Month: October 2013

As we have discussed in previous blog posts, this summer's Supreme Court ruling that allows same-sex marriages to be recognized by the federal government has had a big impact on couples in California. Since same-sex marriage is legal here, couples who choose to marry...

Making an estate plan is a complex process that can sometimes take quite a while, from the time that you lay out all your assets to the final process of executing a will properly in front of witnesses, months can pass. For people who are experiencing a serious illness...

For most California readers, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) works in mysterious ways. That is to say that sometimes even the most careful taxpayers can be surprised by an audit or a request for documentation from the IRS in a tax evasion or fraud matter if the IRS...

After this summer's landmark Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, many same-sex married couples in California celebrated the ability to be recognized as married under federal law. One of the big impacts of this change is in the area of tax...

As the government shutdown continues, many Californians who have pending business with the government have been left with a lot of questions. For those currently involved in a tax dispute or an audit, figuring out what to do next in light of the shutdown can be...

A lot of California readers probably don't realize that there was a time in the United States when there was no federal income tax. The first instance of an income tax was during the Civil War when the government needed more revenue to continue fighting. That was a...