FISHER'S LAW OFFICE NEWSLETTERS

Newsletter
Summer 2006
Fisher's Law Office

Welcome to the NEWSLETTER of Fisher’s Law Office, providing you with legal information you can use in your everyday life. If you have questions about what you read in this newsletter, please call us today.

1.  WHY ARE ILLEGAL ALIENS ABLE TO TAKE AMERICAN JOBS?

Since 1986 it has been against the law to hire an illegal alien. All employers are required to verify the citizenship of all new employees and fill out Immigration form “I-9”.

Very few employers are using the forms and there’s little enforcement of this law. In the United States of America only 90 federal employees check to see that the forms are filled out.

In 2005 these 90 employees were only able to find 417 employers who failed to fill out form I-9.  Don’t trust your federal government to stop illegal aliens from taking your job.

2.  ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT APPLYING FOR MEDICAID, A FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES MEDICAL BENEFITS TO THE POOR?  HERE SOME IMPORTANT CHANGES IN THE LAW YOU MUST KNOW:

Under recent changes to the Medicaid eligibility laws, Medicaid recipients are only allowed to have $2000.00 worth of “countable assets” and spouses of persons on Medicaid can have up to $99,540 worth of assets.

Practice Warning: Under the old Medicaid rules you could give away your money or property and wait until the 36 month “look back period” passed to become eligible for Medicaid.

Under the new rules, if you give away your money or property to meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, the “look back period” starts on the day that you enter a nursing home!

These rule changes make it difficult to give away your assets, make yourself poor and let the government take care of you in your old age.

In some states, including Florida, you are allowed to keep your homestead, jewelry and car and still receive Medicaid benefits. (However, under recent changes to the law, your home cannot be worth more than $500,00.00.)

What should you do if you’re ready to enter a nursing home? Answer: See a competent attorney or financial advisor before you consider giving away any money or applying for Medicaid benefits.

3.  LAWS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY TO LIVE IN AMERICA!

Japan has recently made it illegal to sell used appliances. As of April 2006, Japanese pawn-shops are not allowed to sell used televisions, audiovisual equipment or electrical musical instruments made before 2001.

Pawnshop owners in Japan fear they will be driven out of business and musicians have claimed that the law will stop young people from learning how to play music. Old record players and other used electronics more than five years old or built before 2001 will not be allowed to be sold any longer in Japan.

4.  WHAT RIGHTS DO YOU HAVE AS A TAXPAYER?

Under recent changes in the law, taxpayers have eight basic rights embodied in the “Declaration of Tax Payer Rights”.  These taxpayer rights include:

  • IRS employees must explain and protect your rights as a taxpayer in all contacts with you.

  • The IRS may not disclose to anyone information that you give to an IRS agent except as authorized by law. The IRS must explain why they ask you for certain information and how they use it and what happens if you do not provide the information.
  • If you believe an IRS employee has not treated you fairly or courteously, you can write the IRS director which may result in the employee being punished.
  • You have the right to have a lawyer or other professional represent you in any dealings with the IRS.  You are allowed to make tape recordings of any meetings you have with the IRS as long as you give the IRS written notice of your intentions to do so.
  • You’re only responsible to pay the amount of tax that’s actually due under the law, no more or no less.
  • The Taxpayer Advocate service must help you resolve any problems you may have with the IRS. You can reach this service by calling 877-777-4778 or you can write to the taxpayer advocate at the IRS office that last contacted you.

  • If you disagree with the amount of your tax liability you have the right to ask the appeals office to review your case.
  • The IRS will wave penalties when allowed by law if you can show that you acted reasonably and in good faith relied on incorrect advice by an IRS employee.

5.  TAX AND SOCIAL SECURITY RULES HAVE CHANGED: HERE ARE THE NEW RULES FOR 2006:

As of 2006, wage earners pay Social Security taxes at a rate of 6.2% on wages earned up to $94,200.00.  (Note: the 1.45 % Medicare tax applies to all earnings up to an unlimited amount.)

