News & Blogs

By Thomas Hackett

On January 15, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service announced a new simplified option for owners of home-based businesses and some home-based workers may also be able to use this option for calculating deductions for the business use of their homes. In 2010, over 3.3 million taxpayers claimed the deduction for business use of a home. This is good news for small businesses that often start out of the home.

Previously, claiming a home office deduction required filling a 43 line form (Form 8829) that often required complex calculations of expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions. The new optional deduction provides a significantly simplified form.

This new simplified option is based off claiming $5 a square foot for up to 300 square feet of office space in a home with a cap of $1,500 per year. This may reduce paperwork and a record keeping burden for small businesses.

This new option is available for the 2013 tax year, for which most taxpayers will file their returns in early 2014.

More information on the new simplified option for the home office deduction is available on the IRS's website: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Simplified-Option-for-Claiming-Home-Office-Deduction-Starting-This-Year.

By Cindy Horenstein

The tax bill passed by Congress on New Year's day, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, provides some meaningful tax incentives for small businesses. The goal of these tax incentives is to continue economic growth by spurring innovation, encouraging capital investments, and getting small businesses to hire more new employees.

Here are a few key tax incentives:

R&D Tax Credit: Extension of research and experimentation tax credit, which expired at the end of 2011, through the end of 2013. This also allows companies that made qualifying R&D expenditures in 2012 to apply for the credit retroactively.

Section 179 Depreciation: Extension of ability to depreciate cost of new and used property in first year of service rather than over time. Up to $500,000 in deductions if less than $2 million in capital expenditures.

Bonus Depreciation: Extension of ability to depreciate up to 50% of the cost of new and used equipment in the first year of service through the end of 2013 (and 2014 for some types of property).

By Steve Horenstein

At its quarterly luncheon, held at the Vancouver Hilton on Thursday December 13, 2012, the Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC) honored its founding Presidents: Brian Wolfe, Steve Horenstein, Bob Schaeffer, Carol Curtis, and Vern Peterson (pictured right from left to right) and posthumously Donna Cantonwine, Paul Grattet, and James Fowler.

The CREDC, founded in 1982, is a proactive, results-oriented public/private partnership working with over 130 investors to assist business relocation to, or expansion in Clark County. The CREDC serves as a "one-stop shop" specializing in site location and acquisition, business data and demographics, and process facilitation. It is charged with promoting job creation and investment while maintaining the county's exceptional environment and high quality of life. The CREDC achieves its goals through visionary thinking and strategic relationships.

Horenstein Law Group PLLC congratulates the CREDC on its 30th anniversary and all of the honorees. Our community would look so different without the economic impact of the CREDC. Speaking of looking different, Steve also looks a little different than he did in 1982…

By Thomas Hackett

Keith and Sharon are putting together their wills and a revocable living trust, and they are trying to decide who to name as their personal representative and successor trustee. Keith and Sharon have two children, Sarah and Jerry. They want to select Sarah because she is the oldest, but also want to select Jerry because he is very good with finances because of his job at a bank.

Rather than make the decision on who to select, they punt and name them both as co-personal representatives and successor co-trustees.

Having co-personal representatives and co-trustees rarely works out well.

The situation of Keith and Sharon is not uncommon. Parents have a hard time naming just one child whom should be in charge of their estate when they pass. Unfortunately, when they avoid making the decision on who to name by naming more than one person, they often create extra work and expense in the administration.

Law in Oregon and Washington Regarding Co-Trustees

In Oregon, if there are multiple trustees and there is a disagreement on how to act, then the default rule under the Oregon Uniform Trust Code is that the trustees must act by majority, which in the case of two trustees requires unanimity. If the trustees are deadlocked on how to act, then the trustees must petition a court to either (a) remove a trustee, (b) appoint a third trustee, (c) remove both trustees and appoint a new trustee, or (d) decide the particular issue the co-trustees cannot agree upon. In this case, each trustee will have a separate lawyer, which increases the already expensive process of going to court.

By Steve Horenstein

Nicolle Pratt joins the firm, while Mellissa Middleton is elected to a second term as Secretary of the Oregon Paralegal Association.

The Horenstein Law Group is proud to announce exciting news involving two of our own, one just coming on board and the other already a member of our staff.

First, we are happy to announce the hiring of the newest member of the Horenstein Law Group team, Nicolle Pratt. Nicolle joins ourteam as a paralegal with nearly two decades of experience in the field. Nicolle was formerly a business paralegal with Tonkon Torp LLP and the Portland office of K&L Gates LLP. She is also a member of the Oregon Paralegal Association. At Horenstein Law Group, Nicolle will focus on business and estate planning. In her spare time, Nicolle pursues her scuba diving passion as a PADI Course Director with Seven Seas Scuba.

