The ammonia tanker involved in a fatal accident in Medina County was headed to a farm that sparked neighborhood outrage by the owner’s plans to store the chemical. Monday’s crash has re-ignited that debate.

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Fatal Accident Fuels Fire Over Farming Chemical Debate

Moshe Billet has been searching for the owner of a $800 Christian Louboutin right-footed pump he found on the street.

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Fancy $800 slipper seeking its sole mate

Shut out of a job when his Schwab branch closed six years ago, the 42-year-old Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, resident is ready to start a new life as the owner and master chef of a small gourmet chocolate shop.

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Laid-off broker starts up gourmet chocolates biz

Cops have tracked down the owner of the SUV that was turned into a rolling Times Square terror bomb, a spokesman said Monday. But they still haven’t identified the person who drove the bomb-laden vehicle there, lit the fuse – and split

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NYPD questions owner of explosives-packed SUV in Times Square bomb scare

Copyright (c) 2009 Jeffrey Matsen

As we are all aware, over the last few decades expanding theories of liability and the proliferation of litigation has given increased emphasis to Asset Protection Planning to the extent that it is now a well recognized area of practice. However, traditional Estate Planning has always encompassed the concepts of asset preservation and protection. Accordingly, all of us who have business owners, physicians and other professionals as clients need to be able to integrate our Estate and Business Planning with Asset Protection Planning in order to properly serve the needs of our clients. Certainly the area of Asset Protection Planning is a concern for all of these types of clients.

Why has there been such an increase liability exposure over the past thirty years? There are several reasons, the principal ones of which are as follows:

1.Plaintiffs’ lawyers have made huge contingency fees on malpractice and other kinds of claims and class action lawsuits. Obviously, the financial reward drives this kind of legal action.

2.The deep pocket theory where those who are “have nots” want a piece of the assets of those “who have”.

3.We live in a victim-oriented society where everyone tries to place blame with financial remuneration attached to it on someone who has the financial resources to pay.

4.The increase media and society awareness of claims results in high notoriety for these types of lawsuits and creates a ready and willing audience of plaintiffs.

Business owners, physicians and other professionals are especially high profile targets because of the public perception of wealth of these types of individuals. The job of the lawyer is to assist these types of clients in setting up and arranging their assets and affairs in a manner that will successfully transfer their legacy to their heirs in the most orderly and tax saving manner while at the same time preserving and protecting their property during lifetime.

I like to talk about implementing the three “Ps”:

*Preserve assets for their heirs and family by structuring the proper Estate Plan and by reducing death taxes.

*Protect assets during their lifetime by creating liability shielded entities and lowering financial profiles

*Process the plan by properly designing and implementing strategies in the most practical and skillful manner.

I have devised a significant and fundamental approach to addressing all the legal and tax concerns of business owners, physicians and other professionals by implementing the three “Ps” in a systemic tiered approach which I call “The Ladder of Success”. Each step on the ladder or level of strategy provides immediate asset protection and estate planning benefits. Some or all levels of the complete ladder will be applicable to every business owner, physician and professional depending on the individual state of their career development and net worth. The steps on the ladder and the levels of strategy are as follows:

Level One: The Business Entity Itself: This is the entity that must shield and protect the business owner or professional from direct claims against the operating business. There are also several tax and management issues that have to be addressed at this level dealing with the operation of the client’s business.

Level Two: Basic Estate Planning: This is the fundamentals of Estate Planning involving the Revocable Trust, Pour Over Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney, Healthcare Directives and Medical Record Release Forms. This level has to be integrated with all the other levels so that the entire plan is cohesive and well coordinated.

Level Three: Exemptions and Marital Planning: At this level, we examine and review exemptions such as ERISA Plans, homesteads, insurance and annuities. Many of these exemptions are state law driven and have to be analyzed on the state of residence basis. Marital planning can be very important with respect to the division of assets between the working and non-working spouse and in some states it is critical as to the manner of how property title is held with respect to the married couple.

Level Four: Liability Protected Entities for Investment Assets: It is especially critical that real estate be protected from claims that may well be either beyond the limits or outside the coverage of insurance and the limited liability company seems to be the best vehicle for this purpose. Other types of investments can also be placed in LLCs for additional protection.

