Q:

Subject: question

 

We need to help a family member track down his assets (bank accounts, CDs, etc.)  His wife had taken care of all this, and since her death several

years ago, he has lost track of important details.

 

Do you have any suggestions as to who we might hire to help us do this on his behalf?

 

Thank you,

A:

It’s been a while since I mentioned Mark Colgan’s excellent resource for people in your situation, his Survivor Assistance Handbook.  It is packed with tips on how to take care of matters such as tracking down a decedent’s various assets. 

You can order the handbook from Mark’s website. 

Good luck.

Kerry Kerstetter

Follow-Up:

Thank you so much for your helpful reply!!

 

 

Q:

Subject: LLC vs S-Corp

Kerry,

You raised some interesting points to consider when choose b/t a S-corp and C-corp. I wanted know what you thought the important points to consider when choosing b/t a S-corp and a LLC taxed as a partnership (besides the fringe benefits).

Thanks again for your input.

A:

Listing all of the distinguishing factors of LLCs and S corps isn’t the way to approach this.  What you and the business’s other owners need to do is all meet with a qualified professional tax advisor, who should ask you a ton of questions related to the business goals, before mutually working out what would be the best entity for that particular business venture.

Good luck.

Kerry Kerstetter