No longer do you need to move your assets offshore in order to protect your yourself from an ex-spouse, creditor or a potential litigant. Nevada gets the top rating according to Forbes.com for being the most debtor-friendly state and for having the most trusts of all 50 states.

HOW THEY RANKED—Forbes.com ranked the 12 states that allow domestic asset protection trusts on how much protection they offer the people who owe money to others:
» Nevada A+
» Alaska A
» Delaware A-
» South Dakota A-
» Rhode Island B
» Tennessee B
» New Hampshire B-
» Utah C
» Wyoming C
» Missouri C-
» Oklahoma C-
» Colorado D

To see the full article on Forbes. com click here.

Many past seminar attendees like Sharon Corbett-Parry can attest that Scott Burnett is a knowledgeable and engaging speaker. “I loved Burnett’s style. He made sure we understood the point before moving on to the next topic,” Corbett-Parry said. Burnett, an attorney with more than ten years assisting business owners on the value of incorporating their companies, will be presenting the “How to Use a Corporation or Limited Liability Company Workshop” throughout the year. Registration is free!

See dates and locations for Laughlin’s upcoming seminars at www.corpworkshop.com.

Participants will gain knowledge on how to protect their personal assets against the threat of a lawsuit, protect their earnings and the value of tax reduction. Those who will benefit most from this workshop are closely-held corporate and limited liability owners who need to know what their legal requirements are, the benefits available to them and how to separate out the legal liability of owning a business.

Attendees will also have the unique ability to talk with experts one-on-one and get insight into their unique concerns.  For registration information please visit www.corpworkshop.com.

I just got back from a great trip to California. While I was there I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in San Diego with an exciting group of people including:

Troy Hazard, a radio and television personality from Australia recently transplanted to the USA, who brought us all together to talk about what we could do to help small business owners thrive in today’s turbulent economy.

Amilya Antonetti, a fixture on national television, contributing correspondent to Fox News and author of a new book, “The Recipe”.

Anthony Tesoriero, self-made millionaire, serial entrepreneur and founding member of The Lucky Napkin Group.

Joan Koerber-Walker, CEO of AMA Enterprises.

Last, but not least we were joined by author/speaker/marketing and sales training legend, Brian Tracy, who will also be speaking at Laughlin’s November 3-5 seminar in the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

We gathered at the offices of Brian Tracy International and spent our time discussing case studies of our various customers and trying to pinpoint what help entrepreneurs seem to need right now. It was an exciting discussion and there are some cool things that will come from it. We will have a short assessment tool coming online by mid-August called the “Smart Biz Quiz,” which will help identify what small business owners feel they need most right now. Using the results the group will attempt to find help and solutions based on our collective business connections.

As soon as the quiz is up and running, I will post a link. In the mean time please take time to read about the people mentioned above .

Comment  here and at www.smallbusiness411.com and let me know what issues are most important to the success and growth of your business!

 -Aaron Young, CEO Laughlin Associates, Inc.

Hello Everyone,                                                                                    

Last week I was invited on as a guest of the Big Biz Show, heard on both the Fox Business Network and CBS Business Network. Currently this program is heard on approximately 150 stations around the country. They have a listenership of more than 1.4 million people with an obvious leaning toward small business owners and investors.

The hosts, Sully and Rusty, were hilarious and a little tough to keep up with, but I did my best and had a lot of fun. Take a minute and please check out  Aaron Young on the Big Biz Show!      

U.S. Chamber Launches Advertising Campaign: ‘Jobs, Not Lawsuits’

LOS ANGELES, CA—A new national survey finds that California’s lawsuit climate is among the worst in the country and on par with states including Alabama, Louisiana, and West Virginia. Among local jurisdictions, Los Angeles’ courts were mentioned as the second worst in the nation for legal fairness after Chicago, Illinois. San Francisco’s courts were named as the sixth worst.

The findings from Lawsuit Climate 2010: Ranking the States were released today by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive by telephone and online from October 2009 to January 2010, ranks the worst five states for legal fairness as: California (46th), Alabama (47th), Mississippi (48th), Louisiana (49th), and West Virginia (50th). Two-thirds, or 67%, of the 1,482 corporate lawyers contacted for the survey say a state’s lawsuit environment is likely to impact important business decisions at their company, such as where to locate or expand their business—up 10% from just three years ago.

“California needs more jobs, not more lawsuits,” said Lisa A. Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. “With one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, California’s legal climate is discouraging new businesses and new jobs at a time when the state needs them most.”

This year’s survey is the eighth such ranking of the 50 state lawsuit climates since 2002.  Respondents—general counsels and senior attorneys or executives in companies with annual revenues of at least $100 million—give California especially low rankings for its treatment of class action lawsuits, tort or personal injury lawsuits, damages, and contract litigation.

Some facts about California’s legal system account for its low ranking.  For example:

• More than four class action lawsuits are filed every day that California superior courts are in session.  California judges (especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco) are willing to certify class actions that are not certifiable in other states.
• In recent years, out-of-state law firms have opened offices in California to file asbestos claims that would have been barred in their home states.

Rickard said that the state’s legal climate affects all businesses, but small businesses can be particularly hard hit. “Most small businesses operate on small profit margins.  In an economic downturn, a single lawsuit against a small business may mean the difference between survival and closing its doors,” said Rickard.

ILR also announced a new national advertising campaign called “Jobs Not Lawsuits,” which will include movie trailers to be shown on more than 250 movie screens in California this spring.  It will be the first time that movie trailers have been used for issue advertising in California.

The two-minute trailers feature the stories of California small businesses that were the subject of costly lawsuits that had a material impact on their companies. In one story, an after-school youth basketball facility in Sacramento called Basketball Town was forced to close after the company’s finances were drained by legal bills from fighting a lawsuit.

“Los Angeles is the movie capital of the world and the silver screen is the perfect place to tell these true stories of businesses that have been victimized by a dysfunctional legal system,” Rickard said. “We want people to see the real life consequences of these lawsuits.”

ILR seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the national, state, and local levels.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.