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Recent Blog Posts
Selling Your Rental Property? Beware of Capital Gain Taxes
Rental property can increase your bottom line, bulk your investment portfolio, and even fund your retirement. Unfortunately, it can also come back to haunt you. Capital tax gains, which are charged by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), are applied to any asset that you sell for a profit. Learn how to mitigate against this issue with help from the following information.
Offset Gains with Expenditures
If you have an investment portfolio, you can attempt to offset some of the gain from your rental home with expenditures in other investment areas. Alternatively, you may have expenses related to the home itself, which may also be used to cut your tax load. The strategy, known as tax loss harvesting, should be used only under the advisement of a professional.
Same-Sex Couples Still Face Some Unique Estate Planning Challenges
While most married couples can benefit from estate planning, it is not a hard or critical requirement. Most often, their assets would go to their spouse upon death, and minor children remain with the surviving parent, as long as the parent does not supersede them in death or die along with them. Even medical decisions are typically deferred to the spouse if one of them becomes incapacitated. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for same-sex married couples. Learn more about the challenges that same-sex couples face in estate planning, and what you can do to protect your family, with help from the following information.
Same-Sex Couple Estate Planning Challenges
Same-sex couples may experience numerous challenges in the event of death or incapacitation of one member. Families that refuse to accept the sexual orientation of their loved one may challenge the validity of a spouse's inheritance; doctors may question the authenticity of a same-sex marriage, which can delay treatment; and even children may be temporarily removed from a loving parent if the validity of a same-sex marriage is questioned. In short, many potential areas can create post-death issues for surviving spouses in a same-sex marriage.
Investigating the Social Media Conduct of an Employee
As most business owners know, the actions and inactions of an employee can greatly impact your company's image. When the action is a positive experience, it reflects well on the company. The exact opposite happens when an employee acts in a way that is considered unacceptable. Unfortunately, if that poor conduct occurs online, the employer may be limited in the actions they can take. Learn more about the investigation of an employee's social media account, including how to avoid violations under the Stored Communications Act.
Unsavory Social Media Behavior
If your company has an image to protect - be it honesty, integrity, compassion, or top-notch customer service - then you may already have a social media policy in place. Unfortunately, some employees may still break the rules, even with the rules in place. If that happens, you may need evidence from an investigation before you can bring action against the offending employee (i.e. termination, lawsuit, etc.). Without it, you may be at risk for litigation. Yet conducting it can also place your company at risk, especially if you violate the SCA.
Study Finds Contentious Divorce Can Increase Risk of Illness for Children
For decades, experts assumed that divorce, in and of itself, increased the risk of complications for young children. Now there are studies emerging, showing that it is not actually divorce, but contention, a common but negative byproduct of the emotional process. In fact, one new study recently determined children were at an increased risk for certain illnesses if they witnessed an emotionally traumatizing split. In light of this new information, parents may want to do all they can to achieve an amicable divorce. Learn more with help from the following information.
Illness and Contentious Divorce
Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study looked at the frequency of illness in 201 adults. Some had parents who had remained together during childhood and others had parents who had separated or divorced. Those with parents who had divorced and not communicated afterward were found to have a higher risk of immune system issues. More specifically, these individuals were three times more likely to develop a cold than those that had parents who had divorced but remained in contact or had never divorced.
Illinois Woman is Suing Zillow for Inaccurate Zestimate
Zillow is facing a potential lawsuit for its infamous "zestimate" tool. Filed by an Illinois woman, the suit alleges that the company has undervalued her home and made it difficult to sell. She is also claiming that the company is wrongfully providing appraisals, which should be considered a violation of the law. The case is already picking up steam, gaining recognition and support across the country, and that could mean drastic changes for real estate buyers, sellers, and investors.
Details of the Case
In her suit, the Illinois woman alleges that she has been trying to sell her townhome for some time now, but with no success, despite its prime location. She claims that her roadblocks are a direct result of Zillow's inaccurate zestimate, which has allegedly valued her home using the sales of newly constructed homes in a less expensive part of the city. She is seeking an injunction and wishes for the company to either fix its inaccurate valuation or remove it entirely.
