Through our nonprofit legal expertise, we help to improve the best practices and expand the capacities of such organizations so they can better fulfill their missions.
We advise our nonprofit clients on numerous issues including:
Our nonprofit law attorneys are leaders in the areas of preventative law, legal audits, and diagnostic tools for nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations. Our “Legal Audit Questionnaire” and other preventative legal services have helped numerous CEO’s and board management teams diagnose and reduce legal risks in all areas of their operation and organization.
Estate Planning
Including trusts, wills, irrevocable trusts, charitable giving, family wealth transfer planning involving estate tax avoidance, asset-protection planning, and family business succession planning and transfers; sophisticated charitable giving (CRT’s and other techniques); conservatorships for the elderly who cannot handle their own affairs; elder law and MediCal counseling.
Bankruptcy
Specializes in representing individuals in Chapter 7 liquidation, including pre-petition planning to preserve assets in legal and ethical ways permitted by the Bankruptcy Code, as well as Chapter 13 wage earner plan bankruptcy filings.
Also specializes in corporate insolvency, commercial litigation, bankruptcy-related asset acquisitions or sales, business reorganizations in bankruptcy (small to mid-size companies), representing debtors, creditors, landlords or potential acquirers of assets in bankruptcy proceedings.
Mr. Nash represents creditors in collection matters in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 cases; and represents companies in Chapter 7 liquidation or Chapter 11 reorganization matters. Mr. Nash also assists companies in Chapter 11 proceedings to reorganize (restructure debt facilities with existing creditors, or negotiating for and obtaining new financing (equity investments) or credit facilities), and/or with the sale of assets to third parties free and clear of liens and encumbrances.
Mortgages
Important Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Information for California Residents. California does not conform to the recently enacted federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 that allows taxpayers to exclude the discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness from income. For federal purposes, this applies to discharges occurring on or after January 1, 2007 and before January 1, 2010. There is pending California legislation, Assembly Bill 1918, as introduced, which would provide full conformity to Section 2 of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 and Senate Bill 1055, as introduced, which would provide modified conformity to Section 2 of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.
Taxpayers affected by mortgage debt forgiveness may want to monitor the status of AB 1918 and SB1055 and delay filing if possible until after a decision is made on either of these bills. To monitor the progress of either bill go to leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo/. To review Franchise Tax Board’s analysis of SB 1055 go to ftb.ca.gov/law/legis/07_08bills/SB1055_010708.pdf. An analysis of AB 1918 is not available at this time. We will provide a link to this bill when it is available.
Under current law, any amount excluded under the federal legislation will need to be included in California taxable income and reported as an adjustment on Schedule CA (540 or 540NR) line 21f, column C.
If a bill is enacted that applies for 2007, affected taxpayers that have already filed and included discharge of principal residence indebtedness as income for California purposes will need to file an amended return and use Schedule CA (540 or 540NR) line 21f, column B to make adjustments to appropriately exclude all or a portion of it.
We will provide further information on this website regarding any amended or enacted California legislation affecting the treatment of mortgage debt forgiveness.