If you believe caring for your relative, typically a child for more than the next few weeks, you will want to start gaining some sort of legal binding. This will help you provide a stable environment while also protecting the child in question.
However, this will also help you in the long run as you will be the one appointed to make all educational and medical decisions for the child when the time comes.
However, if you are indeed a relative, one way you can gain some legal binding to the child is petitioning guardianship through the Nevada state courts.
You should always keep in the back of your mind that all guardianship cases will differ from one to the other.
First and foremost, a guardian is one person that was appointed to be responsible for the protected child or for another person’s estate.
A guardian is going to be a person that has the power to make big legal decisions such as medical care, schooling, religion along with other day to day life choices.
Many people think you need to adopt to make these children to make these legal choices, but adoption is yet another avenue you can go down, but that process will be a lot longer and more permanent and will cost more money.
But with guardianship it is still a legal binding paper that will allow you to still provide a stable environment as you will have the legal physical custody of the child. Plus, you can always transfer custody to someone other than the parent, if needed as well.
However, you should know that guardianship will NEVER terminate the parental rights, but you should know that it will suspend the parental rights though.
The entire point of guardianship is for the guardianship to take control without the parents’ rights. Guardianship will grant you the power to enroll the child(ren) in school, get them proper medical treatment, and make any other major decisions.
However, guardianship will have downsides as well. You will have to factor in the cost that will be to petition for guardianship. Especially, if you are using a lawyer or your petition is currently being contested. It can be quite expensive.
Not to mention all the emotional risks as well. You will have to prove in court that without a doubt you are the best person for the guardian role and that you put the child’s best interest first.
Now in the state of Nevada there are two types of guardianship options you can consider. This is what they are and what they entail.
How to Get it Without Going to Court? Six Month Temporary Guardianship
Within the state of Nevada, you can have what they call an informal type of guardianship. This type of guardianship will not require you to go to court to get the court approval.
However, this can only happen if the parents of the child in question fill out a form, which will grant you temporary guardianship of the child in question.
This temporary guardianship will allow you to make school and medical decisions. You will need to renew this temporary guardianship every six months. You will also need to keep in mind that the parents of the child can terminate this guardianship at any time either.
How to Get it With Going to Court? Legal Guardianship
Now, this type of guardianship will require you to have a court order. This one is going to be the more complicated, financial burden one out of the two types of guardianship.
This type of guardianship is going to require you to lawyer up because if you do not follow the process closely and notify the correct people with your petitions, you will automatically lose the case.
What is Wrongful Termination and Retaliation in Nevada?
When it comes to your employer terminating you, you should know that you cannot get fired over discriminatory reasons such as the following:
Age
Disability
Gender
Genetic Information
Race
Religion
Discrimination in the workplace is illegal under Nevada state laws and federal law, even if you are in an “at-will” employment state.
Yet, what many employee’s fail to realize there is another thing that can easily get your employer in trouble and be another reason for a wrongful termination case, retaliation.
That’s what we are going to talk about today. We are going to answer your questions about what exactly retaliatory firing is and what you can do if you feel like that happened to you.
What are the Main Protected Activities?
Under law, employees can be protected under these two broad types of activities. These activities will ALWAYS protect you not to lose your job, even if the employer thinks otherwise.
Reporting Potentially Unlawful Behavior or Unlawful Behavior
As an employee, if you report your employers illegal or potentially illegal behavior, you will be protected against any retaliation or termination. However, you will need to have reported this in good faith and not to retaliation to the employer. You should note that when you report to state or federal law enforcement agencies are protected even internal reporting as well.
Partaking in an Investigation
Did you know that your employer cannot fire you or even retaliate against you, if you are involved in an investigation, hearing, or lawsuit that involves the illegal activities of your employer?
Yup, you read that right. If you were asked or subpoenaed to testify during the case, your employer cannot retaliate against you or fire you for that reason.
Examples of Things You Can Do That Won’t Result in Retaliation Firing
Now, that we discussed the broad two types of things that you can do without being retaliated against, but let’s really sit down and discuss what that means. For instance, what type of activities can you partake in. Below are the approved activities that will fit into one of the above categories:
Reporting Unlawful Conduct
Reporting Environmental, safety, and health hazards
Reporting harassment and/or discrimination
Reporting any USERRA violations including refusal to reinstate or refuse to grant leave, or military discrimination
Reporting hour and wage violations
Exercising Employee Rights
Using your medical and sick leave rights
Taking the time off to serve on a jury or vote
Filing your workers’ compensation claim
Requesting accommodations for religious and disabilities
Refusing to follow through an order that could be assumed as discriminatory
Proving Wrongful Termination and Retaliation in Nevada
When you are trying to prove wrongful termination and retaliation in Nevada, there are three vital steps you will have to follow. These steps are listed below.
You as the employee will need to have proof that you were involved in a protected activity that is labeled above.
You as the employee would have had to have been punished in some way in the workplace meaning losing benefits or a promotion, being fired, or being demoted.
You as the employee will be required to show proof of the punishment you received that was in DIRECT result of your involvement in that protected activity.
It is going to be vital that you demonstrate the connection between the protected activity you were involved in and what punishment resulted because of that activity. The law requires this connection to be established by presenting circumstantial and direct evidence.
Direct evidence would include verbal and written statements that the employee was let go for being involved in such protected activity.
Circumstantial evidence would include inferring that your punishment or firing was a result of your involvement in that protected activity.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
This can sound like a daunting task, especially if you are trying to figure out if what you did was under one of the above-protected activities.
If you feel as if your employer has fired you or punished you and you don’t know where to start with your case, it is best to contact an employment lawyer in Las Vegas for some much-needed help.
This type of case can be very tedious, especially gathering both your direct and circumstantial evidence for your labor board complaint.
When in doubt, contact an employment lawyer for your case, if you do not feel if you can represent yourself in the courtroom.
For majority of individuals enrolling in the Medicare Part A is typically automatic when you turn 65 unless you delay your Social Security Retirement Benefits where you will have to manually enroll for your Medicare benefits.
