So, I can’t help but post something about George Steinbrenner’s death and all this talk about how his family saved $600 million because he died in 2010, a year when we have no estate tax.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can read about the estate tax and what Congress is doing about it.

What I want to make sure everyone knows is that:

1. Estate Planning is about so much more than estate tax – in years like this, that message can get lost.

Very few families will ever be subject to estate tax no matter what Congress does with it, but every single one of you has parents who love you and many of you have kids who love you and if you love them too and want things to be as easy as possible for them, you do estate planning.

No matter what. Even if you only have a bank account and a car. Look around you – everything around you right now (including everything right here on your computer) is part of your estate and if you don’t plan for it in advance, you are leaving your family with a big mess to deal with.

That’s just not right.

And, of course, if you have kids – name guardians, make sure they are taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want. Don’t leave it up to a Court to decide who that is.

Last, don’t for a minute think estate planning is just about your financial assets – it’s not.  It’s about passing on the story of your life, who you are, and what’s important to you.  Your values, insights, stories and experiences, aren’t they worth so much more than your money?

Of course they are, so what are you waiting for?  Talk to a Personal Family Lawyer about passing on what really matters.

2. If you do have a large estate, plan for future generations when there will be an estate tax

Yes, it’s true that if a multi-millionaire or billionaire dies this year, there is no estate tax.  But, what about future generations?

Our current “normal” method of passing on financial wealth simply to avoid estate tax in the estate of the wealth builder incentivizes future generations to squander it.

If, instead, we started to think about estate planning not as just a mere way to avoid estate tax, but as a way to encourage and incentivize wealth building from one generation to the next, we could eradicate the shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations phenomenon that is common in every culture.

I hope that Steinbrenner planned for the passage of his wealth in such a way that his assets will not only not be subject to estate tax now, but will stay out of his kids’ estates as well.

And that he established his plan so that each generation has a stake in the growth of their wealth, that they will be taught to do good with it and make a difference.

Whether George did these things or not, it’s too late for him, but it’s not for you.

It’s an almost certainty that any relationship you are in right now is going to end.  Relationships are more fluid than they ever have been before.

We don’t stay at the same job for 40 years, collect the gold watch and retire.  We rarely stay married to the same person.  We move, we shift, we evolve.  Relationships end.  It’s just the way it is.

The greatest chance you have of ending your relationships in a way that does not result in emotional distress is by planning for the break up at the beginning of the relationship.  When you love each other.

Whether it’s a romantic relationship or a business relationship doesn’t matter.  In the beginning there is love.  At the end, there may not be.

But, if you plan for the end at the beginning, you are far more likely to be able to end the relationship with love and keep the door open for the possibility of flowing back together.

This is what having agreements is all about.

Create an agreement at the beginning your relationship and be exceedingly clear about what happens at the end.

I never used to do this and I wondered why my relationships ended poorly, with confusion and lack of clarity.  With unhappiness and blame.

I recently ended a relationship.  We had no agreement in place.  The end was ugly.  Not lawsuit ugly, thank God.  But, emotionally ugly. Perhaps it could have been different if we had written down all the agreements we had made and talked about over the years.

When I hired a CEO to come in and run my company recently, I was awed by our process of creating an agreement.  It wasn’t a negotiation; it was a dance.  A courtship.

Start every relationship with this kind of a courtship.  See the agreement process as an opportunity to discover something about yourself and this person you are entering into a relationship with.

Do they retract and constrict?  Do you? Or is the dialogue open-hearted and loving?  Where are you generous and yielding and where do you tense and hold back?

Discover how to set boundaries with an open heart.   It’s the most loving thing you can do for all your relationships.

I try to listen when the Universe sends me a message. I’ve been getting this one loud and clear.  There is a LOT of confusion about when to use a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

And before you go ho-hum, boring, consider this …

If, how and when you present an NDA can make or break a relationship. And, if you just choose to do nothing, you really could get taken.

So, what to do?

