Family Law

• Divorce
  Consider having the divorce agreement supply you with funds if you have not worked outside of the home during the marriage.
• Child Support
  If your new spouse owes child support or back taxes to either the IRS or the state, they may become your obligation unless you complete the IRS’ injured spouse allocation form.
• Child Custody and Visitation
  Make an agreement with your spouse to plan for the legal issues that will be dealt with in the future, such as division of property, alimony or support payments and child custody. The amount of time and money that will be spent trying to reach a legal solution will be lessened dramatically if this can be done, either with the help of lawyers or court.
• Adoption
• Premarital Agreement
  Consider any prenuptial and postnuptial agreements with a professional who has legal expertise in the area of estate management.
• Spousal Support
  Be prepared to report any non-financial contributions to the marriage that you have made - such as any non-financial contributions to his/her financial success or spousal support while he/she went to school.
• Legal Separation
  If you do not meet the ownership and use tests, you may be allowed to exclude a reduced maximum amount of the gain realized on the sale of your home if you sold your home due to health, a change in place of employment, or certain unforeseen circumstances. Unforeseen circumstances include, for example, divorce or legal separation, natural or man-made disaster resulting in a casualty to your home, or an involuntary conversion of your home. Send us a message for more!

Criminal Law

• Sex Crimes
  Repeals the small business tax credit under Code Sec. 45R, which provides a credit to certain employers who provide health care to employees, effective January 1, 2020. The bill also modifies the credit to prohibit it from being used for health plans that include coverage for abortions (other than any abortion necessary to save the life of the mother or any abortion with respect to a pregnancy that is the result of an act of rape or incest) for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2018.
• Fraud
  5. Go digital. The most effective way to prevent most check fraud is to stop using paper checks altogether. Consider replacing them with ACH payments or another form of electronic payments.
• Theft
• Identity Theft
  In one tax identity theft scheme, a thief uses another individual’s personal information to file a fraudulent tax return early in the filing season and claim a bogus refund. The real taxpayer discovers the fraud when he or she files a return and is told by the IRS that the return is being rejected because one with the same Social Security number has already been filed for the tax year.
• Hit and Run
  You should have uninsured motorist coverage, which will protect you against financial damages caused by an uninsured motorist or a hit and run, should one occur.

Business and Corporate Law

• Business Disputes
  Become an S corporation, which doesn't change the nature of the business under state business law but rather eliminates federal tax at the corporate level.
• Business Transactions
  Offset Nursing Home Costs With Possible Tax Breaks & Large Cash Business Transactions Must Be Reported To The IRS
• Limited Liability Companies
  Yes. Limited liability companies (LLCs), limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and corporations are the most common forms. General partnerships and sole proprietorships don't restrict owners' liability, whereas limited partnerships limit liability of some partners (such as limited partners) and not others (like general partners).
• Intellectual Property

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  The employer must pay for certain legal benefits and insurance coverage such as Social Security, unemployment insurance and worker's compensation. The money for the Social Security program comes from payments made by employers, employees and self-employed persons to an insurance fund that will provide income after retirement. At the age of 65, full retirement benefits usually become available. There are other aspects of Social Security that deal with survivor, dependent, and disability benefits, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income and Medicare.
• Severance Agreement
  In early December, Congress voted unanimously to approve the Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016, which was signed into law by President Obama on December 16. The Act extends the time that veterans, who were separated from service for combat-related injuries and that had taxes improperly withheld from their severance pay, have to file amended returns and claims refunds for such taxes. H.R. 5015 (12/16/2016).

Property Law

• Land Use and Zoning
• Property Damage
  You will need to have liability coverage, property damage, and bodily injury. This way you will be protected if you are at fault and cause damage to a person or their property. It is recommended to have $300,000 per accident to pay medical costs and other costs that may be affiliated. You should also have at least $50,000 in property damage.

Health Law

• Social Security Disability
  Long-term disability (LTD) commences after the conclusion of the short-term benefits. LTD benefits then continue for the entire length of the disability or until the date of normal retirement. This is also a percentage of the employee's salary, typically between 60 and 80 percent. Social Security disability normally offsets these benefits - if an employee qualifies for the Social Security disability benefits, they will be subtracted from what the employer has paid.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Taxpayers subject to the "kiddie tax" are now taxed at the trust and estate tax rates. Although the trust and estate tax rates are similar to the individual tax rates, the tax brackets are much lower, meaning higher rates of tax apply to lower levels of income. Taxpayers with children subject to this tax can elect to include the child's income on their tax return. However, whether that is advisable needs to be evaluated in light of the parent's other net investment income with an eye toward whether adding the child's investment income to the parent's income could subject the parent to the 3.8 percent net investment income tax.
• Wills
• Trusts
  The Code Sec. 199A qualified business income (QBI) deduction is another potentially big deduction for clients with a qualified trade or business. The deduction is available to sole proprietors, partners in a partnership, members of an LLC taxed as a partnership, S corporation shareholders, or trusts and estates. Whether a client is eligible for the deduction depends on whether the client has a qualified trade or business and the client's taxable income.
• Power of Attorney
  Make a durable power of attorney. This will permit the partner to sign papers and checks and take care of other financial issues on his/her behalf should one become incapacitated.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
  The major benefit of a reverse mortgage is that it allows homeowners to take advantage of some of the equity that they have built up in their homes without the burden of having to pay it back in monthly payments. This could be used to supplement income, defray the cost of medical aid, pay for college education, stop a foreclosure, or make it possible to retire.
• Tax Law
  A predominant theme running through tax law is the encouragement of business activity. Ordinary and necessary business expenses are generally tax deductible while expenses incurred for personal reasons or pleasure are not. This distinction is particularly difficult to make in the area of travel, entertainment and business gift expenses because these expenses have both personal and business components.
• Debt Collection
  The new program, authorized under a federal law enacted by Congress last December, enables these designated contractors to collect, on the government's behalf, outstanding inactive tax receivables. As a condition of receiving a contract, these agencies must respect taxpayer rights including, among other things, abiding by the consumer protection provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The IRS has selected the following contractors to carry out this program.