Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Most debt problems don’t go away and solve themselves. They are there when you go to bed at night, and they’re still there when you get up in the morning. They can cause a lot of ulcers, sleepless nights, stress, and even physical sickness. As a bankruptcy attorney for the last 22 years, I have…
Biden tax plan series A certain provision in the Internal Revenue Code allows you to defer (postpone) gain on the sale of a business or investment property. “Tax deferred” means that the tax is postponed (not forgiven). The number “1031” is a section of the Internal Revenue Code which allows preferential treatment of gain. Current…
PAY debt off completely There are, of course, different ways of getting rid of debt. The most obvious is just pay it off. Let’s say you owe $50,000 of credit cards. It’s costing you $1,500 a month of minimum payments to keep them current, or $18,000 a year, every year. Obviously, the simplest way is…
Lime runs electric scooters, electric bikes, normal pedal bikes, electric mopeds and car sharing systems in metropolitan areas to customers through its mobile app. Lime hires persons known as “Juicers” to locate, recharge, and redistribute Lime’s scooters after being rented. Several “Juicers,” among them Jon Osuna, Yassin Olabi, and others, sued Lime claiming that the…
IF you’re in this situation, your question is probably: “Do I need to make repairs?” The quick answer is “No, you don’t need to make any repairs.” The real questions are — when do you need to sell by and what is your home’s current market value? The time it takes for a property to…
NO one ever wants to face a debt crisis but at one time or another in your life, you may have to deal with one. Having debt problems does not make you a bad person although some people feel a sense of guilt as they feel responsible for the decision that they have made that…
SOME premises liability cases involve multiple negligent parties who cause the plaintiff to suffer one single injury. In representing a single plaintiff in such a case, it may be difficult for the attorney to prove which defendant was responsible for the client’s injuries. As an example, inside of a store that is undergoing construction, a…
BITCOIN and other cryptocurrency has become popular lately as a new store of value. It is decentralized and not subject to regulation in any jurisdiction. It can be stored in a digital wallet or hard drive. Due to its lack of regulation, it is easy for one to assume that it is not necessary to…
THE client is 45, married with two sons, 16 and 12. He used to own and operate, together with his wife, a small business, which started in 2014. They sold the business for $40,000 in 2019 just before the pandemic started. He says the business was barely breaking even so they decided to just sell…
CAN an employer fire someone simply for being gay or transgender? No, according to the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark decision in Bostock v Clayton County. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. “An employer who…
Biden tax plan series WHAT are capital assets, capital gains and long-term capital gains? When you sell a capital asset for more than you paid for it, you realize a capital gain. Capital assets include stocks, bonds, and real estate. The tax you’ll pay on the capital gain depends on how long you held the asset…
Flag carrier to continue operations, eyes exit from Chapter 11 before year-end NATIONAL flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has “voluntarily” filed for restructuring under a Chapter 11 plea in the United States amid the ongoing pandemic that has put a strain on global travel. PAL President Gilbert Santa Maria said in a video statement that…
MOST debt problems don’t go away and solve themselves. They are there when you go to bed at night, and they’re still there when you get up in the morning. They can cause a lot of ulcers, sleepless nights, stress and even physical sickness. As a bankruptcy attorney for the last 22 years, I have…
Here are some ways to prepare for Biden’s tax increases: Accelerate 2022 income into 2021 to avail of lower tax rates in 2021. Defer 2021 deductions into 2022 when you need it more to counter higher rates in 2022. Sell long-term capital gain assets in 2021to take advantage of lower rates. Realize capital gains on…
Marriage for many persons is the culmination of one’s life. Getting married signifies the beginning of a new phase in life, both socially and economically. For those persons who lack permanent residency in the United States and have married a United States citizen, marriage also presents an opportunity to obtain permanent residency. However, although the…
THE client owns a restaurant that survived the pandemic with take-outs. The commercial lease for the restaurant is in the name of the client. The client is the sole proprietor of the restaurant, and obtained PPP loans of $80,000, and credit card debt of $120,000. All these debts were used to keep the restaurant afloat….
I WORK for a company that shorts us on pay, nothing big, like 15 minutes of overtime two to three time per week and breaks that are not provided once or twice a week. Many of my coworkers experience the same thing but shrug it off saying the back wages are too small to sue…
Bottom line up front — it depends. It depends on your short-term and long-term goals. Currently, it’s a “seller’s market,” which means that there are more buyers than there are homes available for sale. Along with the historically low rates of financing, we’ve seen bidding wars and offers over the asking price during the past…
Part 3 of 3 Swing trading captures short to medium-term gains over weeks or months (as opposed to day trading that captures gains in one day). The main difference between swing and day trading is the time frame. Day traders work with a short time frame whereas the swing traders work with a much longer time frame. If you are patient as…
Q: I work for a private company in California that is not in healthcare or education. My employer just sent a company-wide memo requiring that all employees must be vaccinated in order to be allowed into the workplace. I read that vaccination is only mandatory for healthcare and school workers. Because I don’t work in…
Once in a while, there will be a prospective client who will come to see me to argue against himself. I say client argues against himself because he has decided not to face the reality of his debt problems. First, client already has two judgments against him. One judgment is for $33,000 and another is…
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…
Maximizing the client’s recovery Insurance carriers have a duty to investigate all claims. This duty is the same regardless of the kind of insurance at issue. This duty applies to first-party claims “your own insurance” — that is when a policy-holder has submitted a claim to her own insurance carrier, such as a claim under…
IF you are delinquent on your debts, you may be able to avoid dealing with the bill collectors for a few months but sooner or later, you will still need to face the reality of your debt problems and do something to protect yourself. For example, creditors will probably wait until you are 60 days…
FILIPINA Melody Avecilla’s successful career in the insurance industry started after migrating to the United States. Previously an international flight attendant, she was advised by family members living in the country for years to look into insurance as an option for her next career, as it has been an essential commodity in the U.S. household…
By Jenny Manrique/Ethnic Media Services THE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended the federal moratorium on evictions until October 3, while President Joe Biden’s administration provided $47 billion in assistance for renters and small landlords. Yet, barriers to low-income and communities of color accessing those federal dollars continue, as rent delays and mental…
Q: I HEARD California is requiring workers to be vaccinated. My employer just sent a memo to everyone saying that employees must be vaccinated in order to be allowed into the worksite. Can my employer force me to get vaccinated? A: The general answer is “yes.” This is especially true and urgent for certain types…
YOU own a successful business, as a sole proprietor, prior to marriage. You later meet the love of your life and decide to marry her. Years into the marriage, you decide to incorporate the business. A common question when the couple later divorces becomes 1) did your separate property business become community property by virtue…
YOU may not like what I have to say in this article. But oftentimes, the truth hurts. But if you find yourself broke every payday because of too much debt, you may find the information here helpful to change your life for the better. Did you know that more than 90% of the population lives…
THE common misconception is that car insurance follows the driver. In reality, car insurance follows the vehicle. Under the “permissive use statute,” this means if you give another driver permission to take your vehicle, they will be covered by your car’s insurance policy. In other words, your own policy provides the primary coverage, not the…
