UTILIZING BUSINESS AGREEMENTS AS A DETERRENT TO LAWSUITS AND AS AN OFFENSIVE WEAPON

By:  Andrew Burrows

Despite the inherent usefulness of service agreements and/or purchase agreements in memorializing the terms of a transaction between businesses (“Business to Business” or “B2B”), or between businesses and their customers (“Business to Customer” or “B2C”), many entrepreneurs forego having these documents drafted. From our experience, the primary reason for delaying or altogether avoiding having a formal agreement drafted for their business dealings is one of cost. Unfortunately, clients who do not have effective agreements and who find themselves in a B2B or B2C dispute are at a drastic disadvantage once they find themselves in the negotiation or litigation.

One of the primary benefits of effective agreements is the impact they have on litigation, or a situation that may give rise to litigation. A well-drafted service agreement or purchase agreement will lay out all the material terms for a service based business, and will ideally leave no “grey area” for the parties to dispute. Although litigation sometimes arises because of outright wrongdoing by one party, lawsuits also often arise because of a misunderstanding of the terms of an agreement between the parties. This most often occurs where the agreement between the parties is never memorialized by a writing (an oral agreement), or where the parties use an agreement that is not specifically tailored to their business. The most common example of this is finding a service agreement from the Internet and modifying it in an attempt to tailor it to the needs of the business.

Despite the  perceived initial cost savings, these patchwork agreements fail to address key areas that give rise to disputes. Although it may be difficult to rationalize shouldering the cost of a formal agreement as a business owner, the cost of preparing an agreement to protect your business is small in comparison to having your business involved in disadvantageous litigation.

Beyond the protective aspects of these agreements, a service agreement or purchase agreement is often a business’ best weapon in taking action to collect a receivable or right a wrong. A well-drafted agreement will specifically define the terms of the agreement between the parties. This is of utmost importance. First, the mere existence of a well drafted agreement will almost always cause customers and suppliers to live by it without a lawsuit. If there has to be lawsuit, the chances of good result are much better with a soundly written agreement. In these situations, litigation may be avoidable, allowing the parties to negotiate a resolution without the expensive legal fees associated with business litigation.

MICHIGAN ADOPTS DOMESTIC ASSET PROTECTION TRUSTS

By:  Tim Williams

On December 8, 2016, Michigan signed into law two bills that allow the creation of  Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPT). The law goes into effect on March 8, 2017. Michigan is now the seventeenth state to allow such trusts.

The Basics

A DAPT is an irrevocable trust that protects the assets of the person who sets up the trust from the usual claims that apply to trusts. The person who creates the trust, called the "Grantor", transfers a portion of his or her assets into the trust. The Grantor is typically a lifetime beneficiary of the trust. The Grantor can also retain decision-making authority over the administration of the trust. The assets in the DAPT are not subject to the Grantor’s creditors, even though the Grantor is a beneficiary. Moreover, under recent IRS rulings, if drafted properly, the assets in a DAPT are not included in the Grantor’s Gross Estate for Federal Estate Tax purposes.

The creditor protection aspect of the law with respect to DAPTs is quite lenient. The law provides that the Grantor’s creditors may not attack assets transferred to the DAPT upon expiration of a two-year period, which begins with the date the assets are transferred to the Trust. There are only a few exceptions to this protection, including instances of fraudulent transfers and bankruptcy.

Practical Uses for a DAPT

Adult Child Needing Protection

The first situation where a DAPT is useful is one in which a person’s adult child needs to be financially supported but it is not desirable to make out-right gifts to the child annually. Circumstances that could make out-right gifts undesirable include if the child is involved in bankruptcy, insolvency, divorce, child support issues, judgments against the child, student loan default, or an IRS Federal Tax Lien.

The DAPT can be set up so that funds are available to support the child, enable the purchase of a house for the child’s use, etc., but not subject the assets or income to risk of loss if placed directly in the hands and ownership of the child.

Reducing Federal Estate Tax

A second situation where a DAPT will be useful is where the Grantor needs to reduce the size of his or her estate for Federal Estate Tax Purposes. The use of a DAPT will allow the Grantor to shift an amount of assets into the DAPT to reduce his or her Federal Estate Tax below the Federal Estate Tax dollar exclusion, thus eliminating any Federal Estate Tax at his or her passing.

Despite the benefits of the DAPT to persons in situations such as those described above, care should be taken to consider the Capital Gain Tax consequences when planning a Federal Estate Tax Reduction DAPT. The IRS may take the position that the Grantor has “gifted” the capital gain tax to the beneficiaries. This is known as carryover tax basis. If assets are transferred at death, the Capital Gain Tax is forgiven.

Overall, the Michigan DAPT can be a powerful tool in both estate planning and asset protection planning. Considering whether a DAPT is appropriate involves many considerations. Therefore, an attorney that specializes in estate planning and estate tax issues should be consulted to ensure a DAPT is appropriate for your situation.

Purchasing Intellectual Property

By: Ashley Prew

A sometimes overlooked part of a business transaction is the sale of intellectual property rights.  Specifically, any trademarks, service-marks, patents, and copyrights that a business owns need to be handled properly in the sale of the business. Unfortunately, some of our clients have purchased trademark and service-marks in the course of acquiring another business, but failed to receive legal title via proper transfer to the new business owner at or immediately after the closing.

If a business owns and then sells a federal trademark or service-mark, the required transfer of title document is an Assignment of Interest that is filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”).  The assignment can be compared to a deed for real estate.  If the assignment is never recorded or filed with the Trademark Office, then ownership remains with the previous owner.  If this occurs, additional expense will be incurred later when the discovery is made and the mistake has to be corrected. In addition, if there is a dispute over ownership, costly litigation may result to resolve the ownership dispute. 

Properly addressing the intellectual property rights of a company in the Asset Purchase Agreement or Buy/Sell Agreement is only the first step in ensuring the trademark or service-mark is properly sold in the transaction.  Beyond these agreements, it is up to the parties to ensure that the Assignment of Interest is both executed prior to or at the closing, and then properly filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. After the ownership transfer is properly recorded with the USPTO, it becomes the new owner’s responsibility to ensure it adequately protects the intellectual property interest. Some of these protective acts include continuously using the mark, filing the required renewals with the USPTO, and taking steps to ensure competitors do not infringe on the registered mark. 

When purchasing, selling, applying for, or maintaining a federal trademark or service- mark, it is important to ensure you have an attorney who can advise you on the required steps to protect this intellectual property. If you have questions regarding trademarks, service-marks, or copyrights, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.