Mary Meyer: Welcome back to Healthy, Happy, Wise, Wealthy, everyone. I have with us today Nicole Harvey with Nevada Counsel, so we have a lawyer in the house, and we know how expensive per hour lawyers are. Just out of control.
Mary Meyer: I'm teasing obviously, but worth it. So she is here today to talk about, uh, everything with probate, trust, wills, but also the business stuff. She knows that too.
Mary Meyer: So, and I wanna say we have a podcast sponsor, MindIII, M-I-N-D-I-I-I, and they do all kinds of IT stuff. I even found out, Nicole, that they do hardware. Like they showed me a video of a delivery robot.
Nicole Harvey: Oh, wow.
Mary Meyer: So I'm like, you guys do delivery robots too, so I'm gonna find out more about that. But making apps for, you know, different things, SEO, all that kind of stuff. So really good, helpful business stuff.
Mary Meyer: And, uh, I wanna jump in with you with, you have ... Well, tell me why. Why are you in this? Why did you choose this- ... line of work? Tell me that first.
Nicole Harvey: That's ... Oh, boy. We're going back. Um-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... why did I choose this? Well, uh, it's funny. I, so I, I worked for lawyers, uh, for years before I went to law school. And so I had a chance to work in different practice areas. I worked, uh, as a transcriptionist and a secretary in a wrongful death practice, uh, personal injury.
Nicole Harvey: Um, I worked in PetSmart's corporate office, uh, in the legal department-
Mary Meyer: Okay
Nicole Harvey: ... which was very different from a law firm. Um, I worked in an insurance defense firm here in Reno, Laxalt & Nomura.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and, uh, and I worked for an attorney in private practice in that field, and that gave me a sense that there are so many different ways to, to use, you know, a legal education or, or to work in the field. And, um, and I enjoyed all of the work I had done. I enjoyed the lawyers I worked with. Um, but I, I didn't feel compelled, uh, at that point that I needed to be doing what they were doing. Um, I, uh, in law school, I interned with a firm that did estate planning, uh, s- strictly estate planning, um, and no other practice area. And, and that was, uh, that was good exposure to, to really understanding, um, you know, there's the, the, the service you're delivering-
Mary Meyer: Right
Nicole Harvey: ... and there's the service you're providing to people. But then there's also, like operationally, how do you get that done?
Nicole Harvey: You know, and how do you get that done in a way that is efficient so that, so that you're, you're not charging an arm and a leg, so that your services are affordable, uh, to the people who need them.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, after law school, I, I got a job. Um, it was a, a big law firm here in Nevada, a powerful law firm called Jones Vargas. Uh, they don't exist anymore. Uh, they were bought up. Uh, well, they broke up, and then some of it was bought up by Fennemore Craig. Um, but in the time that I worked there, uh, I worked in the employment law practice group. I worked in litigation support. And, uh, and one of the attorneys there insisted that all of us should know how to write a, a will.
Nicole Harvey: You know, how to be able to help somebody with the basics. Uh-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... and she said it's, it's like how every mechanic knows how to do an oil change. You know, this is something that everybody needs. Um, and, uh, and truly, uh, like many lawyers, it was one of my first big cases that really set my feet on a path. Um, I had a case representing a gentleman whose uncle had died, and it was a dispute between him and his sister over the uncle's estate. Um, and that, that was my first, uh, case that took me to a trial, you know, or, or, uh, to a hearing on evidence anyway.
Nicole Harvey: And, um, and it's funny, you know, as you di- dive into something like that and dig into it, uh, you, and you start learning it, then pretty soon you're able to apply that in other places, so. Um, so I'd incorporated, uh, estate planning really just as a matter of guidance and, and suggestion that everybody should be able to do that. Um, that case led me into, uh, more and more probate work. Um-
Mary Meyer: Okay
Nicole Harvey: ... and, and really the business side of my practice, uh, is something that has developed with me since my early days at, at PetSmart.
Nicole Harvey: Um, there are so many aspects to running a business. Um, and, and most entrepreneurs are wein- wearing several hats, including one that says lawyer, right? You know, you often can't pay somebody-
Mary Meyer: Right
Nicole Harvey: ... to review every contract, you know, or negotiate every deal. Um, and I mean, that can be leases. It can be hiring people. It can be vendor agreements.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and any one of those can really make or break your business, you know?
Mary Meyer: That's right.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and so, so over my career, um, you know, aside from working in private practice, I worked in-house as, uh, in-house counsel, uh, for several companies, um, and really developed, you know, that business law acumen on the ground supporting CEOs directly and supporting boards directly.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and so, you know, now at this point in my practice, uh, it's funny. It's kind of amazing how these three things really flow together for a lot of my clients.
Nicole Harvey: A lot of my clients are business owners, um, big business, small business, you know, but we're, as we plan and mitigate risk in the business-
Mary Meyer: Mm-hmm
Nicole Harvey: ... we're also planning and mitigating risk in their personal life, which has a lot to do with estate planning.
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and, you know, I think all of us at some point are going to be involved in either a probate or trust administration. You know, whether that's our parents or other family members, um, uh, at some point we're all gonna be dealing with that.
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... and so really a lot of my clients I've, I've been doing this for 18 years now.
Nicole Harvey: Um, I've, you know, we've touched all three of my practice areas together.
Mary Meyer: Yeah. Well, and we've had a couple meetings, and I think I wanted... Thanks for sharing all that, 'cause I, I-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... do know that people, especially when you're getting into some of these areas that feel very, um, when you, you really, the legal field in general I think is just confusing.
Mary Meyer: Um, the wording can be confusing for someone who doesn't-
Nicole Harvey: Mm-hmm
Mary Meyer: ... have that background. So it's really always nice to know who you're gonna be talking to. And I know from talking to you that you're so, um, personable and, and, uh, your Google reviews, I looked at those, it's like she's so down to earth and personable. I'm like, she is definitely that. So-
Nicole Harvey: Oh, thank you
Mary Meyer: ... definitely, yeah, definitely who you want to have on your side with this stuff. So let's, I mean, it's kinda like I know the two areas flow together. One's business and one is estates and trusts and that kinda thing. So let's, uh, I'm gonna ask you about the estates and trusts things. It's something everyone has to deal with. Not everyone does business. But so with that, what's the difference between a will and a trust?
Nicole Harvey: Oh, sure. Yeah, that's probably the most common question I get-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... uh, whether it's in a consultation or someone I run into at the grocery store.
Nicole Harvey: Um, I wrote a book on this topic actually. Uh, the book is called I Hope You Die Laughing: A Beginner's Guide to Estate Planning.
Mary Meyer: I saw that, yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... and it answers, it answers this-
Mary Meyer: It's cool
Nicole Harvey: ... and other questions. Yeah. But so, so both of these documents, a will and a trust, are, are pretty ancient concepts. Um, we know wills are ancient. People have been writing wills as long as people have been writing. Um, you know, there's, there's wills carved into stone and clay tablets. Uh, the law-
Mary Meyer: Wow
Nicole Harvey: ... on wills as it applies to us today, you know, in the modern United States, uh, comes to us from England, from the Statute of Wills.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, and that comes, uh, from the 1500s. So a lot of these rules about wills, right, and what a will does, like a will is, you know, I'm gonna write down when I, when I die, this is what should happen with my stuff.
