For the safety of our community, clients and staff, we have suspended all in-person meeting effective March 17, 2020. All consultation meetings will be via Phone or Zoom Video Conferencing. Please contact us at 925-484-0888 or email us directly at [email protected] to schedule the consultation.
Get
Started
We are picking up where we left off with our June 20 post. We were talking about what goes into the inventory and appraisal of a decedent's estate in California. The law does not require an inventory for every estate; the administration of a small estate, for example,...
Thanks to media coverage over the last few months, civil asset forfeiture is no longer an unknown term. Many Americans are now aware of this process by which government agencies are allowed to seize assets from an individual even if they are never charged with...
We have discussed the role of the personal representative in probate proceedings in past posts ("Personal representative or executor? Either way, it's a tough job," for example). The specific duties may vary from estate to estate, determined by the size of the estate...
A rule change proposed by the IRS could make a weekend in Las Vegas a little less attractive for Bay Area gamblers. The IRS would like to lower a reporting threshold for certain winnings, and casino owners say it would take a large bite out of their bottom lines.Right...
California's same-sex married couples have enjoyed the privileges and responsibilities of legal marriage for a couple of years. With the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court has now extended those rights to GLBT couples in every state. These couples...
It isn't quite as common here in California, but on the East Coast, a person who lives in one state often works in a neighboring state. If both states have income taxes, does this commuter pay his resident state, his work state or both?As with so many things related...
We are talking about the "jock tax" and its provenance. As we said in our last post, the jock tax is a nonresident tax on professional athletes' income. Fewer than half of all states, along with a handful of municipalities, impose the tax, according to the Tax...
The San Francisco Giants will shell out more than $166 million for player salaries this year. The money is not exactly distributed equally. According to ESPN.go.com, the highest-paid player on the team is Hunter Pence, with an annual paycheck of $18.7 million. The...
When implementing an estate plan in California, it is essential to ensure that you receive the proper compensation for the amount of time and work you are putting in. The probate court will look through the amount you charge to see if it is reasonable, especially if...
California families have an exemption for their estate that keeps it from being subject to income taxes. However, above that $11.7 million, the estate tax bill could get large. This is why they need to take measures to reduce the size of their taxable estate. Life...
Not every inheritance involves paying estate taxes, but some estates rise above the federal exclusion amount. California residents that feel familiar with state and federal tax rules might not realize changes could happen. Namely, proposals intended to raise tax...
View More Blog Posts