TEAM SYK VOLUNTEERS AT OREGON FOOD BANK

Each year, corporate groups volunteer their time to collect, pack and process millions of pounds of food for the Oregon Food Bank (OFB) — and recently, our team of attorneys,staff, and friends did their part to support this organization's important efforts. 

Oregon has seen record increases in the need for emergency food boxes. Statewide emergency food box distribution has increased more than 9 percent over the previous year, and has increased a whopping 41% since the beginning of the recession in 2008. This represents 270,000 people per month — a number that represents more than half of the City of Portland's population. 

To support OFB, our team held an after-hours volunteer session at the Volunteer Action Center, where we packed 15,392 pounds of food. This represents 12,827 meals, and 366 meals per volunteer. Now those are some stats we can get excited about!

OFB welcomes volunteers as individuals, families or as part of a corporate, community or service group. For details, check out OFB's website. 

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Inactive Account Manager = The New Dead

With the belated acknowledgment that even technology users will die, Google launched its new Inactive Account Manager, allowing those its customers designate as "trusted contacts" to retrieve online information after a certain amount of time of inactivity.

For almost three years, we've been blogging about the importance of creating a VAIL - Virtual Asset Instruction Letter - as part of your estate plan, so that your fiduciaries (personal representative, conservator or trustee) can access your financial and personal accounts, information, photos, etc. It's nice to see the online providers finally catching up.

Unfortunately, push back from online providers derailed recent efforts to change Oregon law to confirm that when a fiduciary accesses online accounts to further their legally mandated responsibilities to marshal, protect, and distribute the estate, that they are not committing a cybercrime by doing so. The online providers claimed federal law prohibits released online information to third parties, yet Google then launched their new program that does exactly that.

It's an interesting conversation that must continue with those that have the power to change federal law. And if online providers simply change their Terms of Service Agreements to confirm that a fiduciary is an authorized user, the issue could be easily resolved.    

Your Parents Can Sue You for Not Visiting?!?

In an interesting effort to address the growing numbers of an aging population, China created a new law that requires children to visit their parents

One can only guess the bitter lawsuits to follow when Dear Old Mom doesn't get the attention she thinks she deserves:  "You don't call often enough.....why don't you bring the grandchildren around more often....you call THIS a birthday present?" 

Legislating morality is a tough path, but it should spark an important reminder that aging parents require time, attention, and due respect. 

 

 

Community Service: Junior Achievement

When I was a student at Lake Oswego's Lakeridge High School, we were required to take a mandatory class on balancing a checkbook. I also had the benefit of learning other personal finance skills from family members, mentors, books, or by trial and error — and through the part time jobs I held in high school.

A few years ago, however, I realized that even the very basic intro to personal finance is something that has gotten squeezed out of the average curriculum as schools struggle to find funding for reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Given the difficult economy in the last few years, many low- and middle-income students have not been able to find the part time jobs that my friends and I had growing up. Often, due to family or economic circumstances, they don’t have good mentors to model behavior.  And many children don’t even have bank accounts until they graduate from high school, when they are suddenly expected to be financially independent. 

I joined the board for Junior Achievement of Oregon and Southwest Washington (JA) a few years ago because I believe very strongly in its mission: “To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.”  Just as all politics is local, I believe that the foundation of a strong economy lies in financial and civics education for individual children so that they have the tools they need to be successful.  Junior Achievement chapters around the world work to accomplish the organization’s mission by focusing on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and workplace readiness. JA is an amazing organization, with fantastic staff and a really dynamic, positive board of directors.  I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as part of the board of directors and as a member of the finance committee. 

Our local JA chapter has a variety of diverse programs.  Thousands of classroom volunteers around the state teach personal finance and civics to children of all ages using modules designed by Junior Achievement teams. The organization also produces a podcast that is designed to teach parents how to talk to their kids about money and financial decisions.  Junior Achievement BizTown is an interactive experience for Fifth Graders where the students learn about having a job and participating in the economic life of a city. 