Pre-Planning in Estate Planning Can Protect Your Heirs from Probate Issues
Most estate planners assume that having a will or living trust can keep their heirs from having to go through probate. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are numerous variables, potential oversights, and often confusing elements in the estate planning process. Any one of them can result in a need for probate. Learn more about how to reduce this risk with help from the following information.
Comparing Wills and Trusts
There are two basic methods used in estate planning: wills and trusts. Wills are an effective way to address guardianship issues, but they often increase the risk of probate because they can be challenged by family members. Living trusts are less likely to result in probate. Still, it is important to realize that a living trust does not eliminate the need for a will; almost no one disburses their entire estate through a living trust. Further, there may be elements in your estate plan that cannot be covered by a living trust.
Electronic Business Contracts - Are They Valid?
Long gone are the days of doing everything on paper. Pictures and important documents are stored in the cloud. People often connect more with the people on their social media account than their neighbors. Even business contracts are sent and signed digitally. Are digital contracts an effective or legal option for businesses though? Can they stand up in the face of business litigation, or are digital contracts a lawsuit waiting to happen?
Uniform Electronic Transaction Act
In 1999, a total of 47 states adopted the Uniform Electronic Act, which indicates electronic signatures may be considered just as valid and legally binding as a manual one. The state of Illinois did not accept this law, but many digital signatures are considered valid. However, it is important to note that electronic signatures on negotiable instruments are not considered valid in the state of Illinois. Further, there may be additional restrictions placed on the validity of a specific contract or signature.
Distinguishing the Difference Between Marital Assets and Non-Marital Assets
One of the most confusing and complex issues in divorce is the separation of marital property from non-marital assets. Much of the complexity stems from the difficulty in proving the origins of an individual asset. However, many other factors play into this common issue as well. Learn more about how the courts distinguish marital assets from non-marital ones, and how an attorney can help you navigate through the process.
Yours, Mine, or Ours?
During the marriage, many couples share their assets. They do not see it as belonging to one party or the other. Instead, they consider their assets "joint" assets. Divorce often changes that view. Unfortunately, the process of untangling what belongs to whom can lead to bitter arguments and contention. Sometimes, the answer is simple. For example, an asset brought into the marriage by either party is generally considered a non-marital asset (provided it was never co-mingled with marital assets). Other times, though, it is far more difficult to distinguish if the asset is marital property or non-marital property. As an example, an inheritance that gifted to just one party during the marriage might have been excluded from the marital estate, but using it as a down payment for the family home is likely to make it a marital asset.
Illinois Real Estate Group Takes Action on Behalf of Investors
Investing in the state of Illinois' real estate market is already risky business; the housing market is still lagging from the recession, and now the commercial real estate market is lagging and, perhaps, on the cusp of a crash. Unfortunately, this is not stopping legislatures from trying to impose rent control on both commercial and residential properties. What might this mean for you, the investor, and what actions are being taken to stop the advancement?
Examining the Rent Control Bill
As of right now, rent control is prohibited in the state of Illinois. In other words, property owners and investors can charge what they see fit for their property; generally, this is determined by calculating costs like taxes, the mortgage, maintenance, and insurance. After all that is configured, the investor is only likely to make a small profit. HB 2430, a House Bill that was recently proposed, would lift the prohibition and allow for rent control. In short, it would cut into the little bit of profit that investors currently make from their properties.
Digital Estate Planning - What Happens to Your Digital Content After Death?
Americans store everything from selfies and family photos to digital music and stock photography online. What happens, though, when the content owner dies?
Sometimes nothing; family cannot access it and it either stays where it was stored or is eventually deleted or removed. Then there are situations in which the owner knew that digital content had to be handled differently than physical assets. In these cases, the content can be downloaded, transferred, or otherwise used and accessed by a named fiduciary. The following can help you learn more about digital fiduciaries, including why they are important and how you can name one to handle your digital assets after death.
What is a Digital Fiduciary?
Digital fiduciaries are individuals who have been granted legal access to a decedent's digital content. This idea might be concerning for some, but a digital fiduciary cannot simply use and access content at their discretion. Instead, they are restricted to access and actions that are outlined in the decedent's estate plan.
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