California Tax, Trust, Business & Bankruptcy Counsel
Tax, Trusts, Business Formation, and Bankruptcy for California Individuals and Business Owners
North Star Law Firm represents California individuals, families, and business owners in the matters where law and numbers meet: IRS and Franchise Tax Board disputes, living trusts and wills, entity formation and tax structuring, and Chapter 7, 13, and Subchapter V bankruptcy in the Central District of California. Led by an attorney who is also a CPA. Flat fees, payment plans, and a free consultation, with everything handled remotely.
Practice Areas
How can North Star Law Firm help you?
Four practice areas, one professional: an attorney-CPA who can read the numbers, draft the documents, and represent you when a tax agency or creditor comes calling.
Tax Law
- Tax defense: IRS and Franchise Tax Board audits, appeals, and collections
- CDTFA sales tax and EDD payroll tax disputes
- Offers in compromise, installment agreements, and penalty abatement
- U.S. Tax Court petitions and Office of Tax Appeals cases
- Tax planning: S corporation elections, real estate, and investment strategy
Business & Contract Law
- LLC and corporation formation with the tax election done right
- Operating agreements, shareholder agreements, and buy-sell agreements
- Contract drafting, review, and negotiation
- Buying or selling a business, deal structuring, and due diligence
- Franchise purchases and franchisee counsel
Trusts & Estates
- Revocable living trusts that keep your family out of California probate
- Wills, pour-over wills, and powers of attorney
- Trust administration and trustee guidance after a death
- Trust and estate income tax returns (Forms 1041 and 541)
- Special needs and asset protection planning
Bankruptcy
- Chapter 7 fresh-start analysis for individuals and business owners
- Chapter 13 plans that stop foreclosure and repossession
- Subchapter V reorganization for small businesses
- Discharging eligible tax debt and SBA EIDL guaranties
- Flat-fee, start-to-finish representation in the Central District of California
The Attorney-CPA Advantage
Why hire an attorney-CPA instead of a tax preparer, a document service, or a lawyer alone?
Most legal problems for business owners and families are financial problems wearing a legal costume. A trust is only as good as the tax planning behind it. An LLC is only as useful as the election that goes with it. A tax dispute turns on the records and the transcripts before it ever turns on the law. An attorney-CPA works both sides of that line: the accounting fluency to reconstruct the numbers and quantify what is really at stake, and the legal authority to draft, negotiate, and litigate.
Just as important: what you tell your attorney is protected by attorney-client privilege. Conversations with a tax preparer or a document preparer generally are not.
- One professional, no handoffs between your accountant and your lawyer
- Trusts and entities drafted with the tax consequences built in, not bolted on later
- IRS and FTB transcript analysis to find the real balance, penalties, and deadlines
- Attorney-client privilege for sensitive conversations
- Admitted to the U.S. Tax Court and the federal courts for the Central District of California
- Flat-fee engagements quoted in writing up front
Simple Process
How does working with us actually work?
Free consultation
Tell us what is going on: the notice, the debt, the business you are starting, the estate you are planning. You get a straight assessment of your options, at no cost.
Flat-fee game plan
You get a written plan and a flat fee before you commit. Payment plans available. No hourly meters running.
We take it from here
We draft the documents, deal with the IRS, the FTB, or the bankruptcy court directly, and keep you informed at each step.
Questions & Answers
Frequently asked questions from California clients
Can you handle California state tax problems as well as IRS matters?
Yes. The practice covers both. On the federal side that means IRS audits, collections, appeals, and U.S. Tax Court. On the California side it means Franchise Tax Board income tax matters, CDTFA sales and use tax audits, and EDD payroll tax and worker classification disputes, including the administrative appeal process before the Office of Tax Appeals.
Do I really need a living trust in California?
For most California homeowners, yes. California probate is slow, public, and expensive, with statutory attorney and executor fees set as a percentage of the gross estate under Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810. A properly funded revocable living trust lets your family avoid that process entirely. We draft the trust, the pour-over will, and the powers of attorney together, and we handle the deed work so the trust is actually funded.
Which bankruptcy court would my case be filed in?
Cases for Riverside and San Bernardino County residents are filed in the Riverside Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. We also file in the Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and other Central District divisions. Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and Subchapter V are all handled on a flat fee quoted before you file.
Do I have to come to an office?
No. Matters are handled by phone, video conference, and a secure document portal, wherever you are in California. Tax agency matters, Tax Court cases, trust drafting, and bankruptcy filings can all be completed without a trip to an office.
How much does it cost?
Most matters are handled for a flat fee quoted in writing before you commit, so there are no hourly-billing surprises. Payment plans are available, and your initial consultation is always free.
What makes an attorney-CPA different?
An attorney-CPA is dual-licensed in law and accounting. That means one professional who can read your returns and tax transcripts like an accountant, draft and negotiate like a lawyer, and protect the conversation with attorney-client privilege.
Serious problems deserve someone who speaks both languages.
Talk to a California practice led by an attorney-CPA about your tax, trust, business, or bankruptcy question. The consultation is free, and the fee is flat.