by Dan McCarthy | Jan 8, 2026 | Uncategorized
Dan McCarthy of McCarthy Law Office in Cincinnati has been named Chair of the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission (HCRPC).
The Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission is a seven-member body that provides advisory planning services to the unincorporated townships of Hamilton County and participating municipalities. The Commission conducts planning studies, prepares maps and reports, and makes recommendations on zoning, subdivision, and long-range planning matters that affect the county’s physical, environmental, and economic development.
McCarthy will preside over the Commission’s monthly meetings and help guide its work on community planning initiatives, development and subdivision review, and zoning and land-use recommendations. The Commission plays an important role in reviewing proposed development for consistency with adopted plans and regulations, as well as advising township and municipal planning and zoning bodies throughout Hamilton County.
As Chair, McCarthy will work alongside fellow Commission members, county staff, and local governments to support thoughtful growth, coordinated planning efforts, and long-range decision-making that reflects the needs of Hamilton County communities.
McCarthy’s legal practice focuses on estate planning, probate administration, and matters involving real property and long-term planning. He lives and works in Miami Township on the west side of Hamilton County, where his professional experience working with families, property owners, and small businesses informs a practical, community-focused approach to land-use and planning issues.
by Dan McCarthy | Oct 22, 2025 | Uncategorized
The Digital Part of Your Legacy
Your life isn’t just stored in file cabinets anymore — it’s online. From photos and videos to social media accounts and cryptocurrency, your “digital footprint” has become an important part of what you’ll leave behind.
Yet most people never think to include these digital assets in their estate plan. At McCarthy Law Office, we help families across the greater Cincinnati area, including by our West Side office, protect not only their homes and savings but also their growing collection of digital property. Planning ahead ensures your loved ones aren’t left guessing or locked out when it matters most.
What Counts as a Digital Asset?
Digital assets include nearly everything you own or manage online, such as:
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Photos and videos saved on your phone, computer, or in the cloud
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Email accounts and stored documents
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Cryptocurrency or NFTs
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Social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, etc.)
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Domain names and website content
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Online business or e-commerce accounts (Etsy, Shopify, YouTube, affiliate marketing, etc.)
Some of these carry deep sentimental value — others may hold significant financial value or even generate income. Either way, they’re worth protecting just like your home, car, or bank accounts.
1️⃣ Create an Inventory of Your Digital Life
Start by listing every online account, password, and platform you use. Don’t forget cloud storage, financial apps, and any subscription or business-related tools.
If you own a small business or side hustle here in Cincinnati, include your digital records, client databases, and online payment systems. This list will make it much easier for your executor, trustee, or family to locate and manage your digital property when needed.
2️⃣ Choose a “Digital Fiduciary”
A digital fiduciary (sometimes called a “cyber successor”) is someone you trust to access and manage your online accounts if you’re unable to. Often, this is the same person who serves as your executor, trustee, or power of attorney agent.
Ohio has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which allows you to legally grant that access in your estate plan.
You can also use tools like Google’s Inactive Account Manager or Apple’s Digital Legacy to simplify things for your representative.
3️⃣ Integrate Digital Assets Into Your Estate Plan
Depending on your situation, it may make sense to include your digital property directly in your trust or power of attorney.
Some digital assets — especially those tied to cryptocurrency, online businesses, or valuable intellectual property — require extra attention to ensure they remain accessible after your passing.
At McCarthy Law Office, we’ll review your current plan and help you incorporate digital assets seamlessly so your loved ones won’t face delays or legal barriers.
Why Planning Ahead Matters
Failing to plan for your digital assets can cause real problems. Families may lose access to treasured photos, or a small business could grind to a halt if online accounts can’t be reached.
Taking the time now to organize and document your digital legacy gives your loved ones clarity, not confusion.
If this process feels overwhelming, we can help every step of the way.
Let’s Protect Your Entire Legacy — Digital and Otherwise
At McCarthy Law Office, we believe estate planning should cover everything that matters — from your home and investments to your online accounts and memories.
📍 McCarthy Law Office
7595 Bridgetown Road • Cincinnati, Ohio
(Serving families across the Cincinnati area, including the West Side — Bridgetown, Cleves, North Bend, Delhi, Green Township, and beyond)
📞 Call us today to schedule a consultation: 513-815-7006
🌐 www.danmccarthylaw.com
by Dan McCarthy | Jan 28, 2024 | Uncategorized
Small business owners have one more item on their compliance to-do list as the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) took effect this year.
