Welcome to the Massingill blog. Here’ll you’ll find frequently published articles on important topics relating to business law, healthcare business law, and family estate planning. Not finding the information you need? Book a consultation. Our friendly and helpful legal staff will answers your questions and get you on the path to solutions.


| Read Time: < 1 minute | Business Law

Labor Poster Scams

Forming a business entity provides business owners with many advantages: liability protection, tax flexibility, access to capital, and more. But there is at least one downside: occasional junk mail. If you’ve recently incorporated, an “Important Notice” may arrive in an official-looking envelope informing you that you must post various labor notices in your workplace or face fines. Conveniently, they include...

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| Read Time: 3 minutes | Healthcare Business Law

Sex and Subluxation: A Legal Guide for Texas Chiropractors

Engaging in sexual activity with patients is, as we say in the legal field, a very bad idea. Sexual misconduct can trigger severe disciplinary action by the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners (“TBCE”) and civil liability for damages. Doctors who behave responsibly with patients can nevertheless face liability for sexual discrimination and harassment in the workplace. And even doctors whose personal...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Healthcare Business Law

Employment Law Basics: Tips for the Entrepreneurial Doctor

Note: This article first appeared in the Fall 2016 edition of the Texas Journal of Chiropractic, the premier resource for Doctors of Chiropractic in Texas. In his book The E Myth Revisited, Michael E. Gerber opines that the fatal assumption made by many small business owners is that “if you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Healthcare Business Law

Starting a Business: Tips for the Entrepreneurial Doctor

Note: This article first appeared in the Summer 2016 edition of the Texas Journal of Chiropractic, the premier resource for Doctors of Chiropractic in Texas. Many new doctors graduate from chiropractic school, decide to launch their own practice, and subsequently discover that while their education prepared them to deliver quality care to patients, it did not prepare them to own and...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Estate Planning

Community Property Basics

As you may know, Texas is a community property state. This means that Texas law differentiates between community property, which belongs to both spouses equally, and separate property, which belongs to one spouse. In general, property acquired during marriage is community property. Separate property consists of anything one spouse owned before marriage, property acquired by one spouse by gift or inheritance,...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Business Law

What’s an Operating Agreement and Why do I Need One?

One of an entrepreneur’s first legal decisions often is deciding to create a limited liability company (“LLC”). This can be a great decision as it helps provide a limitation on the entrepreneur’s personal liability. But filing the paperwork to create an LLC is the beginning of the formation process, not the end. In order to preserve the limited liability...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Estate Planning

Will or Trust? Or Both?

In general, estate plans are either will-based or trust-based. Both wills and trusts are powerful estate planning mechanisms (and each has its own advantages and disadvantages). BUT DOES IT EVER MAKE SENSE TO HAVE BOTH A WILL AND TRUST IN YOUR ESTATE PLAN? THE ANSWER IS…YES. Our trust-based estate plan packages always include a “pour-over” will to provide for the distribution of any...

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| Read Time: < 1 minute | Massingill News

Massingill Appointed to Texas Bar Committee

Joshua Massingill, Principal Attorney at Norton & Massingill, PLLC – a boutique law firm in Cedar Park, Texas practicing in the areas of business law and estate planning – has been appointed to the Texas State Bar’s Law Practice Management Committee. His term will begin in June 2016 and expire in June 2019. The State Bar of Texas Law Practice Management Committee is...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Estate Planning

Do I Really Need an Estate Plan? (Spoiler Alert: Yes)

If you don’t have an estate plan, the state of Texas will ultimately decide who receives your property after your death, and a judge will decide who cares for your children (and pets). If this scenario makes you uncomfortable, consider making a comprehensive estate plan. There are many reasons to make an estate plan.  The three reasons most commonly...

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