Nicole Harvey: That's all a will does.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, it's very simple. It serves an important purpose. And the rules about that and how it works have been around with us forever, you know? So and when we're in probate court handling a will, we're really not arguing about what a will means, you know?
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Or, you know, whether it's really necessary to have two witnesses witness your will, you know? Uh, all of these formalities have been with us for centuries. Um, but that's, that's really the, the one and only purpose of a will, right-
Nicole Harvey: Right ... is you write down what's gonna happen with my stuff when I die. You can put it on a shelf. You can forget all about it. And then when it's needed, you know, it's there for your, your family and loved ones. Um, a will has to go through the probate process. That's how it's always been done. Um, the probate process, you know, people will say it's, you know, it's scary and it's awful and it's expensive.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and I won't say that it's, it's not expensive. It, it costs more to administer a will through probate than it, it might cost to do a private administration.
Nicole Harvey: Um, but it's, you know, it's a, a well-worn path, uh, where we have a judge that oversees your executor to, you know, just sign off that they're doing it right, that things are being paid correctly, that things are distributed correctly. Um, and when it's over, you know, there's, there's no outstanding liability. The judge has said you've done it right, and you're finished. You're off the hook with, with that work. Now, trusts, um, have a different function. Now for, for us, and, and I mean us like, you know, normal middle-class folks, uh, it ha- the upshot's the same.
Nicole Harvey: In my trust I'm gonna say, when I die, this is what I wanna have happen with my stuff, right? So that's a similarity between a will and a trust.
Nicole Harvey: Um, trusts are also, uh, very old, it's a very old concept.
Nicole Harvey: Um, I love to share, um, the st- in the story of Robin Hood.
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: I used, I grew up with Disney's Robin Hood, right?
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: And I, I know it by heart. But I used to wonder as a kid, right, you've got this evil Prince John, and he's having his way with the kingdom, and I would wonder, why doesn't he just call himself King John?
Nicole Harvey: Like, why doesn't he just take it all over, you know? And I didn't know the answer to that question until I got to law school. It's because the kingdom was in a trust, and his trustees were other men, landholders around the kingdom, that agreed to keep this safe for him until he returned from the Crusades.
Nicole Harvey: And that's why he was able to leave his property, go far away, and come back and still maintain control of it. Um, so that-
Mary Meyer: Wow
Nicole Harvey: ... concept, yeah, that concept has been with us for a long time, okay?
Mary Meyer: I think it's just very cool that, like, your brain works like that. 'Cause I think- ... you, I mean, like I would watch that and that would not be what I was thinking.
Mary Meyer: Well- So obviously this is something from, you know, when you were a kid. You were thinking along the lines of -
Nicole Harvey: Right. Well-
Mary Meyer: ... I wonder if this is-
Nicole Harvey: I've ruined a lot of children's movies. I-
Mary Meyer: That's awesome.
Nicole Harvey: Um, yeah. So it's, uh, you know, for centuries after that it really was for rich people, right? It's, it's how you maintain your riches. That's kind of the problem with property ownership, right? If I could truly own something, I would be able to take it with me, right? Um, but even think about your house. Like I, I can own my house when I have physical dominion over it, but I go to work every day.
Nicole Harvey: I can't be there exercising dominion over my real estate every day. So we have, we've agreed to this process where I write, uh, sign a deed correctly and record it correctly and now I own it, right?
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, so that's, that's kind of the problem of property ownership. And so a trust could help these very wealthy people with, you know, expansive, whether it's, you know, land interests or financial interests, be able to main- contain control of that with the help of other people, with the help of a trustee.
Nicole Harvey: Um, in the '80s, uh, the estate tax limit got so low that lawyers like me saw a use for trusts for everyday folks, and that's when you started to hear you have to have a trust. Everyone has to have a trust.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and that, that tax law has changed over time. Um, today that tax limit is so high, you know, we're not writing trusts to avoid taxes.
Nicole Harvey: Um, what we are writing trusts for is to avoid that probate process that I mentioned, right?
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: So probate is there if there's property in your name-And it's got to be transferred to someone else's name now through your will, or, you know, without a will, through intestacy, through the law.
Nicole Harvey: Um, you're not here to sign it, right? So we got to supervise somebody else signing it. Well, with a trust, you create this trust, and then we put all your stuff in the trust. You put your house in the trust, you put your accounts in the trust. Now, if something happens to you, there's nothing in your name. You know, we don't need you to sign anything over. We don't need anyone to supervise the signing of anything over. You've got a trustee who's got written permission to handle any property in the name of that trust. So it helps us, it can help you to circumvent the probate process if a private administration is a better solution for you. And for a lot of people, it is. Um, it's, we estimate, you know, 5 to 7% of the value of your estate will go towards administration in a probate, and it's more like 2 to 3% of the value of your estate to administer through a trust.
Nicole Harvey: You know? So the more you have, the greater that savings is to administer privately.
Mary Meyer: That makes sense. Yeah. So it has to, I mean, to some degree, y- you are a helpful and necessary part of probate or trust in the... Because you do, uh, administration also. So someone has passed-
Nicole Harvey: Right
Mary Meyer: ... and you do help with that, just making sure everything is, is where it's supposed to go when that happens. Right.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah. And there's, I mean, there's a lot to it that is not, it's not common sense. It's not something you would just know.
Nicole Harvey: Um, you know-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... for example, if, um, you're in charge of mom and dad's trust and, you know, now they're gone and it's up to you to handle this, one of the first things that we recommend you do is publish a notice to creditors saying, you know, this, this trustee is now deceased, and if you have a claim, now you only have a certain amount of time to send me that bill. And if you don't send it in time, I don't have to pay it, right?
Nicole Harvey: And that's, that's a huge gift under Nevada law for trustees and trusts. But if you don't know that, then you- Yeah don't know to do that, right? And you might get stuck on the hook for more bills than otherwise, you know, you might have been able to dismiss.
Nicole Harvey: So-
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, so yeah, there's a lot to it, and we love helping people with that.
Mary Meyer: Is there a lot of, do you know, is there a lot of difference in between states? Because I know people listening to this are from-
Nicole Harvey: Yes
Mary Meyer: ... different states. There's a lot of different rules and laws.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah. There can be. And it's, it's funny, though, because some states have things in common.
Nicole Harvey: Um, for example, I recently learned that, uh, our statutory powers of attorney in Nevada are remarkably similar to the statutory powers of attorney in Georgia, of all states.
Mary Meyer: That's funny
Nicole Harvey: ... there's probably others, right, that have similar forms, uh, that they use.
