Generally, taxpayers may exclude up to $250,000 of gain on a principal residence every two years. Husbands and wives who file a joint return for the year of sale may exclude up to $500,000 of gain on the sale of a principal residence if one of the spouses owned the residence for at least two years and both spouses resided in the premises as their personal residence for at least two years.

In addition to the typical decisions facing parents in estate planning such as who should be a child’s guardian if both parents are deceased, the parents of special needs children are faced with additional estate planning challenges. One such challenge is how to provide for all their loved ones without jeopardizing the special needs child’s current (or potential) eligibility for government benefits. There are several strategies and planning opportunities available to assist in developing estate plans for parents of special needs children.

The New Law Offices in the Suttons Bay Depot!

Our July 1, 2008 official grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony celebrated with the Leelanau County Chamber of Commerce and many of our friends and family members.

I-9 FORMS HAVE CHANGED, HAVE YOU?

Employers who have 50 or more employees during 20 or more weeks of the current or prior year must extend leave to eligible employees under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). On January 28, 2008, Congress amended the FMLA to increase protections for members of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

Broadly speaking, employers must make leave available to eligible service personnel or their families in two situations:

There are a few supercharged tax breaks for autos purchased or leased for business use in 2008. If your business buys a new, heavy SUV this year (“heavy” means a loaded weight over 6,000 pounds) for $50,000, it can expense $25,000. The remaining cost is subject one-half to bonus depreciation and one-half to regular depreciation. The result is a total first year write-off of 80% of the purchase price!

If your business leases a car this year worth more than $18,500, IRS tables will allow you to report about 25% less income than in 2007.

Many businesses use leased employees to fill their workforce. These leased workers are hired and paid by employee leasing companies, often referred to as Professional Employer Organizations or PEOs. Employee leasing offers certain benefits, but businesses that use leased workers cannot ignore certain traditional obligations of an employer. In dealing with most civil rights or similar employment claims, courts will typically treat a business that uses leased employees as a joint or secondary employer subject to liability.

Okay, you've started your own business or purchased an existing business; worked nights and weekends to make it survive and grow; sacrificed time with your family; so what's your exit plan?

With the onset of technology and ever expanding markets for even the small business owner, many businesses are operating in multiple states. That being the case, it is incumbent on management to know the states in which the business must pay taxes. The process of determining tax liability can be quite complex.

If you are like most of our businesses, you probably have a company website. You may also have a specially-designed company logo that you use on your website and elsewhere to “brand” your business in the marketplace. What you may not have done, however, is take the necessary steps to protect your all-important logo from infringement by competitors. If your business is set up as either a Michigan corporation or limited liability company, your company name itself is protected from infringement within the state of Michigan.