Don’t put off making plans until you are unable to assert your wishes. Including health care documents in your estate plan can ensure your decisions are always your choice, even if you cannot speak for yourself.

Health care documents that clearly state your wishes should be included in your comprehensive estate plan. Here are three documents you need to include in your estate plan to ensure your wishes are respected:

Health Care Directive

This document allows you to name a health care agent. This will be the individual who you grant the authority to make certain decisions on your behalf. A health care agent may also be called a health care surrogate or a personal representative.

In your directive, you can include specific instructions on the health care measures you desire if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. These are life and death decisions; make sure your agent is someone you trust.  Work closely with an estate-planning lawyer to ensure your directive provides clear guidelines for your agent to follow.

If you accept credit or debit card payments, you may not know that you are subject to a set of standards created by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council. This council, made up of the five payment card brands Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB International, and Discover, was created in response to increases in data breaches and fraud in the credit card industry. The PCI Data Security Standards address technical and operational systems to keep customer cardholders safe. The goal of these standards is to protect businesses, customers, banks, and all others engaged in the credit industry.

Many business owners find that collecting payment via credit or debit cards benefits both them and the customer. However, they often do not know about these established data security standards, and thus, fail to comply with them. Below are the twelve PCI Data Security Standards that business owners who accept credit and debit card payments must comply with:

1. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data.
2. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords.
3. Protect stored cardholder data.
4. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open public networks.
5. Use and regularly update antivirus software or programs.

One way to do this is to employ the use of social media influencers. Social media influencers are individuals who have amassed large followings of people on various social media sites who trust their opinions on a variety of matters.

Many social media influencers develop specific niches and select one or two social media platforms for their focus. Due to the nature of popular social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitter, it is important to consider the legal issues that could arise during the various stages of a relationship. If you are considering engaging a social media influencer, here are three key things you must keep in mind.

1. Have an agreement. Even though social media work feels very informal, entering into an arrangement with an influencer has serious legal implications and should be governed by a written agreement. Your social media influencer agreement should identify the influencer as an independent contractor and describe in detail what each party expects from the relationship. As with other contracts, it is vital to note compensation, essential dates, conflicts of interest, and any potential limitations imposed on the agreement.

2. Protect your intellectual property. A common problem social media influencers run into is copyright and trademark infringement. In an attempt to attract and engage their audiences, some influencers use others' content without obtaining adequate permissions or providing sufficient credit. In such instances, the influencer may be held liable for taking another’s work. Additionally, as parties to an agreement, both sides should identify who owns the copyrights and trademarks for any of the work created in connection with the agreement. For example, if a social media influencer appears in a photo with a product for a brand, the parties should agree as to who owns the copyright and identify the scope of any agreement to license the copyright in question.

While some are advocating we prepare to be quarantined, potentially for months, others are saying the virus is nothing more than a common cold. The World Health Organization takes a more middle-of-the-road approach, advising we take precautions without becoming alarmed.

We’re going to take a similar middle-of-the-road approach, and empower you to make informed decisions for you and your family. Here are some resources to stay up to date on the virus and to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy.

For your reference, here’s a link where you can track infection and death rates over time as you can see, the numbers are increasing daily. Most of the people who die from coronavirus are over the age of 60, and people who have chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes have a 5–10% higher chance of dying from it. So if you have parents who may need information on how to boost their immunity, it would be good to share this article with them.

This video shares that, as of January 30, 2020, approximately 8,000 people had been infected with the Coronavirus, and 214 had died. The video indicates that symptoms are similar to a bad respiratory cold, with fever and cough, and that the only treatment is fever-reducing medication. Taking precautions now to up your intake of immunity-boosting supplements, the same way you might if there was a cold circulating in your community, would be a great idea.

A friend of mine shared some resources they’d compiled to help shore up their immunity, and I’ve included them in the list below. This is not medical advice, neither my friend nor I are doctors, just health conscious individuals. Consult your doctor before taking any supplements at all. These are just the things I am considering for my family, and I’m sharing with you so you can make the call for yours.

The limited liability company (LLC) is one of the most popular business structures because it offers a level of flexibility and legal protection that is attractive to many people who are starting their own businesses.

The following six steps will help you get started if you are interested in forming an LLC.

1. Choose a name. To form an LLC, you must select a business name that complies with state regulations. The name you select cannot be the same as or even too similar to any other LLC’s name; it must be unique to avoid consumer confusion. Next, states often require that the name of your LLC include one of the following at the end: “limited liability company,” “LLC,” or “Limited.” This requirement gives the public notice of your business structure. As simplistic as this step may seem, it is critical to successfully establishing an LLC and being able to take advantage of the legal protections this business structure provides.

2. Select a registered agent. In addition to selecting an appropriate name, you must select a registered agent. A registered agent, also known as a statutory agent, is the party appointed to receive service of process and communication from your state’s secretary of state. Registered agents must provide an address where important correspondence can be sent. Typically, post office boxes are not acceptable places for a registered agent to receive these communications—rather, a physical address is usually required so the agent can receive service of process. When deciding who should serve as the registered agent, keep in mind that the registered agent will typically be the first person to whom the state reaches out if any issues arise with your LLC. As a result, it is important to ensure that your registered agent consistently checks incoming correspondence and relays that information to you as the business owner.

3. File documents. Perhaps the most important step in creating your LLC is filing the required documents. The articles of organization (referred to in some states as the certificate of formation) are usually filed with the secretary of state and include such information as the company’s name, the registered agent’s name and address, and the business’s purpose. This information becomes public record, so be mindful of what information you are comfortable sharing with the world. Keep in mind that there is a fee to file these documents; however, any start-up costs and filing fees you incur are tax-deductible.