Employment policies are vital to the well-being of your nonprofit. Such policies set workplace expectations, define work guidelines, reduce or eliminate confusion and misunderstanding, and provide steps for any necessary disciplinary action. Because every nonprofit organization is unique, your organization may well need a particular set of specific policies. However, the following are the general ones that benefit most all nonprofits.
Benefits of Employment Policies
An official set of employment policies provides many benefits for your nonprofit. For nonprofit employers, policies capture the values you wish to instill in your workforce, outline the standards of behavior you expect, and provide a clear guide for rights and responsibilities.
Instituting strong, fair, and unambiguous policies not only contributes to a happier workforce it can also improve employee retention. Further, employment law is vast, complicated, and can be tricky to navigate. Well-drafted employment policies can also help you avoid legal issues and costly mistakes.
Employee Handbook
Employee handbooks are not required by law, but having one is in the best interest of your nonprofit and those who work for you— even if you have just one employee! A good employee handbook effectively communicates the nonprofit’s policies and procedures and makes clear the rights and responsibilities of employees in your organization. Many disputes can be avoided by a clear, easy-to-read, and straightforward employee handbook.
Not to be confused with the handbook, an employment agreement sets the conditions, terms, and obligations between you as the employer and an employee. Employment agreements often include details regarding salary, benefits, paid time off, work schedule, mandatory mediation/arbitration, and defining the at-will employment relationship. Employment agreements need to be individualized to suit each employment relationship. It is considered a binding contract that should be administered in writing and signed by both employer and employee.
Formal Performance Review
Formal performance reviews are an assessment of an employee by a supervisor and the employee themselves. It’s a two-way, not a one-way discussion! The review should be based on jointly pre-determined goals and performance objectives. While often overlooked (and sometimes dreaded), performance reviews are of great value to nonprofit employers and their employees.
You should have in place a standardized form and consistent processes for conducting individual performance reviews of all employees. Evaluating the quality of an individual’s work, ability to meet goals, communication skills, adherence to your nonprofit’s mission, attendance, and dependability, among other criteria, is key to effective workforce management and to building trust with employees. You may also consider whether performance reviews for board members would be advantageous to the organization.
Employee Personnel File
A personnel file is a hard copy folder and/or digital file that contains information related to every new, existing, and former employee. Knowing what needs to be stored (and what should not) in a secure personnel file will help your nonprofit in promotion and termination decisions; provide a means of tracking vacations, training, and achievements; and is necessary to comply with regulations.
A personnel file should only contain items related to his or her job or employment status. These include, but are not limited to:
Application and resume
Signed acknowledgment page from the employee handbook
Pay information including time sheets, W-4s, and withholding forms
Just as important as having the right information in a personnel file, is to avoid placing the wrong documents in a personnel file. Some items that should not be in an employee’s personnel file include:
Medical information and accommodation requests
Whistleblower complaints
Court orders, such as garnishment or restraining orders
Self-employed, freelancer, consultant…people who provide goods or services to your nonprofit, but are not your employees, are considered independent contractors. Independent contractors differ from employees in that they control their financial and work-related relationships and pay their own self-employment, Social Security, and Medicare taxes.
When you hire an independent contractor, you should have a written and signed contract that clearly outlines the scope of work, rate/payment, severability, deliverables, and clearly identifies the person as an independent contractor. Also, you can minimize and avoid legal liability by placing the right provisions in an independent contractor agreement.
Updating Employment Policies & Additional Policies You Need
If you already have some (or even all) of the above-listed employment policies in place, when were they last updated? Think about the many ways your organization has changed since they were written, including new employees you hired and existing employees whose roles have evolved.
Changes to state and federal laws may have rendered some elements of your employment policies incomplete or out of compliance. It may be high time to renew your commitment to a productive, happy workplace by revising employment policies.
Also, be aware this memo discusses only employment policies. To work toward optimal IRS compliance, you should adopt the nine key policies and procedures which appear on IRS Form 990. Also, you should consider having documents in place relating to the organization’s ethics, grantors and grantees, endowment management, and legal training for board directors.
To discuss further, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email (gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com) or on my cell phone (515-371-6077). I’d be happy to speak more to the particulars of employment policies, with you at your convenience.
In my ongoing efforts to break down the legalese barriers that tend to separate lawyers from the real world, and have increased quality communication, here’s another Fun with Legal Words post. Today’s word is “trust.”
