Case Studies

Client Profile No. 1

Jenny has always taken care of her parents’ business affairs growing up. From translating official letters for her immigrant parents to helping out at the family business. Her parents did well and and saved. They now have several properties. Her parents are getting older and she knows they need to do some estate planning. She also heard somewhere that their rental properties may need to be held in an LLC for liability reasons. Jenny can translate but would really prefer to have an experienced estates lawyer explain the legal nuances directly to her parents in Chinese. Also, she doesn’t feel comfortable discussing issues about her inheritance with her parents directly. She would like to have a lawyer with whom her parents can freely and confidentially discuss these matters.

Additionally, Jenny and her husband own a home. She knows she needs to have a trust with provisions to provide for her young kids, should something happen to them. It would be nice to have the same lawyer who is already familiar with her family situation to handle her matter with the care and expertise she needs.

Lawyer Insight

Jenny faces a very common issue with wanting to help her parents plan well for their estate but also is hesitant to broach the sensitive subject of inheritance. We personally understand this unique position and are able to approach it with tact and sensitivity. Many of my clients are in the same situation and having the lawyer advise on this directly with the parents eases that awkward tension. As a Chinese speaker who practiced in China, my Chinese communication goes beyond the simple day-to-day Chinese of the first-gen Chinese. Yes, we can also handle Jenny and her family’s estate plan as well.

Client Profile No. 2

Ning Ning and her husband own a successful business in China, and are looking to taking their products into the US market. They live and travel globally. They came to Lou Lawyers to ask about their US visa and immigration options, as well as the possibility of sending their daughter to a US school while expanding their business in the US.

Lawyer Insight

We understand that Ning Ning and her husband are running a successful business in China with opportunities to expand in the US. Since they have knowledge of the US market and existing US clients, they have an ideal opportunity to formally establish US operations through the formation of a US subsidiary company.

With a US subsidiary of the China company, Ning Ning and/or her husband as the executive(s) of the company would qualify for a temporary work visa to establish the company and run it. After one year of operations, they would be entitled to apply for permanent residency (green card) status (given that the US subsidiary has been running successfully). Not only is Lou Lawyers able to help set up the company as their immigration counsel, we are also able to serve and advise on day-to-day legal issues of running the company.

Client profile no. 3

Chris and Angela worked hard and have done well in the tech boom in Silicon Valley. They were able to take “early retirement” which enabled them to work as digital nomads and to travel the globe with their kids. They own several rental properties in California and other states, and these properties bring in good rental income, which they will be able to manage while being overseas. At the moment, they have the properties in their names, with the rent checks going directly to their bank accounts. They heard that they should have it in an LLC. They also want to make sure that they get to select the guardians for their small children should anything happen to them, and that the kids will be provided for. On top of everything else, they would like to use the US business to help secure their visas in the countries they are visiting.

Lawyer Insight

There are a couple of areas that Chris and Angela will need to resolve. We would help create a living trust to allow them to provide for their children and pass the assets without lengthy court proceedings in probate court. The rental properties may be put into LLC holding entity with 100% membership held by the trust.

The US investment properties would be structured to limit liability with the proper corporate structure which can serve as their employer to qualify for remote worker visas in certain countries (such as Thailand) .