Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Establishing parentage rights for Moms is a lot easier than establishing one for unmarried Dads. Moms can establish this by simply showing proof of her having given birth to the child. Family Code §7610. Establishing parentage rights, including custody and visitation rights, becomes more problematic with unmarried Dads because proving yourself as the biological father…
According to a new report, the number of seniors filing bankruptcy is increasing rapidly. The average senior who files bankruptcy these days owes approximately $17,390 according to the report (although I have to say that most seniors who come to me for debt help actually owe a lot more!). Some of the reasons mentioned are…
AFROUZ Nikmanesh worked as a pharmacist for Walmart for more than 10 years. During her time as a Walmart pharmacist, Dr. Nikmanesh reported several noncompliance issues to management. These included Medicare patients being charged above reimbursement rates, Walmart failing to provide beneficiaries with Medicare discounts, and failing to report the dispensing of opioids and other…
Biden tax plan series WHAT is a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT)? A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) is used in estate planning to minimize taxes on large financial gifts to family members. An irrevocable trust is created for a certain period of time. The individual establishing the trust pays a tax when the trust is established. Assets are…
THE first client is a senior who still earns $120K a year as a registered nurse but owes $130K of credit cards. The second client is also a senior who just lost her job as an accountant and now relies on social security of $2K a month. At first glance, you would think that the…
IF you have an existing child support or spousal support obligation (court order) and you are laid off from your job causing a major loss of income, you may want to consider modifying your existing child and spousal support order. You are not automatically relieved from your obligation to pay a court ordered child and…
MANY people find themselves in the position of facing overwhelming debt, with constant calls from creditors and no apparent way out. For some, job loss sent them into a downward spiral, and they are now unable to pay their bills and meet their obligations. For others, a recent divorce or costly medical emergency drained their…
Biden tax plan series WHAT Is an Estate Tax? An estate tax is a levy on estates whose value exceeds an exclusion limit. Only the amount that exceeds that minimum threshold is subject to tax. This tax is calculated based on the estate’s fair market value (FMV) at time of death, not what the deceased originally paid for its assets….
QUICHANG Zhu (72 years old) and her grandson, Jian Hao Kuang (6 years old), were using a crosswalk to cross a street in Sacramento, CA. The intersection has no traffic lights and the crosswalk was poorly marked. Because the intersection is near a school, the street is busy. As the grandmother and her grandson were…
WHEN I say client is young, I mean client is young, in her twenties. She is married and has a son, a toddler. Before becoming a mother, she was working full time and earning about $60K a year. That’s a good salary for a young person. So how did she rack up so much credit…
IF you have an existing child support or spousal support obligation (court order) and you are laid off from your job causing a major loss of income, you may want to consider modifying your existing child and spousal support order. You are not automatically relieved from your obligation to pay a court ordered child and…
SFIO has recently been named one of the “20 Promising Companies Everyone Should Know in 2021” by Global Business Leader Magazine. The joint venture project with Omnicor Industrial Estate & Realty Center Inc. has proven that it is worthy to be listed in one of the 20 promising companies. Omnicor Industrial Estate & Realty is…
I’VE been asked this question a few times lately, so I decided to write an article on it. If you have filed bankruptcy before, you may be wondering whether it’s possible to do it again. Generally, the answer is that you can file bankruptcy as often as needed BUT subject to some limitations such as…
Biden tax plan series WHAT are itemized deductions? Itemized deductions are expenses that can be deducted from your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) to reduce your taxable income. Such deductions permit you to pay less in taxes than if you take the standard deduction. Allowable itemized deductions include property taxes, mortgage interest, and charitable gifts. In summary: An itemized deduction is…
Tell me about your current role and how your upbringing got you to where you are today. I’ve been a Branch Manager for over 10 years and my main role is to make sure that we maintain a culture of excellence and an environment that delivers world-class service by building relationships and excellent customer experience….
