At the O’Connor Law Firm, we are here to help our clients by providing answers to help them maneuver through their legal challenges. In our ever-changing world, here are two items of recent legislation that could affect you and your business:
COVID-19 / “Cares Act”
On March 27, 2020, the President signed the “Cares Act” into law to help combat the
economic effects of COVID-19. Here are some of the highlights:
- Businesses with less than 500 employees could be eligible to receive loans to help pay employees salaries and overhead expenses. If you meet certain requirements the loans would not need to be paid back; however, you may still be required to pay a small interest rate for the loan. For your information, I have attached a memo that outlines the available COVID-19 loan information.
- Use of retirement funds: The bill waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty for distributions up to $100,000 for coronavirus-related purposes, retroactive to January 1. Withdrawals are still taxed, but taxes are spread over three (3) years, or the taxpayer has the three year (3) period to roll it back over.
- 401(k) Loans: The loan limit is increased from $50,000 to $100,000
- RMDs suspended: Required Minimum Distributions from IRAs and 401(k) plans (at age 72) are suspended.
- Charity. There is a new provision that provides an above-the-line deduction for charitable contributions, plus, the limits on charitable contributions are changed.
Estate Planning Documents
Now is the time to have your estate planning documents in order. You should have a will or trust, durable powers of attorney, and a health care surrogate with a living will designation.
These documents will allow your spouse, children, or others to easily manage your affairs if the worse should happen. Without these documents, your assets, money, property could be tied up in the Courts for a long period of time resulting in unnecessary costs along with lengthy Court proceedings.
Give us a call, we can get those documents done over the telephone.
