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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California SBA Suspension or Demand Letter: Honest EIDL Default or Fraud Allegation?
An SBA suspension or Treasury letter can mean an honest default or a fraud theory. Here is how California borrowers tell them apart and what each path looks like.
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Tesoro v. City of Carson: California City Tax Refund Deadlines for Small Businesses
Tesoro v. City of Carson bars cities from adding their own refund steps, but the one-year claim deadline still controls. Here is the calendar for California businesses.
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Frozen Out of a California S Corporation but Taxed on Its Profits: What Maggard and Owoc Mean
Taxed on S corporation profits you never receive? What Maggard and Owoc mean for California minority owners, and the Corporations Code remedies that still work.
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Selling a California Business? What a Buyer’s $1 Purchase Agreement Can Cost You
A one-dollar price, a broad noncompete and a deal that never closes: how California contract law, Ninth Circuit bankruptcy law and tax rules treat the seller.
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California A/B Trusts and the $15 Million Exemption: Keep the Bypass Formula or Switch?
An older A/B formula can cost California heirs a second basis step-up. When the bypass trust still helps, and how to change it.
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Foreign Nationals in California: Why a Treaty Win With the IRS Does Not Stop the FTB
A foreign national can be a nonresident for the IRS and a full California resident. How the day count, Form 8840 and treaties work federally, and why the FTB ignores them.
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LLC, Trust, or Both? Owning California Rental Property in the Inland Empire and Sacramento
Before you move a California rental into an LLC: the $800 tax, Prop 13 original coowner rules, the lender’s due-on-sale clause, and when a trust plus an umbrella policy is enough.
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Left a Lawsuit Off Your Bankruptcy Schedules? Keathley and Judicial Estoppel in California
The Supreme Court’s Keathley decision, Ninth Circuit and California estoppel law, and how reopening a bankruptcy and claiming exemptions can save a lawsuit you never scheduled.
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Selling an S Corporation Division: California’s Unitary Test After Western Distributing
When a multistate S corporation sells one line of business, California’s unitary test decides whether the FTB shares in the gain. Here is how the OTA just ruled.