For many California business owners and professionals, notarizing documents has often meant taking time out of a busy schedule to find a notary, travel to their office, and wait for an appointment. These steps can slow down important transactions and add frustration to everyday business activities. Fortunately, remote online notarization (RON), which we previously mentioned was coming, is streamlining the way Read More

If you own a business or have real estate investments in California, you’ve probably heard that changes in ownership can lead to a reassessment of property taxes. If more than 50% of a legal entity’s ownership interests change hands, the property it owns is typically reassessed at its current market value. This can bring a surprise increase in property taxes. Knowing exactly when and how these rules apply can help Read More

Managing multiple rental properties often means dealing with a complicated tax strategy, especially when it comes to how losses from those properties get treated. If none of your rental ventures individually meet the standards for active involvement, you might find yourself stuck with losses you can’t currently use. The grouping election offers a way to combine related rental activities so the IRS treats them as Read More

Your retirement account may be the largest number on your balance sheet, yet certain rules can chip away at its value when it finally reaches your family and beneficiaries. Naming a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) as the beneficiary allows you to rewrite that outcome, however. Doing so creates additional tax exemptions and advantages, allowing investments to keep compounding while loved ones receive a steady income Read More

Buying or selling a business involves a litany of financial implications that go beyond just what the business sold for. What matters, especially come tax season, is how that number gets divided among the assets being transferred. That process is called purchase price allocation, and it has a significant effect on what both the buyer and the seller owe or save in taxes. If you’re the seller, how the price gets split Read More

When someone passes away, their loved ones often find themselves juggling emotions, paperwork, and financial concerns all at once. If you're the one trying to settle a family member’s affairs (or planning ahead to prevent that burden for your own heirs), understanding how estate taxes work is an important element of what you’re doing. In California, where property values and business holdings can push estate values Read More

California real estate investors have long benefited from the short-term rental tax loophole, especially those who actively manage Airbnb or vacation properties. We’ve covered this strategy before, and for good reason: When used correctly, it creates serious tax savings and helps investors reduce the bite of W-2 or other income taxes. But, recent changes to Airbnb’s policies that offer more income opportunities for Read More

People create trusts to simplify life for their loved ones and avoid unnecessary court involvement later. This preserves the privacy and security of the estate. Even with a fully-funded trust in place, though, the Certification of Trust (often called a Certificate of Trust) may be necessary to uphold its contents. This document makes it easier to prove that your trust exists and that the person managing it has the Read More

It makes sense for California business owners to find ways to cut costs, keeping their profits in-house. One way some business owners and executives look to do this is to draft their own contracts. After all, you know what the contract needs to say and what both parties are agreeing to, right? The challenge is that while it may save you money upfront, it could be costing you significantly down the line. In Read More

Properly planning your estate includes knowing the real, taxable value of your estate’s entirety. Some people underestimate the value of their estate, leaving their children with a heavier tax burden that must be satisfied by assets and accounts they were set to inherit, while others overestimate it and end up with unaccounted for assets and wealth to be distributed through intestacy laws. In reality, the process of Read More