Supplement Plans and Advantage Plans for Medicare in Nevada
First and foremost, Medicare is a health insurance program that is given from the federal government. The Medicare will have a Part A, which is hospital insurance and Part B which is medical insurance.
Some people who get Medicare will be happy with Part A and Part B and choose to not get any other coverage. While others, on the other hand, want to also add on Part D which is the Prescription Drug Plan. Some individuals also enroll in Medigap Plan, which we will talk more about in a few minutes.
Medicare Part C, which is also known as the Medicare Advantage plan is another way to get the Medicare coverage, which consists of Part A and Part B.
However, you will need to keep in mind that each of the above plans will have different expenses and coverage details. For instance, the Medicare Advantage or Part C plan will have different benefits and different plans than the standard Medicare Part A and B.
You should also note that no matter what plan you add on to your standard Medicare Part A and Part B, you will still be required to pay for your Part B premium.
As a Medicare recipient in Las Vegas, Nevada, you should always compare all Medicare plans that is available to you to find the plans that will help your situation and health needs.
Medicare Advantage Plan
The Medicare Advantage Plan is going to be offered through a private insurance company that contracts with Medicare. The Medicare Advantage Plan will offer Part A and B along with more benefits as well.
Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan
The Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan will include your prescription drug coverage, so you can get all the benefits you need rolled into one easy plan. You should note that the list of covered drugs can change without notice.
Medicare Prescription Drug Plan
The Medicare Prescription Drug Plan is also known as Medicare Part D. This will cover your prescription drugs. You should also note that the list of covered drugs can change without notice.
Medigap Plan
The Medigap plan is another Medicare plan offered by the private insurance companies that can help decrease your out of pocket costs for treatments that is covered under the standard Medicare plan.
Nevada Medicare Resources
Yes, you read that right, there are Nevada Medicare resources you can utilize.
First and foremost, the Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division is a part of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. This division offers many resources and services for seniors who reside in the state of Nevada.
Another great resource is the Senior Medicare Patrol. This resource is a fraud prevention organization, which is fully funded thanks to the federal government with their federal grant. The organization is supposed to teach Medicare recipients on how they can protect themselves from being a victim of fraud.
The Senior Rx program is essentially operated under the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. The program is only permitted for those that receive Medicare that are on a limited income and have prescription drugs.
The State Health Insurance Assistance Program or also known as SHIP for short is another federal program that is operated at the state level. This program is another great educational resource and will provide personal counseling to people who receive Medicare benefits in Nevada. The program can achieve this through their volunteers they have stationed all over the state.
12 Things You Should Know About Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS)
If you are dealing with issues with the IRS, this can be such a frustrating, stressful, and isolating time for you. You may not know how to navigate all the mumble-jumble tax talk that the IRS is spilling out to you.
You may go as far as feel like you need someone who is expert in this field to help you navigate the tax talk and help you better understand what the IRS is telling you.
Of course, money is an issue. Money is always an issue for many Americans. So, going off and hiring a tax professional may not be in your cards just now. So, you go back to feeling like there is no one to help you and your case.
But that’s the thing, if you come from a low-income family chances of you qualifying for the Taxpayer Advocate Service or commonly known as TAS on the IRS.gov website is great. The Taxpayer Advocate Service can give your assistance with tax code and how the IRS works for free.
Today, we are going to talk about what is the Taxpayer Advocate Service, how it can help you with your tax issues, and vital things you should know about the service.
What is TAS?
You are probably wondering what the Taxpayer Advocate Service is. Well, for starters the Taxpayer Advocate Service is going to be a program that is completely independent from the IRS.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service is here to help protect your tax rights along with helping business owners, small individuals, and even exempt organizations to find a solution to their tax-related problems that they could not have solved on their own through the standard IRS channels.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service also can pinpoint and offer you resolutions to problems that are not only happening to you but happening to many other taxpayers as well.
How Much Money Does the Taxpayer Advocate Service Cost?
You will be happy to know that the Taxpayer Advocate Service is a free service to use if you qualify.
Yes, you read that right, if you qualify, you will get free experienced tax help from a team that knows the tax code laws inside and out.
Of course, using the Taxpayer Advocate Service should be your last resort. You should at least try and solve the problems directly with the IRS before reaching out to the Taxpayer Advocate Service.
How to Qualify for the Taxpayer Advocate Service?
First and foremost, if you are having issues with an income tax issue and you have already tried to solve it with the standard IRS channels, then the Taxpayer Advocate Service can help you.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service can work on a solution with the IRS on your behalf. Essentially the Taxpayer Advocate Service will act like a mediator between you and the IRS.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service may work with you if your case entails the following:
You’re going through a financial hardship as a result of your tax situation
You’re working with many IRS departments and need help keeping everything sorted.
The IRS is lacking in their responses to you
The IRS is stating they are going to take immediate adverse action
The IRS is not comprehending your unique situation
The congressional office referred your tax case to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
How to Get Help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service?
You can get help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service by a few different ways. Here’s how you can get in touch with them for your help:
Phone
You can contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service via the telephone at the following phone number 1-877-777-4778.
TAS Local Offices
You can of course call or visit your local Taxpayer Advocate Service office. Every state including Puerto Rico Pacific and Caribbean United States territories, and the District of Columba will have a minimum of one Taxpayer Advocate Service office, that you are more than welcome to call or visit.
Mail
If the office is too far away and you hate using the telephone, you can fill out the Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service. You will need to ensure that you fill out ALL sections prior to mailing it or faxing it to your local Taxpayer Advocate Service.
Working with the Taxpayer Advocate Service
If you meet the requirements to work with the Taxpayer Advocate Service, then you will be assigned to an advocate who will help you with your problem at hand.
Your advocate will give you their name, employee number, and phone number where you can reach them. They will review the problems that you are having with your tax account and the IRS and efficiently get them resolved.