This month, Junior Achievement of Oregon and Southwest Washington unveils its newest learning experience – Finance Park. This is an interactive, iPad-based experience that is designed to teach junior high students about budgeting and personal money management. 

The JA board of directors and design team made a decision early on in the process to make Finance Park  mobile so that it can go to students in communities all over Oregon.  In the first couple of months, over a thousand Oregon students will have the chance to experience Finance Park in communities as diverse as Klamath Falls, Medford, Eugene, Bend/Redmond, and Portland!  If it comes to a community near you, you may want to check it out.

I would encourage anyone to learn more about, and get involved with, this amazing organization!

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Digital Assets Planning: Problem Solved?

As our law blog followers well know, we have posted many times on the topic of digital assets:  What happens to your online accounts and information upon your death or disability?  See this post, and this one, and this one - just to name a few. 

But perhaps we are overthinking the problem.  Perhaps there is an easier way.  Perhaps it is only a matter of having the right accessory.  In lieu of proper estate planning and protection, one may consider this option....

Possible refund opportunity: Windsor v. United States

As many of our clients know, the United States Supreme Court is hearing two cases related to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) next week. The high Court will hear oral arguments in Windsor v. United States on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. If the plaintiff, Edie Windsor, prevails, she will be entitled to a $363,000 refund (plus interest) of estate tax imposed on the estate of her spouse Thea Spyer, who died in 2009. Ms. Spyer’s estate incurred this tax expense because DOMA dictates that the one hundred percent spousal exemption under IRC section 2056(a) is unavailable to same sex couples.

The deadline to file individual income tax returns was on Wednesday, April 15 for 2009. Even if Ms. Windsor prevails and DOMA is ruled unconstitutional, we do not anticipate that the Court will issue an opinion before April 15, 2013, when the statute of limitations to file amended returns for tax year 2009 expires. Same sex couples who were legally married in 2009 under the laws of their state and would have been entitled to a tax refund in that year if they were eligible for the “married filing jointly” status, may consider filing a protective refund claim for that period. The IRS’s policy where there is ongoing litigation or the law is uncertain, is to collect the properly filed protective refund claims and either pay them or deny them when the law in the applicable area is settled. Even if Ms. Windsor does not prevail or if her case is dismissed on procedural grounds, such filings may eventually result in significant payments if DOMA is ultimately held unconstitutional. These refunds would be paid with interest calculated from the original due date of the return.
 

Samuels Yoelin Kantor Seminar Series

COMPLIMENTARY SEMINAR SERIES

Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP's seminar series helps keep our clients and colleagues informed on recent developments and industry best practices. The seminars typically take place in our beautiful, state-of-the-art conference room on the 38th floor of the US Bancorp Tower. Seminars are complimentary. Participants qualify for (1) Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit. To register, please use the links below or call us at 503-226-2966. Seating is limited, so be sure to contact us soon!


LITIGATING CONTESTED GUARDIANSHIPS

Thursday, March 21, 2013
7:30 - 9:00 A.M.
at Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP offices
Light refreshments will be served

Presented by Victoria Blachly and Denise Gorrell

Guardianships are designed to protect those that cannot protect themselves. Two of our experienced fiduciary litigators, Victoria Blachly and Denise Gorrell, will discuss how trial attorneys balance the need to protect legal and civil rights with the need to protect impaired persons from harm. If you work with elderly clients or have aging family members, then this seminar will provide valuable information about evaluating potential guardianships, and how a fiduciary litigator prepares for a contested guardianship hearing. Learn about ideas for practical resolutions and the complexities that can develop when mental health and family conflict clash in the courtroom.
 

Victoria Blachly's litigation experience focuses on fiduciary litigation for individual trustees, corporate trustees, beneficiaries, and personal representatives, including trust and estate litigation, will contests, trust disputes, undue influence, capacity cases, claims of fiduciary breach, financial elder abuse cases, petitioning for court instructions, and contested guardianship and conservatorship cases. Denise Gorrell focuses on real property and commercial law, as well fiduciary litigation. She frequently represents clients on real estate disputes, business dissolution, and trust contests.