In this context, and in the simplest terms, a trust is a legal agreement between three parties: settlor, trustee, and beneficiary. Let’s look at each of these three parties, and then delve more into how a trust works.
Settlor
All trusts have a settlor, sometimes called the “donor” or “trustor.” The settlor creates the trust, and also has legal authority to transfer property to the trust.
The trustee can be any person or entity that can take title to property on behalf of a beneficiary. The trustee is responsible for managing the property according to the rules outlined in the trust document and must do so in the best interests of the beneficiary.
Beneficiary
The beneficiary is the person or entity benefiting from the trust. The beneficiary can be one person/entity or multiple parties (true also of settlor and trustee). Multiple trust beneficiaries do not have to have the same interests in the trust property. Also, trust beneficiaries do not have to even exist at the time the trust is created (such as a future grandchild, or charitable foundation that hasn’t been set up yet).
Trust Property
A trust can be either funded or unfunded. By funded, we mean that trust property has been placed “inside” the trust. This property is sometimes called the “principal” or the “corpus.” A trust is unfunded until property are transferred into your name as trustee of the trust.
Any asset can be held by a trust. Trust property can be real estate, intangible property, business interests, and personal property. Some common examples of trust property include farms, buildings, vacation homes, money, stocks, bonds, collections, personal possessions, and vehicles.
“Imaginary Container”
We speak of putting assets “in” a trust, but assets don’t actually change location. Think of a trust as an “imaginary container.” It’s not a geographical place that protects something (such as a garage protects your car), but a form of ownership that holds it for your benefit. For instance, on your car title the owner blank would read “The John Smith Trust.” It’s common to put real estate (farms, homes, vacation condos) and entire accounts (savings, checking, credit union, and brokerage accounts) into a trust.
After the trust is funded, the trust property will still be in the same place before the trust was created—your land where it always was, your car in the garage, your money in the bank, your stamp collection in the study… The only difference is the property will have a different owner: “The Jane Jones Trust,” not Jane Jones.
Transfer of Ownership
Putting property in a trust transfers it from personal ownership to the trustee, who holds the property for the beneficiary. The trustee has legal title to the trust property. For most purposes, the law treats trust property as if it were now owned by the trustee and trusts have separate taxpayer identification numbers.
But, trustees are not the full owners of trust property. Trustees have a legal duty to use trust property as provided in the trust agreement and permitted by law. The beneficiaries retain what is known as equitable title: the right to benefit from trust property as specified in the trust.
Assets to Beneficiary
The settlor provides terms in a trust agreement as to how the fund’s assets are to be distributed to a beneficiary. The settlor can provide for the distribution of funds in any way that is not against the law or against public policy.
Types of Trusts Almost Limitless
The types of trusts are almost limitless. Trusts may be classified by their purpose, duration, creation method, or by the nature of the trust property.
Benefits of Trusts
The potential benefits of trusts are immense. The benefits include avoiding probate (and other costs savings), privacy, and helping with every family’s unique needs.
Avoid Probate
A major benefit of trusts is avoiding probate. This is because, upon death, the trust dictates how trust property will pass. Avoiding probate saves your loved ones both time and money as the probate process is time-consuming, taking anywhere from several months to a year to complete. Sometimes, depending on the size of the estate, it can take even longer. Probate can also be expensive. Attorney’s fees alone can amount to two percent of the total estate, or even more in extraordinary cases. For some, two percent of their assets can be a very high number. Often, the cost of creating a trust is considerably less expensive than the cost of probate would have been.
Privacy
When a will is filed with an Iowa court upon death, the will becomes a public record. Trusts, on the other hand, remain private documents. Many folks, especially in small towns, have a strong desire to keep business affairs private.
Second Marriages and Blended Families
Trusts are also helpful in situations involving second marriages or blended families. When married couples have children from previous relationships, the surviving spouse has the ability to disinherit stepchildren. A trust can remedy this situation by providing lifetime benefits to the surviving spouse but, after his or her death, leaving assets to children and stepchildren.
Special Needs Trusts
Families with members who have special care needs must take a careful estate planning approach. For example, when a person receives government assistance due to a disability, a gift or inheritance might result in denial of benefits. However, assets can be left in certain types of trusts (for example, a special needs trust), to provide for supplemental needs while still allowing persons with disabilities to continue to receive benefits.