Never fear, I’ve got some guidelines about:

• when to ask for a Non-Disclosure Agreement if you have an idea you want to protect,
• how to present the NDA if you are going to ask,
• what to do if someone asks you to sign an NDA (signing an NDA can often be a VERY bad idea – I’ll tell you why),
• and how this is all about setting boundaries with an open heart and you can just tell that’s a good way to go by the way it sounds, can’t ya?

This story will help you understand.

I have a team member who has a great idea. She says it’s a great idea, but I don’t actually know that because she hasn’t shared it with me yet.

Why? Because she is afraid that if she does I will take the idea and capitalize on it and cut her out.

That is a very good thing to be worried about.

I am notorious for hearing about a great idea and executing on it. I can make things happen.

That’s why she’s so excited to share the idea with me. Because she knows that I have the capacity to actually do it. And she also knows that ideas alone aren’t valuable – it’s the execution on the idea that is where the money’s at.

Yet, at the same time, she wants to be compensated for her concept.

Maybe not now, but later – when it happens.  Understandable.

Unfortunately, because she is asking for the NDA in the wrong way and at the wrong time, her idea may never make it to execution.

So that’s why when I saw self-described ambitious entrepreneur Zack Shapiro post on Twitter about whether an NDA he found on Google was legal, I had to jump in and save him from making a mistake that could crush his idea before it ever sees the light of day.

We don’t want to lose our ideas.  I get it.

But, here’s the rub, if we don’t talk about them, they are as good as lost.

You are not a mad scientist operating alone in your basement.

It’s very likely that your idea will take the pulling together of a variety of resources and people.

You have to talk about it.

So, it’s natural to think about an NDA and you should have a signed Relationship Protection Agreement (a soup-up NDA I created) with everyone you work with.  (Get a copy of my super comprehensive relationship protection agreement free here on the welcome tab of my Facebook page.)

But here’s the thing, you should never, ever  present an NDA before the relationship has been well-established.

Instead, establish your relationship before asking for a signed NDA.  Present as much about your idea as you possibly can in terms of concept and end result.

Elicit intrigue.

The first time an NDA should ever be considered is when the person you are presenting your idea to asks for more information.

Now, they are interested.

Until they’ve got some idea about what your idea/concept is, anyone who would sign an NDA does not know much about business and you probably don’t have to worry about them stealing your ideas anyway.

Which gets us into – when should you sign an NDA?

Never just say okay to signing an NDA.  It could be opening you up to frivolous litigation.

If you sign an NDA with someone who is litigious by nature and frequently feels things have been taken from them, you are putting yourself at unnecessary risk.

In the event that you hear the idea and you already have a project like it in the works, you could be risking a frivolous (but still expensive and painful) lawsuit.

I know a lot of people who appear to be great people you’d want to do business with, but their belief system is such that they are easily offended and think ideas are where the money is at. And they will do anything to fight for what they think is right. On principle.

This is not a person you want to be in a fight with.

So, before you every sign an NDA, make sure you know the type of person you are working with.

Make sure you know their values structure and that you understand enough about the concept they are presenting to know it’s not something you are already working on.

Whether you are the one with the idea or the one being asked to sign an agreement before hearing the idea, recognize that no matter which side of the transaction you are on, legal agreements are the starting point for the kind of dialogue that will tell you exactly the type of person you are dealing with.

When done right legal agreements are about setting boundaries with an open-heart, which is the key to healthy, stress-free business relationships that have the capacity to do a whole lot of good in the world.

If you have other questions about NDAs (when to sign em or when to present em) or any other legal questions like that and you want an answer you can not only understand, but that will help you see legal stuff from a new perspective, ask em in the comments below.

Because listen, when you’ve got your legal shizz in order, you are going to be way more creative and free than if you don’t.

Yesterday, I was coaching a private client who will be offering a $50,000 training package in the fall.

A big ticket item.

Before she makes her offer, she wants to prove she can successfully train someone else on her methods.  Smart.

She’s been extremely successful in her own business, but has not yet trained an outsider, so wanted to take on a test case while we get the program designed and marketing materials ready for her launch.

I thought that was a great idea, but only if she had an airtight agreement with her test case that would protect her intellectual property and her reputation in case something went wrong.

