…parent with a signed IRS Form 8332. The form can be downloaded from the IRS website at www.irs.gov. For 2003, each personal exemption is $3,050.00. However, the value of claiming the children as dependency exemptions goes beyond the actual value of the exemption. Tax laws link the Under Age 17 Child Tax Credit to who actually claims the child dependency exemption on the tax return. Parents are advised to seek…
…purchase price than the other, or commits to paying more of the mortgage, then the percentage ownership can be adjusted to match. How the maintenance and repair issues will be addressed. For example, if the property is not part of a common interest community, then the owners themselves will need to budget for large-ticket maintenance or repair items; do they want to set up an account and fund it…
…deserve an explanation. Who, besides the individual owner of a property, has access to CLUE Reports? Insurance companies. CLUE is mainly used by insurance companies for evaluating potential customers. Only insurance companies that provide information to ChoicePoint on claims made by their current policy-holders are allowed to access the CLUE database which contains the claims information from all other participating providers. Currently, approximately 90 percent of American insurance companies participate…
Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine( www.realtor.org/realtormag) by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. Oxymoron: Words used together that have opposite meanings – jumbo shrimp, for example. A seeming oxymoron is nonrefundable earnest money, a euphemism that some sellers use for a deposit that they intend to keep whether or not the sale goes through. A builder, for example, may ask for such a deposit…
…the property reinspected after work is done. Competition among inspectors is high; it shouldn’t be difficult to find someone willing to come back. Don’t let the final walkthrough become another inspection with only you there. Do your job and let inspectors do theirs, especially on a new home. Don’t recommend a specific inspector. Instead, provide a list of several qualified inspectors, along with references from people who’ve used them before….
…reinstated the general contribution rule of § 2040(a) for inclusion of the decedent’s joint tenancy property where the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen. Code § 2056(d)(1)(B). Under the contribution rule, if the husband in our example dies first, the full value of the couple’s joint tenancy property would be subject to estate tax in his estate. Although property ownership transfers to the wife by virtue of her right…
…pending, and would-be users of the mark are thereby put on notice that the applicant is already claiming ownership. The registration of a domain name does not assure trademark protection. For example, you might be able to successfully register the domain name “XYZ Real Estate.com.,” only to find out that your competitor is operating under the name “XYZ.com” and that that competitor has a prior common law or registered trademark…
…trademark passes preliminary screening, you may be ready for a more comprehensive search. These searches are conducted by companies who specialize in trademark searches. These companies are somewhat analogous to title companies. They are critical for a federal trademark registration, but are of less importance for an entrepreneur seeking to establish a Colorado real estate company. Once you have completed your trademark search and have decided upon a distinctive trademark,…
…already claiming ownership. The registration of a domain name does not assure trademark protection. For example, you might be able to successfully register the domain name “XYZ Real Estate.com.,” only to find out that your competitor is operating under the name “XYZ.com” and that that competitor has a prior common law or registered trademark “XYZ Real Estate.” Amy E. Allison is no longer with Frascona, Joiner, Goodman and Greenstein, P.C….
…will, the probate court will have to appoint fiduciaries for you, using a statutory preference list established under Colorado probate law. This procedure will be an expense for your estate. If you wish to make your own choices and avoid consuming estate assets with unnecessary court procedures, start making a list today of all “possible” candidates for each fiduciary position. Then, prioritize and narrow down the list. Seek guidance from…
