WATCH OUT FOR THE LATEST IN LIABILITY EXPOSURE

One of President Obama's first acts after he assumed office was to sign into law the "Lilly Ledbetter" bill. This law will "make it easier for workers to win lawsuits claiming pay discrimination based on sex, race, religion, national origin, age or disability . . .This bill would relax the statute of limitations, making clear that each new paycheck is a violation of the law if it results 'in whole or in part' from a discriminatory pay decision made in the past." Critics claim that employers will now be exposed to "decades-old discrimination claims that they have no ability to defend", and, that the "individual responsible for the alleged discrimination is no longer with the company, or perhaps not even living." (The New York Times, Jan. 28, 2009).
Earlier, Thomas J.. Donohue, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, declared that if such a law was passed it would "lead to a flood of new litigation that will hurt businesses." Donohue "charged that labor unions and trial lawyers are 'expecting quick and frequent payback for their efforts and their investments' in Democratic election campaigns." (LawyersUSA, Nov. 11, 2008)
Subsequently, Lenora Vhu, CNNMoney.com contributing editor, wrote that under this law "small companies may be at a disadvantage - few have access to the attorneys and human-resource professionals that will help larger businesses comply with the newly expanded law." Elizabeth Milito, senior executive counsel of the National Federation of Independent Business stated that: "There's also the potential for one lawsuit that goes south to put a small business out of business." (CNNMoney.com, Feb. 2, 2009)
Coupled with this new law is last year's expansion of the Americans With Diabilities Act whereby the definition of the term "disability" was greatly expanded. In support of this expansion, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled that a "Type-2 diabetes patient was entitled to the protections of the Americans With Diabilities Act." (Los Angles Times, Feb. 13, 2009)

IRS PENALTY FOR LATE FILING OF FORM 5471

While the penalty for failure to timely file IRS forms has been around for many years, effective 2009 the IRS will asses an automatic penalty on any corporation that does not file a Form 5471 on a timely basis. All U.S. citizens who have equity in, or a controlling interest in a Controlled Foreign Corporation ("CFC") must file a Form 5471, a somewhat common situation for U.S. cleints of certain offshore asset protection promoters. The IRS will now asses an automatic penalty of $10,000 for each missed CFC filing, and, separate penalties will apply to each entity for each year that has not been filed. (See, Offshore Press, Inc., Jan. 5, 2009 www.offshorepress.com)

PITFALLS OF MEDICAID PLANNING

Elderly individuals, and their children, often seek to protect their assets by transferring such assets to their children in an attempt to subsequently qualify for Medicaid benefits. With rare exception, such transfers do not work and can be very costly for the Medicaid applicant. For example:

A woman who transferred her house to her son before entering a nursing home, thereby incurring a Medicaid penalty period (i.e., disqaulification), violated the state's fraudulent conveyance statute and is financially liable to the nursing home. (ElderLaw Answers, Jan. 5, 2009).

A woman who signed a nursing home admissions agreement as a designated representative (in.e., attorney-in-fact) is not responsible for paying the resident's nursing home bills. However, the personal representative may still become responsible for the payment of the nursing home resident's bills because she used the power of attorney to dispose of the resident's property and failed to pay all of the sales proceeds to the nursing home. (ElderLaw Answers, Jan. 5, 2009).

