A recent California appellate decision holds that an attorney who entrusted a filing with a paralegal who did not get the papers filed timely did not adequately supervise his employee and was therefore not saved when the trial court found for the defendant because the opposition to the motion for summary judgment was not timely filed. The trial court did not buy plaintiff's counsel's argument that the late filing was the result of surprise, mistake or excusable neglect. The court of appeals agreed and found that it was inexcusable neglect for the attorney to entrust the preparing and filing of the opposition to a summary judgment motion to his paralegal who took the file on vacation with her and did not file it timely.
In a decision that came down a few days ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Chipotle Mexican Grill violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because its food preparation counters were too high for for wheelchair-bound customers, meaning that such customers could see the food on display or how it was assembled. (Antoninetti v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (2010) 2010 DJDAR 11537.)
Both the disabled plaintiff and Chipotle agreed that all, except for the tallest wheelchair-bound persons, could not see the food preparation counter or the food on display, such as salsa, guacamole, cheese, lettuce and tortilla. The Ninth Circuit found that Chipotle's 45-inch tall wall violated federal regulations which require that a main counter height not exceed 36 inches.
While I sympathyze for the plaintiff for not being able to see the food preparation, I wonder whether there were reasons why the counter in the restaurant was 45-inch tall. Perhaps that was the optimal height for the average-height employee assembling food while standing. Maybe federal regulations should not apply to this scenario as lowering the counter may create problems for the workers who are on their feet all day wrapping burritos.
Clients who engage in estate planning are generally thinking long-term, and want to provide financial benefits for future generations. The dynasty trust is a uniquely powerful estate planning tool to achieve these goals.
What is a Dynasty Trust?
Simply stated, a dynasty trust is an irrevocable trust with an extremely long or unrestricted term. The trust is governed by the terms initially established by the grantor, and is designed to hold assets in trust without direct ownership of the trust assets being transferred to any beneficiary. Successive generations of beneficiaries may receive distributions of income and/or principal. For transfer tax purposes – gift tax and generation skipping transfer tax ("GST" tax) – trust assets are usually valued at the time of transfer into the trust. The trust assets and any future appreciation thereon are generally exempt from estate tax.
Starting in 2013, taxpayers at higher income levels will feel the pinch of two new tax hikes included in the Health Care bill that passed in March. The first is a .9% increase in the Medicare tax on wages over $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of a couple). Generally, every wage earner owes a 2.9% Medicare tax, which is split between the employee and the employer. Under the new tax, the additional .9%, which brings the total Medicare tax for these high earners to 3.8%, is payable entirely by the employee.
The second tax contained in the bill is a Medicare tax on investment income at a 3.8% flat rate for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income of $200,000 (or $250,000 for couples). Investment income is a broad category including, but not limited to, most interest, rents, dividends, royalties, capital gains from the sale of a stocks and bonds, and passive rental and business income. Even any taxable gain on the sale of a home is hit by this new tax. The tax on investment income not only affects individual taxpayers, but also can have a significant effect on the income taxes owed by trusts and estates.
Congress’s effort to raise revenue to pay for the costly healthcare bill has made two very significant changes to the tax system. Historically, the tax on wages to pay for Medicare has been a flat tax and have only been imposed on earned income. The new .9% tax on wages will impose a progressive Medicare on the previously flat tax, and the new 3.8% tax will impose a Medicare tax on investment income which previously did not exist.
We are pleased to announce that attorney Autumn Ronda has joined their firm as an associate, working in the Tax & Wealth Planning, Entertainment Group and Transactional Group practice areas.
Managing Partner Arlen Gunner said, “She is a welcome addition to our team of tax and business professionals that service a variety of individual, business and nonprofit clients.”
The San Francisco Bay Area native earned her law degree from Southwestern University School of Law while concurrently earning her M.B.A. at Loyola Marymount University. After passing the bar, Autumn joined a small entertainment and real estate development company as in-house counsel. Subsequently, she elected to continue her legal education earning a Master of Laws in Taxation. Contact Autumn Ronda
