Corporate & Securities Law

California Annual Minimum Franchise Tax Repeal Proposed

Posted on November 14, 2009
A bipartisan commission appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger has recently proposed sweeping overhauls of California's tax laws, including reduction of personal income tax rates, the elimination of the corporate tax, and the elimination of the $800 per yaer minimum annual franchise tax levied on corporations, LLCs, and LLPs doing business in the state...

California Attorney General Targets Annual Minutes "Scam"

Posted on October 28, 2009
California's attorney general has filed suit against a nyumber of individuals and companies to combat what he calls a scam targeting small businesses:News ReleaseOctober 08, 2009For Immediate ReleaseContact: (916) 324-5500 Brown Sues 8 Individuals and 6 Businesses Operating Scams Targeting California Small Businesses San Diego - Continuing his fight against "rip-off artists" operating in California, Attorney General Edmund G...

Employment Law in a Social Networking, New Media World

Posted on October 25, 2009
I am quoted in a FOXBusiness small business article on how employers can protect their intellectual property rights in a Facebook/Twitter social networking world:In an age of way-too-much information and widespread social-networking addiction, businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to protect trade secrets and practices...

Intellectual Property Protection in a Social Networking World

Posted on October 25, 2009
I am quoted in a FOXBusiness small business article on protecting intellectual property rights in a Facebook/Twitter social networking world:Friend it, follow it or link to it. Brainstorming, would-be entrepreneurs around the world are continuously connecting through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn...

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Home Loan Modification Advance Fees Now Illegal in California

Posted on October 15, 2009
As of October 11, 2009, advance fees for home loan modification services are illegal in California, even if charged by licensed attorneys. For more information, see California Department of Real Estate Announcement [PDF]

Tax Increases Expected by 2011

Posted on October 11, 2009
Higher Taxes Are Coming. Are You Prepared? Wall Street Journal, September 13, 2009:As the recession and bailout have pushed this year's federal budget deficit to an unheard-of $1.6 trillion, an unpleasant reality has dawned: Taxes are going up. The only questions are when, how much, and for whom?The answers depend on the shifting sands of wealth politics and the scope of health-care revision...

Online Passwords and Estate Planning

Posted on July 23, 2009
Estate planning for online passwords:If you're smart about your online life, you've created strong and varied passwords for all your accounts. You change those passwords often. And you never write them down or share them with anyone.That's all well and good while you're alive...

California FTB LLC Fee Refunds and Case Updates

Posted on July 10, 2009
Claims are due this summer for certain claims for refunds of LLC fees (above the $800 per year minimum franchise tax) paid to the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) for tax years prior to January 1, 2007, for LLCs that had operations in multiple states...

Michael Jackson's Estate and Estate Planning (press item)

Posted on July 06, 2009
Recently quoted in the press on Michael Jackson's estate, will/trust, and creditor and child custody issues:Though Michael Jackson?s body isn't in the ground yet, speculation is running rampant as to what will happen to his financial assets. Many suspect that legions of those only tangentially connected to the pop star are already sharpening their knives for their shares of the possible profits...

Los Angeles Business Tax Amnesty Program Announced

Posted on June 07, 2009
The City of Los Angeles agency responsible for the administration and collection of business taxes, the Office of Finance, has announced a tax amnesty program. Non-compliant businesses will still have to pay the base tax and interest due, but an automatic waiver of the usual penalty will apply (without the amnesty program, penalty waivers can be requested, but they are discretionary with the Office of Finance):Tax Penalty Amnesty Program Chapter II, Article 1...

Indiana Secretary of State Corporate Minutes Mailings

Posted on May 28, 2009
From Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita. California may want to follow suit (although California's laws may be drafted differently than Indiana's, and it is not clear if these defendants are also behind some of the California mailings.COMPLAINT FILED IN BUSINESS MAIL SCAMMay 21, 2009- An out-of-state operation sending deceptive solicitations to Indiana businesses for the last several months would face fines of over $1...

SBA Announces No-Interest Loans for Struggling Businesses

Posted on May 20, 2009
PRESS OFFICE/LOS ANGELES Release Date: May 18, 2009 Contact: David J. Hall (202) 205-6697 Release Number: 09-30 Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news SBA Launches New 100-Percent Guarantee ARC Loan Program to Help Struggling Businesses WASHINGTON ? Small businesses suffering financial hardship as a result of the slow economy may be eligible to receive temporary relief to keep their doors open and get their cash flow back on track through to a new loan program announced today by SBA Administrator Karen G...