Estate Planning in Uncertain Times

For those who believe that the estate tax will be repealed, or the exemptions substantially increased, we are unaware of any pronoucements from the President elect, or the House, that such will be the case in a time of unprecedented federal deficits. Remember, an estate tax was enacted in 1797, repealed in 1802; enacted in 1862, repealed in 1890; enacted in 1898, repealed in 1902; enacted in 1916, then reformed in 1930, 1976-1993, 1997 and 2001.
To circumvent the resulting loss of revenue when the Federal Government increased the personal exemption at least 25 states have already enacted tax laws designed to replace the lost estate tax revenues, with more states likely to follow in the near future.
With the current federal exemptions of $2,000,000 per person ($4,000,000 per couple with proper planning), certain individuals feel that there is no serious need for comprehensive estate planning. However, there are numerous reasons other than taxes for implementing a properly drafted estate plan, such as: (1) avoidance of the time-consuming, privacy-invading and costly probate procedure; (2) providing for family members who now have, or may have in the future, special needs; (3) protection from future creditors of a surviving spouse, children and grandchildren; (4) protecting the estate from challenges launched by greedy and/or power-mad heirs and/or their spouses; (5) providing for an efficient distribution of assets to family members; and (6) provising for succession involving a family business.

TIME TO PREPARE

As the economic situation in American becomes more perilous the need for asset protection and estate preservation is even more critical. As more and more families lose jobs, savings and homes the string of lawsuits is likely to rise as they look for any reason to go after someone who seems to have more than they do. Now is the time to prepare and protect yourself and your business. No matter who gets elected this November the economy will still continue on in its downward spiral and Washington spends more and more money they do not have which in turn devalues the American dollar to the point where the dollar becomes worthless. Back in the days of the Great Depression the dollar was still worth a dollar as it was backed by gold. The dollar is not backed by anything but "faith". Both parties have caused this mess and both parties will continue with their "tax and spend" attitude as we the American people budget and struggle. Now is the time to prepare and protect your assets and business from the coming disaster that awaits us. visit www.professionalassetprotectionservices.com for more information or send an e-mail to cpcassetprotection@gmail.com and we will gladly assist you and your family.

Latest in Estate Planning Tips

According to a recent survey conducted in Michigan, individuals need to "bone up on probate law and appoint someone to take care of their finances if they can't." Over two-thirds of the respondents had not "created a health care power of attorney, which designates someone to make medical decisions on their behalf"; "53 percent of survey respondents said they didn't understand probate law"; and only "2.4 percent of pople had designated a financial power of attorney, which designates someone to handle finances when they are incapacitated." (Lansing State Journal, July 2008).

Extreme care must be taken, however, when it comes to appointing individuals to handle an indivdual's finances and the designated agent must have an impeccable reputation. For example, in New York the "former trustee of an SNT (Special Needs Trust) designed to protect the assets of a woman with developmental disabilities must pay the trust approximately $70,000 after she and her husband used trust funds for their personal needs."

And, in Texas and appeals court affirmed "an attorney's conviction and 45-year sentence for his role in assisting an estate's executor deplete the estate by more than $500,000." The inappropriate depletion of such funds included charging the estate "more than $7,000 to attend the (decedent's) funeral" even though the decedent had specifically directed that a funeral not be held. (The ElderLaw Report, 7-8/2008).

For more information on how to properly protection your estate visit us at www.estateplanningstrategists.com or www.professionalassetprotectionservices.com

Expanded Areas of Litigation

One: According to an August 2008 article in LawyersUSA, "construction litigation has become a booming area of the law as the economy continues its downward spiral." and, such litigation involves "developers, builders and buyers." The increased litigations includes claims of "construction defects" and "construction delays."

Two: Plantiffs' "attorneys have already begun advertising on the Internet for potential clients" involving allegations that "granite countertops" can decay over time and "emit radon", a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer." (LawyersUSA, August 2008).

Three: The Massachusetts highest court recently permitted "medical malpractice plantiffs to sue for "loss of chance" of survival alleging a "doctor's negligence in not treating" a patient's stomach cancer "even though the victim had less than a 50-percent chance of survival when he first sought treatment." (LawyersUSA, Agust 2008).

Four: Citing earlier opinions issued in the 1st, 7th, 8th and 11th Circuits, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that an "employee who calimed she was retaliated against (fired) for taking leave under the Family Medical Leave Act can sue" her employer. (LawyersUSA, August 2008).

If you are serious about protecting yourself from costly and time-consuming litigation contact us today a www.professionalassetprotectionservices.com