Your advocate will even help teach you how to avoid your tax issue in the future.
Things You Should Know About Taxpayer Advocate Service
Now that you know some stuff about the Taxpayer Advocate Service, here are 8 more things you may or may not have known about the organization:
The Taxpayer Advocate Service acts as your voice when it comes to the IRS.
Taxpayer Advocate Service will help taxpayers and even businesses who are struggling financially.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service will help you, if you already went through the standard IRS protocol and haven’t gotten anywhere.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service will help you understand your rights as a taxpayer when it comes to the IRS.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service will assign one advocate that will work worth with you for the duration of your case.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service has a minimum of one local office in every state.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service has a toolkit that is a great tool and resource and free to use.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service handles problems that may impact a wide number of taxpayers.
4 Types of Guardianships in Nevada
Can’t decide on what type of guardianship you will need for your situation? If you are currently residing in Nevada, all guardianship cases will be required to go through the courts by Nevada laws for it to be legal.
Guardianship cases are not just about children, they can be about adults, and even estates as well.
Types of Guardianships in Nevada
The most common types of guardianship cases in Nevada are the following:
Temporary Guardianship
Guardian of an adult or minor
Guardian of one’s estate
Guardian of an adult, minor along with their estate
Now, we are going to dive into a little more detail of what each of the above guardianships will entail.
Guardianship of an Adult or Minor
When you are filing for guardianship of an adult or minor, you are filing to be the person who will be responsible for that adult or minor to receive adequate care, education, maintenance, and support that they will need.
The guardian of the adult or minor will solely be responsible for ALL medical and personal decisions that they cannot make on their own.
Guardianship of One’s Estate
When you are filing for guardianship of someone’s estate, you are filing to be the person who will preserve, protect, dispose, and manage the estate in the way that in the best possible interest of the person who owned it.
In this type of guardianship, you will only ever be responsible for the financial aspects. So, you will not make any other decisions except financial decisions.
You can find ALL responsibilities and legal duties in the Nevada Revised Statutes that correspond with the guardianship of one’s estate.
Your responsibilities will typically include the following:
Filing annual accountings with the court
Selling stock
The sale of the person’s personal property
Closing bank accounts
Managing all income
Guardian of an Adult, Minor Along with Their Estate
When you are filing for guardianship of an adult or minor along with their estate, you are filing for the responsibility of making social, financial, and medical decisions for the person.
However, you will also be responsible for their estate as well. Before you file, you will want to check out the Nevada Revised Statute 159 to get all responsibilities and legal duties spelled out to you.
Temporary Guardianship
Now, the last type of guardianship will be the temporary guardianship. Temporary guardianship is where a judge will grant you an emergency order to be the guardian of this protected person. This will typically happen in cases that involve the following:
Protected person is in immediate risk of physical harm, financial loss, or needs medical attention.
Protect person cannot make the necessary medical decisions on their own
You, the petitioner has followed NRS 159.047 and notified the correct persons.
Pest Be Gone! How to Stop Collection Calls?
At one time or another, we have received those pesky, pesky, and annoying calls from debt collectors. They can be one of the most annoying types of calls to the point where you think about changing your numbers to end contact with them.
However, what most people do not know there is a better way than changing your number when dealing with collection calls.
What Times Can a Debt Collector Call?
Did you know that those pesky debt collectors are supposed to abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
Yes! The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal law that gives strict guidelines of what they can do and what they cannot do when they are trying to collect a debt.
First and foremost, what many people do not know is that debt collectors cannot call you pertaining to a debt that you do not legally owe.
During the first contact, a debt collector will be required to send you verification of the debt, if you were to request it. However, if the debt collector fails to send you verification of the debt, then by the federal law they cannot be in contact with you any further.
Even if you do not ask for the verification of a debt, debt collectors will still have to follow certain guidelines when they are contacting you via the telephone.
For instance, debt collectors cannot ring your phone prior to 8 am and cannot ring your phone after 9 pm. Debt collectors also cannot call you repeatedly or call you during times you have told them is inconvenient.
How to Stop Collection Calls
Unfortunately, to everyone’s dismay, there is NO law that says debt collectors that they cannot call you via telephone. So, if you decide to answer the call and hang up on them, there is nothing they can really do about that situation.
However, if the debt collector repeatedly calls after you have hung up on them every single time, then the debt collector is violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
Letter to Creditors to Stop Calling
Did you know that you can stop debt collectors from contacting you via the telephone by writing them a letter?
You got that right! When you send a letter also known as the cease and desist letter, the debt collector will not be permitted to contact you via the telephone, but they will be required to send you all future correspondences through letters.
Even though you will still get written communication from the debt collectors, but that is something that you can keep for your records of everything that is/being said to you. And in the chance that the debt collector violates the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, you will have evidence that could result in you winning a lawsuit.
What is a Cease and Desist Letter?
A cease and desist letter are going to be the letter you will send the debt collectors for them to stop calling you.
In a cease and desist letter it will only apply to the third-party debt collectors who are trying to collect the debt from the company you originally created the debt with.
You should note that the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act states that the cease and desist will not apply to the original creditor. If they want to contact you, they will still be able to contact you via the telephone.
What Happens After I Send the Cease and Desist Letter?
Once the debt collection agency gets your cease and desist letter, they have one more option to communicate with you through the mail stating that you should know these three things:
That the efforts to collect the debt will be terminated
That the debt collector can take specific actions
That the debt collector is going to take the specific actions
Make sure when you send your cease and desist letter that you send it through the certified mail along with the return receipt requested. This will give you the proof that you need that not only the letter was sent, but it was also received by the debt collector.
So, if the debt collector decides to contact you via the telephone after this letter was sent, then you can file a lawsuit against them for violating the law.
Tax Concerns for Working Nevada Families
When you are counting your every penny to support your family, that typically means every penny matter. But, when it comes to tax time, that can either be a good time of the year because you get a wealthy tax refund, or that could mean a devastating time of the year because you owe Uncle Sam some serious change.
