Paluska Law

09/30/2026

Forming an LLC or corporation is the easy part. Keeping it in good order is what actually protects you. Business Law at Paluska Law covers formation, contracts, buying and selling a business, succession planning, and corporate minutes and compliance, for owners in Salem, Keizer, and the Willamette Valley.

Read more: https://paluskalaw.com/business-law/

General information, not legal advice.

09/23/2026

If you farm leased ground here in the valley, or you own ground you lease out, this one is for you.

A lot of farm leasing around Salem still runs on a handshake. Here is the part most people do not know. Under Oregon law, a lease that runs more than a year has to be in writing to be enforceable. A multi year handshake is not a weak lease. It is no lease at all.

A written farm lease is what protects both sides, because it answers the questions while everyone is still friendly. How long the lease runs and what happens to the crop in the final year. Whether the rent is cash or a share of the crop. Who carries the water and irrigation. What ground in exclusive farm use can be used for. Who maintains the drainage, the fences, and the roads. On a vineyard, who owns the vines when the lease ends.

Michael Paluska has drafted farm and vineyard leases for landowners and operators across the Willamette Valley for more than thirty years, on both sides of the lease, and he is also an Oregon Principal Real Estate Broker. Here is a plain English overview of the work.

https://paluskalaw.com/commercial-farm-leasing/

09/16/2026

There is a new article on the Paluska Law site for anyone looking at buying a business in the valley.

Here is the piece that catches people off guard. Oregon has had no bulk sale law since 1991, so nothing automatically clears the seller's creditor claims when a business changes hands. A lien can stay attached to the equipment and inventory until it is paid off or released. The protection is homework: lien searches before the money moves, a payoff or release for every lien they find, and a purchase agreement that makes each one a condition of closing. The article also explains why a Letter of Intent can bind you even when it says nonbinding, and how a seller's covenant not to compete protects the goodwill you just paid for.

Michael Paluska has handled business purchases and sales for closely held Oregon companies for more than thirty years. The full checklist is here in plain English.

https://paluskalaw.com/buying-a-business-in-oregon-legal-checklist/

09/09/2026

Thinking about buying an established business here in the valley instead of starting one from scratch? Here is the part that surprises most first time buyers.

The leases, contracts, and licenses of that business do not come with it automatically. In an Asset Sale each one has to be identified and properly assigned, with consents obtained where the contracts require them. Miss one and you could be running a business without the lease or the license it depends on. On top of that, Oregon law transfers the unemployment tax experience of the business to the new employer, and payroll tax deficiencies can follow a successor as well.

The fix is planning at the start and due diligence before closing. The Asset Sale or Stock Sale decision gets made with your accountant at the very beginning, then the records, contracts, leases, and licenses get a careful review while problems are still fixable.

Michael Paluska has handled business purchases and sales in Salem, Keizer, and around the Willamette Valley for more than thirty years. Here is a plain English overview of how it works.

https://paluskalaw.com/buying-selling-a-business/

09/02/2026

Buying a commercial building, a shop, or a piece of ground here in the valley? The closing date is not the date that decides the deal.

Here in Oregon the title and escrow company runs the closing, and they do that part well. What they do not do is represent you or negotiate your agreement. That is a different job.

The two parts that decide how a commercial purchase turns out both happen early. The Purchase and Sale Agreement gets signed well before closing, and it sets what you can still walk away from. Then comes the due diligence period, which is the stretch where you read the title report and its exceptions, check the survey and the boundaries, confirm the zoning allows what you intend to do, look at legal access and recorded easements, and read the leases of any tenants who come with the property. Once that window closes and the earnest money is no longer refundable, whatever you find next is yours.

Michael Paluska has worked on commercial property transactions in Salem, Keizer, and around the Willamette Valley for more than thirty years, and he is also an Oregon Principal Real Estate Broker. Here is a plain English overview of what that work involves.

https://paluskalaw.com/commercial-real-estate/

08/26/2026

If you own an Oregon corporation, here is the least expensive legal habit your business can have: annual Minutes. Oregon law requires an annual shareholders meeting with minutes kept as permanent records, and the once a year process looks at your company from three angles, tax, insurance, and legal, catching gaps before they become problems. Behind on your records? Catching up is routine, and our new article explains how it works.

https://paluskalaw.com/why-annual-corporate-minutes-still-matter/

08/19/2026

Thinking about selling your business here in the Willamette Valley? One of the first big decisions is whether to structure the sale as an asset sale or a stock sale, and it affects your taxes, your liability, and what actually changes hands at closing. Michael Paluska put together a plain-English guide comparing the two for Oregon owners. Read it here: https://paluskalaw.com/selling-a-business-in-oregon/ (General information, not legal advice.)

08/12/2026

Thinking about starting a business here in Salem or the Willamette Valley? One of the first decisions you will make is whether to set up an LLC or a corporation, and it matters more than most people expect. Taxes, ownership, and paperwork all play out differently under each one. Michael Paluska put together a plain-English guide comparing the two for Oregon owners. Read it here: https://paluskalaw.com/llc-or-corporation-oregon-business-structure/ (General information, not legal

How to choose between an Oregon LLC and a corporation: liability, taxes with your CPA, and how many entities you need. From Salem attorney Michael Paluska.

08/07/2026

Michael J. Paluska, PC is now Paluska Law. Same attorney, same office at 1820 Commercial Street SE in Salem, and the same focus on business and real estate law for clients throughout the Willamette Valley. After more than 30 years in practice, we have refreshed our name and our website. Visit us at paluskalaw.com or call (503) 585-2066.

Call now to connect with business.