To register for this seminar, contact events@samuelslaw.com or call us at 503-226-2966.

Times are a-changin' ... So should your documents.

“The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast
The slow one now will later be fast
As the present now, will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now will later be last,
For the times they are a-changin'.”

Bob Dylan wrote these lyrics to 'the times they are a-changin’ in September of 1964, while probably examining the political and racial upheaval he saw around him. When I hear the song these days, however, I’m convinced that the last verse is actually about updating business and estate planning documents. Bear with me…

2013 has brought changes to the tax structure that impact all of us and our clients: higher income and capital gains rates, higher estate tax exemptions, expiration of the 2% payroll tax holiday, the extension of portability, and the long-term patch to the Alternative Minimum Tax, to name a few. In the tax world, the times they are almost always a’ changin’, so it makes sense to occasionally review your estate and business documents to make sure this important paperwork reflects these changes appropriately.

Many of our clients’ families are going through transitions. (“The present now will later be past, the order is rapidly fading”). The birth or death of a family member, marriage, divorce, graduation, retirement, changes in jobs, receipt of an inheritance, and similar events often prompt the question: Does this change need to be addressed in my estate planning documents or the organizational documents for my business? If you think the answer might be “yes”, you are probably right.

Many of our clients also come to us because their businesses are going through a transition where the order is changing, or is going to change in the near future. Drawing the proper lines around how the next generation will inherit and manage a business can be done in many different ways. Some arrangements provide a business owner’s heirs with equal shares in managing the business and splitting its profits (and risks), and some arrangements hire a property manager to take over the day-to-day operation while the constantly-fighting children inherit profit rights and nothing more. There are many agreements that fall in between these extremes. There is a lot of room to customize the plan to the business (and family) involved, depending on taxes, family dynamics, and other factors. Some of these transitions go really well and some go terribly wrong. The ones that go smoothly usually involve well thought out written plans, open lines of communication, and children that are on good terms.

I am often asked how often our clients should review their estate and business planning documents. The answer is: whenever the times are a-changin’.

I hope this post has not ruined Bob Dylan’s music for any of our readers.

You can watch Bob Dylan perform ‘The times they are a changin’ at the White House here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2sYIIjS-cQ

Through the force, higher taxes you will see.

A galaxy’s worth of nerds rejoiced when news broke that George Lucas sold the Star Wars franchise to Disney in October, 2012. More movies are on the way, and this nerd is excited about them. At the time of the sale, Mr. Lucas said that he always envisioned the Star Wars empire (no pun intended) would live on long after he was gone and that he felt he was leaving the franchise in good hands. What he was probably thinking was, “my CPA and my lawyer told me to do it.”

The Star Wars sale was closed in late-October, 2012, when there was a great deal of uncertainty in the tax world and the “fiscal cliff” was looming on the horizon. What was certain at the time was that the Bush era long term capital gain tax rate of 15% was set to expire at midnight on December 31st. It was widely expected that the tax rate on these gains, especially for individuals in the highest income tax brackets, would be the target of democratic lawmakers in the fiscal cliff negotiations. It was also known that the new Unearned Income Medicare Contribution tax of 3.8% would kick in for gains recognized by high-income taxpayers like Mr. Lucas, in January, 2013.    

So what did Mr. Lucas do? He sold in 2012 for just over $4 billion: $2 billion in cash and 40 million shares of Disney stock (valued at $2,000,800,000 on 10/31/2012). It is impossible to know the exact tax figures without information on Mr. Lucas’ tax basis in the Star Wars franchise at the time of the sale, but we can make some educated guesses. Mr. Lucas probably recognized close to $2 billion in gain in 2012 and he owes the IRS approximately $300 million in long term capital gains tax on receipt of this cash. Mr. Lucas will recognize (and be taxed on) gains on the Disney stock whenever he decides to sell his shares. It has been speculated that Mr. Lucas may donate the shares to charity which could reduce or eliminate the tax bill when the stock is sold.