Study Names "Most Free" States; California Ranks Poorly

Posted on May 18, 2009
A recent George Mason University study ranked the 50 U.S. states on a freedom scale, attempting to turn the various economic, social, and personal freedoms available in each state into a number, allowing comparison and ranking. According to the researchers, the "freest" states are New Hampshire, Colorado, and South Dakota: "All three states feature low taxes and government spending and middling levels of regulation and paternalism...

Blog Post Cited in Orange County Register Article on Annual Minutes Mailings

Posted on April 10, 2009
This blog's most popular entry, posted in January 2007 but updated continually since, concerning misleading corporate and LLC annual minutes mailings was recently cited in a small business advice column in the Orange County Register: Old scam reappears in O...

Free Legal Forms Online

Posted on April 09, 2009
Adams Drafting, a blawg of interest primarily to business attorneys, has an interesting post and following discussion regarding the use, misuse, and dangers of free legal forms found on the Internet or elsewhere: With Free Online Forms, You Get What You Pay For...

California Sales Tax Rate Increase

Posted on April 09, 2009
Effective April 1, 2009, but unfortunately not an April Fool's Day joke is a 1% rate increase to California's sales tax, for a new total of 8.25%. In addition, certain cities and localities may add an additional surcharge of up to 2.0%, for a grand total not to exceed 10...

New Twitter account - Follow us

Posted on March 20, 2009
The Law Office of Jonas M. Grant, P.C. is now on Twitter - which means you can "follow" us by signing up as one of our followers here, and receive occasional updates, including notification of new blog posts here - around four per month and you can of course stop "following" at any time...

Nigerian Email Scam Targets Lawyers & Their Client Trust Accounts

Posted on March 05, 2009

Obama Moves to Raise Estate Tax

Posted on February 26, 2009
President Barack Obama has announced his intention to increase the estate tax:President-elect Barack Obama and congressional leaders plan to move soon to block the estate tax from disappearing in 2010, suggesting the levy might outlive the "Death Tax Repeal" movement that has tried mightily to kill it...

Hilton Hotels Leaves Beverly Hills, California To Lower Its Cost of Doing Business

Posted on February 04, 2009
Hilton Hotels Corp., which last month announced it was leaving Beverly Hills, said Wednesday it had chosen Fairfax County, [Virginia], as its new corporate home.Hilton, which wants to lower its cost of doing business .... [intends to] create more than 300 full-time jobs in Fairfax County within the next 36 months...

Clients: Please complete our Client Satisfaction Survey

Posted on February 04, 2009
Current and former clients - please provide feedback to us via our client satisfaction survey at any time, no invitation needed. "If you're pleased with our services, please tell a friend or business associate; if you're not, please tell us!"

Study Finds Settling Lawsuits Often More Cost Effective Than Litigating Them Through Trial

Posted on January 30, 2009
A 2008 study by the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, as reported last year in a New York Times article, Study Finds Settling Is Better Than Going to Trial, found that -.... most of the plaintiffs who decided to pass up a settlement offer and went to trial ended up getting less money than if they had taken that offer...

How to Avoid an IRS Tax Audit: Incorporate Your Small Business

Posted on January 15, 2009
One tip for Dodging a Tax Audit, per the Wall Street Journal's reporting: Incorporate. The WSJ reports that the IRS continues to target Schedule C filers for tax audits and additionally notes that the IRS will sometimes act on an anoymous tip regarding a taxpayer's non-compliance with U...

Some Californians Flee State for Greener Pastures

Posted on January 12, 2009
Go East, young man? Californians look for the exit, Associated Press, January 12, 2009:The number of people leaving California for another state outstripped the number moving in from another state during the year ending on July 1, 2008. California lost a net total of 144,000 people during that period ? more than any other state, according to census estimates...

California Secretary of State and FTB To Introduce LLC Suspension Program in 2009

Posted on January 01, 2009
Happy new year. And with the new year comes changes to various state and federal laws. Among others: The new cell phone law prohibits text messaging or reading or writing emails while driving. Covered employers will be affected by changes to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and should have their employee manuals reviewed and revised accordingly...

818 Area Code Overlay with 747 Area Code Begins in 2009

Posted on December 26, 2008
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has forecasted that the 818 area code (San Fernando Valley, California) will run out of telephone numbers in the third quarter of 2009 and has therefore announced an overlay with new area code 747; that is, as is the case with the old 310 and new 424 area codes, both area codes will exist in a single geographic area, with most new telephone numbers assigned receiving the new 747 area code...

