Bankruptcy: Why blaming yourself will not help
BEING in debt can be pretty depressing. I understand how you feel. When you’re drowning in debt, you may feel that your situation is hopeful and you have no motivation…
Category: Business
Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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Managing market volatility takes spotlight at first COL Investor Summit
COL Financial kicks off its annual Investor Summit to teach Filipinos how to manage their portfolios better COL Financial recently held its first COL Investor Summit targeting customers actively managing…
Client files Chapter 13 to handle $120K credit card debt
The client is 50 years old and divorced. She owns her residence by herself. Ex-husband quitclaimed the house to her in the divorce and she agreed to buy him off…
Women & minority employees continue fight for pay equality
INGRID Avendano, Roxana Lopez, and Ana Medina are female Latina software engineers employed by Uber, a multi-billion dollar company that provides on-demand transportation and food delivery services globally. The engineers…
Is the IRS Appeals Office independent?
IF you lose an IRS audit, you have two choices: pay or appeal. Your decision depends on how you feel about the fairness of the auditor, amount of assessment, cost…
Business owner seeks Chapter 7 relief from employee lawsuit for backpay of $100K
Secured creditor client seeks relief from buyer who filed Chapter 11 “ In any event, client does not have $100K. Client decides to have a fresh start in life with a Chapter 7…
Who else is liable for unpaid wages?
WHAT happens when your employer faces difficulties paying a significant claim for wages? Information regarding the identity of the various “employers” becomes important when employees have serious claims for unpaid…
IRS audits schedule C of sole proprietors
IRS loves to audit Schedule C. This form is filed by taxpayers who conduct their businesses as sole proprietors (popularly referred to as “DBA” or doing business as) instead of…
3 reasons why bankruptcy might be the best solution for debt problems
IF you’re in debt and are considering bankruptcy as an option for you to get needed relief, perhaps just hearing the word “bankruptcy” makes you extremely nervous. Maybe the word…
Fil-Am Chef Barb Batiste turns to Filipino classics at Big Boi on Sawtelle
Sawtelle Boulevard in West Los Angeles is another haven for those with eager tastebuds and stomachs, as blocks are lined with sushi bars, ramen places, and Boba tea shops, as…
Solar energy credit for residential
A SOLAR electric residential property to be qualified for the credit must meet the following requirements: 1. Costs paid must be for qualified for solar electric property. 2. Qualified solar…
Business owner files Chapter 7 due to $1-M labor lawsuits
THE client is 65. He operates a service-oriented business with three outlets in strip malls. He has been in business for eight years. Of the three outlets, two are losing…
Reporting undocumented workers to ICE by employer’s representative is unlawful
In 1995, José Arias, an undocumented immigrant, began work as a milker for Angelo Dairy. Two years later, Arias wanted to accept a job offer with another dairy company. The…
Q&A: What to expect during an IRS audit
HOW did I get selected for an audit? • Random selection and computer screening – how your return compares to norms. • Related party examinations - transactions with partners, investors, or audits…
Bankruptcy: Making the law work to your benefit
When your financial circumstances are forcing you to declare bankruptcy, bankruptcy can be one way of dealing with debts that you can no longer manage on your own. Of course,…
Client seeks Chapter 7 relief again for $48K in credit card debt
WHO said that, first is chance, twice is coincidence and third is habit? I have two new clients who are actually previous clients. The first is 55 and she filed…
FATCA reminder for US persons
THE Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires foreign financial Institutions and other non-financial foreign entities to report on the foreign assets held by their U.S. account holders or be…
Charging different prices to consumers based on age may be discrimination
TINDER is a smartphone-based dating app. Subscribers use the app to find people whom they would like to date. Tinder presents users with photos of potential dates. In March 2015,…
Are you thinking of debt settlement to avoid bankruptcy?
YOU’VE probably seen a lot of these ads: “Settle your debts for pennies on the dollar!”, “Reduce your debts legally without filing bankruptcy!” “Stop bill collectors now and pay them…
Protecting your pets upon passing
APPROXIMATELY 78 million dogs and 85.8 million cats are owned in the United States (ASPCA Pet Statistics). About 52% of California households own a pet (American Veterinary Medical Association 2011…
Filipina domestic employee wins $827,506 in wage trial
A FILIPINA domestic employee won her wage claims against her former employers after a court trial held in Los Angeles Superior Court. Linda Alzate (not her real name), an immigrant…
All about the fair debt collection practices act
THE Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that was enacted in 1978 by the United States Congress to protect consumers from abusive debt collectors. Note, however,…
Excluding sexual misconduct from arbitration (Ensuring employee access to the courts)
DEBORAH Pierce, an emergency room doctor, brought a sex discrimination claim against the employer that had fired her. She had evidence that the employer had a pattern of denying women…
Business tax provisions
1. THE new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cuts corporate taxes from eight graduated rates of 15 percent to 35 percent to a flat rate of 21 percent. 2. The…
Reduce your stress by reducing your debt
HAVE debt problems taken over your life? Do you lie awake at night thinking how in the world you’re going to pay back your debts while still being able to…
Lombard by The Bay: Where your new home also opens opportunities
For Susan Gross-Niedermeyer, a realtor in Phoenix, Arizona since 1989, there is no better place to be a resident, tourist, pilgrim, visitor, or investor than at Lombard By The Bay….
Bold new movement by Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce to be launched on March 3
Push for Entrepreneurship” will be celebrated during induction gala ON the eve of welcoming a new president and a new board for 2018-2019, a revolutionary upheaval of the cultural mindset…
Death of a taxpayer
Part 1 WHAT you need to know when your loved one dies or when you die? What is meant by Final Form 1040, filing of Form 1041 and Form 706?…
Senior seeks Chapter 13 protection for fully paid house from $15K in credit card debt
THE client is a young senior in his early 60s who took an early retirement last year. He owes $15,000 of credit card debt and nothing else. He has a…
Illegal work discrimination based on sex orientation
JAMES Pearl was hired in 2002 by the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation. In 2006, he was promoted as a wastewater collection supervisor. In 2011, he was transferred to an…