Some important Numbers for Taxes 2014

Just got another VERY INFORMATIVE EMail from one of my favorite CPA firms:

Hope your tax bill is HUGE because your Income was HUGE last year! That is my father-in-law's favorite blessing. He was a CPA. He always said he hated paying taxes but it was better than the alternative. Feel free to send me a note, aubreylaw@gmail.com or visit my site at www.aubreylaw.com

The following table provides some important federal tax information for 2014, as compared with 2013. Some of the dollar amounts change due to inflation. Other amounts are changing due to legislation. Social Security/ Medicare 2014 2013 Social Security Tax Wage Base $117,000 $113,700 Medicare Tax Wage Base No limit No limit Employee portion of Social Security 6.2% 6.2% Individual Retirement Accounts 2014 2013 Roth IRA Individual, up to 100% of earned income  $5,500 $  5,500 Traditional IRA Individual, up to 100% of earned Income  $5,500 $  5,500 Roth and traditional IRA additional annual "catch-up" contributions for account owners age 50 and older  $1,000 $  1,000 Qualified Plan Limits 2014 2013 Defined Contribution Plan limit on additions on Sections 415(c)(1)(A) $ 52,000 $ 51,000 Defined Benefit Plan limit on benefits (Section 415(b)(1)(A)) $210,000 $205,000 Maximum compensation used to determine contributions $260,000 $255,000 401(k), SARSEP, 403(b) Deferrals (Section 402(g)), & 457 deferrals (Section 457(b)(2)) $ 17,500 $ 17,500 401(k), 403(b), 457 & SARSEP additional "catch-up" contributions for employees age 50 and older $  5,500 $  5,500 SIMPLE deferrals (Section 408(p)(2)(A))  $12,000 $ 12,000 SIMPLE additional "catch-up" contributions for employees age 50 and older  $2,500 $  2,500 Compensation defining highly compensated employee  (Section 414(q)(1)(B))  $115,000 $115,000 Compensation defining key employee (officer)  $170,000 $165,000 Compensation triggering Simplified Employee Pension contribution requirement (Section 408(k)(2)(c))  $    550 $    550 Driving Deductions 2014 2013 Business mileage, per mile 56 cents 56.5 cents Charitable mileage, per mile 14 cents 14 cents Medical and moving, per mile 23.5 cents 24 cents Business Equipment 2014 2013 Maximum Section 179 deduction $  25,000* $500,000 Phase out for Section 179 $200,000* $2 million Transportation Fringe Benefit Exclusion 2014 2013 Monthly commuter highway vehicle and transit pass  $  130** $   245** Monthly qualified parking  $  250 $   245 Standard Deduction 2014 2013 Married filing jointly  $ 12,400 $ 12,200 Single (and married filing separately)  $  6,200 $  6,100 Heads of Household  $  9,100 $ 8,950 Personal Exemption 2014 2013 Amount $ 3,950 $3,900 Personal Exemption Phaseout 2014 2013 Married filing jointly and surviving spouses Begins at $305,050 Ends at $427,550 Begins at $300,000 Ends at $422,500  Heads of Household Begins at $279,650 Ends at $402,150 Begins at $275,000 Ends at $397,500 Unmarried individuals Begins at $254,200 Ends at $376,700 Begins at $250,000 Ends at $372,500 Married filing separately Begins at $152,525 Ends at $213,775 Begins at $150,000 Ends at $211,250 Domestic Employees 2014 2013 Threshold when a domestic employer must withhold and pay FICA for babysitters, house cleaners, etc. $  1,900 $ 1,800 Kiddie Tax 2014 2013 Net unearned income not subject to the "Kiddie Tax" $  2,000 $  2,000 Estate Tax 2014 2013 Federal estate tax exemption $5.34 million $5.25 million Maximum estate tax rate 40% 40% Annual Gift Exclusion 2014 2013 Amount you can give each recipient $ 14,000 $ 14,000

Social Security and Divorce? You have Questions, We have Answers!

UCF, my Alma Mater, does a Great Job in its Planned Giving Department. I wish I had time to write blog posts like this one: http://ucfgiving.org/?pageID=31&docID=508
You may have to review the article titled "How Divorce Can Affect Your Social Security" but it is well worth the read!
Covered are notes on how to get your Ex-spouse's Social Security to benefit you! We cover this in most divorces, but what you do not know can hurt your long term financial wellbeing.
When you have questions regarding Alimony, Social Security, Equitable Distribution in your complex divorce, call me. Or visit my website www.aubreylaw.com
I look forward to helping you.

Helping Senior Adults, Elder Law 101

People ask me, "What is Elder Law?"

I answer, it is helping older Americans with problems that come up primarily due to age. You realize of course that after a certain number of years, thoughts of death become more prevalent and preparation becomes much more important. Children become adults and begin asking, "What do I do about my parents?" When parents begin needing assistance, adult children bear a great burden. They may have children of their own in school or starting out and suddenly, Mom needs a new place to live that will provide nursing care. These problems are not new; our processes of dealing with care of the elderly is not new. All over the globe, seniors are afforded great respect and care. Only in the United States do we warehouse seniors in "adult communities," Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing homes.