"I am excited to join an innovative law firm and use my business and legal background to help clients," said Nicolle.

Also a member of the Oregon Paralegal Association (OPA), our Mellissa Middleton was recently elected to her second term as Secretary of the OPA. Mellissa is "honored to contribute another year of service to OPA." The OPA is a professional association dedicated to advancing and promoting professionalism, ethics, and education for paralegals. Horenstein Law Group is proud to support Mellissa in her work with the OPA.

We are excited about bringing Nicolle on as a member of our staff and the continued presence and contributions Mellissa will make as Secretary of the OPA.

By Thomas Hackett

It's estimated that $11.6 trillion of wealth will be transferred to baby boomers from their parents. A big question for parents of baby boomers and younger children is what is the best way to leave this wealth to their children? Too often, a child uses up a significant inheritance within a couple years, and then creates debt for themselves because they became accustomed to increased spending.

While transferring wealth to their children isn’t a goal for everyone -- a study by U.S. Trust showed that 49 percent of baby boomers did not plan to leave an inheritance for their children -- for those who do plan to leave wealth to their children, the question is how to do so responsibly.

There are several ways to pass on wealth to your children. The three basic ways are outright, in an annuity, or in a trust. We’ll discuss each of these ways to transfer wealth and highlight four reasons to consider using a trust instead of leaving the money outright or through an annuity.

Leaving Money Outright

If you leave money to your child outright, they can do whatever they want with it. The money is also available for your child's creditors. This creditor could be an old business partner, a person your child injures when driving, or an ex-spouse.

Leaving Money in an Annuity

You can also direct in your will or revocable living trust to have the money that will pass to your child be used to purchase an annuity for them, which will then provide an income stream to your child for life. This helps protect your child from spending too much money at one time (assuming they can’t get credit to buy more things), but the annuity payments are still an available resource for a creditor to try to collect.

By Cindy Horenstein

Business entities should be on the lookout for misleading mailings from COMPLIANCE SERVICES and CORPORATE RECORD SERVICE. These mailing may give the impression they are from some division of the Washington Secretary of State Corporations Division – they are not.

The Washington Secretary of State has issued a warning about these notices.

Several of our clients have received these notices and questioned their authenticity. If you receive such a notice and have questions, you can contact Horenstein Law Group at (360) 696-4100.

By Thomas Hackett

You love and care about your family; but, have you planned for how they will be cared for when you are gone. If not, you're not alone. A recent study found that 65 percent of Americans did not have a Will. In fact, neither did President Abraham Lincoln, Sonny Bono, Tupac Shakur, or Martin Luther King, Jr., to name a few.

We all can be guilty of denying our own mortality. However, such denial can have serious negative impacts on those you love. Who is in charge of your property when you die? Who gets your property? Under what terms do they get the property? Who do you want to care for your minor children? There are lots of planning opportunities that can help minimize fighting between families, help people manage new wealth, and help make sure a person with a disability is able to preserve government benefits and get additional services. Planning for what happens when you die or become disabled is known as estate planning.

If you decide that estate planning is an important part of caring for your family and loved ones, the next question is often whether to use a will or revocable living trust.

By Thomas Hackett

Does your legal structure meet your needs? Are you still unsure what business entity to go with?

After deciding that a business venture is going to be profitable, an important step in the strategic planning for the business is what type of legal entity is going to be used. At the outset, there are two major options: an unincorporated entity, usually a sole proprietorship, that does not provide any liability protections; and an incorporated entity, such as a corporation or LLC, that shields the owners of the business from the liability of the business.

Let's take a look at the following questions business owners need to ask themselves when making the decision on what type of business entity works best for their situation:

By Steve Horenstein

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ron Arp, 360.601.2991
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HORENSTEIN LAW GROUP PLLC FORMED

“Next generation” law firm employs client-focused technology and expertise

VANCOUVER, Wash. – (January 5, 2012) – A new law firm designed to meet the demanding needs of clients in a post-recession economy has been formed by long-time area attorneys Steve and Cindy Horenstein.

Horenstein Law Group made its debut this week, operating with seven staff from offices on the main floor of 500 E. Broadway in Vancouver.  The firm will specialize in business, real estate and government affairs.

“We are embracing an efficient new environment where clients expect a higher level of service and expertise, want fees tied to outcomes, and want easier workflow using client-friendly technology,” said Steve Horenstein, the managing member of Horenstein Law Group.