In 2006, the Social Security “full retirement age” for workers is 65 years and 8 months.  If you are this age you can receive full Social Security benefits.

6.   BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT GIVING AWAY YOUR HOME OR OTHER ASSETS DURING YOUR LIFE:

There are four reasons for this:

(a) If you give away your home and then apply for Medicaid, you may find yourself disqualified to receive benefits because you gave away your home. (As mentioned earlier in this Newsletter, you normally are allowed to apply for Medicaid without penalty as long as your home is worth less than $500,000.)

(b) If you keep your home until you die, your heirs will pay little or no income tax on inherited property, whereas the income tax on property given away during life is potentially high.  This is because of the little understood “step up in basis” rule in which the IRS will presume that inherited property was purchased on the day you died. What this means is that those who inherit your house will normally not owe income tax upon selling your house because their "basis” in the property is its value on the day you died.  On the other hand, if you give away your property before you die, your loved ones receive a “transferred basis.”  The transferred basis is what you paid for the property, not the value on the date of your death.  Typically, the amount you paid for your home will be less than its current value.  Most experts agree that it is best to die with your home in your name.

(c) If you give away property you may have given up your only chance to sell property to pay medical bills or other expenses of old age.

(d) Under Florida’s “Save our Homes” Constitutional Amendment, if you change the ownership of your house, there may be a revaluation of your house and your home’s property taxes will increase substantially.

7.  HERE’S WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE DIES OWNING PROPERTY IN HIS NAME:

(a)  File the Will with the probate court in the county of domicile of the decedent within ten days after death. Save a copy of the will.

(b)  Hire a lawyer. Florida law calls for a lawyer to receive up to 3% of the amount of the estate on a sliding scale. However, depending on the size of the estate, most lawyers prepare estate papers on an hourly basis to save money for clients.

(c) Get a title search. How long ago did your parents buy their home? It's time to check the title in the public records and make sure they still own their home and have no liens or mortgages you don't know about. 

Practice note:  If your parents were on Medicaid and lived in Florida, the house should pass to the children without the lien attaching.  See a lawyer for details.

8. WHAT ARE SOME INVESTMENT TRENDS FOR 2006?

Many investment professionals are recommending that clients who have IRA’s or 401k’s invest in bonds or foreign dividend paying stocks that would otherwise be subject to income tax. These same professionals often recommend that dividend paying stocks of the United States corporations should be held in non-retirement “taxable accounts”. This is because the income tax rate on U.S. stocks dividends is substantially less than the dividends on foreign stock dividends and bonds.  Always see an investment professional before you invest or plan asset diversification.

9.  DO YOU HAVE JUDGMENT AGAINST SOMEONE?

For the year 2006 the rate of interest on judgments is 7%. You should record all judgments in the State of Florida’s new statewide database and record your judgment in the County in Florida where you obtained the Final Judgment.  Florida law states that judgments only act as a lien on real property for 10 years. Hint:  You are allowed to re-record the judgment. Upon re-recording the judgment acts as a lien for another 10 years.

10.  GET READY FOR THE GREAT AMERICAN PENNY SHORTAGE

The U.S. one cent coin (also called the penny) is made of zinc and copper. The price of copper is over $6,000 a ton. The price of copper and zinc have risen so much that the metal in a penny will soon be worth more than the face value!  At that point people may begin selling the U.S. one cent piece for scrap value to receive more than the face value of the coin.  It may be time to cash in all those pennies you’ve been hoarding.
 
11.  BE CAREFUL WHEN GETTING A TATOO IN CERTAIN STATES IN THE U.S.:

Until this year it was illegal to get a tattoo in South Carolina.  In Oklahoma it is still illegal to tattoo a human.  In the last week of March 2006, South Carolina legalized tattoos on humans. The first person who received a tattoo legally in the state of South Carolina was Ivey Ridders who received a tattoo of a daisy on her right foot.


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