Here are some tax issues for working Nevada families or just some issues that you should know about prior to tax time.
Nevada Income Tax
States unlike Nevada, have personal income tax laws. These personal income tax laws are put in place to help pay for services that include road maintenance and construction, police budgets, and even schools.
Just like federal income tax, the state income tax will be calculated as a percentage of your employment income.
Even some states decided they are going to use a variable tax rate that is dependent on how much money you make.
Nevada Consumer Tax
Besides the personal income tax, the state of Nevada has a pretty complex consumer tax law. The consumer tax law will add an additional surcharge to consumer goods such as alcohol, gasoline, gambling, and even cigarettes.
To be honest, when it comes to consumer tax, Nevada is the 8th highest tax rate in the United States. So even though, residents will not be required to pay personal income tax, they will end up making it up in their consumer tax.
Child Support and Taxes
If you are the one paying child support or if you are the one receiving the child support, there is always a thought in the back of your head if you must pay taxes on it or if it is tax deductible.
To be honest, it is a great question though!
So, we are going to answer all your child support and tax questions you may have today!
In Nevada is Child Support Taxed?
The answer to this question is going to be no. In the state of Nevada, child support is not taxed. The money that you will receive for child support is known as tax-free money. So, if you are the one receiving the child support payments, you can spend it as you see fit. You will not be required to report the money as income on your tax return.
Can I Put Child Support as a Deductible on My Tax Return?
The answer to this question is going to be no. Your child support payments cannot be used as a deductible on your tax return in the state of Nevada. You should know that the money you send to the other party for child support will be taxed on. That is a part of your income, so it will be taxed just like the rest of the income.
Is Alimony Payments Tax Deductible?
The tax rule has changed in 2019. As of the new tax rules in Nevada, alimony payments cannot be deducted from your income on your taxes.
However, this will only go for new divorces that were finalized AFTER January 1, 2019. If your divorce was finalized prior to January 1, 2019, then you can still deduct your alimony payments like normal.
What are the Requirements for Filing a Divorce in Nevada?
If you are getting a divorce in Nevada, you will be happy to know that it is pretty much straightforward procedure.
However, to ensure that your divorce runs as smoothly as possible, you will want to ensure that you are complying with all of Nevada’s requirements and state rules.
Today, we are going to go over a broad overview of how you can get a divorce in the state of Nevada and what documents you will need to get the ball rolling.
Residency Requirements for Filing for Divorce in Nevada
By state Nevada, is going to be one of the only no-fault divorce states within the United States.
What does a no-fault divorce state mean?
Great question. It is where you do not have to list the reasons why you want a divorce from your spouse while you are filing your complaint.
Essentially instead of blaming one or the other, you can choose either living apart for the past year or incompatibility.
However, before you can file for divorce in the state of Nevada, your spouse or you must be residing in the state for a minimum of six weeks.
When filing you can either file in one of three counties such as:
The last county you guys lived as a married couple
The county where you currently live in
The county where your spouse currently lives in
Nevada Divorce Requirements: Paperwork
When you are getting a divorce in Nevada, you will have three routes to choose from.
First and foremost, if your spouse and you agree to all the main issues regarding the divorce, then you can easily file for a Joint Petition.
If you are your spouse is not on the same board with all the issues regarding your divorce, then you will need to file the standard Compliant for Divorce.
If you go down and decide to file the joint petition, you will need to have the following documents filled out and ready to go:
Original and 3 copies of your Decree of Divorce
Affidavit of Resident Witness
Child Welfare and Identification Sheet
Certificate of Service or Waiver
Now, on the other hand, if your spouse and you cannot agree to the main issues regarding your divorce, you will need to file a complaint. When filing your complaint, you will also need to file the below documents as well:
Summons
Dependent on the issues and minor details that surround your divorce case, the county you are filing in, may require you to produce additional documents. Some of the common additional documents include the Joint Preliminary Injunction and the Family Court Cover Sheet.
However, the state of Nevada also has a third type of divorce which is called the summary default divorce by affidavit or summary divorce for short.
Now, this divorce route will be the most inexpensive, yet fastest way to get a divorce in the state of Nevada.
To qualify for this divorce, both you and your spouse will have to agree with ALL issues regarding your divorce. This means you will have to agree on an amount of spousal support or waive your right to obtain spousal support. You and your spouse will also have to let go of your right to appeal, right to a new trial, along with your right to get the notice of your final decree of divorce.
In order to go ahead with the summary divorce, you will need to fill out and file a special affidavit with the Nevada court along with attaching a copy of your settlement agreement with your spouse. This affidavit will be required to state the following:
All information in the affidavit is true
You complied with the residency requirements
All information in the affidavit can be admissible in the Nevada court
The affidavit has factual support to go with every allegation
That you are competent when signing the affidavit
Then it will be up to the Nevada court to either accept or deny your affidavit. If the Nevada court accepts your affidavit and approves your settlement agreement document, they will finalize your divorce without having to endure a hearing.
File Your Forms with the Nevada Court
Once you have decided on which route to take when getting your divorce, the next step is going to be to gather all documentation needed, fill out the forms following the instructions, and fill them with your clerk of court’s office within the county you decide to file in.
Keep in mind that every county may require a different number of copies of the above documents. You will also want to keep one copy of each document for your own personal records.
Serving the Divorce Papers
Under the Nevada law it will require that the party who files for the divorce to also “serve” the divorce documents to the other spouse.
Now, you can “serve” the papers though the sheriff’s service, the mail, or a third-party process server. If for some reason you are not able to locate your spouse, then you are obligated to publish a notice in your local newspaper as the final option. However, when using this option, you will need to prove to the court that you were not able to locate your spouse whatsoever.
When the other spouse gets the divorce papers, they will have 20 days to file one of the below responses:
Complaint for Divorce Answer
With children the Complaint for Divorce and Counterclaim Answer
Without children the Complaint for Divorce and Counterclaim Answer
If both your spouse and you come to an agreement prior to the divorce case moving forward, and you file your settlement agreement with the court, this will end up saving you time and money in the long run.
