FIVE year-old Jane Fine* was walking along the sidewalk on Green Street with her parents, trying to peer into the shops which displayed brightly colored toys. The Fine family was taking Jane out for a frozen yogurt treat in the city’s shopping district. While the Fine family was making their way to the yogurt shop,…
ONE of the goals of bankruptcy is to allow debtor-filers to start anew. This means that after filing bankruptcy and getting a discharge of their debts, these debtors will be in a position to move on financially. Allowing these debtors to keep certain basic assets despite a bankruptcy filing is one way of helping debtor…
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…
YOUR case was closed unagreed and have decided to bring your case before the appeals office of the IRS. You have learned the basics of the appeals process and how to prepare for the conference from my prior articles. Let me now give you 10 strategies as you meet face-to-face with the Appeals Officer: 1….
ARE you worried about your future due to having too much debt? You’ve probably heard the saying, “The failure to plan is a plan to fail”. And yet so many of us don’t realize how we so easily neglect to plan for our financial future. Ask a few people you know what kind of financial…
LAST July 12 my wife and I joined a demonstration outside the Chinese consulate in San Francisco to add to the loud voices demanding that China vacate the areas in the South China Sea over which the Philippines has “sovereign rights,” based on the decision handed down that day by the Permanent Court of Arbitration…
AFTER being on hospital arrest for almost four years, former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been released, after the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines ruled that there is no sufficient evidence to convict her of plunder. However, an overwhelming majority of Filipinos in America (78 percent), who voted in The Filipino Channel’s “Balitang…
Being one of Philippine television’s finest actors with countless awards, endorsements and awards under his belt begs the question, “How to be Gerald Anderson?” And quite coincidentally (but with pun intended), his new movie with Bea Alonzo – and their first movie team-up is entitled, “How to be Yours.” But before we get into the…
Should I buy a condominium unit in the Philippines? What investment opportunities are there? What brands should I consider if I want to franchise? Is a condo unit a more sound investment than a house and lot? I’m planning to retire in a few years, how can I invest my hard-earned savings properly? When is…
Commemorating the annual Filipino tradition away from home, like the fiesta, could be somewhat sentimentally nostalgic or reflective of a volume of fond memories but with the advent of the same high-spirited merriment that is annually celebrated here in the east coast through the courtesy of Special Edition Press and Fiesta in America, Filipino-Americans and…
MORE than 100 people with prior criminal convictions may face deportation after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers performed a sweep of arrests in Southern California between Monday, July 18 and Thursday, July 21. ICE agents moved quickly to apprehend a list of 112 recently released inmates because a California law prevents police from holding…
Luis Manzano kept mum about his private life after breaking up with actress Angel Locsin, so a lot of people were wondering if he was seeing anyone new. After months of speculation, the actor and TV host finally admitted that he and actress Jessy Mendiola are “going out.” You would thing that everything will go…
MANY Filipinos consult with me saying they are sad, lonely, and depressed over their immigration situation, and just want to give up, and go back to the Philippines. Many of them came to the U.S. years ago, leaving behind a spouse and small children. Because of their immigration situation, they are unable to travel back…
THE failure of the Supreme Court to overturn the lower’s court’s decision blocking the implementation of the President’s Executive Order providing Deferred Action to Parents of US Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (DAPA) dashed the hope of many undocumented parents who wish to come out of the shadows. The implementation of DAPA would have allowed…
HOWEVER the United States tries to goad China into accepting the ruling of the United Nation’s Permanent Court of Arbitration, in The Hague, what is certain is that the Philippines cannot rely on the Americans—or on our military alliance pact (the latest iteration of which is the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA)—to test the…
(Part 1 of 2) Signing up to be a soldier for a country not initially your own and be willing and able to defend and die for its ideals, is probably the most courageous and noble act a person can do. After all, it is undeniable that going to war carries with it the risk…
What is Barrett’s esophagus? Barrett’s esophagus is a condition where the normal cell lining (stratified squamous epithelium) of the food pipe (the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach), or a segment of it, is replaced with a different tissue similar to the lining of the intestine. The transformation is called intestinal metaplasia. This…
Since President Johnson signed them into law on July 30, 1965, Medicare and Medicaid have helped millions of people receive necessary health care services. These programs are some of the most integral legislation ever passed and they continue to protect Americans throughout the country. Health care is not a luxury. It is a necessity no…
He left me a houseful of daughters — very young, and adorable, with the world on their side. In the face of adversity, we are not permitted to ask “why me?” You can ask but you won’t get an answer. Through the years, I’ve learned the hard way why some poems don’t rhyme, why some…
IF you do not agree of the IRS results of examination, your options are: request a meeting or telephone conference. If after the meeting or conference you still do not agree, appeal your case to the IRS Appeals Office. If you ignore and do nothing, a notice of deficiency will be issued which allows you…
The killing of Dallas police officers by sniper fire marks a new escalation of race wars here in America and signals a higher level of frustration with the unabated killing of blacks by police under questionable circumstances. It is unimaginable anywhere else but in this country how a simple traffic stop for a broken tail…
THEIR political opponents from their respective parties might have conceded defeat following a long contentious primary season, but Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would remain to be called as presumptive nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties respectively — up until they both get officially proclaimed to be their parties’ presidential nominee for the general…
THE numbers are in his favor as it seems that majority of Filipinos are looking forward to the next six years of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s leadership and are eager to see the changes he had promised. In a Social Weather Station (SWS) poll conducted from June 24 to 27, 84 percent of 1,200 adults or…
The most notable about one’s time during an ocean voyage is that it is so purely relative. We sailed in the lightness of an early summer, the sky a fresh roseate, the sea quiet and calm. The ship sailed into the open sea, a shade of vivid indigo as the horizon narrowed and widened, dipped and rose,…
MY sister and I sat in my family house’s backyard porch last night to enjoy a home-cooked meal and a nice cool evening breeze. As we ate, we chatted about my recent 25th Anniversary celebration, the relatives and friends and other guests that came to the affair, and the family reunions that followed. After dinner,…
Senior files Chp 7 to discharge $35K credit cards CLIENT is 59 and single. He has a decent job where he makes $4K a month gross. He doesn’t owe any credit card debt. He only owes 3 secured debts. He owes a mortgage on his house for $400K plus he has arrears of $83K on…
Q: I AM a registered nurse in the Philippines but I have not yet obtained a license in California. However, I am working as a ‘private nurse’ to a bed-ridden patient in Los Angeles. My duties are mainly nursing duties – tube feedings, inserting catheter, tracheal suctioning, observing and recording vital signs, administering therapies prescribed…
IN the absence of a premarital agreement, the general community property presumption under California family code section 760 controls which provides “ ….all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property.” Family Code §760. This becomes a problem if you…
MANY people have misconceptions or are misinformed about family law here in the United States, specifically, in the State of California. They tend to not know their rights that deal in this area. These include the areas of divorces, custody, child/spousal support, paternity actions, wills/trusts, property rights etc. In the years that I have practiced…
YOU are still upset from losing an IRS audit. You can either pay or fight. If you choose peace and quiet—pay. If you choose to fight—go to appeals. Let me give you 10 tips on how to prepare for the appeals conference: 1. Be organized in gathering and grouping records. An organized approach to gathering,…