I’m her coach, not her lawyer, so I didn’t offer to draft the agreement.

During our coaching session yesterday she showed me a licensing agreement she had put together for her test case.

The first thing I asked her was “did you have a lawyer prepare this agreement?”

She said “no, I did it myself.”

I was impressed. It looked a little homemade, but it was a pretty darn good agreement.

After reviewing it, I noticed there were a couple of ambiguities and that she hadn’t quite thought through all of the points of the agreement, specifically those relating to exit – what if someone wants out early?

I pointed out the two areas that could leave some area of potential risk and she’s going to revise her agreement to close those loops.

She would have had to pay a lawyer big bucks to draft a legal agreement like this for her, but because she’s a smart business woman she did a few things right that can save you thousands on legal fees, if you do them too.

So how do you apply this to your own business and life?

1.  Be extremely knowledgeable about agreements and all the other legal stuff you need to do for your business, in your business, and to protect your personal assets from your business.

2.  Get comfortable preparing your own simple agreements.

3.  Clearly think through exactly what you want your agreement to do before you write a single word.

4.  Have your agreement reviewed and edited by a lawyer, before you get it signed.

5.  Have a really good lawyer on your side who will consult with you, review and edit your agreements on a flat-fee, membership type basis instead of hourly or even by the transaction, so you never have to worry about calling your lawyer or how much it’s going to cost.

It really can be that simple to save thousands on legal fees.  And build yourself a business you can really count on.

If you don’t feel knowledgeable about the legal stuff you need to run your business on a solid foundation, check out my LIFT Foundation System & Toolkit.

And, hey, let me know about how you’ve worked with a lawyer in a unique way like this in the past or where working with a lawyer hasn’t been like this for you.  I’m always interested in hearing real stories of business owners and their experience with lawyers and the legal system.

Since I started my series on expensive legal, insurance, financial and tax mistakes and launched my new LIFT Foundation System & Toolkit, I have received emails from several people about their own LIFT mistakes.

I wanted to share this one with you because it’s quite representative of reality AND it goes to show you that even if you have been to law school, you still need to know more than you think you do when it comes to the foundation of your business because your mistakes can cost you multi-thousands of dollars.

This comes from Attorney Michael S. Reed who made a multi-thousand dollar LIFT mistake when he chose the wrong name for his business because he just didn’t know:

“In Nov. 2008, I was ready to start my own title company. I formed an LLC in Maryland, my home state. [I formed the LLC and was advised by a tax professional to classify the LLC as an S-Corp, which I see is another topic you have mentioned lately.]

I was going to do business in Maryland, DC and Virginia. I started my own “due diligence,” meaning I searched each of the three government sites to make sure that the name I was choosing as the title company, was not taken. I chose “Esquire Settlements, LLC” as my name.

I ran into a similar looking company name in the Commonwealth of Virginia, known as “Esquire Settlement Services, LLC. I called the State Corporations Commissions and spoke to a clerk, who assured me that, because I was starting an LLC in Maryland, and this company existing since 1990 was a Virginia corporation, that “there shouldn’t be a problem.” Well, that was enough for me, and I happily proceeded with the company formation.

Long story short – everything was going smoothly, until, I received the complaint and summons for an infringement lawsuit in the US Eastern Dist. of Virginia:”
Esquire Settlement Services, Inc. et al v. Esquire Settlements, LLC
Plaintiffs: Esquire Settlement Services, Inc. and Daniel H. Borinsky, PLLC
Defendants: Esquire Settlements, LLC
Case Number: 1:2009cv01189
Filed: October 21, 2009

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So, as you can see, even professionals who you would think would have specific training about these sorts of issues are at risk of making expensive LIFT mistakes.

This one cost Michael several thousands of dollars and could have been so easily avoided, if only he’d known what to do before choosing the name for his corporation.

To make sure you don’t run into your own expensive LIFT mistakes in your business, check out my new LIFT Foundation System & Toolkit at charter member pricing, which will not be available after this Thursday.

And be sure to let me know if you have had any experiences like this yourself.  The more we talk out about these things, the more we can help others avoid making the same mistakes because they are simply doing business in the dark.