What is the Taxpayer Bill of Rights?
Did you know as a taxpayer you have a set of rights? You didn’t? Not many people do. As a taxpayer, you will have a set of rights that you should ALWAYS be aware of when you are communicating or even having to deal with the IRS.
Now, that you know that there are rights as a taxpayer, you are probably wondering what are these rights?
Today, we are not only going to get into what are these rights, but what they also entail and how they will protect you as the taxpayer.
What is the Taxpayer Bill of Rights?
If you are new to this taxpayer bills of rights, you will not know as a taxpayer you will have 10 rights. These rights are put in place to protect you when you are dealing with the IRS.
These rights are as follows:
Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum
Be Informed
Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Understood and Heard
Confidentiality
Fair & Just Tax System
Finality
Pay No More Than the Correct Amount of Tax
Privacy
Quality Service
Retain Representation
Now that you know your 10 rights as a taxpayer, let’s go into a little bit more detail about each of these rights.
Be Informed
As a taxpayer, you will have the right to be informed. You will have to right to know what exactly they expect from you to comply with certain tax laws.
You are entitled to having clear expectations of the IRS procedures and tax laws when it comes to all correspondence, instructions, notices, and publications from the IRS.
You will also have the right to know about ALL IRS decisions when it comes to your tax accounts. You will also be required to receive clean-cut explanations of all outcomes that pertain to your tax account.
Quality Service
All taxpayers have the right to not only receive courteous, prompt, and yet professional service when they are doing business with the IRS. The IRS is responsible for speaking to EVERY taxpayer in a clear and easy to understand way. All communications with the IRS should be where you understand what they are saying, especially if they are giving you directions on your tax account.
If you feel like you are not getting this quality service, you will want to ask to speak with a supervisor about the lack in service that you received.
Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax
As a taxpayer, one of the most important rights is pay no more than the correct amount of tax. You will NEVER be charged more tax than the correct amount that is legally due. This will also include penalties and interest in certain tax cases, but you will be 100-percent aware of this prior to paying as well.
Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Understood and Heard
You as the taxpayer will have the right to challenge the IRS on their position. However, when you do this, you will be required to provide the IRS documentation with your response on why you believe their position is wrong.
The IRS will then go over your position on why you believe they are wrong in a quick and timely manner.
Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum
You as the taxpayer will also have the right to a fair, yet impartial administrative appeal on majority of the IRS decisions when it comes to your tax account. These decisions will typically include the penalties that you may have received. You will get a written letter about your decision from the Office of Appeals.
Keep in mind, you as the taxpayer will have the right to take your case to court. If you choose this route, you will need to have concrete documentation proving the IRS was in the wrong in their decision on your tax account.
Finality
You as a taxpayer will be required to know the maximum amount of time that you will have to challenge any of the IRS’s position on your tax account.
You as a taxpayer will be required to know the maximum amount of time that the IRS must audit a specific tax year.
You as the taxpayer will be required to know the maximum amount of time that the IRS must collect your tax debt.
If the IRS audits you, you as the taxpayer will be required to know when the IRS has finally finished their audit on you.
Privacy
You as the taxpayer will have the right to know that your privacy is one of the top concerns when it comes to the IRS.
You should always expect that the IRS whether you are just inquiring, or if the IRS is examining your account that your privacy is safe with them.
If the IRS does not keep your information private information, there will be an enforcement action that you can take against the IRS.
Confidentiality
You as the taxpayer will have the right that any information that you give to the IRS will NOT be given to ANYONE except any other authorized person stated by law or the taxpayer.
You as the taxpayer will have the right to expect any and all appropriate actions will be taken against ANYONE including return preparers, employees, and others if they misuse or disclose ANY personal tax information.
Retain Representation
You as the taxpayer will have the chance to get an authorized representative of your choice to represent you and your tax account when dealing with the IRS.
If you are from a low-income family, you as the taxpayer will have the right to get assistance from ANY of the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics, if you are in no position to be able to pay for representation.
Fair and Just Tax System
You as the taxpayer will have the right to expect that the tax system is fair and just. You can expect that the tax system will consider all circumstances and facts that may affect your liabilities, ability to provide information in a timely manner and the ability to pay.
You as the taxpayer will have the right to get assistance with the Taxpayer Advocate Service, if you are going through a financial hardship or if the IRS itself has yet to resolve their own tax issues in a timely manner.
Being Served with Divorce Papers? Now What?
Whether you saw this coming or you had no idea, getting served with your divorce papers is a stressful and sometimes highly emotional situation.
You have just concluded that your marriage is completely over, if you like it or not. You now must figure out how to respond to these divorce papers for your wife or your husband.
It’s just not an experience anyone wants to go through. But, while you are going through this time in your life, you will want to continue reading your step by step guide that will lead you through this sobering experience.
Step 1: Being Served with Divorce Papers
If you know divorce papers are coming your way, you should NEVER try to avoid being served. Let’s just get that out of the way. It does not and will not end well that way either.
When you finally get served with your divorce papers, you are going to want to look them over and read every single page.
What Happens When You Get Served Divorce Papers?
When you get served with divorce papers, like we have mentioned above, you are going to need to look them over and file a response with the court.
Getting served with divorce papers typically means the marriage is not salvageable, between the parties.
How Long Do I Have to Sign Divorce Papers?
While doing this you are going to want to make any notes of any dates listed on these divorce papers. When we say dates, we mean the date that you will need to have filed your response with the court. To be on the safe side, you should mark that date on your calendar, whether that is in your phone or in your home somewhere.
Typically, the court will give you around three or so weeks for you to file your response to the court, but you do not want to miss that very important date.
Please Note: By you NOT responding, this won’t STOP the divorce from happening. All this will do is tell the court that you are not interested in being involved within this divorce and they can go through this process WITHOUT you.
