Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
MAKING the decision to file bankruptcy can be a painstaking process that most people put off until they realize that they have no other way out of debt. Unfortunately, however, sometimes people wait to long. When they finally do make the decision to file, they soon realize that they would actually have been better off…
Today, modern dentistry helps people keep their smiles for life DURING generations past, lost teeth were considered an inevitable consequence of aging. Now we know how to better care for our smiles as they age. With modern advances, you can have a comfortable, healthy smile for life! Must-do’s, ages 65+: For the most part, losing…
WE worry about so many things that are not on the right track in our lives. We worry about our children and their future. We worry about our retirement. Are we going to remain healthy when we retire and are we going to have enough money when we retire? Is our country headed in the…
WHEN buying and selling real estate, there is always that inevitable question: how do you hold title? Remember that your choice can have dramatic impact on estate taxes, liability protection, heirs, family situations and other factors. Let’s explore choices to help you determine which title is best for your next property. Joint tenancy -Any number…
THE struggle to help immigrant workers enforce their basic labor rights recently gained a major boost in California with the passage of new employment laws. Two laws are intended to help workers assert their rights by prohibiting retaliation, including threats of deportation. Another law makes it a crime for employers or their attorneys to use…
Eight years ago, Congress passed new federal laws that made it tougher to file personal bankruptcy. This happened at a time when thousands of families were living in financial distress and were facing an uncertain future. Out of fear that they could no longer get the debt relief that they needed, hundreds of thousands of…
MANY debtors feel that their debt problems have placed them in a lions’ den because they feel that their debts will swallow them up alive. Every month every creditor must have their minimum bites from debtors’ household income. Creditors are compared to lions that eat debtors alive. This situation is not hard to imagine. Just…
OUR column usually focuses on serious (and sometimes boring) subjects of tax and finance. Let’s depart from that dull setting and explore the lighter world of Murphy’s Law: 1. If something can go wrong, it will. At the worst possible time. 2. Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. 3. Brain cells come and brain…
ON Sept. 26, 2013, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that entitles personal attendants, which include caregivers and nannies working in private households, to overtime pay if they work more than 9 hours in a day. Personal attendants were previously exempt from overtime law. The Industrial Welfare Commission’s Wage Order 15 currently defines…
With the proliferation of credit cards in our society, it’s not difficult for credit card debts to get out of hand. Once you’re caught in the credit card debt trap, it’s quite a struggle to get out. Here’s why. The average household in America today owes about $16,000 in credit cards, according to a recent…
NO doubt you’ve heard that vitamins and minerals are good for your overall health. But did you know that many of those same vitamins and minerals are very important to the health of your smile? Read on! Does your diet include an ample supply of these important vitamins and minerals? • Calcium protects your teeth…
DEBT problems can become a recurring nightmare for debtors who think they can handle debt problems by themselves. I have told you many times before that if you have debt problems you must rely on the one true God, my God, the God of Moses and Israel, who sent His only and Beloved Son, Jesus…
1. File Electronically – Consider filing electronically instead of using paper tax forms. If you file electronically and choose direct deposit, you will receive your refund faster. 2. Check social security numbers – Make sure that SS numbers are correct for you, your spouse, and children. If you e-file, names used for your returns must…
(Employer’s Verbal Disclosure of Employee’s Medical Condition May Be Illegal) MELISSA Ignat worked for Yum! Brands, the corporate parent of several fast-food franchises, such as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC. Yum employed Melissa between 2005 and 2008 in the Yum Real Estate Title Department, in Irvine. Melissa suffered from bipolar disorder, for which she…
Almost every week, my office gets phone calls from people in debt who have been taken advantage of by so-called “debt settlement companies”. These are the companies who advertise on TV, newspapers and on the internet who tell people that their debts can be settled for “pennies on the dollar” and that they should avoid…
4th Case Report of PA Jae Park A doctor couple (whom I’ll refer to as Mr. P) in their thirties, who immigrated from South Asia, lived in a two-story single-family home in Pomona, L.A. County. On January 1, 2012 they discovered that a bedroom on the second floor was wet. The water had come down…
TOO much debt becomes an enormous emotional problem for the debtor. I am reminded of my client 20 years ago who killed himself by shooting himself in the chest. By all accounts, he was a successful person. He had high income, $500,000 annually from his profession. But he was also involved in a business that…
1. YOU may claim exemptions for yourself, your spouse and your dependents. 2. Dependents must have a Social Security number (TIN is not good enough). 3. Exemption amount is $3,800 for 2012 for each exemption. 4. Exemptions reduce your taxable income and your income tax. 5. It could also produce credits such as child care…
Q: I WORKED in a company for more than 10 years. A new supervisor was recently transferred to my department. This person and I do not get along. Last week, our human resources director informed me that the company was letting me go and gave me my last paycheck. I don’t have any disciplinary record…
How long do you have to keep tax records? How long can the IRS audit your tax returns? Let’s discuss 10 tips on statute of limitations so you can clean your garage this weekend. Statute of limitations provides final dates after which neither you nor the IRS can be disturbed by the other. ? From…
You have probably heard a lot of ‘negative things’ about bankruptcy- how it may be the worst mistake you could ever make, that you will never be able to get credit again, that you will lose everything you have, etc. The list goes on and on. But don’t be misled. Most of what you’ve heard…
INTUITIVELY, you probably know that better posture is good for your back, neck, etc. But what you may not know is that better posture is good for your oral health too! It’s true. Proper posture promotes a healthy smile and can help prevent potential problems with your jaw and teeth. Poor posture can place harmful pressure on…
PEOPLE with debts problems are worried sick about their debts. Almost daily, clients tell me that they cannot sleep and very worried about their debts. They have long faces and look troubled. Sometimes, I tell them that God, my God, the God of Moses and Israel, who sent His only and beloved Son, Jesus Christ,…
OSFEL Andrade, an immigrant from Mexico, worked in the shipping department of Terra Universal, a laboratory equipment manufacturer in Fullerton, California when immigration agents conducted a worksite raid on June 29, 2010. During the raid, ICE agents arrested 43 workers and placed them in deportation proceedings. Andrade was not arrested that day, but instead of…
LIFE just happens. Sometimes even the best laid plans can go wrong. How do you respond when this happens to you? Do you easily give up when you’re overwhelmed? Remaining calm can be difficult when things are chaotic so the usual reaction is panic. As a bankruptcy attorney, I often see this when people are…
In America, it doesn’t matter who you are, what your race is, what your religion is, you can succeed. You study, you work, you build up business and you live the promise of America. ADAM was the first man created by God, my God, the God of Moses and Israel, who sent His only and…
IF you paid someone to care for your child, spouse, or dependent, you may be able to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit on your federal income tax return. Here are 10 tips on claiming a credit for child and dependent care expenses. -The expense for child and dependent care must be provided for…
Q: I WORK at a service-oriented business here in California as an hourly employee. We are required to wear a uniform. We can only get the uniform from our employer and the employer deducts from our pay the cost of these uniforms. Is this deduction legal? How do I know that the deductions from my…
You already know that your home is in foreclosure. You’ve received the dreaded Notice of Default. You know that after 90 days, your lender could schedule a Trustee Sale for your property upon only 21 day’s notice. You don’t have a lot of time left. Your home with all its memories, hopes and dreams will…
NO NEED TO BE EMBARRASSED! We all experience morning breath?from time to time. Typically, our morning brushing routines get rid of it. But people wonder where morning breath comes from—and people wonder what to do if it continues throughout the day. Morning breath is primarily caused by dry mouth While general bad breath can have…