California Scheming: What One-Party Rule Is Doing To Once-Golden State

Posted on December 24, 2008
California Scheming: What One-Party Rule Is Doing To Once-Golden State, Investor's Business Daily editorial, December 22, 2008:.... As the financial crisis in California gets worse, it's pretty clear the real problem isn't the budget at all, but a political system that has resulted in a dysfunctional one-party state...

California Legislature Plans To Increase Taxes

Posted on December 22, 2008
a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/la-me-fees18-2008dec18,0,5059016.story" target="new"State Democrats Plan To Increase Taxes/a, Los Angeles Times, December 17, 2008:blockquoteDemocratic legislative leaders are planning to use a series of complex legal maneuvers to raise Californians' gas, sales and income taxes over the objection of Republican lawmakers, who have been able to block such proposals in the past...

2009 California Employer Payroll Tax Rates

Posted on December 17, 2008
The base payroll tax rates for 2009 for California employers have been announced by the Employment Development Department (EDD), and are as follows:blockquoteUnemployment Insurance (UI): 3.4% of the first $7,000 of wages per employee, per year;br /br /Employment Training Fund (ETT): 0...

Study: Los Angeles, Santa Monica Among 10 Most Expensive Places to Do Business in United States

Posted on December 15, 2008
And predicted to get worse. Westlake Village rated most business friendly in Los Angeles County. The Daily News reports:The city of Los Angeles will finish 2008 in familiar company: Among the 10 most expensive places in the country to do business, according to a study released today...

Proper (Business Attorney Assisted) Set Up and Maintenance Crucial to Limited Liability Protection of Corporations and LLCs

Posted on December 11, 2008
Couldn't agree more with this excerpt from today's article by fellow Southern California WealthCounsel attorney Alexis Martin Neely:You'll recall from last week, that I said the purpose of your business entity is to limit your liability as a business owner...

Holiday Parties: How Businesses Can Avoid Sexual Harassment Lawsuits

Posted on December 05, 2008
Guest Post by Jessica HawthorneAs holiday decorations start to go up around the office and everyone is full of seasonal cheer, many businesses may find that work parties, along with a more relaxed environment, can lead to sexual harassment claims. Much too often ? especially if the event is off-site and the alcohol flows freely ? the office holiday party becomes a breeding ground for this sort of behavior...

Layoffs Can Lead to Unlawful Termination Claims

Posted on September 22, 2008
Down Economy: Layoffs Can Lead to Unlawful Termination ClaimsWhat Businesses Need to Know to Protect Against These LawsuitsBy Jessica Hawthorne, Special to California Business Law BlogBy any measure, it?s a pretty rough economy out there and inevitably, there have been and will continue to be layoffs ? a process that?s an emotional and complicated procedure, and no less so than during tough economic times...

No recession? Strong U.S. growth tops estimates

Posted on August 28, 2008
It is conventional wisdom today that all of the United States of America, including California, are in a recession. However, as is often the case, the conventional wisdom appears to be incorrect: A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, but the just-released second quarter 2008 U...

Counterintuitive Ways to Save Money as Applied to Legal Services

Posted on August 22, 2008
TheStreet.com recently posted an article by Jeffrey Strain entitled 7 Counterintuitive Ways to Improve Finances, some of the advice in which applies, in the opinion of this blog's author, to something few people enjoy, but which can end up saving money in the long run; that is, spending money on legal fees:Earnest attempts to save money here and there don't always add up to much...

Federal Minimum Wage Increase

Posted on July 24, 2008
The federal minimum wage increases from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour, effective today, July 24, 2008. The minimum wage will increase to $7.25 next year. Note that the California minimum wage applicable to California employers and employees is already higher than the current or future increase.

Employee versus Independent Contractor

Posted on July 15, 2008
California's Employment Development Department (EDD), in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is offering a seminar on employment status issues; that is, whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. The seminar is available live from time to time, but also online as a webinar or on CD, free...

IRS Increases Standard Mileage Rate

Posted on July 01, 2008
The IRS has announced that, effective July 1, 2008, the standard mileage rate will increase from 50.5 cents per business mile to 58.5 per business mile. The change is in recognition of higher gasoline costs. The medical and moving rate also increases, from 19 to 20c per mile, but the charitable purposes rate of 14c remains unchanged...