Another Note: If you and your spouse have a temporary custody order, and you decide to not respond, your spouse may have the chance to take the children AND have sole custody of the children until the hearing date. Therefore, you should ALWAYS respond and read over the papers thoroughly.
Step Two: What to do? Hire Legal Counsel
Right here, you will have a few options, if you were served with your divorce papers. If money is not an issue for you, then it may be best to hire a private attorney.
If that is the route you want to go down, then you should start looking for one immediately. As we said, you will only have around three weeks for you to file your response with the court.
However, if money is an issue in your situation, and you have been served with your divorce papers, you will want to investigate using a legal advocacy group instead of using a private attorney.
A legal advocacy group will help you with your legal representation in court. They will help you get your paperwork filled out, organized, and compiled together. They will not be there in the courtroom, but they will ensure you are ready to represent yourself in court to the best of their ability.
Step Three: File Your Response with the Court
When you finally file your response with the court on your divorce papers, the judge will more than likely want to have a meeting with your spouse and you to see if you can settle this case civilly, or if this is going to be a battle for life or death.
If your spouse along with yourself agree to settle this case civilly and can agree to majority of the stipulations that goes along with the divorce such as who will have the primary residence, who will have the children most of the time, etc. then this divorce will be easy, quick process.
By chance, if you and your spouse are not able to come with some sort of compromises on the stipulations of your divorce, then it is not time to worry just yet. This will not mean you are going to have such a messy divorce and it is going to drag on forever and a day. This doesn’t even mean that you will have to go to trial. Because, we can assure you that only about 5-percent of divorces actually go to trial, the other 19 cases will typically always be settled outside of the courtroom.
Step Four: Find a Mediator
For many of the divorces, the next logical step will be to seek out a mediator for their services after you have served your divorce papers.
What is a mediator, you may ask?
A mediator is going to be a third party who will remain neutral. The mediator will help your spouse and you to come to mutual agreements as you both are going through this divorce.
Step Five: Compose a Child Plan
If you and your spouse do not have children, you can skip this step.
Now, if you do indeed have children with one another, you and your spouse will be required to create a child plan or what is also known as a parenting plan, which will give you and your spouse time with your children.
If you cannot agree to a plan, the mediator from step four can help you in most cases. It is best to settle this among each other, because you may or may not like what the judge must stay, if he or she must come up with a plan for you.
Step Six: Settle Outside or Inside Court
Now, you are going to be finally at the point of either needing to settle inside or outside of the courtroom.
If you and your spouse have agreed to just about everything, your divorce should, for the most part, be ready to be finalized. If your spouse and you were having issues, you may have a court date set up already.
Now, if you have a court date already set up, you do not have to settle at that court date. Most divorces will get settled prior to the court date.
However, we will say that it is going to benefit you, in the long run, to come to a settlement with your spouse. This is since court cases such as these can cost you a lot of money and drag on for months and sometimes years.
Your legal counsel will help you weigh out your options as to what to choose.
Step Seven: Now What? Start a New Life
After your divorce has been finalized, you are going to feel worn out and, in some cases, traumatized. It is going to be a natural feeling, to be honest.
Now, it is going to be the hardest part… starting over. Yes, you will need to take care of your financial situation all from scratch now. You were either left the house and/or debt, along with having to rebuild a life that you once thought was comfortable.
This process can take months to a few years to get back on track, but in the end, this step will be completely up to you and how you look at it.
How to Qualify for a U Visa? & What do I Need?
The U visa or what is commonly referred to as the U nonimmigrant status is going to be solely for victims of specific crimes who underwent physical or mental abuse and are currently in the process of helping government officials or law enforcement agencies in the prosecution or investigation process of these criminal activities.
The United States Congress made the U nonimmigrant visa thanks to the passage from the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act back in October of 2000.
The United States legislation made the U nonimmigrant visa to help give that extra leverage to the various law enforcement agencies to help them prosecute and investigate these cases that consist of:
Sexual Assault
Domestic Violence
Trafficking of Aliens
They did this so not only they can prosecute and investigate these crimes, but also protect the victims of said crimes who already underwent severe physical and even mental abuse at the hands of these abusers. Plus, this was just an added way for law enforcement agencies to better help these abuse victims.
U Visa Requirements
In order to get a U nonimmigrant visa, you must meet the following requirements before you can apply using the application:
You are the victim of the specific qualifying criminal charges (see below)
You underwent great mental and physical abuse while a victim of these criminal activities
You have pertinent information about said criminal activity
You helped law enforcement agencies with their investigation and their prosecution of the criminal activities
The criminal activity took place in the United States and broke the United States Laws
You are permitted to the United States. If you are not, you will need to fill out the Form I-192, which is known as the Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant
U Visa Qualifying Crimes
The below crimes are the ONLY crimes that will qualify you to get the U nonimmigrant visa. Keep in mind that these crimes needed to have happened on United States soil.
Abduction
Unlawful Criminal Restraint
Abusive Sexual Contact
Witness Tampering
Blackmail
Trafficking
Domestic Violence
Torture
Extortion
Stalking
False Imprisonment
Slave Trade
Female Genital Mutilation
Sexual Exploitation
Felonious Assault
Rape
Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting
Sexual Assault
Hostage
Prostitution
Incest
Perjury
Involuntary Servitude
Peonage
Kidnapping
Obstruction of Justice
Murder
Manslaughter
How to Apply for a U Visa?
To apply for your U nonimmigrant visa, you will need to handle the following things:
Fill out Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status Form I-918
Fill out Supplement B, along with U Nonimmigrant Status Certification Form I-918
If you were NOT permitted in the United States, you will need to fill out the Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Non-Immigrant Form I192
A statement made you recount the criminal activity that made you a victim
If you are currently NOT in the United States, but the crime happened on US soil, you can apply using the following procedure:
You will be required to file the above forms and submit them to the Vermont Service Center
You will need to follow all instructions that you receive from the Vermont Service Center
If you are approved, you will need to have an interview at the United States Embassy with a consular officer
How to File for Qualifying Members of the Family?
