys, investment

 

bankers, accountants,  financial advisers and insurance professionals  will evaluate your business

operations from a corporate finance advisory status and report any recommendations to increase your operating efficiencies by evaluating the manner in which your business operates and critically analyzing all of your operating expenses.  We will evaluate: changes  to  your capital structure, your corporate finance needs, tax considerations, your accounting and bookkeeping efficiencies,  your business succession plan ( or lack thereof), the need to update your corporate organizational documents and bylaws, your spending on legal costs and need for additional legal services, your complete employee benefits package for top management and staff: including buy-sell and key man considerations,  management and funding of retirement plans, investment issues, and individual and group life, term, disability and long term care products. We will evaluate all aspects of your risk management exposure and expenses including: property and casualty insurance, liability insurance, worker’s compensation and bonding needs. We will look for ways to save your company  money, enhance its wealth and survivability and increase its operating efficiencies. We will suggest, if appropriate,  vendors, service providers or strategic alliances which may benefit your organization.  

Our fees are as low as $2,500 for this initial service and in many instances these fees are a fraction of the savings and value this service can provide  your business.

 

TO GET STARTED:    

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION AND WORKSHEET

 

Folks, just a quick reminder. There are just 2 months left in 2012. If you are  married and have an estate that you would like to pass to your children without having Uncle Sam take 1/2 of it, you have about 60 days left to get it down.
If you are single the estate tax exemption is $5.12 million and if you are married, it is $10.24 million. The exemption falls to $1 million on January 1, 2012.

At Chartwell we can help you with the legal documents, tax returns, funding options and financial products to provide a legacy for your children and other heirs. Who do you want to get what you have worked for your whole life, your kids or the Federal Government? Contact me at rsmith@chartwellcapital.net

CORPORATE DOCUMENTS....snore..........

This undoubtedly will be the most boring post I have ever written, but it may save you a bunch of money. I have been involved in dozens of emerging growth companies. Often the capital to fuel this growth comes from the members/shareholders. Make sure you understand your shareholder/operating agreement. Very seldom have I seen closely held companies  follow the dictates in their corporate documents regarding capital calls and shareholder loans. If you are the "money partner" in a deal and advancing the money to fuel the company's growth, your capital contributions may be categorized as unsubordinated loans. If you don't give the proper notices to the other shareholders/members, you could end up in big trouble. Issues relating to capital accounts and contributions, their tax consequences and how capital is categorized are the most important elements of any closely held entity. When drafting your documents, make sure you think these items through and then follow the procedures to protect yourself  that are listed in your corporate documents.

It is a good idea to have your documents reviewed, especially if the entitry is contemplating a big realization event. Documents drafted 5-10 years ago may not reflect your needs now, especially in our over regulated, over taxed and overly litigious business environment of 2012.

Should you have corporate documents that need to be re-evaluated, please contact me at rsmith@chartwellcapital.net.


Visit our website at http://www.chartwellcapital.net/

Rob

LAWYER "ETHICS"

My  Esteemed Colleague

Ha, I know what you are saying, that's an OXYMORON!!! I don't disagree. Many lawyers are out and out right crooks. Most of the others put their own interests above those of their clients, use their clients to enhance their own self-importance and rape them with unscrupulous fees. Others screw their clients because they really don't know any better as they are participants in a system that is out of control, and they have never been exposed to the inner-workings of a "real" business.  To put it succinctly and in the nomenclature of our times, LAWYERS SUCK!  By the way, I am a lawyer.

The things I see in the legal arena boggle the mind. Basic "right and wrong" are subordinate to legalisms such that lawyers can perpetuate controversy and animosity in order to make  more money. The waste, inefficiency and lost productivity are an enormous tax on honest people and their business interests.

A 27 year old kid, who has never done anything but study and play club league lacrosse passes the Bar and goes to work for the "big law firm." There the "kid" who has never run a business or met a payroll is told to BILL, BILL, BILL. Yet, there is absolutely no correlation between acceptable value and the costs of the services. The "kid" never learns how to treat  legal issues in a business, problem solving manner,  because he is disincentivized  to do so from the start of his career. As many people don't have a choice but to hire a lawyer, the whole process becomes nothing more than legalized extortion. It is sad and disgraceful.

