Blog — Gianelli | Friedman

Nov 23
Nov 23 Borrowing from your retirement accounts: Issues to consider

So you have credit card debt, overdue mortgage payments, or suddenly need to buy a new car. We’ve all been there. You need money now, and your retirement accounts continue to climb. Fortunately, many employers allow you to take out loans on these accounts, but should you really begin spending that money before you retire?

On one hand, there are benefits to borrowing from your retirement accounts. You are essentially borrowing your own money, so the payments you make, plus interest, go back into your account.

Nov 9
Nov 9 What is a Surety Bond?

A "surety bond" is a legal tool used to guarantee that a promise will be kept. It ensures that contractual requirements will be met and work will be done according to specifications. If they are not, the bond will cover some or all of the damages that result.

The "surety bond" commits three parties to a binding contract.

First, there is the "principal," the contractor, business or individual purchasing the "surety bond" as a way to assure others that work will be done as agreed.

Nov 2
Nov 2 Jerry Brown Signs Legislation That Protects Temp Industry Workers

New law hailed as a victory for organized labor but CalChamber calls it a “job killer”

California governor Jerry Brown announced on September 28, 2014 the signing of Assembly Bill (AB) 1897, which adds section 2810.3 to the Labor Code and targets businesses that use workers provided by temp agencies. AB 1897 takes effect January 1, 2015.

According to

Nov 2
Nov 2 Changes in Overtime for Caregivers

As the relationship of a caregiver and client is unique and valuable, prior law allowed for an overtime exemption to give families flexibility when scheduling caregivers in accordance with their needs. Now, a law effective January 1, 2014 has expanded overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to include in-home caregivers.

The bill creates the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights to regulate the work hours and provide an overtime compensation rate for domestic work employees. These new requirements affect domestic workers as well as personal attendants. There is an important distinction between the two which needs attention in order to best understand how the new bill changes the law.

Nov 2
Nov 2 The New Farm Law Gives and Takes Away

Signed by President Obama's on February 7, the Agricultural Act of 2014 (or the Farm Law) expands crop insurance for farmers, but cuts funding and makes other changes to the nation's food stamp program (officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP).

Nov 2
Nov 2 College Aged Children

Many parents assume that because their college-age child still lives with them, they would be able to assume guardianship in case of an accident. This couldn’t be further from the truth — college students are adults, and as such have privacy rights that can prevent parents from making important medical decisions or even talking to doctors. Here’s what you need to know.

Understanding Changes

Once a person turns 18, they are viewed as an adult under the eyes of the law. This is true even if they are still living with or financially dependent on their parents.

Nov 2
Nov 2 The Fine Print: A Quick History of Boilerplate

As a business owner, you know that terms of a contract are typically negotiated between you and the other parties to the contract. However, some contract terms are already established, usually by lawyers and are attached to your contracts. The term “boilerplate” may sound like it belongs in an equipment manual, but it is a legal term that refers to standardized, formal contract language that addresses the “what if” situations. In other words, it’s the fine print of a contract.

A Quick History of Boilerplate

There’s a good reason why the word “boilerplate” doesn’t sound like it belongs in law, it didn’t originate there.

Nov 2
Nov 2 Eminent domain: How the California Government Can Buy Private Land for Public Use

A controversial plan to convert hundreds of thousands of acres of California farmland into a high speed rail corridor has certainly been making news headlines.

But despite being confronted with a host of lawsuits, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is still planning to undertake the massive public works project, the fruit of a multi-billion dollar bond measure approved by voters in 2008.

CHSRA's use of eminent domain entails purchasing numerous and often odd shaped parcels from area farming operations to facilitate the construction of the high-speed rail project.

When the high-speed rail project is finally completed in 2029, commuters will zip between San Francisco and Los Angeles at speeds approaching 200 MPH. Purported southern and northern extensions will reach to San Diego and Sacramento.

Nov 2
Nov 2 Is Crowdfunding Right For You?

Crowdfunding has emerged as an exciting alternative to traditional business financing. In essence, a crowdfunding model solicits a large number of smaller investments from an extremely broad base of investors, allowing entrepreneurs to raise the capital they need to get a project off the ground without exposing any single investor to a deterring level of risk.

While crowdfunding has shown some promise, there is still risk involved and investors need to have realistic expectations. Also, entrepreneurs should be aware that many crowdfunding ventures fail before they reach an operational stage, and understand strategies they can use to increase their chances of success.

Because of its collective nature, crowdfunding shields investors from significant losses and because individual contributors don't generally contribute large amounts of money.

Nov 2
Nov 2 Charitable Giving: Which Americans Are the Most Generous?