When it comes to U nonimmigrant visa, there will be certain family members that will be eligible for a U visa based solely on their relationship to you. However, first and foremost, you will need to be approved prior to you getting your family their own personal derivative U nonimmigrant visa.
If you are 21 and under, you can apply for your spouse (if applicable), parents, any siblings who are 18 and under and NOT married, along with your children.
If you are 21 and over, you can apply for your children and spouse ONLY.
You will need to fill out the Supplement A, Petition for Qualifying Family Member Form I-918 either while you are applying for your U nonimmigrant visa or after you have already been approved.
U Visa Processing Time
The U nonimmigrant visa processing time is going to be a long one. Do not think for a second this process is going to be quick and easy and you will be in the United States within a few months.
Majority of the time, this process from the moment you submit your application to the time your application is approved can take up to 5 years or more. This is since the US Citizenship and Immigration Service can take years just before they even take one look at your application.
Procedure for Filing a Contested Divorce: Full Nevada Guide
When a contested divorce happens, this is since you and your spouse are not capable of coming to a compromise or an agreement on various issues that include child custody and the placement of your marital assets.
When these situations arise, then it causes the litigation process to take THAT much longer to officially wrap up.
When you and your spouse cannot agree on these situations in your divorce, this is when you should invest in a divorce mediator. Sometimes a divorce mediator can help you settle your disagreements before your court date, or the court will be the one who will make the final decision on all issues you and your spouse could not agree upon.
However, if you are going through a contested divorce, there will be a few steps you will need to handle. Here’s your step by step guide.
What is a Contested Divorce?
You are probably wondering what a contested versus uncontested divorce is. Well for starters a contest divorce in the state of Nevada is where the two parties cannot come to an agreement on main stipulations on how to divide the marital assets, who will have the children most of the time, etc.
How Long Does a Contested Divorce Take?
A contested divorce will take an unknown amount of time. It is going to depend on if you can come to an agreement within a reasonable time, or if you are going to have to go through the divorce court to get your divorce finalized.
Procedure for Filing a Contested Divorce
Now that you know a bit about what a contested divorce is, let’s get into what the procedure for filing a contested divorce will entail. We are going to go over everything you will more than likely encounter during this process.
Consult with Your Attorney About Your Contested Divorce in Nevada
If you haven’t already, you will need to get an attorney for your divorce case. It is best to first consult with a few attorneys and when you finally find someone that you think will represent you the way you need/want, choose them.
Your attorney is going to get to know you well. As a matter of fact, your attorney will do a very thorough interview with you. This interview is where your attorney is going to collect the vital documents that cover your children, assets, and anything else that they feel is vital to the case.
Then your attorney will look everything over, and they will tell you what they feel you should get and what your spouse should get. If you agree, they will draw up your divorce petition and then go to the court and file it for you.
This entire process will be a lot of work for you. You will need to go and make sure you have all the vital documents your attorney will need or ask for. These documents will be about your marital assets, marital debt, child support, child custody, and your alimony.
Serve the Divorce Petition
Once your attorney officially files your divorce petition with the court, then the court will serve your spouse with the petition. Your spouse will either be served by mail, in person, or even by a deputy sheriff.
If for some reason your spouse cannot be located, they will publish a notice in your local newspaper. They will give your spouse some time to respond before they decide to go on without your spouse’s involvement.
In the state of Nevada, the court will be required to ensure that your spouse was served their divorce petition. Typically, this will be done either with a sheriff’s deputy or a process server.
Responding to the Divorce Petition
Your spouse will have about 30 days from them being served to file their response with the court. However, if your spouse chooses to NOT respond to the divorce petition, then they will be in default. If this happens you will be able to get a default judgment in your divorce case.
But, if your spouse does file their response, then your divorce case will go on to the discovery and settlement stages.
Discovery
Alright, now we are at the discovery part of this procedure. What is the discovery part, you may ask?
This is the part where both parties will be able to come and collect ALL detailed information regarding marital income, assets, child custody, and anything else that is going to be relevant to this divorce.
This part of the procedure is completely done by depositions, document requests, and interrogatories.
You should know that during this step, both parties could ask for alimony or temporary orders for child support from the court as well.
Keep in mind that there is a certain timeframe where both parties will need to respond to the discovery request. Most of the time the parties will miss that deadline in order to hide some assets or slow the divorce process.
Settlement
What you may or may not know, is that most judges encourage both parties to come to some sort of compromise or an agreement prior to their final court date.
Judges do not like to have to make the final decision on anything that is not their personal life. So, judges will have you go through mediation, where you and your spouse will sit down in a room with a mediator to see if you cannot come to some sort of agreement.
If you and your spouse still cannot come to an agreement during this phase, then your divorce will continue, and you will have to head on over to divorce court.
Divorce Trial
Now that you are at your divorce trial, you and your spouse will need to have your witnesses. Each party will have the chance to cross-examine the witnesses along with producing your closing arguments.
Ultimately the judge will hear out both sides of the story during the trial. The judge will be the one who will have to come to the decision regarding the divorce case.
Post-Trial Motions
When your divorce trial is over, and the judge has officially signed the order. Then you or the other party can file a post-trial motion for relief for the final judgment.
You will have to file this post-trial motion within 30 days from the date the judge signed the order. Then the other party will have another 30 days to respond to said motion.
If your post-trial motion, is approved then you alongside your attorney will be able to debate on why you believe the ruling was unfair.
Appeal
Now, on the other hand, let’s say your post-trial motion was denied. Then you will have 30 days to file an appeal. If you are the one appealing, you will have a couple of months to file with the lower court records.
Then the other party will have about a month to file his or her response.
Overpayment of Unemployment Benefits: What to do?
You may or may not be awarded with unemployment benefits, when you lose your job at no fault of your own. These unemployment benefits will be here to help you pay your bills such as your rent/mortgage, utilities, and food while you are trying to locate your next job.