The first one has to do with one of the most common questions I get asked – should I set up my business as an S-Corp or an LLC?

In fact, this is such a common question I saw a friend of mine asking it on Twitter!

So before I answer the question, let me say this:

This is NOT a decision to be made by asking Twitter.

Okay then, if not on Twitter, how should you answer this question?

Well, to be absolutely sure about the best entity for you, you should talk with your LIFT advisors – preferably both your business lawyer and your CPA.

(One word of caution about CPAs … many of them are considering ONLY the tax consequences of incorporating and not liability protection, so if you talk to a CPA who tells you that you don’t need a business entity, reconsider that if you are building a real business.)

If you are not in a position to have a business lawyer and/or a CPA, there are a couple
things you should know before making your decision about the best entity to choose when incorporating your business …

Most business owners set up an LLC because they’ve heard that’s the simplest way to do things. And while that may be true, that can be an expensive decision.

In fact, for a business that is owned and operated by its owner (i.e. your entrepreneurial business), I almost always recommend an S-Corporation because it can save you between $2k-$5k per year on self employment taxes!

Setting up an LLC because you’ve heard it’s simple can prove to be an expensive mistake because you simply didn’t know the right thing to do.

That’s just one example of the many expensive mistakes I’ve seen business owners make when
they didn’t know what they really need for their business.

So, join me on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 10a Pacific/1p Eastern when I will cover a whole lot more about what you need to know so you can STOP WASTING MONEY and GET SMART about what you really need to run your business the right way.

If there are any specific questions you want me to address on Thursday, let me know here in the comments.  And if you’d like to receive LIVE hot seat coaching with me on the call about the LIFT Foundation in your business, let me know that too!

I just got an agreement for the redesign of my blog from Naomi Niles.  And I’m super excited to work with her.

My assistant’s assistant (seriously? yes, my assistant hired an assistant to help us with the move) handed it to me to sign and I was about to do that thing I’ve done so many times in the past … sign it without reading it.

But this time, I didn’t do that. I actually read it.  (Yes, I’m a lawyer who used to not read agreements for a variety of reasons all relating to ways I was sabotaging myself and this is why I’ve created my LIFT Foundation System for women like me. It’ll be available soon.)

In it, I looked for a work for hire provision that said who owns the work. (She does until I pay in full and copyrights are transferred to me, which is cool and smart.)

Then I saw something wonky I wanted to get your opinion about.

It says I have to pay Naomi if I use the work in anyway other than on my blog. 15%.  Now I have to think about that one.

What do you think of that provision?

15% if I want to make Life, Business & the Pursuit of Happyness T-shirts. What about if I use the name or the graphics on a future book?  Would I have to give her 15% of that?

That doesn’t sound right to me. But what do you think?

I’d love to hear from creatives and those who hire creatives alike.  The more input the better.  And of course I’ll chat with Naomi about it and see what she thinks too and clarify the term of the agreement so we know what it covers.

But, I want to hear what you have to say too.  Not just signing legal agreements without reading them is smart.  Actually understanding and talking about the provisions that we don’t understand or are not sure about is even smarter.

I figure if I go first (and I’m a lawyer and supposed to know this stuff) that you’ll be willing to talk about the things you don’t understand too.

So, let’s talk about it.  What do you think?

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First of all, thank you for all of your great comments about the contract provision.  After posting this, I spoke with my designer, Naomi, and she readily agreed to take out the provision because it made me uncomfortable.  She’s very sweet and easy to work with.

And listen, that’s the most important part of all of this.  By reading the agreement and talking with Naomi directly about a provision that concerned me and I didn’t understand, I got to see what kind of a person Naomi is, not just at her surface, but really.  I got to feel out whether she would be adversarial or understanding.  And she was very understanding.

Susan’s comment below is very well taken.  I completely understand that designers need to be paid for their work, especially when it’s created for one context and then used in a broader context.

Bottom line, read your agreements.  Don’t take anything for granted.  Have an open discussion about anything you don’t understand or aren’t sure about or want clarification on.  You deserve it, your designer deserves it and your business deserves it.