Nicole Harvey: Um, but in terms of, uh, like one of the bodies of law we talk about a lot is intestacy. That's if you don't have a will or a trust, that's the law that tells us, you know, who's entitled to that property. That law, those laws are gonna be a little different from state to state. You know, here on the West Coast, we have a lot of community property states. We don't have community property states on the East Coast. They do it different. Um, so, so there, there is remarkable difference just on the wills and probate side. On the trust side, Nevada has really gone to great lengths to set itself apart as a, as the best jurisdiction to have a trust.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and for that reason, I have clients, uh, setting up trusts from all over the United States.
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, once they realize the benefits, you know, of, of a Nevada trust, or, you know, maybe, um, their state just simply doesn't allow things that we allow here, uh, and then they're looking for a Nevada attorney to help them with a Nevada trust.
Mary Meyer: So you're saying that, like, if they own property all over the place, not just in Nevada, and they have businesses in different places, you can still do a Nevada trust?
Nicole Harvey: That's right. That's right. Uh, you, now, you gotta have some tie to the state, right?
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: But it could be as simple as, uh, you have a bank account in Nevada. You know?
Mary Meyer: Wow.
Nicole Harvey: If you've got a rental here, you're solid. You know, that, that can count as certainly Nevada property.
Nicole Harvey: Um, but you gotta, you gotta have a tie to the state. It can be property, it can be that your trustee's here.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, there's a couple different ways to establish that nexus, but, um, lots of good reasons to do it, you know? And it's one of those things, the more assets you have to protect, you know, the more alluring it would be to have a Nevada trust.
Mary Meyer: So what would some of those benefits be? Like-
Nicole Harvey: Well-
Mary Meyer: ... what would be the benefit?
Nicole Harvey: Yeah. Um, there's, you know, quite a few. First of all, I think on the administrative side, um, not every state allows this process to limit your creditor claims, for example.
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: Um, on the planning side, uh, you know, Nevada has, um, we have something called an asset protection trust. Uh, and in other states, some states don't even have a, a way to have an asset protection trust. This is, it's, I think of it like a financial panic room, right? If you've got your stuff in an asset protection trust, no creditor can come and take that from you. No one can force you to pay anything from it. But there's some trade-offs, right? The states that will let you do this say, but if you're gonna do that, you have to have a third-party trustee. You can't have anything to do with that money. You can't manage the assets. You have to put somebody else in charge of it, but no one can take it from you.
Nicole Harvey: You can't take it yourself, but no one can take it from you. So that's a big trade-off. Um, here in Nevada-
Mary Meyer: Okay
Nicole Harvey: ... you do have to have the third party trustee to distribute anything out of the trust, but you can still be a trustee of your own asset protection trust to manage the investments. So you can still be involved in the everyday management of whatever that is. It's, uh, real estate, it's property, it's, you know, it's, uh, financial investments. You can still be involved in how those are managed. You could liquidate the house and, you know, buy an investment or vice versa. Um, as long as it's within the trust, it's all, it's your decision. You only need that third party trustee to distribute.
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and so that, I mean, that's one example of a tool, uh, that gets used-
Mary Meyer: Yep
Nicole Harvey: But we, I mean, we have, uh, rules that allow, that allow people from other states, even other countries.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, we're seeing a lot more interest in these, uh, foreign, uh, asset protection trusts.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, companies outside, um, of the US that are, uh, interested in protecting their assets with the protections we have here.
Mary Meyer: Wow.
Nicole Harvey: Um, yeah.
Mary Meyer: So thr- the third... I have a question on the third party. So is that someone that's not related to you?
Mary Meyer: Like, would it be, like, someone like you, like a lawyer, or who would that be legally?
Nicole Harvey: Um, there's, there are probably lawyers who do that. Um, I don't, I don't personally offer that service because that's not my strength. Um, but I, I recommend, uh, trust companies, uh, typically for that role if somebody doesn't have, like, an unrelated trusted person in mind. Uh, because, because of our jurisdiction being so trust-friendly, we have a ton of trust companies in Nevada. Um, and some of those, uh, you know, don't have those minimum limits, you know, are willing to work with, you know, everyday people, uh, like you and me, uh, to serve as that third party trustee or to be named as a, a successor trustee.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... so that when the time comes, you've got this, like, neutral person who is an expert at doing this. Um, have a lot of families that, that prefer using a trust company or a third party trustee if only to avoid messing with the sibling dynamic of their kids, you know? It's hard to decide. Uh, you know, maybe I don't wanna put any of, one of my kids in charge 'cause then that'll cause a problem, you know, with all of them.
Mary Meyer: Yeah, that's true.
Nicole Harvey: Um, so here-
Mary Meyer: Did you hear about families, you know, kind of, like, going into this really negative spiral because someone's, uh, not managing themselves very well when it's time-
Nicole Harvey: Right
Mary Meyer: ... to divide assets?
Nicole Harvey: Or, or they are managing it well, and there's just this perceived unfairness, you know?
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: Um, sometimes people look at that trustee role as something that's honorific, you know? Um, that I, I chose this person as a trustee 'cause they're my favorite, you know? And hopefully that's not the reason they were chosen, right? The idea here is that you wanna select somebody who is, who has some financial savvy, who, um, is fair with other people, you know?
Nicole Harvey: Uh, who respects other people, who respects you and, and wants to honor your wishes. Um, somebody who you know can f- start and finish a project, right?
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: Those are the characteristics that you're thinking of for your trustee. But sometimes, you know, if it's a sibling group or even cousins, you know, they might look at that and be like, "Well, pfft, he was always her favorite," you know? And, and then the chatter about, "Well, he's probably taking something for himself," and, you know, maybe, maybe not.
Nicole Harvey: But it, it certainly-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... can hurt a family dynamic.
Mary Meyer: Oh, I've, I've definitely seen it go down.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: So tell me a little bit more about these foreign trusts. Like, what is, what is, why are people coming to Nevada for those?
Nicole Harvey: Well, there's a, uh, there's an attorney down in Vegas who's really, uh, pretty famous in this space, Steve Oceans.
Nicole Harvey: Uh-
Mary Meyer: Okay
Nicole Harvey: ... and I've seen him say before that if you want a better trust scheme, you gotta go to the, uh, you gotta go to the Virgin Islands. You gotta go offshore, you know, for something better. Um, Nevada has not just, not just these, you know, strong trust laws, these permissive trust laws, we also have, have done a lot of work on the corporate side, you know?
Nicole Harvey: So a Nevada corporation has more management favorable rules than even a Delaware corporation, right? Everybody thinks, "If I'm gonna have a big business, I gotta incorporate in Delaware." Um, but Nevada really is very competitive in that space.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and so I think it's the combo of, of those bodies-
Mary Meyer: Right
Nicole Harvey: ... of law that's bringing, you know, the foreign corporate interest in asset protection trusts.
Mary Meyer: That's interesting.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: So we kind of shifted there to the business side. So, so these two things kind of flow together. I know when I had a conversation with you before, you're like, "Well, people are starting a business," and then they're like, "What do I do with the assets?"