Level Five: Domestic Modular Planning with Asset Protection Trusts: As we are all aware, many states have now adopted favorable Asset Protection Trust legislation such as Nevada, Delaware and Alaska. This means that the Domestic Asset Protection Trust can be utilized to hold title to the member interests of LLCs that hold the underlying investment assets.

Level Six: Offshore Modular Planning with Foreign Asset Protection Trusts: For those clients who have sufficient liquidity and preferably some international connections or attributes, the Offshore Asset Protection Trust can be utilized as the owner of offshore LLCs into which investments and capital can be placed. Because of the jurisdictional limitations involved, this approach maximizes the Asset Protection potential for the client.

Level Seven: Advance Estate Planning Techniques: This level examines more advanced Estate and Asset Protection Planning techniques such as GRATS, Private Annuities and QPRTS as well as certain types of insurance vehicles. In conclusion, by addressing the concerns of professional and business owner clients in this tiered analysis program, the Preservation, Protection and Processing of Estate and Asset Protection Planning can all be accomplished.

When a corporation or limited liability company becomes insolvent the business owner often is worried that the creditors will try to “pierce the veil” of the corporation and sue the individual owner for all the business’s debts.

A Florida homestead, once established, may be abandoned in which event the property’s homestead protection from creditors is lost. There are many Florida court cases which have discussed the tests of whether an owner has “abandoned” their homestead. Temporary absence or a forced absence from a homestead generally is not abandonment

Many people facing foreclosure are concerned about income tax liability from the lender’s forgiveness of mortgage debt. If the mortgage lender does not pursue a deficiency judgment and writes-off the loan after foreclosure the lender could send the owner a IRS Form 1099 for imputed income for the amount of debt forgiven. In the case of a first mortgage, the debt forgiveness would be the difference between property value and mortgage loan balance; a second mortgage write-off creates an imputed income issue for the entire amount of the loan. There is no imputed income from debt forgiveness on your primary residence. Most imputed income issues are related to foreclosure or short-sales of investment property or second homes. In response to a question from a Miami attorney I spoke with a local CPA concerning income tax treatment of debt forgiveness of investment real estate. The CPA is Lonnie Young usataxhelp.com . Mr. Young explained that imputed income after foreclosure and debt forgiveness often is offset by tax losses on the real estate investment. . Consider the example of a person who buys a house for $200,000 with a $180,000 mortgage. The house is lost to foreclosure when the value is $100,000. The lender sends the owner a 1099 for imputed income of $80,000 (mortgage balance less fair value). The foreclosure is a forced “sale” after which the owner has realized a tax loss of $100,000 ($200,000 purchase price less $100,000 value at foreclosure sale). The loss offsets imputed income so the taxpayer pays no additional tax. The ultimate tax effect of imputed income depends on the owner’s use and tax treatment of the subject real estate. The CPA said that in the case of investment property, including vacant land or houses, the loss is a capital loss which is limited to $3,000 per year . If the house qualifies as Section 1231 business property (including rental property) the tax loss is characterized as a business operating loss which the taxpayer can write off fully in the year of sale. Based on what Mr. Young said, if your home facing foreclosure is rented for income then your tax loss would offset any imputed income from debt forgiveness. People facing foreclosure or short-sale of houses other than their primary residence may benefit if they have rented the home a current market rent even if the rent does not cover the mortgage payment. The IRS may challenge the characterization of a 1231 business property where the property has been rented for less than 1 year prior to the foreclosure sale. Mr. Young said the IRS almost never challenges the one year write off where the home has been rented for more than two years. You must discuss your individual situation with your own CPA or tax attorney. My discussion of this topic is based on a non-written opinion of one accountant. I am not a tax attorney and have not independently researched this important tax issue.

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Forclosure Tax Effect: Imputed Income From Debt Forgiveness May Be Offset By Investment Losses

Attention all you insurance industry golfers filling out your gift lists: the birthplace of American golf is up for sale. Lewis Keller, the owner of West Virginia's Oakhurst Links, says that …

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