Same-Sex Marriage in California; Domestic Partnerships

Posted on June 28, 2008
As a result of the California Supreme Court's recent ruling that prohibiting gay marriage violates the California Constitution, many Golden State gay couples, who had previously registered at the state level as domestic partners, are wondering whether to dissolve their domestic partnership, before or following their gay marriage? This recent San Francisco Chronicle article sheds some light on the topic, and reports that state legislature attorneys advise that the domestic partnership need not be dissolved, prior to such any such marriage:Same-sex couples who are registered as domestic partners do not have to dissolve that union before getting married, attorneys that advise the state Legislature said Thursday, just as county clerks and other local officials met to determine how they will enact last week's historic state Supreme Court ruling...

Self-Directed IRAs and Real Estate Investing

Posted on June 22, 2008
Self-directed IRAs, for real estate investing and for other purposes, are gaining in popularity. One company that offers self-directed IRA services, Pensco Trust, has put together a plain-English overview that is recommended background reading for anyone who is interested in learning more about self-directed retirement account investing options: Pensco Trust Self-Directed IRA Top 50 FAQs [Link opens a PDF document...

Estate Planning: Charitable Giving as Part of Your Legacy

Posted on June 04, 2008
Financial education Web site Minyanville.com today offers an overview of ten ways to give, to be implemented within an overall estate plan, some simple, some more complex to - in their words - "achieve both [your] financial and charitable goals. Whether you?re 20, 40, 60 or 80, the Minyan[ville...

What to Know About Hiring New Employees? And What to Avoid

Posted on May 04, 2008
What to Know About Hiring New Employees?And What to AvoidBy Jessica Hawthorne, Guest Poster Due to the complexities of California employment laws, when the time arises to hire a new employee it?s a good idea to eliminate the guesswork. Many large companies with skilled human resource personnel typically understand where the pitfalls lie in the hiring process...

Dangers of Internal Legal Research: Misinformation Aplenty

Posted on April 16, 2008
A client recently was conducted some legal research on the Internet, and came across the following, which he then showed to me and asked me about:Subject: Re: Closing down a california S-corp Answered By: taxmama-ga on 31 Jan 2005 14:38 PST Rated: Dear Yarbles,The State of California would like you to believe that you must file each back year and pay the annual $800 fee AND all the penalties and interest related to that fee...

John McCain Republican Estate Tax

Posted on March 13, 2008
Although U.S. Senator (Republican - Arizona) John McCain's has been criticized by conservatives in his party for not supporting the 2004 Bush tax cuts, his recent Senate votes on the estate tax seem to indicate that he would be likely to preserve the status quo on the estate tax as president: in 2007, McCain voted to increase the estate tax exemption to $5 million and reducing the maximum tax rate

Barack Obama, Democrat for President, on the Estate Tax

Posted on March 13, 2008
U.S. Senator (Democrat - Illinois) and presidential candidate Barack Obama's view on the estate tax:We have to stop pretending that all cuts are equivalent or that all tax increases are the same. Ending corporate subsidies is one thing; reducing health-care benefits to poor children is something else...

"George W. Bush" on Estate Planning

Posted on February 12, 2008
Because "between 100 and 200% of Americans don't have a will or an old testament"....

Interview Questions Employers Shouldn't Ask Job Applicants

Posted on January 28, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- "Why aren't you married yet?" "Would you join a church to get a job?" Those are just two examples of questions job seekers said hiring managers asked them in a job interview, according to a new survey of more than 3,000 job seekers and 1,000 hiring managers worldwide by Development Dimensions International and Monster, the career-resource arm of Monster Worldwide...

California Minimum Wage for 2008 Increases to $8.00 Per Hour

Posted on January 05, 2008
As mentioned here last year, California's minimum wage increased to $8.00 per hour, effective January 1st, 2008. The 2008 rate represents a 6.7% increase over the old (2007) minimum wage, which was $7.50 per hour. Some employees are exempt from the minimum wage law...

City of Los Angeles Business License Tax Returns

Posted on January 05, 2008
City of Los Angeles Business License Tax Returns are due by the end of February of the year following the subject tax year. There are several exemptions, the most important of which being, that for businesses that register and file their tax returns on time, there is no tax...

2008 Standard Mileage Rate

Posted on January 03, 2008
The IRS' standard mileage rate for calendar year 2008 business miles has been increased to 50.5 cents per mile driven, up from 48.5 cents per mile in 2007. See below for more complete information:WASHINGTON ? The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2008 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes...