Mary Meyer: You know, when the business is working, then how do I protect the assets? So this does come together like that. So, um-
Nicole Harvey: Oh, yeah. Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... yeah. So tell, so the business, the business trust, is that what you were just referring to, or did I misunderstand that?
Nicole Harvey: Well, it's, yeah, that's okay. It's, uh, it, kind of a, a combo, right? And-
Nicole Harvey: Right
Nicole Harvey: ... and yes, it's when the business is doing well and I'm reaping assets. It might also be that I'm worried the business is not gonna do well. I'm worried about a downturn, and I'm worried about, you know, business creditors coming after me or the financial devastation of this risk, uh, and what that could mean. And so that's where we start, uh, working with clients on, you know, risk mitigation, right? How can we bucket your financial risks in a way that if this investment becomes toxic, it doesn't bleed over to the rest of your financial life? Um, and so we, we often use a combination of a family revocable trust, right? That's your... It's always gonna be the cornerstone of your estate plan, right? Your family revocable trust is something that you can amend over time. You can change it. You can add stuff to it. You can take stuff out of it. It's very flexible.
Nicole Harvey: Um, alongside that, we'll create an, an asset protection trust like I, like I just talked about. And in the, like I said, it's kind of sticky, that asset protection trust. Once you put stuff in it, there's a bunch of rules. So the hope is that we never have to actually put anything in it unless we really have to. And then in between those two trusts, uh, we might have an, an LLC or a series LLC. A series LLC is, it's, it's a normal Nevada LLC that allows us to put assets into little separate pockets, right? Each series of the LLC is kind of like a subsidiary of the company. And whatever you have in that series is separate and apart from the other series. So if, if I have a lawsuit, you know, or, or something goes bad in one of those series, it really is just stuck in that series, right? This person who's suing me can't get to the rest of the LLC, can't get to the other series. Certainly is removed, far removed now from my family trust.Right? But often we'll, we'll set this up so the, the LLC is owned in part by the family L- the family trust, and in part by the asset protection trust.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and, uh, through a series of Nevada laws, if that series is ever really attacked in a way that, um, the assets are maybe up for grabs, uh, by the person suing you, there's a mechanism to bring all of those assets into the asset protection trust, and, and then they really can't take anything. That's very interesting.
Nicole Harvey: It is. It's, it's a risk mitigation plan. I've got some great diagrams because it can be kinda complicated to, uh, to lay out for somebody when they're like, "Well, where does my... Where does the business fit in?" Like, "Where's the restaurant fit in, and where does the rental fit in?" And, and all of that.
Nicole Harvey: Um, so it's, it really is, becomes very customized, uh, to each family or each client.
Nicole Harvey: Um, but it... I mean, I've, I've had clients say, "Oh, my God, I had the best sleep I've ever had after we got that done." You know, just knowing that I... It's not just up for grabs, you know, to-
Mary Meyer: Right
Nicole Harvey: ... somebody who has an accident on my premises.
Mary Meyer: Yeah. That's, that's really good. I was looking through your website and I'm like, there's a lot of things going into the business side of it that you do.
Mary Meyer: Um, so the comprehensive risk was one, insurance needs, going over that contract negotiation, employment labor laws, strategic planning, streamline compliance, and then the estate stuff. So, and there's a few-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... free resources also on your site, so for-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... for some of this. Um, so if someone is, like, uh, me and, like, always interested in starting a business and in getting that LLC going, 'cause I just did it again, and I've done it several times.
Nicole Harvey: Right on. Yeah.
Mary Meyer: Uh, at what point do we come to you? You know, like at-
Nicole Harvey: Oh, yeah, sure
Mary Meyer: ... if you're, um, like a solopreneur thing kinda-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... like, at what point should we come to you?
Nicole Harvey: Well, I mean, we're happy to... I, I have consultations with people who are, you know, "This is what I wanna do. How do I set up an LLC?" You know, uh, there's some folks that aren't sitting down with us until there is a problem, right? "Oh, my God, I've gotta fire this person and it's gonna be messy. Can you help me do it?" Um, and really a lot in between. Um, some of my favorite projects we're working on are people who have been running their business for 20 years, they realize they wanna retire in the next five, and we're putting together a plan, you know. So the, the business value is strong if they're gonna sell it. We're creating employee stock purchase plans so that employees can take over the company and the owner can be compensated. There's so many different ways, um, you know, to, to approach those kinds of things.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, on our website, we, we do have some tools, uh, that are absolutely free for business owners. Uh, we have, um, NDAs, uh, nondisclosure agreements. I think these are something that come into play in a business so early, and many of us don't realize it.
Nicole Harvey: You know, we're just... We're running around trying to get our thing going, right? We're getting the logo in place and getting the office space or the storefront or, you know, whatever it is. Um, we're signing contracts and we're talking to people about our excitement. That's what we do. We're entrepreneurs.
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: We wanna get people excited about what we're doing. But sometimes we don't think about, you know, maybe I don't want this person to share this information right now, or maybe I just wanna be more in control of how this information gets disseminated. Um, so these nondisclosure agreements that we have for free, one is a unilateral agreement, meaning I want you to keep the secrets I'm gonna tell you. The other one is a multilateral agreement, meaning we are gonna keep each other's secrets as we work on this. You know, it might be a joint venture or something like that.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, so those, I think, are, um... That's the kinda thing when people reach out and say, uh, "Can I hire you to draft an NDA?" I would just think, "Let me just do this for you really quick." You know?
Nicole Harvey: Not that it's, you know, easy or, uh, simple. It's easy for me 'cause I've created them so many times.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, but it's such a, a small thing that you need so quickly that that was the first thing I thought to put up for free for, for business owners.
Nicole Harvey: Um, the other thing we have on that-
Mary Meyer: That's awesome.
Nicole Harvey: Thanks. Yeah. The other thing we have-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... on that page is a contract review checklist. Um, you know, as a brand-new business owner, you're not gonna pay me to review your lease, to review your vendor agreements.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, but we created this checklist so that, um, so that any business owner can, you know, side by side as they're looking through an agreement, kinda know what to look for, right? You're looking for, "What am I getting and what's it gonna cost," right? And, and maybe you're looking at, "How do I get out of it if I need to?" But there's a, a lot of other things to think about, you know, in a contract. And so the checklist is designed to remind you there are other things you wanna consider here, but also to help you spot those real big red flags, you know, where it's like, "Oh, wow, it really doesn't say anything about this." And so you ask the other person, "Hey, can we put something in here about it?" And if they're telling you no, you know, uh, you might wanna pause at that point.
Nicole Harvey: But at least it gives you a tool that you know, like, okay, this really is, is... Like, if I really wanna hammer out this contract, I should probably bring in an attorney or talk with somebody, you know, who can help me over this particular obstacle.
Nicole Harvey: Um-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... but hopefully it's giving you confidence as you get through it that, you know, you've checked all the boxes, you've looked for all of the risks, and you're comfortable with what you're signing before you sign it.
