Archive for May, 2012
Inside: May 2012 Guest-Editors’ Column
This issue represents a “marriage” of the family law and tax sections. These are the two oldest sections of the bar. There has been a lot of bantering as to who was first. We may need arbitration by the bar. It’s clear that if we are going to settle the dispute by tug of war, the tax section will need a tractor.
Tax Traps That Can Arise During Divorce
Let’s be a fly on the wall and look over attorney Alice’s shoulder during her first conference with Mary. Mary is divorcing George and the first words out of her mouth are:
QDRO: Malpractice Lurking
It has been said that employee benefits are among the least understood property types by family law attorneys. When the subject comes up in a dissolution, it is commonly proposed that benefits issues be referred …
Getting the 411 from the 911
Obtaining Information and Reports from Law Enforcement Agencies in Family Law Matters
Independent Contractor or Employee? The Consequences of Getting it Wrong
The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty, Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 6672, requires employers to withhold from the pay of employees properly calculated FICA, (i.e. Social Security) taxes, Medicare taxes, and income taxes. An employer must withhold taxes on behalf of its employees for payment to the government; the taxes are considered to be held in trust on behalf of the government. Employees are allowed a credit against their tax liability for the amount of taxes withheld from their wages, regardless of whether the employer actually pays the funds to the Feds.
Another Offshore Assets Reporting Requirement
Congress enacts additional reporting requirement in effort to combat offshore abuses
Women’s Section Annual Wine Tasting & Silent Auction
delicious wines, tasty hors d’oevres, sparkling auction items – all for a great cause
Restaurant Review: Cypress, Walnut Creek
contemporary Californian with a french twist
Ethics Corner: Legal process outsourcing companies
There is a big elephant in the room, and if law firms don’t deal with it, they will be put out of business.
MCLE Auditing Compliance
California lawyers must fulfill and accurately document and report their MCLE requirements. No California attorney should be surprised if their compliance certificate is audited.
Inns of Court: Lawyers Behaving Badly
The Importance of Ethics in Litigation and the Courtroom
Letter to the Editor – Re: The Trouble with Tort Reform
Scott Sumner’s column “The Trouble with ‘Tort Reform’” is not helpful to the debate over California’s civil justice system. Rather than dismissing examples of frivolous lawsuits as “fabricated from whole cloth” and arguing over how tort reform may or may not fit with unrelated principles of conservatism, we need to get to the heart of the issue.
New Workplace Poster Requirement about Employee Rights
IMPORTANT UPDATE: There has been a significant development about the NLRB’s union rights poster. The poster requirement rule has been challenged in lawsuits by the National Association of Manufacturers and others. So far there have been mixed results in these lawsuits, For the present, employers need not display this poster.
CoffeeTalk: Facebook & Family Law. Discuss.
After my client separated from her husband, she received a friend request from a person named David. She initially declined, but he persisted. Upon reading David’s profile, she agreed to be friends because they appeared …
