THE healthy enamel that covers your teeth is the hardest substance in your body — it’s even harder than your bones! That’s great news when you consider the amount of pressure our jaw muscles exert on our teeth. However, your teeth can still be cracked and chipped. Here are four “don’ts” for avoiding a cracked tooth:…
The IRS issued new guidance requiring individuals with an interest in a “specified foreign financial asset” to attach a disclosure statement to their income tax return for any year in which the aggregate value of all such assets exceeds $50,000. Use new form Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) starting in 2011. Q….
CLIENT is 60 years old and married. She has gross income of $3,000 as a caregiver. Husband is not employed and waiting for social security benefits, which is still two years from now. Due to a car that was repossessed last year, client owes $18,000 on a car loan deficiency. Her salary is subject to…
ARE you being harassed by your creditors day and night due to unpaid bills? If you are, you know that this is a pretty unpleasant experience. You may feel scared, angry or embarrassed about your situation. The prospect of debt relief through bankruptcy may sound appealing to you but you are not quite sure if…
Q: I WORK in a hospital on 12-hour shifts. During my meal break, I sometimes go to our break lounge to take a nap. My supervisor told me sleeping is forbidden. Since it is my 30-minute meal break, I feel that I should be able to spend it however I want. What are my rights?…
CLIENT is 60 years old and married. She has gross income of $3,000 as a caregiver. Husband is not employed and waiting for social security benefits, which is still two years from now. Due to a car that was repossessed last year, client owes $18,000 on a car loan deficiency. Her salary is subject to…
JANIS McLean worked for the State of California as a deputy attorney general until she retired from service in 2010. She did not receive her final wages on her last day of employment or within 72 hours of that date. The correct amount of her wages for unused leave and vacation time were not transferred…
NEW Foreign bank account rules were designed to combat money laundering, terrorism, and tax evasion. Unfortunately, folks like you and me get snared in the process. We get penalized if we don’t follow the new rules. I have written a series of simplified articles on this subject to help you understand the new rules and…
YOU’RE doing fine. You’re paying your bills on time and you have your debts under control. You’ve even managed to set aside a bit of savings in your bank account. You’re happy and life is good- at least for a moment. Then one day you find yourself in a big financial mess. You’ve used up…
HOW old are you now? When you were 10, you wanted to become a teenager. When you were a teenager, you wanted to be 21. Thereafter, it’s a fast train towards middle age. At middle age, they say that you’re at your “prime”. Shortly after that, you become a senior citizen starting at 62 and…
THE chief of the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) shares highlights of California’s audit program. The State examines about 300,000 income tax returns per year. Audits are conducted by desk, field, or correspondence. Field audits are conducted at your place of business (better at your representative’s office). The audit program has about 900 auditors located in…
(Ten-year meal & rest breaks case is a win for employees) IN 2004, five employees of the restaurant, Chili’s, filed a claim against their employer claiming that they were illegally denied meal and rest breaks. The employees claimed that the restaurant regularly told its employees to take early lunches, often right after starting work, and…
I WAS counseling someone the other day in my office. He looked shocked and confused as we sorted through all the credit card statements on my desk and added up how much he owed. $65,000! That’s how much the statements said he owed! How could this be? He said he remembered paying a lot of…
WHO doesn’t love a little sunshine? Not only does it feel fantastic, but it also has numerous health benefits. Sunshine improves our mood, our immune functions, and catalyzes vitamin D production in our bodies. Vitamin D is important to our healthy smiles. Vitamin D supports oral health in two ways: – It helps our bodies absorb and utilize calcium One of…
I WAS counseling someone the other day in my office. He looked shocked and confused as we sorted through all the credit card statements on my desk and added up how much he owed. $65,000! That’s how much the statements said he owed! How could this be? He said he remembered paying a lot of…
A SHORT sale occurs when you sell your property for a price that is short of the balance owed to avoid a foreclosure – with the consent of your lender. Let’s define recourse and non-recourse loans and discuss variations when the property is outside California or if you move into or out of California. Here…
A 56-YEAR old woman who tripped and fell several feet down a parking garage recovered $6.5 million in damages from the parking company and garage owner. According to reports, the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, had her car valet parked on the second floor of a parking garage. She returned to get some things…
NO ONE ever likes to talk about bankruptcy. However, it’s simply a fact of life. Things happen. Whether it’s losing your job, going through a divorce, having huge medical bills that you can’t pay – or sometimes simply making poor financial decisions- any of these can lead to bankruptcy. It’s a scary thing to a…
NO one ever likes to talk about bankruptcy. However, it’s simply a fact of life. Things happen. Whether it’s losing your job, going through a divorce, having huge medical bills that you can’t pay – or sometimes simply making poor financial decisions- any of these can lead to bankruptcy. It’s a scary thing to a…
I DON’T really want to talk about death but everyone dies whether we like it or not. Blame Adam for that. If Adam did not eat of the forbidden fruit in Paradise, then we would still have the superior body that never gets sick and never dies. But we are forever indebted to Jesus, the…
(Part 2) SHAREHOLDER loans accumulate over time and become red flags for IRS audits. Left unchecked, they grow to sums that are hard to repay. Let’s discuss some tips and developments. Here are Tips to Alleviate this Problem: Make some payments, even a small amount from time to time. This indicates the existence of a…
Q: I WAS recently forced to quit my job because of my abusive manager. Can I still sue for wrongful termination even if I was the one who left my employment? A: If the manager’s conduct created working conditions that were so oppressive that a reasonable person in the employee’s position is forced to resign,…
WHILE I have written this article especially for small business owners, everything I say here will also apply to everyone who is going through a financial crisis. So, whether you own a business or not, if you are having financial problems, keep reading. Is your business currently up to its neck in debt and you’re…
WE’VE all been in situations where we’ve wished we had a toothbrush—but didn’t. Perhaps it was on a recent camping trip. Perhaps it was right after lunch, on a day when you were headed into an important business meeting. Regardless of when it was, you knew that a fresh, sparkling smile would bring the comfort and/or confidence you needed. Certain…
ACCORDING to reports, Walgreens, the drug retail chain, was sued by its California employees for, among other things, failure to provide employees the required meal and rest breaks and for failing to pay employees for their spent at work undergoing security searches. The case is on behalf of Walgreens’ hourly managers or assistant store managers…
IF YOU are buried in debt, you may be feeling trapped at the moment with no way out. You realize you need help but don’t know where to go for help. You may even be embarrassed about your situation that you find it uncomfortable to turn to family and friends for help. So you try…
In life, for those who already have experience and some wisdom, there is such a thing as getting the right advice at the right time. In fact, the right advice at the right time can result in losing a fortune or keeping a fortune. The problem is that most people have an ego problem. They…
THE PHYSICIAN Members of the professions are normally doing well financially in the United States because they are highly paid for their skills. However, even with high gross incomes, wrong decisions, or illness can result in financial problems that require bankruptcy relief. This is what happened to my client who is a member of the…
Q: I AM a salaried employee receiving exactly twice the minimum wage per hour. I have a heavy workload and I supervise a few employees but I can’t hire or fire them. My employer insists that since I am salaried and paid double the hourly minimum wage, I am exempt from overtime pay. Is it…
WHEN debts spiral out of control, bankruptcy can become an invaluable financial recovery tool in stemming the tide and getting you back on the right track. 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…