Mary Meyer: Absolutely. And of course, I mean... And I've worked with a bunch of businesses now in Nevada, and it's, it's usually is just always a matter of, of, of making sure you have enough money to pay for everything. And so-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... everything that you do in business is such a cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching, you know- ... uh, in cost.
Mary Meyer: So and, and obviously you gotta bring in the revenue to, to cover all the costs. So, and in the beginning-
Nicole Harvey: Right
Mary Meyer: ... it's, you know, you're not bringing in revenue. You're... But you still need this help, uh, to get-
Mary Meyer: ... make sure everything's set up correctly. Um-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... out of curiosity, do you help people choose what to do if it's a corporation, LLC-Uh, so, you know, sole proprietor.
Mary Meyer: I mean, what is your thoughts on that kind of thing setting up?
Nicole Harvey: Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Um, I mean, it, it starts with, uh, you know, what's your goal today, right? And it, it helps to know, like, where do you see this in five years, seven years, 10 years?
Nicole Harvey: Um, you know, you've got your, your nonprofit endeavors. They're always gonna be formed as a nonprofit corporation.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and, you know, then there's applying for the tax exemption, et cetera. Uh, for a lot of, you know, for-profit ventures, um, an LLC is probably the best place to start. It's the easiest to maintain. It's the most flexible. Um, and so to really illustrate this, we gotta go back. Where did the LLC come from, right?
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: So before the LLC existed, we had corporations and we had partnerships.
Nicole Harvey: We had solos, of course, but, like, you don't have to file anything, uh, to be a solo, right? You, you just start working. You start, start having a business. A partnership was similar. You know, if you and I put together a lemonade stand, that's a business partnership under the law. It's one or more people, or it's two or more people in business for profit, right? So there are accidental partnerships all the time, right? Um, and you don't have to file anything to be a partnership. It ju- it can just happen.
Nicole Harvey: And then you've got your corporation, and your corporation, you do have to file something with your state in order to be recognized as a corporation. You gotta pay a fee usually, and, and then you can be recognized that way. Now, the real difference between partnerships and corporations is that with a partnership, if, uh, if you and I are in a partnership and I create some liability, right? I'm driving the work truck and I get into an accident. You are equally liable for what I did. You are just as much equally liable for the, for what I caused. Um, so we're on the hook together. But one of the benefits of a partnership is whatever money we make, the, the partnership doesn't record any income. We each record our income, right? So it's pass-through taxation, but I'm worried about the liabilities that you might be incurring when I'm not around. With a corporation, it is a liability shield, right? That corporation, whatever's happening in the name of the corporation, can cause li- create liabilities out in the world all day and night, and the people who own it are not personally liable.
Nicole Harvey: Only the corporation is liable, right? Um, the bummer is that the corporation's gonna pay taxes on what it earns, and then when we get paid, we're gonna pay taxes on what we earned, right? So it's this sort of double taxation.
Nicole Harvey: So the LLC was invented in Wyoming in the '70s, uh, I think it was in '76, and it took the best of both of those. It said, "We're gonna give you the liability protection," that's why it's called a limited liability company, "but you can be taxed as a pass-through entity if you want to." You also can elect to be taxed as a corporation, so as an LLC, you can make an S corp election. Um, so a lot of times for someone who's just starting out, I mean, unless it's a technology or pharmaceuticals or something where you know that you are gonna ask for investment money and sell shares and one day go public, if that's your plan, then we're gonna start with a corporation out the gate. Um, otherwise- Okay ... most of us start with an LLC, uh, because you can have that pass-through s- simple income, uh, calculation as you're growing.
Nicole Harvey: When you have employees or you're kind of at that point that it would make sense to pull the S corp lever, you can.
Nicole Harvey: And if you get to a point where you think, "You know what? I really do want to attract investors and maybe go public," you can transition your LLC into a corporation. That's, that's possible, right? So for a lot of us, um, I think the LLC makes sense. The, the fees in Nevada are lower to start an LLC than a corporation, um, and there's just so much flexibility to grow with you.
Mary Meyer: Yeah. That's great. So I know you... It seems like in, in what you do, it probably crosses over a little bit, like, I know you help, like, figure out insurance liability, and then- ... maybe some tax liability. So how do you... Let's start with insurance. How do you work with insurance on that if you're going, "How do I... This is what I think you need for coverage." Um-
Nicole Harvey: Mm. Yeah. Yeah, so there's, uh... With a lot of these issues, uh, we start with something called a risk assessment.
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: And, uh, it's one of those things that can be scaled, right? If you're a small business, it doesn't have to be complicated.
Nicole Harvey: The bigger you get, you know, the, the more complex it becomes. Um- Yeah we, we like to do a risk assessment once a year, you know, and we look at the different facets of the business, and it really is starting with, you know, the owner or the managers. Uh, what keeps you up at night? What are you afraid of happening? What's the worst thing that could happen here, right? Um, so in a, you know, maybe a little mom-and-pop grocery store, it might be a slip and fall in the produce aisle. That could be devastating.
Nicole Harvey: You know- ... do we have enough insurance for that? So we make this list of what are the risks, and then we rate these risks. We have a score for likelihood, how likely is this to happen, and we have a s- a score for the gravity of the harm, how bad would it be if this happened, you know, and maybe it's just a one to five.
Nicole Harvey: And we score them on those two metrics, and that lets the big risks float to the top, and the less, the smaller risks kinda go to the bottom so that we can focus on, like, what's this, where should our attention be, right? And so we dial... W- we can't mitigate every single risk all year, right?
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: But we focus our attention where we think are the big risks, um, and then we look at what are the controls we have in place to manage these risks.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and insurance is not a control, right? But what are... You know, do we have a wet floor sign that we put out, and do we have a procedure to make sure it gets put out, you know?
Nicole Harvey: Uh, do we have, uh, fire bottles, and are they charged, and do we have exit signs? It's all those kinds of things. Um, maybe it's two people to sign a check. That's a control to make sure that money's being spent right.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and we measure the controls. Are they strong, are they weak?And that lets us really further distill down, like what are our unmitigated big risks?
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: And then from there, we might look at the insurance policy. Are we insured at- against these risks that maybe we can't control?
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: And is the insurance coverage gonna be adequate? You know, um, if, you know, we couldn't come back into the building for nine months, like, what kind of money would we need? Uh, we're not just replacing revenue, we're replacing inventory and, you know, we're taking care of people and, uh, and that kind of stuff. So, so it really is this, um, it's part, becomes part of the life cycle process, you know? And, and that's not something that every business owner wants to do. You know, some people look at that and say, "Are you crazy? I've gotta, I've gotta spend my time making money. I can't be involved in this." And that's okay. You know? But some business owners see the value of that. They see that, you know, if I do this annually or even every other year, and we review, you know, the controls, we review our risks, we look at our insurance coverage, I'm gonna sleep better knowing that, you know, if the worst happens, we've planned for it, and that, and I can handle the small things that come up.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: You know? Uh, and my clients that have done that with me, um, you know, no surprise, uh, have strong businesses. Uh, these are my clients that are looking at retiring and being able to sell their business for a substantial sum so that they can retire, uh, off the business they built.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and so it- it- it's really part of the investment you make in the-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... in what you're creating, you know?