Charitable giving is growing at a healthy pace, a sign that Americans are a little more confident about the economy and their own finances.

Individuals, corporations and foundations donated $316.2 billion to charitable causes in 2012, a 3.5 percent increase over 2011, according to the annualGiving USA study, which is conducted by the Giving USA Foundation and Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

A Partial Recovery

As encouraging as those numbers are, charitable giving was still below the level it reached before the 2008 financial crisis -- $344.

Nov 2
Nov 2 A Primer For Trustees & Prospective Trustees

One of the most important decisions to make in estate planning is the selection of a trustee to administer the trusts upon death or disability

It Takes a Trustee…

A trustee should be experienced, responsible, trustworthy, fair, insightful, intelligent, and resourceful. Now that just may fit a lot of folks. But for those of us who were selected as trustee because we are the lesser of evils (our siblings being the other evils) this article may be a helpful guide to the task of being a trustee.

For whatever reason, you were chosen to be trustee of your parents’/aunt’s/cousin’s/best friend’s/dentist’s trust.

Now What Do You Do?

Take all of the funds from the trust, buy a large yacht, sail to a small island off La Paz and sip margarita’s in the shade of a mango tree for the rest of your life, or
Celebrate all your good luck by throwing a clothing optional party for all of your friends at trust expense, or
Burn the trust so that one will ever know it even existed, or
Get some professional help (financial, accounting and legal not psychiatric).

Nov 2
Nov 2 Portability of the Unused Exclusion Amount of a Deceased Spouse

Portability means that a surviving spouse’s applicable exclusion amount (also known as the surviving spouse’s credit shelter)ⁱ is increased by the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount (the deceased spouse’s unused credit shelter). Portability has been made permanent by the enactment of H.R. 8 by Congress (known as the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012) on January 1, 2013, and the signing of the bill into law by the President on January 2, 2013.

MANNER OF MAKING THE ELECTION

The election can only be made by timely filing an estate tax return (Form 706) and making the portability election of the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount.

Nov 2
Nov 2 The Brinker Case – The Meal Period Obligation

After three years of waiting, the California Supreme Court has finally rendered their decision in the case of Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court. This has been a highly-anticipated decision in that it was to provide much-needed clarification regarding the extent of an employer’s obligations to provide rest and meal periods to their employees.

The widespread confusion on this issue has resulted in a tidal wave of class-action litigation against employers. More often than not, these companies believed they were in compliance, but nonetheless found themselves embroiled in expensive litigation.

Oct 26
Oct 26 Year End Gifts

If you’re like most people, you want to make sure you and your loved ones pay the least amount of tax possible. Many use year-end gift giving as a way to transfer wealth to younger generations and also reduce the overall potential estate tax that will be due upon their death. Below are some steps you can take to make gifts to your heirs without triggering any gift tax liability. Some of these techniques may also reduce your own income tax liability.

A combination of estate and gift tax exemptions can be used to significantly reduce the overall tax liability of your estate.

Oct 19
Oct 19 Legal Concerns When Doing Business Online

We live in a digital world and if you are not doing business online you could be missing out on the profits and other benefits of this marketplace. If you want to expand your business horizons using the internet, you should be aware of the legal implications that may come along with the benefits. You should make your customers aware of your policies when doing business online and it is also imperative that you tend to intellectual property concerns at the same time.

I. Terms and Conditions

An important but frequently overlooked legal aspect of doing business online is the Terms and Conditions of Use agreement.

Oct 12
Oct 12 Questions You Shouldn't Ask or Answer During an Interview

Job-seekers have to be ready to respond to any interview question asked of them, but not every question has to be answered.

To ensure that employers do not discriminate against candidates based on age, gender, race, health and family arrangements, there are certain regulations which restrict the type of questions which are permissible during an interview. Below, we explore several topics that may be problematic and should not be asked of potential employees:

Questionable Questions

Let’s take a look at a few topics that may be problematic.

Age: Does anyone like to be asked their age unless just turning 21? Probably not. While an interviewer may ask whether a candidate is over the age of 18 or 21, he or she may not ask for a specific age.

Sep 28
Sep 28 People. The Essential Component of Your Estate Plan’s Success

Properly drafted estate planning documents are integral to the success of your legacy and end-of-life wishes. Iron-clad estate planning documents, written by a knowledgeable attorney can make the difference between the success and failure of having your wishes carried out. However, there’s more to estate planning than paperwork. For your wishes to have the best chance of being honored, it is important to carefully choose the people who will carry them out.

Your estate plan can assign different responsibilities to different people.

Sep 7
Sep 7 Paying for Your Grandchildren’s Education