Divorcing couples with children sometimes worry about who is going to pay for their children’s college education after the divorce once their children graduates high school. They want a guarantee that their soon to be ex-spouse will share in the college expenses of their children. This is specially the case when the other spouse has…
Ending the month of October 2021, the Southern California housing market continued to appreciate in comparison to the prior year (Oct 2020)*. Los Angeles County showed an increase of 6.7% with a median sales price of $880,000 and an average sales price of $1,315,782 (+11.6%) for single-family homes. Orange County had an increase of 12.4%…
Divorcing couples with children sometimes worry about who is going to pay for their children’s college education after the divorce once their children graduates high school. They want a guarantee that their soon to be ex-spouse will share in the college expenses of their children. This is specially the case when the other spouse has…
CLIENTS are husband and wife in their fifties. Their combined household income is a gross of $140,000 annually. They own a house with equity of $300,000 in LA. They have no dependents. At this point, I don’t see much of a financial problem because they’re grossing almost $12,000 a month. Even with a mortgage payment…
Q: I HAVE a heart condition that has become worse recently. I need to see my doctor periodically or when I feel dizzy or short of breath. This means I need to request a half-day off every now and then to see my doctor. I am afraid to tell my boss because I may get…
I remember the story of a poor, old beggar who died one day- and to everyone’s surprise, a money belt found wrapped around his waist contained thousands of dollars in cash. Apparently, he had found the money belt while digging through trash, decided to keep it but never really opened it. Thus, he lived the…
TO most immigrants, obtaining their greencard has been a long and challenging journey. However, it should not be regarded as the final destination. The real American dream is to become a United States Citizen. After obtaining permanent residence status, many green card holders desire to take that next step—becoming a United States Citizen. As a…
THE COVID-19 pandemic has turned out to be one of major events that we all have witnessed together. Everyone had different approaches to deal with the crisis which led to the situation of lockdown. And then the process of vaccination was initiated along with several new norms of social distancing and remote working to counter…
Biden tax plan series WE have been concerned about President Biden’s proposal to raise the federal corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%. Lawmakers have suggested raising the rate to 25%. Including state corporate taxes, a 25% federal corporate income tax rate would result in a combined average top corporate tax rate of 29.53%t – higher than…
Albert and Stephanie Garcia, a married couple, were hired in 2013 by Sierra Management to work as on-site managers of an 81-unit apartment building in Canoga Park. The Garcias were paid a monthly salary and were provided with a rent-free unit in the same apartment building. In March 2017, Albert Garcia was diagnosed with thyroid…
THIS is what I call a borderline Chapter 7 case with asset. Therefore, it is the better part of caution not to file Chapter 7 because the asset may be lost in Chapter 7, while Chapter 13 is safe enough because the Chapter 13 trustee, unlike the Chapter 7 trustee does not have the power…
I remember the story of a poor, old beggar who died one day- and to everyone’s surprise, a money belt found wrapped around his waist contained thousands of dollars in cash. Apparently, he had found the money belt while digging through trash, decided to keep it but never really opened it. Thus, he lived the…
THE Australian-founded Big Lou’s Donuts, which specializes in producing a wide range of commercial donuts for retail, wholesale, events and corporate markets since 2008, recently sealed several deals with national wholesale distribution heavyweights, including Metcash, FoodWorks and Foodland. The new supply contracts are poised to more than double the company’s current annual revenue of approximately…
TO most immigrants, obtaining their greencard has been a long and challenging journey. However, it should not be regarded as the final destination. The real American dream is to become a United States Citizen. After obtaining permanent residence status, many green card holders desire to take that next step—becoming a United States Citizen. As a…
A NEW report revealed that Apple once gave Facebook an ultimatum over the abuse of Filipina domestic workers in the Middle East. “Two years ago, Apple threatened to pull Facebook and Instagram from its app store over concerns about the platform being used as a tool to trade and sell maids in the Mideast,” the…