Mary Meyer: Yeah. Well, and I've found in working with businesses is that, you know, you go into business 'cause you're good at a thing, you know-
Mary Meyer: ... and you're really good at that part of it. But the part of business is, like, there's all these things you gotta know about in order for it to work.
Nicole Harvey: Right.
Mary Meyer: So the whole concept of, of seeking counsel, um, you know, for you or, you know, the, the, the legal counsel.
Mary Meyer: Um, counsel means legal. But you know, like-
Nicole Harvey: Right. Right, yes
Mary Meyer: ... having, having advisors and, you know, to, to kind of help you with the, the areas that you just don't know anything about. Uh, and I think law is, is, for me, it seems like one of the harder areas because, you know, even trying to comprehend it on your own, it's just so, so much of it is written in a way that's hard to understand without someone guiding you.
Mary Meyer: So I think that is-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah, that's true.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah. Part, part of it's the, the language of it is different. Um, and part of it is just the process of it. Uh, I can't tell you how many CEOs I've worked with that, you know, we're going over, you know, some aspect of, of the legal function or the legal department, and they go, "Wow, you really think like that?
Nicole Harvey: That's- ... that's really how that works?" And, uh, yeah. That's, I- Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... I have to think, like you're the guy that's willing to go out on a limb for a crazy idea, and we need people like you to do that.
Nicole Harvey: But you also need me to be down there with a net, you know?
Nicole Harvey: Um, and that might freak you out that I'm down there with a net, but, you know, hopefully we never use it. Hopefully I'm just gonna-
Mary Meyer: Right
Nicole Harvey: ... watch you do what you're gonna do, you know?
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, so it's, it is kind of in some ways on the flip side of that, you know, that CEO entrepreneurial risk taker.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, I think of myself-
Mary Meyer: That's true. That's true
Nicole Harvey: ... our corporate logo is designed to look like a chess piece, and it kind of looks like a bishop and it kind of looks like a rook, um, because I, I think of my role that way, right? If my s- if the king is the CEO and the management team is the queen, then I'm the bishop right next to them, right? And it's my job to protect them as they go out into the board, you know, and, and dominate-
Mary Meyer: Right
Nicole Harvey: ... and do the thing they're gonna do.
Mary Meyer: Yeah. Risk mitigation. That is an, it's a really interesting concept of like entrepreneurs are risk takers- uh, and not risk mitigators, so .
Nicole Harvey: Right. Right.
Mary Meyer: But it's a good pairing.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: If you're a risk taker, you need someone to, to mitigate and stop the, the possibility of losses where they might be. So that makes-
Nicole Harvey: That's right
Mary Meyer: ... uh, so much sense to me. All right, so but you can also go into like con- uh, you know, helping businesses as they grow with contract negotiation or employment labor law, that kind of thing. What is, what's just-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... overview, what are some things to know about that in Nevada?
Nicole Harvey: Oh, sure. Yeah. Well, I mean, we really try to make that accessible to business owners.
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: And one way we do that is, um, we do offer a, like a subscription for businesses. it's, uh, $500 a month, and you get two hours each month, uh, at $500.
Nicole Harvey: So $250 an hour, which is crazy.
Mary Meyer: That's good.
Nicole Harvey: Right?
Mary Meyer: Very good.
Nicole Harvey: If you need more time than that from us, uh, then you, you get a discount on our hourly rate. Um, so you, you have some predictability with your bill. Um, the people who take advantage of that will call us for, um, let's see, just this past month, uh, we helped a business get their security deposit back when they went from a small warehouse to a big warehouse. Um, we've sent cease and desist letters to competitors or former employees. Um, we've, uh, helped with regulatory issues. You know, they get a, a letter from OSHA or something, and they'll pull us in to help with that.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, there was an issue with their workers' comp audit, you know, and they're worried that they're gonna answer it wrong, or somebody's made a complaint to the labor commissioner. Um, it really is incredible how much we can do with two hours of time in a month, you know? Um, a lot of these things are a scary, big deal to the person who's never dealt with it. Uh, but for us, we see this stuff all the time. You know-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... it's, it's not our first cease and desist letter. It's not our first, uh, you know, deal with the labor commissioner. And so for us, it's, it's easy to handle. Um, and I mean, we've got some clients that very rarely will go over their, you know, their two-hour subscription. Uh, but they've, they get everything they need from us. I mean, even, even just to have me available to, uh, like we have a, a secure client portal you can message us through, and to be able to message and get a response-You know, uh, within a day, you know, about whatever this worry is.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, I mean, that's, that's valuable.
Mary Meyer: That sure is.
Nicole Harvey: Um, so yeah. So there's, there's all kinds of things, and it's, it's funny as we start getting to know a business and a business owner, um, after a while they're like, "Wow, I, I, I use you for so many more things than I ever would've thought." You know?
Nicole Harvey: Uh, 'cause it... You know, as you're growing, more and, more and more things will come across your desk.
Mary Meyer: That's right.
Nicole Harvey: And when you have the right support, you have the courage to grow.
Nicole Harvey: You know? Like you feel like-
Mary Meyer: That's true
Nicole Harvey: ... you can take a little more risk, you know?
Mary Meyer: And you can say, "I'm calling my lawyer."
Nicole Harvey: Sure.
Mary Meyer: You know, someone is in your face, you're like, "I'm calling my lawyer"
Nicole Harvey: I've got my lawyer on retainer.
Mary Meyer: My lawyer. I've got my lawyer on retainer.
Nicole Harvey: Sure.
Mary Meyer: And it's... That's funny.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: Get your little power move. Um, so- ... is there a difference between businesses that are really just doing business in Nevada and those that are working, uh, across state lines, internationally? Uh, w- is there a difference in, in, in how they... Especially, like I... Well, okay, I'll tell you this. I was... I had an online store, so selling goods across the US, right? Um, so there was different laws per state and almost, like, stuff you had to get per state if someone from that state bought something.
Nicole Harvey: Right.
Mary Meyer: That was interesting. So if you're-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... selling services or selling products across state, how, how, how is this different than just in one state?
Nicole Harvey: Yeah, than just, like, selling in Nevada? Um-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... well, that's a... Actually, that, that brings up something that I've seen many times, uh, with clients, um, in that situation.
Nicole Harvey: Um, like you said, if you're in ar- in Nevada, you're selling something in Arizona, you're selling something in Illinois, in Florida, each of those states might have a different sales tax situation, right? And you probably have to register with somebody or report your sales at some point to true up, you know, what kind of sales tax you owe.
Nicole Harvey: And I've, I mean, I've helped a couple of companies who just didn't know that. They just didn't know that. They didn't know they had to do that. And so they were just selling online, and then eventually the State of Kentucky notices and sends you a letter and says, you know, "We know you've sold at least this much. We think you might have sold more. We think you owe us this money," and now you gotta, you know, engage with them and, and deal with that.
