Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, If you own a business in California and pay employees, you should be aware of the Brinker case. What is the employer’s obligation with respect to employee meal and rest periods? Must an employer force its employees to take these breaks, or is it enough to make them available for employees who are interested in taking them? An incorrect answer can be expensive. California courts have seen a marked increase in […]

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, Many of our clients and regular Client Alert readers have foreign asset protection trusts or have invested directly and indirectly in assets which are foreign based. The Department of Treasury, in its attempts to further capture unreported income, has just released another information return, Form 8938, that requires certain eligible taxpayers to timely report the existence of these assets. Many taxpayers or their CPAs, who are already filing the FBAR return, […]

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, In this issue of Client Alert, we will examine the concept known as “Piercing the Corporate Veil,” and how this “weapon” is used by skilled plaintiff’s lawyers to reach beyond a corporation to trap assets personally owned by the corporation’s shareholders. With the advent of the Internet and websites offering low cost incorporation services, many business owners will seek these lower cost alternatives to hiring a business lawyer and can […]

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, In my last issue of Client Alert, I reported that the rumor mill would have the Congressional Super Committee recommending the earlier expiration of the generous gift and estate tax exemption set to expire at midnight on December 31, 2012. The Super Committee failed to reach agreement on anything, so we many never know if this was fact or fiction. Just because the Super Committee failed to reach an […]

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, The rumor mill has been spinning regarding potential looming changes to the current $5M gift tax exemption. We have learned that the Congressional super-committee is seriously considering an imminent change to the gift tax rules. For a variety of reasons, this is a compromise the republicans appear willing to accept. If a majority of the committee members agree, there will be an immediate reversion back to 2009 gift tax […]

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, Congress approved the debt ceiling bill and on August 2, 2011 President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 (Senate Bill 365, as amended). This calls for a new Joint Committee to weigh year-end tax legislation. Many of the widely used tax reduction tools and strategies will be under review by the Joint Committee. If you may benefit from entity discounts, GRATs, intra-family sale transactions, dynasty trusts or a host […]

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, If you had the good fortune of attending this year’s FreedomFest 2011 Conference at Bally’s Las Vegas July 14-16, you were treated to an excellent program, with many of today’s newsmakers, politicians, presidential candidates, and business leaders all making appearances and giving speeches. Personally, aside from delivering a Keynote Speech: “Taxation in an Obama Nation,” or speaking at my workshop: “Estate Planning for Women Only – No Men Allowed,” the highlight […]

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, You decide to purchase a second home outside the U.S., a place to bring your friends and family for special occasions and holidays. Many countries preclude foreigners from holding title to the real estate directly, so your local realtor advises you to take title in a trust. If this is, or could be, your situation, please read on. In March of 2010, Obama signed into law the Hiring […]

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients, Switzerland has never viewed tax evasion as an act that would breach its inviolate banking secrecy laws. Oh, have times changed. On Wednesday, July 6, 2011, the Swiss government officially adopted the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (“OECD”) standards regarding banking secrecy. Subject to certain conditions, Switzerland must now turn over information to foreign authorities investigating claims of tax evasion allegedly accomplished through the use of Swiss accounts. In the […]

Nevada has been known as one of the better states for asset protection planning, with its courts routinely refusing to allow creditors to reach assets held by Nevada situs LLCs, LPs, and Corporations. However, with the passage of legislative bill, SB405, Nevada will now provide even greater protection against frivolous lawsuits by creditors by further limiting the remedies available to judgment creditors. Asset Protection Alert: Effective October 1, 2011, the new statute expressly […]