Had Mr. Lucas waited to sell Star Wars until 2013, the $2 billion he received in cash would have been taxed at the new 20% rate agreed to under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, adding an additional $100 million to his capital gain tax bill. The 3.8% Medicare Contribution tax would have added another $75 million, bringing his total tax bill to about $475 million.

Whether this sale strategy was outlined by a CPA who was reading the Congressional tea leaves or Mr. Lucas turned to a more trusted source for his tax planning (“Through the force, the future - and rising taxes - you will see…”), the result is the same: Mr. Lucas probably saved close to $175 million in taxes by selling when he did. The gains from the sale will be going to educational charities, who will put the extra $175 million to good use. You can read more about Mr. Lucas' charitable plans here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-deal-george-lucas-will-384947

The sale of the Star Wars franchise presents a good opportunity to analyze some of the effects that the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 has on a high-income earning taxpayers. We will be discussing these recent changes to the income and estate tax calculations at a seminar in our office on March 7, 2013, at 7:30 am. A light breakfast will be served. If you would like to attend this complementary seminar, please RSVP to events@samuelslaw.com or 503-226-2966. May the force be with you.

Samuels Yoelin Kantor Seminar Series

COMPLIMENTARY SEMINAR SERIES

Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP's seminar series helps keep our clients and colleagues informed on recent developments and industry best practices. The seminars typically take place in our beautiful, state-of-the-art conference room on the 38th floor of the US Bancorp Tower. Seminars are complimentary. Participants qualify for (1) Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit. To register, please use the links below or call us at 503-226-2966. Seating is limited, so be sure to contact us soon!


PLANNING FOR TAX LAW CHANGES FOR 2013 AND BEYOND

Thursday, March 7, 2013
7:30 - 9:00 A.M.
at Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP offices
Light refreshments will be served


Presented by Glen Goland and Valerie Sasaki

Congress changed estate and income tax calculations dramatically when they passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act on December 33, 2012. The new legislation has given us some stability, as the new rates and tables are about as permanent as things get when dealing with our Congress. We will talk about these changes and discuss the impact the new tax structure has on the families and businesses that we advise.

Glen Goland utilizes his years of experience in the financial and legal sectors to create estate plans that work for his clients and efficiently administer trusts and estates. Valerie Sasaki specializes in jurisdictional tax consulting, working closely with Fortune 50 companies involved in audits before the Oregon or Washington Departments of Revenue.

To register for this seminar, contact events@samuelslaw.com or call us at 503-226-2966.


LITIGATING CONTESTED GUARDIANSHIPS

Thursday, March 21, 2013
7:30 - 9:00 A.M.
at Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP offices
Light refreshments will be served

 

Presented by Victoria Blachly and Denise Gorrell

Guardianships are designed to protect those that cannot protect themselves. Two of our experienced fiduciary litigators, Victoria Blachly and Denise Gorrell, will discuss how trial attorneys balance the need to protect legal and civil rights with the need to protect impaired persons from harm. If you work with elderly clients or have aging family members, then this seminar will provide valuable information about evaluating potential guardianships, and how a fiduciary litigator prepares for a contested guardianship hearing. Learn about ideas for practical resolutions and the complexities that can develop when mental health and family conflict clash in the courtroom.
 

Victoria Blachly's litigation experience focuses on fiduciary litigation for individual trustees, corporate trustees, beneficiaries, and personal representatives, including trust and estate litigation, will contests, trust disputes, undue influence, capacity cases, claims of fiduciary breach, financial elder abuse cases, petitioning for court instructions, and contested guardianship and conservatorship cases. Denise Gorrell focuses on real property and commercial law, as well fiduciary litigation. She frequently represents clients on real estate disputes, business dissolution, and trust contests.

To register for this seminar, contact events@samuelslaw.com or call us at 503-226-2966.