New 2008 California Notary Block

Posted on January 01, 2008
Effective today, January 1, 2008, all legal documents to be notarized in California must use the following notary block:State of CaliforniaCounty of ___________On ______________________ before me, (here insert name and title of the officer), personally appeared __________________ who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument...

California EDD Free Tax Compliance Seminars for Employers

Posted on November 24, 2007
The California Employment Development Department (CA EDD), offers free seminars for California employers, to assist them in complying with payroll, unemployment insurance, and disability reporting and deductions for their employees. For many, your business attorney, accountant, and payroll service will handle these issues for you; for those without such assistance, these seminars may be a good place to learn the basic of complying with the numerous laws applicable to any employer...

Bankrate.com Survey: 76% Believe Everyone Should Have a Will, But 57% Don't Have One

Posted on November 19, 2007
Even though three-quarters of our poll respondents (76 percent) believe that everyone should have a will, a whopping 57 percent of Americans don't have one themselves. Parents of kids younger than 18 make an even poorer showing: 67 percent don't have a will, despite the fact that 88 percent of parents believe wills are an important way to appoint guardians...

Billionaries fight estate tax repeal

Posted on November 14, 2007
Billionaire Warren Buffet, one of the world's richest men who, critics note, will personally avoid the payment of most or all death taxes on his estate by giving most of it away to charity, went to Congress today to encourage Democrats to retain the estate tax, against the wishes of the Bush Administration and small business groups:Billionaire investor Warren Buffett urged senators Wednesday to reject calls by the Bush administration and business groups to permanently repeal the estate tax...

Hillary Clinton, Democrat for President, on the Estate Tax

Posted on October 30, 2007
In the first in a series, California Business Law Blog examines the Republican and Democrat presidential candidates' stance on the estate tax, sometimes also know as the death tax or ibheritance tax. First up, Senator Hillary Clinton: Her current presidential platform proposal, which is to some extent inconsistent with her prior voting record, as can be seen below, is to freeze the federal estate tax at 2009 levels, that is, a $3...

Online Incorporation Services Review

Posted on September 25, 2007
Mark Stafford's review of online incorporation services:Thinking about incorporating? DON'T waste your time with those online companies that claim to incorporate you. Unless of course you just have a bunch of money laying around. I am sharing this with you because of the lesson I learned the hard way...

Business Licenses and Online Incorporation Services

Posted on September 05, 2007
I recently received an email notification announcing a new service offered by a popular online incorporation and document filing service. For $75, they will email you the appropriate business license forms for you to complete and file. While this information may be helpful to some new business owners in locating the appropriate regulatory agencies and their respective forms, my flat fee full service incorporation and LLC formation packages have included this service for years (except that we complete the forms for you and when possible, file them for you on your behalf, and answer any questions you may have about the filings before and after they are made)...

Estate Planning Basics / Overview Top Ten

Posted on August 12, 2007
CNN & Money Magazine has a pretty good basic introduction to estate planning that may be valuable to review prior to speaking to an estate planning attorney and which explains why a will or trust is just one part of a comprehensive overall estate plan, and why estate planning is not just for the wealthy:1...

FAQ: How much to form a corporation? Review a contract? Draft a living trust?

Posted on August 09, 2007
As an attorney, I am frequently asked by potential clients some variation of the following question:How much to form a corporation, to review this contract, or to draft a living trust?Usually, the honest answer is, it depends (although this tends not to be what the questioner wanted to hear)...

California LLC Quotes in Today's Los Angeles Times:

Posted on July 25, 2007
LLCs provide key financial benefits:The owners receive tax and liability advantages. Such registrations have risen, but the format is not for everyone.Cyndia Zwahlen: Small Business ReportJuly 25, 2007To be an LLC or not to be an LLC? That is the question for a growing number of small businesses...

Online Incorporation Services Review Article

Posted on July 23, 2007
I recently published an article that reviews the pros and cons of online incorporation services and other non-attorney corporation and llc formation options: http://ezinearticles.com/?Online-Incorporation-and-LLC-Formation-Services-Advantages-and-Disadvantages,-Pros-and-Cons&id=628630 I don't expect this to be too popular with either the online incorporation services, or with the general public, because the article doesn't say what people want to hear, but I see the results of not using an attorney to protect one's self and do things properly the first time on an almost daily basis...

