Legislation Proposes Sweeping Changes to California Franchise Law Legislation introduced to the California State Assembly on February 24, 2012 would provide strong protection to franchisees by significantly amending California’s existing Franchise Relations Act. Among other changes, the “Level Playing Field for Small Businesses Act” would: provide franchisees with 60 days to settle overdue fees; absent “substantial and material” breach by the franchisee, provide for the automatic renewal of franchise agreements under, at the franchisee’s election, either the original terms of the agreement or the franchise terms then being offered to new franchisees; provide a 60-day cure period for breaching franchisees;… Read more

On Friday, November 9, 2018, the IRS issued proposed amendments to the regulations relating to hardship distributions from 401(k) plans.  The amendments primarily reflect changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Proposed Regulations.  The proposed regulations, which would generally be effective for plan years beginning on and after January 1, 2019, would simplify hardship administration and expand the scope of hardship distributions.  Highlights of the proposed regulations include: Plans could allow hardship distributions of all earnings on elective contributions. Currently only earnings on elective contributions accrued before 1989 are eligible for… Read more

In recent correspondence with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Mr. Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Department of State’s Visa Control and Reporting Division provides some explanations for the visa retrogression seen in the September 2015 Visa Bulletin, as well as predictions for visa movement in Fiscal Year 2016 (October, 2015 through September, 2016). EB-2 China and India both retrogress significantly for September, 2015.  Mr. Oppenheim attributes this to “skyrocketing” demand for EB-2 Worldwide visas.  This leaves fewer visas available to spill-over to EB-2 China/India.  Additionally, the EB-1 visa demand is up, which means there are fewer visas to spill-down to… Read more

A question for our readers: A charitable remainder trust can (a) benefit family members, (b) benefit charity, (c) help diversify assets in a tax efficient manner, or (d) all of the above? The answer is (d). A charitable remainder trust (“CRT”) can provide you, your spouse, or other beneficiaries with lifetime income (annually either a fixed amount or a percentage of the trust’s value (which will increase or decrease as the value of the trust changes)). When your interest in the trust ends, the balance remaining passes to charity. At the time you set up the CRT, you receive a… Read more

Effective January 12, 2015, the National Visa Center (NVC) responds to e-mail and telephonic inquiries from attorneys and the public on nonimmigrant visa cases.  The NVC is now the single point of contact for all domestic inquiries regarding both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa cases that are pending at U.S. Embassies/Consulates.  The NVC will only answer routine questions about case status and provide general information about the visa process.  Consular posts will continue to accept inquiries on individual visa cases.  Contact information for the U.S. Embassies/Consulates is available at www.usembassy.gov/. The e-mail address for the general public is askNVC@state.gov, and the telephone number… Read more

On February 24, 2015, the immigration service (USCIS) announced that effective May 25, 2015, they are extending employment eligibility to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. H-4 spouses will be eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) if their H-1B spouse is the beneficiary of an approved I-140 immigrant petition, or their H-1B spouse has been granted a 1-year or 3-year H-1B extension under AC21. On February 16, 2015, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen issued a temporary injunction against the implementation of the Obama Administration’s executive actions on… Read more

Does an insurance broker have a special relationship with the insured that may create a liability for failing to advise or direct the client to obtain additional coverage? Answer: Yes (arguably under the facts of the case). In Voss v. Netherlands Insurance Company, 2014 NY Slip Op 01259 (decided February 25, 2014), the question before the Court of Appeals was “whether a special relationship existed between the insureds and the insurance broker” such that “the broker may be liable, even in the absence of a specific request, for failing to advise or direct the client to obtain additional coverage[.]” Id…. Read more

Was a part-time resident of New York, permanently domiciled elsewhere, eligible for a New York handgun license? Answer: Yes. In Osterweil v. Bartlett, 2013 NY Slip Op 06637, the Court of Appeals was called upon to decide “whether an applicant who owns a part-time residence in New York but makes his permanent domicile elsewhere is eligible for a New York handgun license in the city or county where his part-time residence is located.”