However, there is some good news. There are some honest, competent "good guy" lawyers who have a conscience and  are available to help you and your business. At Chartwell, we can help you manage your legal work.  We have run businesses AND practiced law. We generally don't like lawyers either.  For very modest fees, we can evaluate your needs and either perform  your work or place it with our syndicate of approved and vetted attorneys. We stay on top of them and manage them and you get better services at reduced costs.  A win win. As we earn your trust by helping you save money on legal fees, we hope that you will consider us to help you in other areas.

Should you have a legal problem that you would like to discuss or have us evaluate, please contact me at rsmith@chartwellcapital.net.


Visit our website at http://www.chartwellcapital.net/


Rob

MEDICARE TAX - WATCH OUT!! - AND PREPARE

BRIGHT IDEAS TO SAVE $$$

Now that the health care law has been declared constitutional ( a rotten decision), the remaining provisions of  Obama Care will likely be going into effect. One little known provision is a new 3.8% investment income surtax, also called the health care surtax or the Medicare tax; it will go into effect on January 1, 2013.

This new surtax will be assessed on the lesser of a) net investment income or b) the excess of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over the “threshold amount.” For married taxpayers filing jointly, the threshold amount is $250,000; married filing separately, $125,000; all other individual taxpayers, $200,000. For trusts and estates, it is the beginning of the top income tax bracket ($11,650 in 2012).

Stated another way: 1) If your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than or equal to the threshold amount that applies to you, you will not pay this tax. 2) If your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is greater than the threshold amount that applies to you, you will pay the 3.8% tax on the lesser of a) your net investment income or b) the amount of your MAGI over the threshold amount.

Note that the surtax liability is determined on income before any tax deductions are considered. That means your deductions could put you in the lowest income tax bracket, yet you could still have investment income that is subject to the surtax. Also, the capital gain rate is scheduled to increase for high-income taxpayers to 20% in 2013, so the total tax on capital gains (with the surtax) could be 23.8% in 2013 and beyond.

PLAN NOW BEFORE 2013!!!

The good news is that there are some steps you can take this year to help you avoid or reduce the amount of surtax beginning in 2013. Also, 2012 is an exceptional year for estate planning in general. The federal estate tax exemption is $5.12 million, which allows a married couple to transfer as much as $10.24 million from their estate with no estate tax. Under current law, this exemption is scheduled to shrink to $1 million in 2013. Other Bush tax cuts, including income and capital gain taxes, are set to expire at the end of 2012. With the new 3.8% surtax becoming effective in January, 2013 is on track to have the highest tax rates we have seen in years.

Now, more than ever, you need the assistance of experienced professionals to advise you and help you implement the best plan for you and your family. We stand ready to assist you. Should you have any questions, contact me at rsmith@chartwellcapital.net.

ROB

WHAT WE DO

We Quarterback Deals

Many folks ask me to explain what Chartwell does. A real life example ( of what transpired today) may be more illustrative. We are in the midst of procuring a credit facility for $20 million in capital improvements for a client. We will do the legal work for the facility transaction and the administration of the loan. There are some special tax and accounting considerations associated with these capital needs and allocating their basis and minimizing income in the early years of this project. We will provide the tax and accounting services for the client. The capital improvements will need to be bonded and property and casualty insurance will need to be placed on the new and old assets; we will procure these needs for the client. Hopefully, the client's business will thrive, and if so, Chartwell can offer the client an array of business succession and wealth management and preservation techniques such as non-qualified comp plans that vest new successor ownership in the entity to pay off the original owners and the creation of a grantor trust to minimize  estate taxes. We provide and procure the financial products to fund these plans. We would not be able to do any of this without a deep bench of talented people and trusted affiliated organizations that we have worked with over 25 years. We quarterback financial transactions and the client saves money, sometimes a whole lot of money.