November–December 2024

Here we are again, celebrating holidays that give us an opportunity to spend time with good friends and family in a more festive fashion. I am not a huge fan of decorating for the holidays… if you assume I am lazy, then you would be right. Putting up seasonal decorations means that, at some point, you have to take them down and pack them away for another year. Ugh… I would rather go out to dinner and enjoy someone else’s hard work! However, I do go in for wreaths. After all, someone has put them together and all I have to do is tap my credit card and go. 

Decorations aside, I do love the Boston Seaport’s Christmas Market festivities . There’s something for everyone and the joy and enthusiasm are infectious. Do you remember the Magic Pan from decades ago? We just loved their crepes and stopped by their restaurant at Faneuil Hall every chance we got. Then, sadly, they disappeared and there was never a replacement… until now: The Frenchman’s Crepes, sweet and savory, are at Snowport this year and they are unbelievably good… be sure to find them when you visit!

The holidays fly by so quickly… be sure to carve out some time to enjoy them. Work will still be there on your desk when you return!

Cordially, 

Marijo McCarthy, Esq.

Pr esident, Widett and McCarthy, P.C.

M&A attorney helping small business owners sell a business

Other Business Assets That Are Part of Your Business Sale

We have talked previously about the more prominent of your business assets… key employees, key contracts, and more. But how about the assets that find themselves in the background? Are they ready to be included when you sell the assets of your business? Let’s pick just two and consider that question.

Equipment — owned or leased?

If your business equipment is owned outright, your internal inquiry is done. If it is leased, however, you will want to take a look at the equipment lease language, most particularly at the termination and assignment provisions.

• First, check the contract termination date and the possibilities related to it. Do you have an option to buy out the lease itself… or the equipment… and, if so, what are the terms and time frames? Getting ahead of this will help you move forward with a clean sale procedure, with few hiccups when it comes to giving a buyer good title to all business assets.

• Second, if the equipment lease has a period of time before its termination, is it assignable? And, if so, what are the terms of assignment? (Note, this is where the boilerplate for these documents is buried in small print on the back pages. Hopefully, you reviewed and understood these terms before you signed up.)

Brand names and logos — protected or not?

Does your business operate under a brand name that you have built up over the years and which a buyer is now interested in buying and continuing the use of? If so, have you taken steps to protect the name and/or logo? There are several ways of doing this… at any point in the life of the business.

• First, there is a “DIY” option that is user-friendly on the Secretary of State’s web site . There are simple-to-follow instructions on how to file a state trademark to protect your business “brand name” (not always the same as the registered name of the business). There is no downside to filing a state trademark… the time and cost are more than manageable.

• Second, a state trademark is only the beginning, albeit a first step in asset protection. There are few businesses these days that limit their sales to the state where they incorporated and are physically located. Thanks to the internet, the potential market for those sales are global. Therefore, IF the brand name is truly important and is part of the goodwill built up over the years, seek out the services of an intellectual property attorney and consider the possibility of filing for a national trademark with the U.S. Trademark Office. The protection requires legal expertise, but is not hugely expensive considering that you are protecting an asset which you hope to sell in the future.

Slowly, but surely, we are getting your assets ready to sell down the line. A little work now means a smoother transaction then.

Reading Pleasure

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali spins the story of an unlikely friendship between two young Iranian girls… one born of privilege, who loses it in her early school years; one born in lower class poverty, who strives to achieve a better world for herself and her fellow citizens. It is beautifully set alongside a country’s convulsions from a highly educated and cultured society to one dominated by patriarchy and sublimation of women’s rights. 

The Iran of the 1960s reminds readers that before the incursion of the Taliban, this was not a country which trampled on the rights of its people and that women held important positions in its institutions. It is an eye-opener for those who have never considered how radically the average Iranian’s life has changed and a sad commentary on the loss of rights as women struggle to regain them. “That’s how losses of rights build. They start small. And then soon, the rights are stripped in droves.” Kamali writes with knowledge and passion and leaves you thinking long after you close her book.

I love police procedurals, especially the British genre. Peter Grainger has written the DC Smith series, starting with An Accidental Death and continuing for 10 more. Detective Sergeant Smith is an old-fashioned copper, one which his Detective Superintendent wishes would take the retirement he has so richly earned. But DC, as he is known to colleagues, is not ready to hang up the shield, nor should he, as he continues to put his considerable cerebral investigative skills to work solving crimes and closing cases. 

Hard to argue with the results, but DC just does not fit within the rules of the modern policing structure and… well, I don’t want to spoil the plot for you. Try one… they are addictive.

The information you obtain at this site is not, 

nor is it intended to be, legal advice.

You should consult an attorney for individual advice 

regarding your own situation.

Copyright © 2024 Widett and McCarthy, P.C.

Newsletter Developed by Blue Penguin Development