👋 Happy Friday! The last week of the old year and the first week of the new year encompass not only Christmas and New Year’s Day, but also my birthday, so I’m still resting in Asheville, hoping the coming snownami doesn’t prevent us from heading back to Florida on Saturday. So this edition is going to focus on some nuts and bolts of some changes regarding our trust and statutory registered agent services. We’ll return with more prognosticating, cogitating, speculating, and ruminating next Friday.

One more thing: I’ll be giving a free webinar for CFRI members next Thursday evening, explaining the new FINCen BOI reporting requirements. If you’re a CFRI member, click here to sign up.

1 big thing: Our new address for registered agent services

We moved our physical offices in November.

Why it matters: If you (want to) use our statutory registered agent services for your Florida LLC or corporation, you must enter the new address in your annual report.

  • The registered agent’s name should be entered as “L.T.S.C., LLC”.

  • The new address information to be entered is “1901 West Colonial Drive, 1st Floor, Orlando, FL 32804”.

  • You would e-sign it as “Joseph E. Seagle, manager” on the registered agent line.

Of course, you could avoid this hassle if you have us to file your annual report on your behalf. Our website has more information if you want us to handle the details.

2. FINCen’s BOI reporting website is up

The new website to report business ownership information is open for business.

Why it matters: All active, for-profit, non-publicly-traded corporations, LLC’s, limited and general partnerships, and other artificial business entities that are created through their local version of Florida’s Division of Corporations must file their BOI Report before the deadline.

  • Those entities existing prior to January 1, 2024 (estimated to be over 40 million) must file their reports by December 31, 2024.

  • Those created on or after January 1, 2024, must file their BOI Reports within 90 days of creation.

Penalty for failure to file timely and truthfully: Civil penalty of $500.00 for each day late, and criminal penalty up to $10,000.00 and 2 years in jail.

I tried out the system on January 1, the first day it was active, and found it to be:

  • Tedious: There’s a lot of information to enter about many people involved with a company — officers, managers, members, directors ….

  • Confusing: There are drop-down explanations of what they’re seeking you to answer on each new page, but it was a little difficult to understand whether they needed information about the person who was filling out the form, the company itself, or the persons who control the company.

  • Repetitive: If the same person filling out the form is also the same person who controls and owns the company, then it requires the person to enter their name, address, date of birth, and Drivers License or Passport information at least three times in separate places on the form.

Of course, once you get a FINCen Identification Number, you should be able to use that on subsequent filings to more quickly complete the form.

  • For instance, if another LLC owns an LLC, then filing the member LLC’s BOI report first would provide the ID that could be used on the other company’s report.

The bottom line: Fortunately, you only have to file the free BOI Report once for an entity.

  • The only reason to access a report again is to update information if the name of a manager, officer, or owner of more than 25% interest in the entity changes.

  • Keep the filing receipt handy. You’ll need it later to re-access your report should anything ever change.

  • Changes must be reported within 30 days of occurring.

3. Catch up fast

  1. Private sector employment increased by 164,000 jobs in December, and annual pay was up 5.4% over the prior year, beating inflation. Almost all the experts had predicted a slowdown in hiring, so this was unexpected news on Thursday. PRNewswire

  2. The good employment news caused global stocks to tumble as chances of the Fed cutting its lending rate early in the year decreased. U.S. markets could see similar adjustments as traders’ hopes of an early rate cut are dashed. Reuters

  3. The biggest concern for homeowners is the price of insurance. HousingWire

  4. First American is slowly getting back on its feet after a hacker took them down on December 21 and stole data, delaying thousands of closings nationwide and worrying anyone who’s ever had a closing with them in the past. HousingWire

  5. Hidden/junk fees cost Americans $167 billion in 2023. That’s over $1,200 per person. MReport

4. The last word

My view each evening from my home office window overlooking downtown Asheville as the sun sets over the Great Smokies in the west.

On January 1, 2024, after 21 years, we changed our law firm name.

Since 2002, we’d been known as “Joseph E. Seagle, P.A.,” but in the second half of 2023, I started thinking it was time to change to a brand name not centered on moi.

Why it matters: My passion is helping people aspire to a better life. That’s the core mission of our companies, including My Land Trustee and my law firm.

  • I’m the great, great, great-grandson of a man who — at seven years old — boarded a ship in Ireland to come to the U.S. to work as an indentured servant on a farm in Western North Carolina.

  • In the ensuing years, each generation helped the next one to move from the field to the mill, to the classroom, to the boardroom.

  • So, it’s built into my core to reach out and help those who also aspire to better lives.

Our hiring process and everything we do is geared toward attracting and retaining crew members with this core passion.

  • It was time to change our name to reflect that driving focus.

The bottom line: Aspire Legal Solutions PL is now the brand you’ll start to see on our letterhead, e-mail signatures, and website whenever the law firm has a tangent with you.

What’s next: Let us know if there’s anything you aspire to do or be, and we’ll work with you as best we can to help you accomplish that.

We hope you found this helpful — any feedback is appreciated and can be shared by hitting reply or using the feedback feature below.

Be on the lookout for our next issue! 👋

  • Our mailing address: PO Box 547945, Orlando, FL 32854-7945

  • Our physical address: 1901 West Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32804