Nicole Harvey: And it, this, the fear is like, "Oh my God, if this is true in this state, it's probably true in the 12 other states that I'm, I'm selling products in." Um, so that's... I mean, I think any time you're expanding beyond your state footprint, whether it's selling across state lines or maybe you've got remote employees in other states, all of those things are gonna implicate rules that you might not be thinking of.
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: Um, with employees across state lines, you think, you know, what's the big deal?
Nicole Harvey: They're not here. You know, they're working in their home, you know, in Texas or somewhere, so, you know, all I've gotta do is pay an hourly rate. Well, you might be surprised to know that that state has a rule about workers' comp, uh, coverage. And some, like in, uh, Washington, the workers' comp scheme is through the state. You know, it's not like you can get a private policy that covers your Washington employees.
Nicole Harvey: So it's all these little nuances that you probably don't know, you know?
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Um, where if you just like, you know, if you've, if you've got the subscription and you can call me for five minutes or, you know, six minutes and, "Hey, I'm thinking of hiring this, these guys. One's in Michigan, one's in Washington. You know, what do I need to think about?" You know, all-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... let me tell you. You know, we, maybe we need to update some things in your handbook that are specific to those states. We need to look at the workers' comp insurance and make sure you don't get caught without coverage. Um, and let's talk about what are they doing? What kind of work are they performing? Are they in a car driving around?
Nicole Harvey: Um, how are they representing the brand? What are they authorized to do? Um-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... because each one of those things is gonna have implications for you.
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: Whew. That's all true. Well, and I know if you're selling goods too, I just know this, I think there's a certain limit usually, like, you have to hit, like, I've sold, like, $10,000 or something before something triggers.
Nicole Harvey: Right.
Mary Meyer: But state by state it is different. And that-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... and I would also say, like, you're talking 500 a month. So for a growing business, $6,000 a year for a legal counsel to make sure that you're not making $100,000 mistake or whatever it is as you're growing-
Nicole Harvey: Right
Mary Meyer: ... um, or something that could, you know, you know, tank the business. Money's money, but that seems like a really wise investment to me, so for sure.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah. Yeah, it's funny. Our, our subscribers, um, they don't just come and go. I mean, they, they stay with us because it is, it is valuable. I don't know anyone else who will give you two hours for 250 an hour.
Mary Meyer: I, I believe you. Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: Have you noticed any kind of difference? What if they're telling, selling services? Like, so they have a service or, um, the SAS, um, um, you know, kind of thing. So what...
Mary Meyer: Is there anything with that that you think is interesting-
Nicole Harvey: Oh, yeah
Mary Meyer: ... across state lines?
Nicole Harvey: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I think it depends on the service you're in, right?
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Some services are more regulated than others, right?
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: Some services you've gotta be licensed to do that thing.
Nicole Harvey: Um, or there's, there are some, um, services that are provided where, like maybe a state like California has a lot of regulation around it. Like, you've gotta register that you're doing this and report to somebody, but then when you do this in Florida, there's no laws about it. And so it's just kinda, you know, do what you want. Um, and then in Texas, it's, uh, completely different from both of those, right? So I think that really is, uh, business specific. And because we don't know what we don't know, it's often helpful to look ahead, you know? Um, I worked with a company that, uh, was based out of California and operates in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Texas, Georgia, and Florida.If I got them all. There might be another one in there. Um, and as we looked at, you know, what their operation is and what their process is, we discovered that what they do is pretty regulated in the Western states.
Nicole Harvey: Um, what they do is almost not allowed in Texas, and in Florida and Georgia there's just kinda no rules about it. Um, so that actually had an impact, not just on, like, the risk, like the thinking about it as risk-
Nicole Harvey: ... but also thinking about their operation, right? So when they, when they do their thing, when they offer their services in California and Nevada, I mean, they've gotta have a strict procedure. We gotta do A, then B, then C, in that order every time, and we can never do, you know, E and F. Uh, whereas in Georgia and Florida, they don't have those rules, and so maybe they can advertise more openly. Uh, you know, where in California they have to wait for people to call them, in Florida they can just call people and offer their services. Um, so it can have a big impact, and sometimes a positive impact, when you realize, like, "I have to do this in a very regulated way where I am, but if I go to these other states, I can have a totally different marketing approach," you know?
Nicole Harvey: Um, so it's not always a bad thing, you know, to look ahead and, and-
Mary Meyer: Right
Nicole Harvey: ... see what's possible. But, um, but I think it would be impossible, you know, for anyone to know off the top of their head what's going on in all 50 states, you know-
Nicole Harvey: No
Nicole Harvey: ... for, you know... I mean, I, I shouldn't say nobody. I, I went to school with some of these kids where that's all they do, you know?
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... but then even then, like, you're so focused on, you know, this service in 50 states that, you know, maybe you're not thinking about other aspects of the business.
Mary Meyer: Right. Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: So if someone wants to, um... They're like, "Man, I wanna open up my business in Nevada," and they call you, how do you... Like, do you help them through the Silver Flume, which is our, you know, state sidebar?
Nicole Harvey: Oh, sure. Yeah.
Mary Meyer: You do? I mean, you do all that kind of stuff?
Nicole Harvey: Yeah, yeah. We can do... So we usually, um, if it's an LLC that we're starting up, uh, we charge a flat 1,500.
Nicole Harvey: It covers all of the fees that Silver Flume's gonna charge you, which is almost $500 to set up the LLC.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, we'll prepare the operating agreement, which is often overlooked. It's one of those things that if you don't know to have one, then no one's telling you to do it. Um, the state doesn't require it. but your operating agreement is like your bylaws. Um, it's important even if you're a solo.
Nicole Harvey: It is critical if y- there's more than one of you involved in the business. Um, the operating agreement is everything from, you know, what, what's our ownership shares to what's our authority.
Nicole Harvey: Can we act separately? Do we both have to, you know, be there at the bank, uh, if we're doing something?
Nicole Harvey: Um, and it can even cover, uh, what happens if one of you becomes incapacitated or passes away, um, so that we don't have, you know, surprises with that. And there's some other planning we can do, um, to mitigate those kinds of risks as well. But-
Nicole Harvey: ... uh, but typically, that's our, kind of our startup package, uh, you know, to get somebody their LLC off the ground. Um, for people who are outside the state, we do offer to serve as the registered agent.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, you have to have somebody physically here in the state that can receive service of process if you were to get sued, if your company was gonna be sued.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and so we offer that service at a, at a low rate. It's, like, 150 a year.
Nicole Harvey: Um, we do... If we're your registered agent, we will also ensure that your renewal happens on time and then bill you afterwards for the fees, um, just to make sure that you never, you know, go past the deadline and find yourself in a default status.
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... so yeah. So there's, there's a few things we do there to help with startup and compliance. And, uh, you know, I also have people that, um, you know, they come in for the consultation.
Nicole Harvey: Happy to give them all the information on what to do, what all these things... What's a registered agent?
Nicole Harvey: You know, how do you fill out these boxes? Uh, so that they can go and do it on their own.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, I mean, I, I, I like to be in a position to meet people where they are, you know, and, and provide the level of support that they want.