When Daddy needs nursing care, what questions should be answered?
First: How much care is needed?
Second: How much care can he afford?
Third: Who is responsible to pay when Daddy cannot?

Other questions that may come up include:

What about Social Security, and Medicare?
Do we need to do "Medicaid Planning?"
What is Medicaid Planning?

Parents may not wish to discuss their finances with adult children and may feel freer to discuss the details of planning with an Elder Law Professional. Many times parents have begun the process, but children are kept in the dark for fear that the children will want to "inherit" early. Many seniors have received advice regarding Medicaid Planning over the radio or television but may not understand fully the details. Many seniors worry about losing their homestead or the equity they have built up over the years. In Florida, we protect homesteads. The equity in the home can survive incapacity and death provided simple steps are taken to preserve all the rights afforded to homeowners.

When Medicaid begins to enter the conversation  with regard to health care, it may be too late. Most Health care Decisions must be made quickly; however, medicaid planning may require as much as 5 years to be fully effective.

When you are faced with these and other questions, Call me at 407-645-3297, or visit my website at www.aubreylaw.com

Change to Social Security Hours

In case you missed it, the Social Security Administration announced a change effective August 15 of this year. The announcement will no doubt affect services provided by attorneys as well as the Social Security Office. If your Elder Law Attorney or Family Law Attorney must deal with Social Security Issues as well, this is Not a welcome change. The announcement follows:

Effective August 15, 2011, Social Security field offices nationwide will close to the public 30 minutes early each day. For example, a field office that is usually open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. will close daily at 3:30 p.m.

“While agency employees will continue to work their regular hours, this shorter public window will allow us to complete face-to-face service with the visiting public without incurring the cost of overtime for our employees,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “Congress provided our agency with nearly $1 billion less than the President requested for our budget this fiscal year, which makes it impossible for us to provide the amount of overtime needed to handle service to the public as we have in the past.”

Most Social Security services do not require a visit to an office. For example, anyone wishing to apply for benefits, sign up for direct deposit, replace a Medicare card, obtain a proof of income letter or inform us of a change of address or telephone number may do so at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ or by dialing our toll-free number: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

In Elder Law, Family Law and Divorce, many people have to discuss how to allocate Social Security Benefits paid to children or dependents. Sometimes these are the only assets or income for the family. If you need help, Call me at 407-645-3297 or visit my website at www.aubreylaw.com

I look forward to hearing from you. Aubrey

What to Take to a Meeting with an Attorney

On the phone many first-time callers will inquire as to what items to bring. Obviously the answer depends largely on the needs of the client.

If I am meeting as an Elder Law Attorney, I expect to see a complete picture of the financial and medical needs of the client. That means: bring copies of the most recent bank statements, investment account statements, and Social Security Statements; bring some knowledge of the persons physical abilities and limitations, and most of all, bring honesty.

The Elder Law Attorney must have a complete and ACCURATE picture of the clients needs as well as resources. Sometimes a client may not want to disclose all assets, which can be a real hindrance to qualifying for Medicaid. If the true picture is known the attorney's advice will be remarkably different from that given on limited facts.

When I meet with clients in divorce situations as a Family Law Attorney, I expect to see a complete picture of the Marital Difficulties, Financial Assets, Financial Needs and family needs of the client. This means you should bring: at least 3 months of Bank Statements and Credit Card statements, for both parties if possible; bring a list of all Real Property owned by the parties, whether jointly owned or not (sometimes people are confused as to what constitutes Marital Property under Florida Law); a list of IMPORTANT Personal possessions, and as before, HONESTY.

A Family Law attorney cannot fix all the problems and if you bring a jaded 1/2 picture of the issues, your attorney may miss important points of advice. If you believe your spouse is unreasonable in negotiations, the Specialist in Family law may make different recommendations. So many times people think a previously unreasonable spouse will want to "work things out for the children" once the divorce is filed. Most times the stress of a litigation brings out the worst character traits in people, not the most altruistic.

Finally, bring a method of payment. If an attorney offers a Free Consultation take it, but most good attorneys do not give their advice away during Free Consulations. Better to pay a fee and get real advice and counsel than to take the Free Consultation only to spend an hour telling the attorney of the problem and have no idea of the attorney's opinion at the end. My office takes Cash, Checks and most major Credit Cards. A Consultation normally lasts TWO hours but I typically charge for one hour of time. Flat Fee Services are available as well.

Call me for an appointment, 407-645-3297 or visit my website at www.aubreylaw.com

Real ID Problems

Beginning in 2010, all driver licenses must be matched to identification documents, including passports, Social Security Cards, Birth Certificates, Naturalization papers, etc. This presents a real problem for older drivers and especially married women who did not accurately document their married name.

A client recently appeared at my office with an expired Driver License because the Florida Tag office would not renew her driver license because the name did not match either her Birth Certificate or her Social Security Card. Incidentally, neither of those items had matching names!
Now she is forced to go to court to formally and legally change her name to that which she has used for 51 years since her marriage.

Simple solution if you prepare for the problem; Major Problem if you don't anticipate the solution. Two months ago, she could have changed her name on her driver license to match her Social Security card. Now, since the license is expired, she has to jump through several hoops to get a new license issued, in a name matching her Social Security card.

I am here to help!!! Call Me! 407-645-3297, even just to say, I saw your note!