The CTA,[1] enacted as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA), places new reporting requirements on many business entities in an effort to expose illegal activities, including the use of shell companies to launder money or conceal illicit funds. Around 30 million small businesses will be impacted by the law, which will establish a federal database of information, furnished by “reporting companies,” that will be accessible to certain authorities and organizations.
A final rule has been issued stating how the new law will be implemented to help businesses understand whether the law applies to them, how to comply, and which agencies will have access to the information they must report. CTA violations carry civil and criminal penalties, including imprisonment.
Why was the CTA passed?
The CTA was passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. It directs the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to gather information from private companies about their owners and controlling persons. Acting Director Himamauli Das said, “FinCEN is taking aggressive aim at those who would exploit anonymous shell corporations, front companies, and other loopholes to launder the proceeds of crimes, such as corruption, drug and arms trafficking, or terrorist financing.”[2]
To counter the risks allegedly posed by anonymous shell companies, the CTA mandates the creation of a national registry that contains certain information about business entities that are formed by filing a document with a state’s secretary of state or similar office.
What does the CTA require?
Effective January 1, 2024, the CTA requires that certain businesses disclose to FinCEN information about the company, its beneficial owners, and in some cases, the company applicant.
Reporting companies—defined as any company with twenty or fewer employees that is formed by filing paperwork with the Secretary of State or equivalent official—that are created or registered prior to January 1, 2024, have until January 1, 2025, to file an initial report; reporting companies created or registered after January 1, 2024 and before January 1, 2025, will have ninety days after creation or registration to file a report. Entities created on or after January 1, 2025 will have 30 days to submit the reports to FinCEN.
Small business organizations such as the National Small Business Association (NSBA) and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) oppose the CTA, calling it cumbersome, intrusive, overly punitive, and unconstitutional. NSBA states that small businesses are unfairly impacted because they usually do not have compliance teams or staff attorneys.[3]
Eighty percent of the small businesses surveyed by NFIB are against the new reporting requirements, which NFIB claims are unclear. NFIB notes that each state has different standards and practices for business entity formation, potentially leading to uncertainty about whether a business must report to FinCEN. For example, some states require sole proprietorships and general partnerships to register with state agencies, while other states do not.[4]
Does the CTA require my business to report?
The CTA applies to companies that are created by filing a document with a state authority. Typically, this includes corporations and limited liability companies. Depending on the state, it could also include limited partnerships, professional associations, cooperatives, real estate investment trusts, and trusts. In addition, the CTA applies to non-US companies that are registered to operate in the United States.
NFIB estimates that, based on these rules, 30 million small businesses will have to report to FinCEN. However, the CTA exempts around two dozen categories of companies, including companies that
- are publicly-traded;
- have more than twenty full-time US employees;
- filed a previous year’s tax return showing more than $5 million in gross receipts or sales;
- have an operating presence at a physical US office location;
- operate in a regulated industry, such as banking, utilities, or insurance, that already imposes similar reporting requirements; or
- are subsidiaries of exempt organizations.
The exemptions, which generally include larger companies that are already subject to regulation, underline the primary purpose of the CTA: to combat money laundering and other illicit activities conducted via small, private, and anonymous shell companies.
What information must be provided in the reports?
The CTA requires three categories of information to be reported: company, owners, and applicant.
- Domestic reporting companies created before January 1, 2024 must provide information about the company and its beneficial owners.
- Beneficial owner is defined in the CTA as an individual who exercises “substantial control” over the reporting company or has an ownership interest of at least 25 percent. Company senior officers, directors, and others who make significant decisions on behalf of the company may meet this statutory definition of “substantial control,” although the broad definition may cause confusion in some instances.
- Domestic reporting companies created on or after January 1, 2024, must provide information about the company, its beneficial owners, and its company applicants.
- A company applicant generally is the individual who files the formation document with state authorities for the reporting company.
Technically, the information to be filed with FinCEN is called a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report. The following is what is required in the report for a company, an owner, and an applicant:
- The reporting company must provide its name and any alternative (DBA) names, the address of its principal place of business, the state of formation, and its taxpayer identification number or FinCEN identifier.
- Each beneficial owner of a reporting company must furnish their full legal name, date of birth, residential address, and an identification number from a driver’s license, passport, or other state-issued identification (ID), along with a copy of the ID document.
- A company applicant is required to submit the same information as a beneficial owner.
Who has access to FinCEN BOI reports?