California Tax Burden Among Worst in Nation

Posted on May 29, 2007
According to an article published last year, California ranks among the worst of the states in terms of its tax burdens on businesses and individual residents. The article points to last year's election results in which California voters approved additional taxes, as adding to the state's already high tax burden:California may be back on its way to becoming Taxifornia ? and that's before voters give their verdicts on Propositions 86 (cigarette tax), 87 (oil tax), 88 (property tax) and 89 (corporation tax)...

California Employees Granted Three Years to Sue Employers for Compensation for Missed Breaks

Posted on May 22, 2007
The California Supreme Court today ruled that employees have up to three years to pursue claims that their employer failed to provide required breaks, not one as was previously assumed by many employers. The stakes are high, because California law provides that, upon filing a claim, employers must pay to an employee one hour of pay for each rest or meal break that was not provided to the employee in accordance with California employment law...

Los Angeles Business License Tax Errors

Posted on March 29, 2007
Some new or small businesses in the City of Los Angeles who filed their business tax renewal on time, and qualified for exemptions from tax, are receiving Notices from the Office of Finance indicating they owe tax, interest, and penalties. If you believe you have received such a notice in error, contact your business lawyer, accountant, or the City of Los Angeles Office of Finance directly for resolution: http://www...

Jonas Grant, Jonas M Grant law lawyer attorney

Posted on March 16, 2007
Revised, updated lawyer biography - Jonas Grant bio Los Angeles, California California business lawyerCalifornia business attorneyLos Angeles business lawyerLos Angeles business attorney

Jonas M Grant, Attorney at Law Bio

Posted on March 16, 2007
Jonas M. Grant, Attorney at Law bio - revised, updated lawyer biography - Los Angeles, California

FAQ: California Fictitous Business Name

Posted on March 06, 2007
A fictitious business name, also referred to as FBN, doing business as, DBA, dba, D/B/A, or trade name is a name other than your own legal name, or the official name of your corporation, LLC, or other business entity.  To use such a fictitious business name in California, you must file with your local government, usually at the county level and then publish a notice of this fact in a local newspaper of general cirulcation to put the public on notice of your assumed name...

FAQ: Advantages & Disadvantages of Online Business Incorporation Services

Posted on February 23, 2007
On a legal message board on which I respond to user's questions with user name Calif Business Lawyer from time to time, a question concerning online business incorporation was posted, to which I responded, and which I'm reprinting here, because I get frequent questions about the advantages and disadvantages of online incorporation services:I am using an online service to create the S-corporation, and one question asked by the website is to check off a box if it is a "personal service corporation"...

Beverly Hills Lawyer

Posted on February 21, 2007
I recently received an emailed new client inquiry. She indicated that she was seeking a book contract to write on some new information regarding a celebrity trial, which would thus in her opinion (which I did not disagree with) be quite marketable. Specifically, she wanted to know if I had connections to get the book sold...

FAQ: When can I obtain an EIN number for the corporation or LLC I'm forming?

Posted on February 06, 2007
Another frequently asked question: When can I obtain an EIN number for the corporation or limited liability company I'm forming? The definition of "EIN" is Employer Identification Number. An EIN, sometimes also called a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), Taxpayer ID number, or Federal Identification Number (FIN) is in essence the business entity equivalent of a social security number...

Incorporation Service Pursued by State Bar

Posted on January 28, 2007
The State Bar of Michigan has successfully obtained a permanent injunction from the Kent County Circuit Court against the "We the People USA, Inc.," and its franchises in the state from engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.The consent judgment was a result of action taken in response to a complaint received by the State Bar of Michigan that "We the People of West Michigan LLC," drafted a special needs trust for an individual and that the trust did not meet statutory requirements...

FAQ: California Corporate Seal

Posted on January 24, 2007
In this post, I will address the first of many frequently asked questions (FAQs) I receive from client and potential clients regarding California business law: Do I need a corporate seal for my California corporation or LLC? Where do I get one?Historically, a company's official seal was applied to documents to indicate that the contract was a corporate act...

2007: Time to Incorporate Your Sole Proprietorship?

Posted on January 19, 2007
IRS to Target Schedule C Filers: In a recent telephone conference, IRS commissioner Mark Everson said that they will be conducting more audits on individuals running unincorporated businesses (i.e. self-employed individuals). While Schedule C filers have long been audit targets for the IRS, they are now stepping up their audit efforts because they believe that self-employed individuals represent a large portion of those individual taxpayers underreporting their income...