Nicole Harvey: Um, and that's, that's a little different for everybody.
Mary Meyer: Yeah. Well, and I've seen some of these fees from just doing a few things I've done, and these are very reasonable fees, what you're charging, for sure, in my opinion.
Nicole Harvey: Oh, thanks.
Mary Meyer: Um, yeah. So and, and excellent service. For a- anything that I've done, I'm like the... Especially this, the online store, which is...
Mary Meyer: I shut down. It's like the legal stuff was always the most scary, you know?
Mary Meyer: The ma- you know, the... Are, am I compliant with, with what's going on in the government? Am I gonna get in trouble with anything?
Mary Meyer: To me, that was always the most scary, um-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... you know, and, and it doesn't hit your everyday what you're doing, but it's, um, yeah.
Mary Meyer: You don't... You want it to stay legal for sure. So, uh-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... I know you probably have to go here pretty soon. What other thoughts do you have for us, uh, before we wrap up?
Nicole Harvey: Oh, gosh. Uh, you know, I guess just that, um, being willing to think ahead and measure the risks is an important part of running a healthy business, as well as, um, having personal financial health.
Nicole Harvey: Um, you know, we don't, we don't like to think about the tragedies, uh, of losing somebody in our family, you know? Or if you're a parent, it's almost impossible to think about what would happen with your family if something happened to you.
Nicole Harvey: Um, but being willing to engage in that conversation and put a plan in place is of immeasurable value.
Nicole Harvey: Um, I mean, not just for yourself. You know, there might be a time that you appreciate that you did that.
Nicole Harvey: Um, but certainly for your family and for your loved ones. Um, and as, you know, as hard as it is to talk about, we really do try, um, to approach it, um, in a way that makes it palatable.
Nicole Harvey: You know, I, I use humor where I can, um, to make people feel comfortable about these difficult discussions, and I, I think that helps tremendously. It certainly, um, was the impetus for writing the book I did, I Hope You Die Laughing.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: You know?
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah, like if, if we can laugh at it, maybe it's not as scary. Um-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... but I, I think really the important thing is, uh, talk to, talk to attorneys until you find an attorney you're comfortable with. Because the more comfortable you are, the more you'll, uh, share, and the more you can share, the better that lawyer knows your business, the better, you know, support you're gonna have on the legal side when you need it. Um, but if you have that relationship before you need it, you're gonna be so glad when you're in that time of need that you've got somebody that knows you, that knows your business, that can step right in and just get started on helping.
Mary Meyer: Yeah. That, that's just so wise. And it, for sure, like, let's, you know, while we're here, we, uh, we do our best to make money, take care of our people, uh, take care of our stuff, and, you know, there is an end date to where, you know, we wanna make sure it's handed off correctly.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: So all these-
Nicole Harvey: Yeah
Mary Meyer: ... all these matters.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah. We want you to keep the money you make. I mean, that's-
Mary Meyer: Yeah
Nicole Harvey: ... that's really what we're doing, is helping people keep the money they make.
Mary Meyer: Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: So, well Nicole, thank you so much for coming on and sharing all your wisdom with this, and, uh, so valuable. So anyone who-
Nicole Harvey: Oh, thanks for having me.
Mary Meyer: Yeah, you're welcome. So anyone who wants to get ahold of you, and, you know, get these services, I'm sure they can go to the, your website, which is right underneath your name, nevadacouncil.com.
Nicole Harvey: That's right. Um-
Mary Meyer: Right.
Nicole Harvey: We're also all over, uh, YouTube. We've got a bunch of shorts about our services. We have, uh, there's a whole class, a 21-part class on our YouTube channel about deeds.
Nicole Harvey: If you are just dying to understand deeds at a deeper level, uh, there's a class there for you.
Nicole Harvey: Uh, we've got some education on estate planning, um, on, uh, small estates, how to, how to handle a petition to set aside for a probate.
Nicole Harvey: Um, there's a lot of education there and a lot of information about what we do. Um, you can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah, I think that's it.
Mary Meyer: Yeah. Well, yeah, and one, one thing I, I don't think I me- didn't mention this earlier, but in your website you do say, like, there's certain levels, like if it's under $25,000 is your estate, there's, um, much less regulation, and then it stair-step up to over 300,000 is where kinda everything needs to be in place.
Nicole Harvey: Right.
Mary Meyer: So is that accurate? Yeah.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: And-
Nicole Harvey: There's, there's strategy behind all of that. You know?
Mary Meyer: And so if we go to YouTube, uh, there's, you guys have stuff on there where we can just learn.
Nicole Harvey: That's right. That's right.
Mary Meyer: Okay.
Nicole Harvey: And then also on our website, like you mentioned, we have the free tools for businesses. We do have, um, on the estate planning side, if you need a financial power of attorney, a healthcare power of attorney, those are free.
Nicole Harvey: We don't charge you for it, we don't hassle you about it. Um, you can prepare those for free. It'll email it to you. We have some trusted notaries on our site that can help you get those signed. We have a simple will package for people who don't want or don't need a trust. It includes, uh, the will, the powers of attorney, the living will, um, everything that we would normally put in a will package for $395. Um, and for another 250, we can go over it with you or make sure it's signed properly. Um, we have a, a petition to set aside for small estates, uh, that are $150,000 or less. Um, a lot of folks with a estate that small have trouble finding an attorney who will do that, and they also have trouble doing it themselves.
Nicole Harvey: So we created an online tool that helps put together everything you need for that process, with instructions for the court and how to get it done, and you can always consult with us, uh, for help in that process as well. Um, and then finally we have for our real estate investment friends and realtors, uh, we have a tool called a deed parser where you can upload a deed and it'll give you the breakdown of who the parties are and, you know, where this property is, and then at the bottom it'll even give you a little synopsis.
Nicole Harvey: You know, this deed appears to be valid, or maybe it does not, it has some issues. Um, but lots of tools there. Yeah.
Mary Meyer: That's very helpful for those in real estate and those looking to buy. Yeah. Wow.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: I, I was looking through some of those things. It's, it's such a beautiful thing that you offer just some, some of these things for free, that people can get on there and, and do, and then when they, for all the more difficult questions, you're there with, uh, with, um, your s- your lovely wisdom for that too. So.
Nicole Harvey: Yeah.
Mary Meyer: Yeah. Well, thank you Nicole. Thank you so much. I appreciate you, and appreciate your time, and, uh, Nevada Council, everyone. Nicole Harvey, Nevada Counsel.
Nicole Harvey: Thank you so much, Mary.
Mary Meyer: Oh, you're welcome. Thanks for joining us. New episodes of Healthy, Happy, Wise, Wealthy with Fabulous Guests drop every Thursday.
Mary Meyer: Also, you can follow our socials @HealthyHappyWiseWealthy on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. You can watch episodes on YouTube @HealthyHappyWiseWealthyNetwork and in all these places, please like, follow, and subscribe. See you next time.