You probably still have some questions on trusts…which is why I’m here! Don’t hesitate to contact me. I offer a free one-hour consultation at which point we can discuss your personal situation, see if a trust is right for you, and set up the steps to take for success.
https://www.gordonfischerlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/clarisse-meyer-162874.jpg36485472Gordon Fischerhttps://www.gordonfischerlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GFLF-logo-300x141.pngGordon Fischer2019-01-05 06:08:002020-05-18 11:28:49(Legal) Word of the Day: Trust
There are three parties to a trust: (1) the settlor (sometimes called the donor or grantor); (2) the trustee; and (3) the beneficiary. Let’s talk about the “middle man” of this arrangement – the trustee.
The trustee is the person who receives the property and accepts the obligation to hold the property for the benefit of the beneficiary. There can be one, two, or many trustees.
General Duties of Trustees
A person who accepts the role of trustee has numerous responsibilities. In particular, trustee owes several duties, which may be fairly summarized as follows:
The duty to be prudent, especially with respect to the investment of trust assets.
The duty to carry out the terms of the trust.
The duty to be loyal to the trust and administer the trust solely for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
The duty to give personal attention to the affairs of the trust.
The duty to provide regular accounting to the beneficiaries.
Court Can Choose Trustees
If the trustee chosen by the settlor is unwilling or unable to serve, and if the settlor has not chosen a successor trustee, a court will appoint a trustee to carry out the terms of the trust. ”A trust will not fail for want of a trustee.”
Individual Trustees & Corporate Trustees
A trustee can be one or more people or can be what is known as a corporate trustee. Many banks, other financial institutions, and even a few law firms have trust departments to manage trusts and carry out the duties of the trustee. These are professional trustees and, of course, charge fees for services rendered. But, there are no formal requirements for being a trustee, and individuals still often serve as trustee for family members and friends.
Questions? Let’s Talk.
This hopefully clarified the important role of the trustee to assist your estate planning decisions, but you may have questions…which is great! Contact me to discuss further the status of your estate plan and your trustee decisions. Reach me by email at gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com or phone at 515-371-6077.
https://www.gordonfischerlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ivana-cajina-311154-e1502525330554.jpg14772772Gordon Fischerhttps://www.gordonfischerlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GFLF-logo-300x141.pngGordon Fischer2019-01-03 15:58:432020-05-18 11:28:49What Is a Trustee & What Do They Actually Do?
Smart Employment Policies for Nonprofits
NonprofitsEmployment policies are vital to the well-being of your nonprofit. Such policies set workplace expectations, define work guidelines, reduce or eliminate confusion and misunderstanding, and provide steps for any necessary disciplinary action. Because every nonprofit organization is unique, your organization may well need a particular set of specific policies. However, the following are the general ones that benefit most all nonprofits.
Benefits of Employment Policies
An official set of employment policies provides many benefits for your nonprofit. For nonprofit employers, policies capture the values you wish to instill in your workforce, outline the standards of behavior you expect, and provide a clear guide for rights and responsibilities.
Instituting strong, fair, and unambiguous policies not only contributes to a happier workforce it can also improve employee retention. Further, employment law is vast, complicated, and can be tricky to navigate. Well-drafted employment policies can also help you avoid legal issues and costly mistakes.
Employee Handbook
Employee handbooks are not required by law, but having one is in the best interest of your nonprofit and those who work for you— even if you have just one employee! A good employee handbook effectively communicates the nonprofit’s policies and procedures and makes clear the rights and responsibilities of employees in your organization. Many disputes can be avoided by a clear, easy-to-read, and straightforward employee handbook.
Employment Agreement
Not to be confused with the handbook, an employment agreement sets the conditions, terms, and obligations between you as the employer and an employee. Employment agreements often include details regarding salary, benefits, paid time off, work schedule, mandatory mediation/arbitration, and defining the at-will employment relationship. Employment agreements need to be individualized to suit each employment relationship. It is considered a binding contract that should be administered in writing and signed by both employer and employee.
Formal Performance Review
Formal performance reviews are an assessment of an employee by a supervisor and the employee themselves. It’s a two-way, not a one-way discussion! The review should be based on jointly pre-determined goals and performance objectives. While often overlooked (and sometimes dreaded), performance reviews are of great value to nonprofit employers and their employees.
