Unlike a will, "A living revocable trust serves as far more than just where assets are to go upon your death and it does that in an efficient way by also covering you while you are alive. A will does not protect you if you become ill and incapacitated. But a trust will determine who will take care of you and pay your bills." A key difference between a will and a living revocable trust is that the living trust has an incapacity clause that states who you want to sign for your affairs in the event you are unable to do so for yourself. Generally, most people choose to execute a revocable trust, however, certain circumstances may call for an irrevocable trust. The key difference between a revocable trust and an irrevocable trust is that an irrevocable trust cannot be modified or terminated without permission of the beneficiary.  Either way,

It's been a long time since I've blawged, but yes ladies and gentlemen, Daneshvar Law is back. With that, let's talk about one of my favorite topics

A growing family requires a reassessment of one's personal finances for good reason. According to 2011 figures from the Department of Agriculture, the estimated annual cost to raise a child is $12,290 to $14,320 for an average-income family. That's why it's crucial to make sure you take care of your family's financial and legal needs. Here's a quick to do list for new parents to use with the birth of each child. 1. Obtain a Social Security Number for your child Get your child's Social Security number as soon as possible because it will entitle you to several tax benefits that will help with some of your new child-rearing costs. It will also allow you to open up a bank account for them. 2. Review Employer Benefits & Paychecks It's time to increase the number of allowances you check off on your W-4 form at work. This will increase the amount of your take-home

Most employers are trying to do right by their workers and offer decent wages and benefits. But offering health coverage can be costly. The Affordable Care Act is changing that by reducing the cost for small businesses. Employers with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent workers may qualify for a small business tax credit of up to 35 percent of premium costs (up to 25 percent for non-profits) to offset the cost of providing health coverage. Additional tax credits will be available in the future. And starting in 2014, businesses with 100 or fewer employees will be able to find coverage in Affordable Insurance Exchanges. CHECK OUT The Top 5 Things Small Business Owners Should Know About the Affordable Care Act for more information.

On November 25, 2009, the Department of Labor Standards and Enforcement (DLSE) issued an Opinion Letter clarifying how and when a California employer may deduct for a full and partial day absence from an exempt salaried employee’s accrued paid time off (vacation and sick leave bank). Pursuant to California law, an exempt employee must receive his or her full salary for any week in which the employee performs any work without regard to the number of days, or hours worked. DLSE Manual § 51.6.8-51.6.9 and 29 CFR §541.602(a). Thus, under California law, it is illegal to dock the pay of an exempt employee for a partial day absence. However, under both federal and California law, the employer is permitted to dock the pay of an exempt salaried employee when the employee is absent from work for one or more full days for personal reasons other than sickness, or disability (29

Ring in the new year with an updated handbook because there are a plethora of new employment laws which have been passed. Daneshvar Law is offering special rates to businesses in need of handbooks. You can contact us at (323) 850-5801 for more information. Here's a quick summary of what's changed. S.B. 459 imposes a fine -- from $5000 to $25,000 -- on employers that "willfully" misclassify someone as an independent contractor. S.B. 299 requires employers with five or more employees to maintain group health coverage for employees on a pregnancy disability leave (PDL), for the four-month duration of the PDL. This new law will have an impact for all employers. For employers with 50 or more employees, the requirement to maintain health benefits was capped at 12 weeks during a pregnancy leave covered by the FMLA. And, smaller employers had no obligation to maintain health coverage during a PDL. A.B. 22 prohibits

A bill sponsored by the Transgender Law Center and Equality California was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. The bill, Vital Statistics Modernization Act, simplifies changing ones birth certificate for transgender Californians. Another bill, the Gender Nondiscrimination Act, was also signed by the governor and it provides further protection from discrimination for California residents who identify as transgender. The Vital Statistics Modernization Act has been regarded as a key step to reducing the difficulty that transgender residents face with documents required by the state. The process for a person looking to change his or her gender on a birth certificate is streamlined. According to the only documents necessary to make the change is a note from a medical professional stating that the person has "undergone 'clinically appropriate treatment'". The Executive Director of the sponsor organization Transgender Law Center stated, "Having identity documents that match who we truly are is

A will is a legal document that describes how you want your assets distributed when you die. How things get distributed is actually controlled by a legal process called probate -- that’s when the court controls and supervises the allocation, instead of your family members. You’ll want to avoid probate because it’s time-consuming and expensive owing to lawyer and court costs. You can stop the probate process by having an estate plan in place. With a living (revocable) trust, you maintain control and can change the trust, or even dissolve it, for as long as you’re alive. A key difference between a will and a living trust is that a will doesn’t take effect until you die, meaning it can’t offer you protection if you can’t make decisions because you’re in a coma or have a debilitating illness. With a living trust, someone you designate will take care of your affairs, not

Employers may often not realize it, but inconsistency in small-business activities is obvious to employees and others working with the business. Human resources departments need to handle situations professionally with similar treatment for all employees to avoid discrimination under civil rights and other federal discrimination laws covering disabilities and age. A wrongful termination lawsuit and disparate treatment or disparate impact arguments are of concern any time a small business discharges an employee. To avoid these lawsuits, employers should follow a specific procedure with documentation and a checklist to avoid discrimination complaints in their business. Treating employees less favorably based on age, religious views, race, sex, disability or national origin is disparate treatment, a form of discrimination under the law in the United States. Actions leading to a wrongful termination lawsuit may give the courts a reason to find for the employee on disparate treatment discrimination. If an employer warns some of

Of course, it’s important to choose your guardian carefully, but also keep in mind that you can change your decision as often as and whenever you’d like. When designating a guardian for your child, you can create a checks-and-balances system by choosing someone to support your children as their guardian, while designating a different person to manage their financial affairs. When choosing a guardian, it’s advisable to choose someone who’s a trusted family member or friend. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a family member, but what matters is that the person you choose is not only willing to serve as your child’s guardian, but also is able to raise your child in the same way that you would. To help you make the decision, sit down with a pen and paper and list your potential candidates and then answer the following questions about each one of them. If you’re deciding with