CLIENTS are young seniors at 60. Husband has a stable middle management job that pays $5K a month. Wife is not employed. They don’t own a house. They rent for $1200 a month and pay for a 2016 Lexus SUV 3.0. They enjoy travelling by SUV. This is the little luxury that they indulge in….
YOU may be subject to harsh penalties – penalties that are more severe than you expect, penalties that can even exceed balances in your accounts if you are a US citizen (or dual citizen) residing outside the US who do not report your foreign accounts. Therefore, it is critical that you learn the new rules…
SEVERAL emerging markets in the world have experienced exceptional economic strides. These nations are mostly highly export-driven with strong inflows of capital and investment and well-capitalized banking institutions. Many emerging markets have already “emerged.” Now that it is no longer the “Sick Man of Asia,” it is high time for the Philippines to experience this…
VACATIONS are nothing more than series of moments that you remember between all the exhaustion, moving from one place to another. It’s the special times obliterated by little things that you remember, as one tries desperately to cling to joyous carefree days and all the cultural enrichment you experienced on a trip. But when vacation…
LOS ANGELES—Spend an evening feasting with friends and supporting a great charity with Chef Alvin Cailan and Michael Hung at their Filipino Backyard BBQ in support of No Kid Hungry, held on Thursday, June 9, 2016 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. The two chefs will transform the mezzanine level of Chinatown’s Far East Plaza into a…
I had the pleasure of meeting this fashion guru at the Golden Globe Awards two years ago. He and Business Manager Arsi Baltazar were there. And I-being-me, I wouldn’t pass up the rare chance of meeting them. Thanks to my friends, Janet and Ruben Nepales who invited me to the event that such an opportunity…
“WE worry a great deal about the problem of church and state. Now, what about church and God? Sometimes there seems to be a greater separation between the church and God than between church and state.” — Abraham Joshua Heschel A lot of arguments have risen in the Philippines regarding the separation of church and…
MY last article discussed the reasons why everyone should have a power of attorney for assets as well as a power of attorney for healthcare. But what if a loved one has an incapacitating accident without executing a power of attorney? What if Mom is suffering from the beginning stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease…
CLIENTS are young seniors at 60. Husband has a stable middle management job that pays $5K a month. Wife is not employed. They don’t own a house. They rent for $1200 a month and pay for a 2016 Lexus SUV 3.0. They enjoy travelling by SUV. This is the little luxury that they indulge in….
MANY fathers and mothers have their own ideas of child custody and the standard to which Courts use in determining custody of children. Automatically, most parents believe that the children would naturally go to their mother. This perception is incorrect—the children do not automatically go to the mother. Rather, the Family Code statutes have a…
STARTING June 8, certain family members of Filipino World War II veterans (“FWV”) and who are beneficiaries of approved I-130 petitions can apply for parole with the USCIS so they can come to the US while waiting for their immigrant visa to become available (or to become current). This is pursuant to the July 2015…
ONE traditional way of obtaining permanent residency for most immigrants is through a petition by a US citizen spouse. As a spouse of a US Citizen, an alien is considered an immediate relative and entitled to immediately apply for a green card inside the United States. This is usually done by simultaneously filing an I-130…
Q: I HAVE been working at this company for 4 years and in my industry for 15 years. I just found out that a newly-hired male co-worker who is doing work similar to mine is being paid the same amount of wages as I am. This new hire has been working in the industry for…
HERE are 10 tips for students with summer jobs: 1. Fill out Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate). This form is used by employers to determine the amount of tax that will be withheld from your paycheck. If you have multiple summer jobs, make sure all your employers withhold adequate amount of taxes to cover…
Question: I owe a lot in back taxes. I’m constantly getting threatening letters from the IRS. This has become a big problem that I have no idea how to solve. Can you help me? Answer: For what it’s worth, take some comfort in knowing that you are not alone. There are millions of Americans in…
By and large, the venue’s ambiance was ecstatic and rapturous while every attendee’s mood was indubitably exuberant. The unswerving jauntiness and high spirited countenance that prevailed around the four corners of Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott Hotel’s Grand Ballroom was at its pinnacle when the Philippine American Friendship Committee (PAFCOM) commemorated its 26th Coronation and…
DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: When I filed for adjustment of status, USCIS said I committed fraud when I entered the US under an assumed name. They required me to file a Form I – 601 (Waiver of Inadmissibility), which they denied, stating that my spouse would not suffer enough “extreme hardship”. My lawyer appealed my case…
They were together through thick and thin, in spite of the fact that there were doubts about their relationship. So it was not a surprise to many when actors Jason Francisco and Melai Cantiveros — together popularly known as “Melason” — admitted that their marriage is going through some problems. They, however, denied that they…
WHAT is coronary angioplasty? Commonly called angioplasty, the procedure is technically known as Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA). Percutaneous refers to “the needle puncture thru the skin,” transluminal means “the inside channel of the artery,” coronary is the name of the “arteries to of the heart,” and angioplasty is “repair/dilatation” of the blocked artery, using…
JUNE is here! The season of weddings and new beginnings unfold as the days get warmer and longer. It is unfortunate, though, that half of the marriages these days end in divorce. It does not have to be that way. It should not be that way. I just attended a beautiful wedding in New York where…
CHANGE is indeed coming. The transition of power to President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has become more apparent even in the incoming 17th Congress. In the House of Representatives, a Congress shake-up is currently ongoing after several members of the ruling Liberal Party have decided to curtail its “Tuwid na Daan” (Straight Path) engagement for Duterte’s…
Las Vegas is a city of a thousand flashing lights racing on and off, bizarre and beautiful, meant to confuse people that there is no time here, no night and day, no past or future. It is just like having arrived at a palace at the end of the world, its oversized antiquitiess, employees wearing…
We consider it a once-in-a-blue-moon event whenever we run into famous personalities. And to memorialize that moment, we ask for their autographs (for those who still know what that means) or take a picture with them – nowadays, some would just secretly take a snapshot thru their mobile phones without permission. “It is not everyday…
JESUS, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me…This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For…
GENERALLY, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760. How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or…
Q: I RECENTLY heard from a friend who sued her employer for unpaid wages. However, the court threw out her case and she had to go to “arbitration.” She said she lost because the arbitrator was biased and she could not appeal. My company is now asking me to sign an “arbitration agreement.” What should…
AS an Elder Law attorney specializing in estate planning and Medi-Cal for Long-Term Care, I receive phone calls from adult children all over the country who have an aging parent here in California. Quite often, our conversation goes something like this: “My father (or mother) is in a nursing home in California, has a home…
SHOULD you attend your IRS audit? Yes, I mean, you—your own audit. Well, you don’t have to. This is always a strategic question that should be discussed at the early planning stage of an audit. Of course, you do not want to go. As your power of attorney, I do not want you to go…
ARE you currently struggling with high mortgage payments? Did you get your loan modified in the past but now have a new hardship based on changed circumstances? If so, this is an important article that you MUST read. If you’re one of the many people who got approved for loan modification many years ago under…
REMEMBER “C5 at Taga”? For the benefit of those with short memories, in January 2010, with the presidential campaign in full swing and Sen. Manny Villar leading in the surveys on presidential aspirants, the Senate debated a report recommending the censure of Villar “for improper and unethical conduct.” Villar, who owns one of the biggest…
