You don’t have to remain stuck in debt forever
Life is all about making choices. The choices we make today determine our future. What will my life be like 3, 5 or 10 years for now? Will I be…
Category: Business
Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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Two seniors rely on Chapter 13 to solve different financial problems
Get rid of your debts now and get a head start to live up to 120! CLIENT no. 1 Client is 65. She presents her financial problem thus. Both she…
Victoria’s Secret employees sue for payment of ‘call-in’ time (How to recognize & get paid for all ‘work time’)
Mayra Casas worked as a sales clerk for Victoria’s Secret in one of the company’s California stores. Casas claimed that she, and other employees, were required by the company to…
Frequently Asked Questions (Faq) #1 – Fbar filing requirements
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…
How to face debt problems before they get worse
The last few years have been financially difficult for a lot of people. When the real estate marked crashed a few years ago, millions of people found themselves with a…
Is $54K a year for children’s private school tuition grounds to dismiss Chapter 7?
SECTION 707 (b) of the bankruptcy code is the provision that allows the dismissal of a Chapter 7 case if there is a “presumption of abuse” of bankruptcy law. This…
Honest employees who do the right thing are protected from retaliation
ROBERT Wascher, M.D. began working as a cancer surgeon for Southern California Permanente Medical Group (“Kaiser”) in 2009. He was the only specialty-trained cancer surgeon for Kaiser’s 440,000 patients in…
The ABCs of foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR)
IF you have offshore bank accounts, should you report the accounts to the U.S. government? Yes, if the aggregate balances exceed $10,000 at any time during the year. What if…
Can filing bankruptcy save your small business?
BANKRUPTCY is a bad word every business owner is working hard to avoid. And, yet, it’s also a tool given to entrepreneurs as an encouragement to take risks and be…
US Constitution guarantees right to bankruptcy for fresh start in life without pre-existing debt
Wildly succesful people who sought fresh start with bankruptcy ARTICLE I, Section 8, of the United States Constitution authorizes Congress to enact “uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies.” Under this…
Accommodating injured employees at work
Employer’s failure may be disability discrimination PATRICIA Hancock was a warehouse worker for Time Warner Cable for 8 years in its Bellflower facility. Part of her job was to pull heavy…
10 tips to handle an IRS correspondence audit
THERE are three basic types of IRS audits: correspondence, office, and field examinations. Today’s topics are correspondence audits, the simplest of the three. Here are 10 tips for you: 1….
Get out of debt before this year is over
ARE you sick and tired of being in debt and having bad credit? Do you want to start over but simply don’t know where to begin? Is filing bankruptcy an…
9th circuit decides that punitive damage award does not establish willful and malicious injury
Young seniors seek chapter 7 relief for $26K credit card debts SECTION 523(a)(4) and (a)(6) of the bankruptcy code states that any debt that arises from “fraud or defalcation while…
‘Dress Code’ required at work: Should employees pay the cost?
“ California law allows employers to require its employees to wear uniforms as a condition of employment. Employers may prescribe the weight, color, texture, style, form, and make of uniforms…
Should you form a limited liability company (LLC)?
Choosing the proper entity for your business (Part 4 of 5) LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC) is a hybrid that combines the pass-through attributes of a partnership with the limited liability…
Is your financial boat sinking? Here’s how you can avoid a disaster
IN 1912, the sinking of the mighty ship called the “Titanic” sent 1,516 people to a watery grave. The “Titanic”, first thought to be unsinkable, sank to the bottom of…
Is it time to hire a marketing agency?
Tell me about your day. Do you find yourself working into the wee hours of the night thinking about customers and growing your business? Do you believe that saving a…
Hard evidence required to prove dissipation of assets
Senior seeks Chapter 7 relief for $5K debt THERE are clients who received a large amount of cash before they file for bankruptcy. They may have received cash from a…
Business establishment’s duty to protect the privacy of its employees and customers
SEARS Department Store in North Hollywood, California, hired Alejandro Gamiz in 2005 as a maintenance worker. From 2009 to 2012, while working for Sears, Gamiz created peep holes in the…
Should you run your business as a sole proprietorship?
Choosing the proper entity for your business (Part 3 of 5) S CORPORATION is a corporation that has elected to be taxed under Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code. This…
Reality check: When debt controls your life
A CLIENT of mine said he never saw it coming. Everything he ever wanted in life, he always purchased on credit. The “pre-approved” credit cards just kept coming in the…
Diabetes and gum disease can be double trouble
PEOPLE with diabetes are mindful of their bodies’ feedback. Effective diabetes management requires frequent blood sugar checks, careful dietary planning, and close monitoring of other symptoms. But with all the things…
Supreme Court reverses Court of Appeals ruling
Decides future wages belong to debtor when chapter 13 is converted to chapter 7 IMAGINE that you are a Chapter 13 debtor with a 5-year reorganization plan. In this plan, you…
Must employers provide paid sick leave?
Q: I WORK for a temp agency as an hourly employee and I recently got sick. I asked the employer if I was entitled to paid sick leave. I was…
Should you run your business as a sole proprietorship?
Choosing the proper entity for your business (Part 1 of 5) YOU have decided to go into business for yourself. Should you operate as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, LLC, or…
Are you struggling under the burden of debt?
IF you are searching for debt reduction solutions, no doubt you’ve been inundated with advertisements for various debt management programs, companies and solutions. The choices seem confusing to the average…
Enamel education
WHILE we endeavor to help our patients aoid tooth problems, with the reality is that by the time many people get to the dentist, they are already experiencing symptoms of…
Widow with no assets seeks to discharge $25K in credit card debt
Credit cards with $50K judgment liens attempt to force sale of client’s residence Client No. 1 CLIENT is 82 and recently widowed. She now lives with her daughter who takes…
Delay in payment of wages entitles employees to additional pay
Q: SEVERAL days ago, I was terminated from work. To add insult to injury, my employer has not given me my final pay. When I called to ask the status…