INDUS Counsel

INDUS Counsel Official page of IndUS Counsel, a Silicon Valley law firm, that represents startups, mid-size companies & Fortune 500 in U.S & international transactions.

A full service law firm servicing businesses and individuals in corporate, commercial, employment, franchising, immigration, IP, real estate and international transactions.

Something we see consistently with business owners in blended families: the plan was built for a simpler family structur...
06/18/2026

Something we see consistently with business owners in blended families: the plan was built for a simpler family structure than the one they actually have.

Under the law, stepchildren aren't included. The buy-sell agreement doesn't account for competing claims from a surviving spouse and biological children from a prior relationship. The insurance is in place, but the beneficiary designations haven't been updated since the first marriage. Each piece was put in place by someone competent. Nobody's job was to make sure all of it connected across the actual family.

That is exactly the gap a LIFT Business Breakthrough™ Session closes. We look at the legal, insurance, financial, and tax structure together and make sure the plan matches the family you have actually built.

Link here: https://calendly.com/ep-induscounsel/free-15-minute-consult?month=2026-06

Most parents have had the conversation. They've made an agreement with a sibling, a parent, or a close friend. It feels ...
06/17/2026

Most parents have had the conversation. They've made an agreement with a sibling, a parent, or a close friend. It feels settled. It feels done.

Here is what most don't know: a stepparent has no automatic legal relationship to a stepchild. It doesn't matter how many years have passed, how close the relationship is, or what the family understands privately. Without a formal adoption, the law sees nothing. No inheritance rights. No guardianship rights. No authority in an emergency.

This week's Q&A breaks down what "no legal relationship" actually costs and what it takes to change it. Swipe through for the answer, then read the full article to see what a complete plan looks like.

Link here: https://induscounsel.com/the-question-every-father-thinks-hes-answered-but-hasnt/

For a lot of business owners in blended families, the plan looks complete from the outside. There is a will. There may b...
06/16/2026

For a lot of business owners in blended families, the plan looks complete from the outside. There is a will. There may be a buy-sell agreement. There are people they trust.

What is missing is the intentional connection between the business they have built and the family they have actually built. Stepchildren have no automatic legal claim to what you have built. A surviving spouse from a second marriage and biological children from a first marriage can end up on opposite sides of a business dispute that neither of them planned for. And while that dispute is being sorted out, the business is still running, or trying to, with no one legally authorized to make decisions.

This week's article is for every business owner in a blended family who hasn't asked the question yet: Does my plan actually connect the two?

Link here: https://induscounsel.com/blended-families-family-businesses-why-the-plan-has-to-be-intentional/

He shows up for every game. He knows the allergies and the fears and the names of the friends. He has been there for the...
06/15/2026

He shows up for every game. He knows the allergies and the fears and the names of the friends. He has been there for the hard days and the good ones. He considers these children his family, and they consider him theirs.

The law doesn't see any of it.

Under the law, a stepparent has no automatic legal relationship to a stepchild. That means if something happens to you, your estate doesn't automatically reach them. If something happens to their parent, you have no automatic right to step in as guardian. And in an emergency, without specific documents in place, you may have no authority to make medical decisions for the children you have been raising.

The gap between the family you live in and the family the law recognizes is exactly what this week's article is about. This Father's Day, it is the read every stepfather and father figure needs.

Link here: https://induscounsel.com/the-question-every-father-thinks-hes-answered-but-hasnt/

Most fathers have thought about it. The long drive home. The close call. The quiet moment watching their kids sleep.Thin...
06/14/2026

Most fathers have thought about it. The long drive home. The close call. The quiet moment watching their kids sleep.

Thinking about what would happen is not the same as making sure they're protected.
A Personal Family Lawyer® firm turns the worry into a plan. One that actually works when a family needs it most.

Let’s schedule a free 15-minute discovery call, link here: https://calendly.com/ep-induscounsel/free-15-minute-consult

Did you know? A buy-sell agreement that isn't funded by life insurance isn't protection. It's a document that describes ...
06/13/2026

Did you know? A buy-sell agreement that isn't funded by life insurance isn't protection. It's a document that describes a transaction nobody has the money to complete.