You should have in place a standardized form and consistent processes for conducting individual performance reviews of all employees. Evaluating the quality of an individual’s work, ability to meet goals, communication skills, adherence to your nonprofit’s mission, attendance, and dependability, among other criteria, is key to effective workforce management and to building trust with employees. You may also consider whether performance reviews for board members would be advantageous to the organization.
Employee Personnel File
A personnel file is a hard copy folder and/or digital file that contains information related to every new, existing, and former employee. Knowing what needs to be stored (and what should not) in a secure personnel file will help your nonprofit in promotion and termination decisions; provide a means of tracking vacations, training, and achievements; and is necessary to comply with regulations.
A personnel file should only contain items related to his or her job or employment status. These include, but are not limited to:
Just as important as having the right information in a personnel file, is to avoid placing the wrong documents in a personnel file. Some items that should not be in an employee’s personnel file include:
Independent Contractor Agreement
Self-employed, freelancer, consultant…people who provide goods or services to your nonprofit, but are not your employees, are considered independent contractors. Independent contractors differ from employees in that they control their financial and work-related relationships and pay their own self-employment, Social Security, and Medicare taxes.
When you hire an independent contractor, you should have a written and signed contract that clearly outlines the scope of work, rate/payment, severability, deliverables, and clearly identifies the person as an independent contractor. Also, you can minimize and avoid legal liability by placing the right provisions in an independent contractor agreement.
Updating Employment Policies & Additional Policies You Need
If you already have some (or even all) of the above-listed employment policies in place, when were they last updated? Think about the many ways your organization has changed since they were written, including new employees you hired and existing employees whose roles have evolved.
Changes to state and federal laws may have rendered some elements of your employment policies incomplete or out of compliance. It may be high time to renew your commitment to a productive, happy workplace by revising employment policies.
Also, be aware this memo discusses only employment policies. To work toward optimal IRS compliance, you should adopt the nine key policies and procedures which appear on IRS Form 990. Also, you should consider having documents in place relating to the organization’s ethics, grantors and grantees, endowment management, and legal training for board directors.
To discuss further, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email (gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com) or on my cell phone (515-371-6077). I’d be happy to speak more to the particulars of employment policies, with you at your convenience.
(Legal) Word of the Day: Trust
Legal Word of the Day, Trusts, Wills, Trusts & EstatesIn my ongoing efforts to break down the legalese barriers that tend to separate lawyers from the real world, and have increased quality communication, here’s another Fun with Legal Words post. Today’s word is “trust.”
In this context, and in the simplest terms, a trust is a legal agreement between three parties: settlor, trustee, and beneficiary. Let’s look at each of these three parties, and then delve more into how a trust works.
Settlor
All trusts have a settlor, sometimes called the “donor” or “trustor.” The settlor creates the trust, and also has legal authority to transfer property to the trust.
Trustee
The trustee can be any person or entity that can take title to property on behalf of a beneficiary. The trustee is responsible for managing the property according to the rules outlined in the trust document and must do so in the best interests of the beneficiary.
Beneficiary
The beneficiary is the person or entity benefiting from the trust. The beneficiary can be one person/entity or multiple parties (true also of settlor and trustee). Multiple trust beneficiaries do not have to have the same interests in the trust property. Also, trust beneficiaries do not have to even exist at the time the trust is created (such as a future grandchild, or charitable foundation that hasn’t been set up yet).
Trust Property
A trust can be either funded or unfunded. By funded, we mean that trust property has been placed “inside” the trust. This property is sometimes called the “principal” or the “corpus.” A trust is unfunded until property are transferred into your name as trustee of the trust.
Any Asset
Any asset can be held by a trust. Trust property can be real estate, intangible property, business interests, and personal property. Some common examples of trust property include farms, buildings, vacation homes, money, stocks, bonds, collections, personal possessions, and vehicles.
“Imaginary Container”
We speak of putting assets “in” a trust, but assets don’t actually change location. Think of a trust as an “imaginary container.” It’s not a geographical place that protects something (such as a garage protects your car), but a form of ownership that holds it for your benefit. For instance, on your car title the owner blank would read “The John Smith Trust.” It’s common to put real estate (farms, homes, vacation condos) and entire accounts (savings, checking, credit union, and brokerage accounts) into a trust.