The CTA authorizes FinCEN to disclose BOI information to five categories of recipients:[5]
- US federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies
- Foreign law enforcement agencies, judges, prosecutors, and other authorities
- Financial institutions
- Federal regulators
- US Department of the Treasury
FinCEN may only disclose BOI information “under specific circumstances”: there are more stringent requirements for agencies other than those engaged in national security, intelligence, and law enforcement activities. There are also restrictions on how the information may be used and how it must be secured.
Some small business owners have expressed concerns about the privacy implications of the CTA. The NSBA has filed a lawsuit challenging the CTA’s constitutionality, in part on privacy grounds over sharing “sensitive information” with the government[6].
Are there penalties for noncompliance with the CTA?
Penalties for noncompliance may be steep. Willingly providing false information (including false identifying documents) to FinCEN, or failing to report complete BOI information, can result in:
- Fines of $500 per day, up to $10,000
- Imprisonment for up to two years
Civil and criminal liability may be avoided if an individual who submitted an original, erroneous report did not knowingly submit inaccurate information and submits an updated report correcting the inaccurate information within ninety days.
Get help with CTA reporting requirements.
Understanding how the CTA applies to you, how it will affect your business, and what you must do to comply introduces new burdens that you may have scarce resources to address.
Terms like “beneficial owner” and “substantial control” may seem vague and confusing, further complicating compliance efforts. But compliance is critical for business owners who want to avoid possible sanctions.
We can help you determine whether the CTA applies to your business and the steps needed to meet its reporting requirements. With the law’s effective date just months away, we encourage you to reach out now to start working on a CTA compliance strategy.
[1] National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-283, 134 Stat. 3388 (Jan. 1, 2021).
[2] Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN Issues Proposed Rule for Beneficial Ownership Reporting to Counter Illicit Finance and Increase Transparency (Dec. 7, 2021), https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-issues-proposed-rule-beneficial-ownership-reporting-counter-illicit.
[3] National Small Bus. Ass’n, The Corporate Transparency Act, https://www.nsba.biz/cta (last visited June 27, 2023).
[4] U.S. Treasury’s Final “Beneficial Ownership” Rule’s Impact Explained, NFIB (Oct. 19, 2022), https://www.nfib.com/content/analysis/national/u-s-treasurys-final-beneficial-ownership-rules-impact-explained/.
[5] Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards, and Use of FinCEN Identifiers for Entities, 87 Fed. Reg. 77404 (proposed Dec. 16, 2022).
[6] Dave LaChance, Small business group sues over federal ownership database, cites concerns over sharing ‘sensitive’ info, Repairer Driven News (Nov. 17, 2022), https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2022/11/17/small-business-group-sues-over-federal-ownership-database-cites-concerns-over-sharing-sensitive-info/.
by Dan McCarthy | Jun 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, since 2018, distracted driving has led to over 63,000 crashes, over 1,800 fatal or serious injuries, and over 40,000 violations,[1] 39% of distracted driving crashes involve an at-fault driver between the ages of 15 and 24.[2] Previously, drivers over the age of 17 had to commit another traffic violation in addition to texting while driving to be pulled over. The Ohio legislature passed a new law seeking make distracted driving laws stricter.
In Ohio, it is now illegal to use or hold, with any part your body, a cell phone or other electronic device while driving. Ohio’s SB 288 allows police officers to pull over drivers for violating the new law. But the law also has some exceptions and different requirements depending on the age of the driver. Law enforcement will be issuing citations under the new law beginning on October 05, 2023.
Drivers over the age of 18 are allowed to make and receive calls so long as they can do so hands-free via some other means like using speakerphone, connecting the phone to the car with Bluetooth, or using an earpiece.
The new law, with some exceptions, prohibits any use of one’s phone that requires them to hold and interact with the phone. For instance, and among others, dialing a phone number, sending a text message, and browsing the internet are all prohibited regardless of the driver’s age.
The law also lists some narrow circumstances under which the broad prohibition is lifted. For example, phones can be used if the driver is reporting an emergency to law enforcement or another, similar entity. Drivers can also make and receive calls by holding the phone to their ear so long as the call can be answered using a single swipe. And drivers can use or hold their phones while stopped at a traffic light or parked on the side of the road during an emergency. Absent any of these exceptions, drivers who violate the law are subject to penalties.
In the first offense over the course of two years, the violator will have two points assessed to their license and they will be subject to a fine of up to $150. The second offense in two years results in three points and up to a $250 fine. For three or more offenses in two years, the violator receives four points, up to $500 in fines, and a possible 90-day suspension of their license. Each of these fines double if the violation occurred in a work zone.
[1] https://statepatrol.ohio.gov/dashboards-statistics/ostats-dashboards/distracted-driving-dashboard/
[2] Id.