When a partner dies, the surviving partner owes the estate for the deceased partner's share of the business. If the buy-sell agreement isn't funded by life insurance, that buyout comes from whatever cash the business has available, at the worst possible moment. For most small businesses, that money doesn't exist.

The result: the surviving partner faces a forced sale or a years-long negotiation with grieving family members over a price nobody set in advance. The business your father built ends up exposed exactly when the people depending on it need it most.

A complete succession plan includes the structure and the money to actually carry it out. This week's article walks through what that looks like across all four systems: Legal, Insurance, Financial & Tax.

Link here: https://induscounsel.com/the-business-your-dad-built-what-happens-to-it-when-he-cant-show-up/

There is a question most guardianship plans never ask: what happens in the first 72 hours?Fathers plan for the long-term...
06/12/2026

There is a question most guardianship plans never ask: what happens in the first 72 hours?

Fathers plan for the long-term question of who would raise their children through childhood. That is the right question. But almost none have planned for the immediate one: who has legal authority to pick the children up from school if something happened tonight? Who can authorize emergency medical care before any court process has begun?

A Personal Family Lawyer® firm closes both gaps. Not just the long-term plan, but a Kids Protection Plan® that gives designated caregivers legal authority to step in right away, before any probate process, before any court hearing. Not eventually. Right away.

This Father's Day, if the plan you have only answers the long-term question, it is only half a plan.

Let’s schedule a free 15-minute discovery call, link here: https://calendly.com/ep-induscounsel/free-15-minute-consult

In case you missed it: there is a well-documented pattern in family business succession, and it isn't encouraging. Fewer...
06/11/2026

In case you missed it: there is a well-documented pattern in family business succession, and it isn't encouraging. Fewer than 30 percent of family businesses survive to the second generation. Fewer than 13 percent reach the third.

Not because the next generation didn't want to carry it forward. Not because the businesses weren't valuable. The founders never put a structure in place that made the transfer possible.

Without a succession plan, a business doesn't automatically go to the right people. Ownership interests can pass through probate, freezing operations, and creating conflict between heirs. Most of the time, businesses are simply wound down because no one has the legal authority or the agreement to continue them.

The people who depended on that business, employees, clients, and family, don't get a transition plan. They get a disruption.

This week's article covers what that plan needs to include. It is the Father's Day read worth having.

Link here: https://induscounsel.com/the-business-your-dad-built-what-happens-to-it-when-he-cant-show-up/

Most parents have had the conversation. Some have even made a clear agreement with a sibling, a parent, or a close frien...
06/10/2026

Most parents have had the conversation. Some have even made a clear agreement with a sibling, a parent, or a close friend. It feels settled. It feels done.

Here is what most parents don't know: that agreement has no legal weight. If something happened tonight, the people they've agreed on would have no automatic right to step in. Not the grandparents who live nearby. Not the sibling who loves your children like their own. A judge who has never met your family would make the call.

This week's Q&A breaks down the question we hear most often on Father's Day: Does the conversation count? Swipe through for the answer, then read the full article to see what a complete plan looks like.

Link here: https://induscounsel.com/the-father-the-law-doesnt-see-what-stepfathers-and-father-figures-need-to-know/

For a lot of business-owner fathers, the business is inseparable from life. The early mornings. The late nights. The cli...
06/09/2026

For a lot of business-owner fathers, the business is inseparable from life. The early mornings. The late nights. The clients who became friends. The employees who became something close to family. The pride that comes not from a title but from having made something real out of nothing.

And then there is the question most of them never quite answer: what happens to it if I can't show up? Not tomorrow. Not next week. But the day after, something happens that changes everything.

Most business owners don't have an answer. This Father's Day, this week's article is for the ones who are ready to build one.

Link here: https://induscounsel.com/the-business-your-dad-built-what-happens-to-it-when-he-cant-show-up/

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39111 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite 315
Fremont, CA
94538

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Monday 8am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8am - 5:30pm
Friday 8am - 5:30pm

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+15105092250

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