North Star Law Firm ✦ Insights
California Tax, Business, Trust, and Bankruptcy Insights
Plain-English analysis of new laws, court decisions, and agency guidance for California business owners, families, and the professionals who advise them, from an attorney who is also a CPA.
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Can a California Business File Subchapter V to End a Fight With One Creditor?
A $450,000 judgment, an appeal bond you cannot post, and one angry creditor. When a Subchapter V filing survives a bad-faith motion in a California bankruptcy court.
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Gifting QSBS to Kids’ Trusts: Federal Exclusion Multiplies, California Taxes It All
Each non-grantor trust can claim its own federal QSBS cap. California repealed its exclusion years ago, so trustee residence and distributions set the state tax bill.
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Squeezed Out of a California LLC? Your Claims, the Company’s Claims, and Bankruptcy
Diverted assets, inflated manager fees, no distributions, then a Chapter 11 filing. How California law and the Ninth Circuit sort an LLC member’s claims.
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Trusts in a California Divorce: Community Property, Spendthrift Clauses, and Tracing
An inherited trust is separate property in California, but distributions mixed into joint accounts and support orders can still pull its money into a divorce.
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Missed the 90-Day Tax Court Deadline in California? What Still Works After Kings Road
Other circuits now forgive some late Tax Court petitions, but the Ninth Circuit does not. What a Temecula taxpayer or California partnership can still do after day 90.
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LLC, S Corp or C Corp in California: The State Costs the Startup Checklists Leave Out
National startup checklists skip California’s side of the LLC, S corporation and C corporation decision. Here is what each form costs a Rancho Cucamonga business.
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Changing an Irrevocable Trust in California: Consent, Decanting or a Court Petition
Consent petitions, trustee decanting and changed-circumstances orders each fix an old trust differently. What each costs, who must agree, and the gift and Prop 19 traps.
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Phillips v. Goldman: California Chapter 7 Trustees Can Now Be Sued for Simple Negligence
The Ninth Circuit en banc says a Chapter 7 trustee who neglects estate rentals can be sued for negligence. Here is what California creditors and trustees should check.
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California ITIN Filers After the IRS-ICE Address Rulings: Filing Duties, Credits and Payroll
What the IRS-ICE address rulings mean for California ITIN filers, why the duty to file is unchanged, and which 2025 federal and state credits are at stake.