After the trust is funded, the trust property will still be in the same place before the trust was created—your land where it always was, your car in the garage, your money in the bank, your stamp collection in the study… The only difference is the property will have a different owner: “The Jane Jones Trust,” not Jane Jones.
Transfer of Ownership
Putting property in a trust transfers it from personal ownership to the trustee, who holds the property for the beneficiary. The trustee has legal title to the trust property. For most purposes, the law treats trust property as if it were now owned by the trustee and trusts have separate taxpayer identification numbers.
But, trustees are not the full owners of trust property. Trustees have a legal duty to use trust property as provided in the trust agreement and permitted by law. The beneficiaries retain what is known as equitable title: the right to benefit from trust property as specified in the trust.
Assets to Beneficiary
The settlor provides terms in a trust agreement as to how the fund’s assets are to be distributed to a beneficiary. The settlor can provide for the distribution of funds in any way that is not against the law or against public policy.
Types of Trusts Almost Limitless
The types of trusts are almost limitless. Trusts may be classified by their purpose, duration, creation method, or by the nature of the trust property.
Benefits of Trusts
The potential benefits of trusts are immense. The benefits include avoiding probate (and other costs savings), privacy, and helping with every family’s unique needs.
Avoid Probate
A major benefit of trusts is avoiding probate. This is because, upon death, the trust dictates how trust property will pass. Avoiding probate saves your loved ones both time and money as the probate process is time-consuming, taking anywhere from several months to a year to complete. Sometimes, depending on the size of the estate, it can take even longer. Probate can also be expensive. Attorney’s fees alone can amount to two percent of the total estate, or even more in extraordinary cases. For some, two percent of their assets can be a very high number. Often, the cost of creating a trust is considerably less expensive than the cost of probate would have been.
Privacy
When a will is filed with an Iowa court upon death, the will becomes a public record. Trusts, on the other hand, remain private documents. Many folks, especially in small towns, have a strong desire to keep business affairs private.
Second Marriages and Blended Families
Trusts are also helpful in situations involving second marriages or blended families. When married couples have children from previous relationships, the surviving spouse has the ability to disinherit stepchildren. A trust can remedy this situation by providing lifetime benefits to the surviving spouse but, after his or her death, leaving assets to children and stepchildren.
Special Needs Trusts
Families with members who have special care needs must take a careful estate planning approach. For example, when a person receives government assistance due to a disability, a gift or inheritance might result in denial of benefits. However, assets can be left in certain types of trusts (for example, a special needs trust), to provide for supplemental needs while still allowing persons with disabilities to continue to receive benefits.
Let’s Get Started
You probably still have some questions on trusts…which is why I’m here! Don’t hesitate to contact me. I offer a free one-hour consultation at which point we can discuss your personal situation, see if a trust is right for you, and set up the steps to take for success.
What Is a Trustee & What Do They Actually Do?
Trusts, Wills, Trusts & EstatesThree Parties to a Trust
There are three parties to a trust: (1) the settlor (sometimes called the donor or grantor); (2) the trustee; and (3) the beneficiary. Let’s talk about the “middle man” of this arrangement – the trustee.
Definition of Trustee
The trustee is the person who receives the property and accepts the obligation to hold the property for the benefit of the beneficiary. There can be one, two, or many trustees.
General Duties of Trustees
A person who accepts the role of trustee has numerous responsibilities. In particular, trustee owes several duties, which may be fairly summarized as follows:
Court Can Choose Trustees
If the trustee chosen by the settlor is unwilling or unable to serve, and if the settlor has not chosen a successor trustee, a court will appoint a trustee to carry out the terms of the trust. ”A trust will not fail for want of a trustee.”
Individual Trustees & Corporate Trustees
A trustee can be one or more people or can be what is known as a corporate trustee. Many banks, other financial institutions, and even a few law firms have trust departments to manage trusts and carry out the duties of the trustee. These are professional trustees and, of course, charge fees for services rendered. But, there are no formal requirements for being a trustee, and individuals still often serve as trustee for family members and friends.
Questions? Let’s Talk.
This hopefully clarified the important role of the trustee to assist your estate planning decisions, but you may have questions…which is great! Contact me to discuss further the status of your estate plan and your trustee decisions. Reach me by email at gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com or phone at 515-371-6077.