Estate And Tax Planning Law Firm
Life would be much simpler if we could just say that online sellers need to understand sales taxes and consumers need to understand use taxes. In some ways, it's true. As we explained in our last post, though, consumers really have to be aware of the laws about both....
When we think of shopping online, we generally think of ourselves as consumers. We lay back on the couch or get comfortable in our ergonomic desk chair and wander through website after website. If we need something, we are confident we will find it; the Internet is...
The death of actor/comedian Robin Williams got a lot of people thinking about a lot of things. The connection for us was the question of suicide and life insurance benefits.Years ago, a friend of ours took his own life, as Williams did, and the family quickly found...
When George Bailey is standing on the bridge, despairing that he has let his family down, he thinks of Mr. Potter's taunt: "You're worth more dead than alive." Potter, of course, has set the scene for the rest of the movie, as George learns his life lesson. "It's a...
If your estate plan were a movie, who would you cast in the supporting roles? First, there should be an attorney, the skilled estate planning professional who knows California probate and tax law and who can come up with all kinds of strategies to maximize what your...
We are almost done with our overview of how to determine if you must pay a capital gains tax on the sale of your home. A quick recap of the last two posts: Start with what you paid for the home, then add anything that increased the value of the property and deduct...
Those of us who remember publisher-millionaire Steve Forbes' presidential campaigns may still be able to close their eyes and hear his mantra: "Do the math." His platform was based on instituting a flat tax rate for income tax. It sounds so easy. But so does a...
A house is more than a home: It is an investment. Chances are good that the value of the home will change from the time you purchase it to the time you sell it. California's foreclosure crisis aside, most of us believe that the value will go up so we can make a...
When we left off in our last post, we were discussing the Taxpayer Advocate Service's first annual report to Congress. This report, one of two prepared by TAS every year, outlines the office's priorities for the 2015 federal fiscal year.Perhaps the most important item...
It may feel as if the IRS and the federal government are in league against American taxpayers at times. The rules change, new taxes appear and old taxes expire -- when taxpayers expire, in fact, they still have to pay taxes. There is an agency that watches out for...
