MANY self-employed individuals have relied on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and other federal pandemic loans to rescue their businesses from going under. If you notice, many restaurants that we go to pre-pandemic have shuttered up permanently despite using up PPP and other loans. Sure the PPP loans helped a lot to keep employees employed,…
CARLOS Castellon worked as a driver for Penn-Ridge Transportation, Inc., a company that delivers the goods of major retailers (such as Best Buy) to the homes of consumers. The delivery drivers and their helpers delivered and installed appliances at the consumers’ homes. The workers were categorized as independent contractors (ICs). Castellon sued the company in…
Couples get divorced for various reasons. California is a no fault state. The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law case. Divorce is often a difficult and negative experience for most families. However, getting divorce may have some unintended benefits in the immigration law arena. …
ARE you struggling to pay your debts every month, especially your credit cards? Do you barely have anything left to pay your mortgage, rent, food, and other basic living expenses after you make your monthly debt payments? Do you want to lower your payments and make life a bit easier? One type of relief under…
Q: I have a good employment record for this company I have been working with for more than 10 years. My employer recently hired another employee whose conduct made me feel uncomfortable. When I am on a lunch break, he would come up to me while I am eating and show me sexually inappropriate photos…
Couples get divorced for various reasons. California is a no fault state. The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law case. Divorce is often a difficult and negative experience for most families. However, getting divorce may have some unintended benefits in the immigration law arena. …
Client case is unusual. She is young at 28 and owes about $300,000 of credit cards. She used these cards to fund a “gift card” business. What’s a “gift card” business? There are many people who cannot qualify for credit to purchase items like iPhones, TVs, personal computers, and other big ticket items but they…
IT has come to my attention that several qualified taxpayers – by either lapse of memory or for some unexplainable reasons – don’t realize that they already received their Economic Impact Payment or the Recovery Rebate Credit otherwise known as stimulus refund amounting to $1,400 under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) of the Biden…
YOU’VE just been sued for a credit card debt after you’ve had trouble paying what you owe. After several months of getting harassing phone calls that you were ignoring because you didn’t have the money, now they’ve finally sent you court papers. What do you do? Should you file bankruptcy or are there other options?…
‘Poor performance’ is no excuse for employer WALLEN Lawson worked as a territory manager for two years for PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. (PPG), a paint manufacturer. Wallen sold and stocked PPG paint products in Lowe’s home improvement stores in Southern California. PPG used two metrics to evaluate Wallen’s performance: his ability to meet sales goals…
ONE of the biggest problem of millenials and Gen Z are educational cost and student loan debt. This eats up a large part of a households budget even among married couples. However, what happens to all the money paid towards one spouse’s education and student loans if the marriage fails and leads to divorce. Well,…
Debtor also has one collection lawsuit for $10K THE client is 48 and has just been sued for $10,000 by American Express. He recently received the summons and complaint. He is single with one teenager dependent. He used to have a business, but that has failed. He now works as a manager and earns $4,000…
ARE you having problems paying your debts? Are creditors calling you day and night threatening you with a wage garnishment, repossession, or foreclosure? Are you starting to feel hopeless and depressed about your situation and don’t know where to turn for help? We are living in tough financial times. Economists are foreseeing a recession right…
THE 2022 Tax Season is very much underway for tax year 2021. Due to the pandemic, there are new tax laws that were enacted like the American Rescue Plan to mitigate the needs of taxpayers especially those who were affected. In addition, tax deductions and credits can reduce the amount we pay to Internal Revenue…
Arbitration is a procedure to resolve disputes without filing a complaint in court. By signing an employment arbitration agreement, the employee agrees to adjudicate any claim against the employer before an arbitrator and not before a judge or a jury. This means the employee cannot sue that employer in court. Unlike court proceedings which are…
I’VE recently gotten a couple of clients who have been on debt consolidation and are now ready to jump into Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. First, let’s distinguish debt consolidation from debt settlement. No, they are not the same thing actually. However, both debt consolidation and debt settlement require negotiations with creditors because the aim…
THE COVID-19 Pandemic is a scary reality which affects everyone globally and has shut down the global economy. Individuals over 65 are more at risk of having serious complications with this virus. Although we cannot completely control how we would respond to such virus, we can prepare our finances and estate incase the worst happens….
Q: I WAS fired from work last week and another co-worker also quit at around the same time. Our employer told us both to sign an “exit form” and a “release.” We were told that we would not get our final paycheck if we do not sign these documents. Is this legal? A: If an…
WHEN debts become unmanageable, bankruptcy can become an invaluable financial recovery in helping regain control over your finances. Without the “fresh start” that bankruptcy provides, it would be impossible for a lot of people to ever pay back what they owe, and they will simply remain stuck in debt with nowhere to go. If you’ve…
THE COVID-19 pandemic is a scary reality which affects everyone globally and has shut down the global economy. Individuals over 60 years old and individual that are immune compromised are more at risk of having serious complications with this virus. Individuals are dying all over the world in exponential numbers. Although we cannot completely control…
FIRST client is 34. She is recently married and now has a one-year old son. She used to be employed making a gross of $50K yearly. At the same time, she was doing a home-based business using credit cards to finance the purchase of goods for people who had no credit. She would use her…
Running a small business can have its perks although it’s often an all-consuming endeavor. The owner often has to wear many hats – from being a marketer, manager, and yes, including the often most dreaded role of all – managing the finances of the business. The sad fact is that many businesses struggle, no matter…
IF you’re traveling east on the 10 freeway from Los Angeles, eventually you will end up somewhere in Florida. It’s a long drive to cover about 2,800 miles, but that’s where the 10 freeway will bring you. I know it’s expensive right now to make this road trip because gas prices are very high, between…
Q: I HAVE just entered the work force and I work in the service industry on 12-hour shifts. My supervisor says I am entitled to one 30-minute lunch break and two rest breaks of 10 minutes each. A co-worker said it should actually be two lunch breaks and three rest breaks because we work 12…
Generally, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760. How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or…
Q: I worked in a company for over 10 years. A new supervisor and I do not get along. Last week, the company let me go without any explanation. I don’t have any disciplinary record. Can the company just fire me without a good reason? A: Yes, an employer may fire an employee without a…
I AM often asked the following questions: When does filing bankruptcy make sense? How much should I owe in order to justify a bankruptcy filing and have that on my credit record? My answer to these questions is always the same: Whether or not bankruptcy is advisable for your situation will depend on your specific…
Q: I WAS severely injured in a recent car accident while returning to work on an errand. I had to undergo multiple surgeries. I missed several weeks of work and will need more time off for treatments. I am afraid to tell my employer about my need for more time off because I might be…
ARE your finances stressing you out? For a lot of people, financial concerns can be their number one cause of stress. We are living in difficult financial times and a lot of people are worried about how they can get by from month to month. But worrying doesn’t really solve anything. If you feel that…
Divorced parties are sometimes ordered to pay child support and spousal support in the divorce judgment. The support orders are generally based on the parties’ financial situation and custody arrangements at the time of the settlement or trial. However, what if your income decreases after the divorce or what if your spouse’s income increases after…