Once you get your next job and have a paycheck coming in, you may be thinking if you will need to pay back these unemployment benefits that you lived on for a while.
Well, there is good news for you, you will NOT be required to pay back your unemployment benefits unless they paid you in error or you committed fraud.
Overpayment of Unemployment Benefits
Yes, as we mentioned above, the only time you will be REQUIRED to pay back your unemployment benefits, if they paid you in error. This will also go for overpayments as well. You are 100-percent correct; you will be required to pay back your overpayments because of THEIR errors.
However, you are probably wondering how in the world can such an entity make an error? First and foremost, we are all humans. But another reason for this error to have happened was your former employer finally contested your unemployment claim successfully.
Now, if that was the case, the state in which you reside would have concluded that you were NOT eligible for unemployment benefits. Which in return, would require you to pay back the unemployment benefits that was not legally yours.
How I will be Notified About Unemployment Overpayment in Nevada?
Typically, you will be notified by the DETR Nevada unemployment office by mail that you have received an overpayment of your unemployment benefits.
In this notice that you will receive, you will get the reason, which leads to this overpayment of unemployment benefits, how much you owe, if there are penalties associated with this, information and resources on how to appeal, along with vital instruction on how to pay the balance you currently have.
Waivers & Appeals
If you are certain that this notice you have received in the mail is not accurate whatsoever, you have full legal rights to appeal this decision.
If you were in fact overpaid from the unemployment office, you can ask your state unemployment office for a waiver. This waiver may be able to help you avoid paying your full or partial balance of the benefits you received. In many cases, you will have to provide documentation of financial hardship for you to obtain the waver or even to start a payment plan with the state unemployment office.
However, in the state of Nevada, you will have the opportunity to sit down for a hearing after you file your appeal. The hearing is just going to be one of the informal proceedings that is held by the administrative law judge. The administrative law judge will go over all the evidence that is given during the hearing. Then the administrative law judge will have to make the decision if you were entitled to these unemployment benefits or if he sides with the office and it was given to by error.
For this appeal process, it will be best to get in contact with an attorney to help you make sure you have all the correct documentation that proves that you were entitled to your unemployment benefits.
What is Battered Spouse or Child Waiver? And How to Get One
If you are a battered parent, spouse, or child, you will be happy to know that you can file for an immigrant visa petition directly under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which is adapted by the Violence Against Women Act or VAWA for short.
The Violence Against Women Act has provisions within the Immigration and Nationality Act that will allow specific children, parents, and spouses of United States Citizens along with certain children and spouses of permanent residents (those who have their green cards) to file a petition for his or herself, without needing the abuser to know what they are doing.
This right here will allow victims to seek the independence and the safety that they ever so need. This will allow them to get away from their abuser without their abuser knowing what they are doing, what their plan is, and where they are going.
You should know that the Violence Against Women Act provisions, will not only just allow women to apply, but will allow men to apply as well. That both will not require any sort of congressional reauthorization.
Important Resources
If you feel as if you are in immediate danger and cannot wait for this waiver process to pan out, you will want to get in contact with the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. The National Domestic Violence Hotline will have all information on mental health care, shelters, assistance, and legal advice. If you cannot call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, you can always visit them on the web as well.
Who is Eligible for a VAWA Waiver?
Certain spouses, parents, and children will be eligible for the VAWA waiver. We are going to go into further detail about the eligibility requirements of each person.
Spouse
You can file for a VAWA waiver for yourself, if you were an abused spouse of a United States Citizen or someone who has their green card and is a permanent resident in the United States.
You can also file for a VAWA waiver if you are an abused spouse with a child who has also been abused by the United States citizen or someone who as their green card and is a permanent resident in the United States.
If you have a child and they are under the age of 21 and have not filed for a VAWA waiver for themselves, you can add them on your petition as well.
Parent
You can file for a VAWA waiver as a parent if you are a parent of the United States Citizen and have been abused by them.
Child
You can file for a VAWA waiver for a child, if they have been abused and unmarried along with being under the age of 21. Just like we have mentioned above, you can include them on your abused spouse petition as well.
However, if you are not currently living within the United States during the time you are going through this process, you should know that you will only be allowed to file the Form I-360 if your abuser is employed by the United States Government or the abuser is a part of the uniformed services.
But, if you are going to be self-petitioning a child or a spouse and you meet all the above requirements to file, you will then receive a Prima Facie Determination Notice. This notice will ONLY be valid for a mere 150 days. This is what you will need to present to the government agencies that can then help get you in contact with a variety of public benefits that help victims of domestic violence.
Keep in mind if your Special Immigrant, Amerasian Widow(er), or your Form I-360 is approved, then you will not have to have any sort of legal immigration status within the United States. This will, however, allow you to stay within the United States as well.
Battered Spouse or Child Waiver & Working in the United States
If your Form I-360 has been approved, then you can start applying for jobs within the United States.
Even if your Form I-360 had the deferred action placed on it, you may still also apply for work within the United States.
In order for you to apply for work while you are in the United States, you will be required to fill out and file Form I-765. Form I-765 is going to be the Application for Employment Authorization.
If you listed your children on the approved I-360 form, they may also work within the United States as well.
Can I Become a Permanent Resident?
If your I-360 form was approved, then you may have the chance to file for your Green Card. If you went through self-petitioning for you and your children, then all your children would have needed to be on the approved I-360 form to be able to apply for the Green Card.
Is a Marriage Annulment Right for You?
Are you no longer in love with the person you thought you would spend the rest of your life with? Have you been looking for ways out of the relationship and to end it for once and for all?
Cannot decide between either getting a divorce or going for an annulment?
Today we are going to cover what an annulment is in the state of Nevada and the pros and cons of each choice you have.
Annulment vs Divorce
Right now, we are going to start off with talking about annulment vs divorce. Because not many people know how they are similar and how they are drastically different.
First off, divorce and annulment will be done through the courts of Nevada. These options will both dissolve and in simpler terms, end a marriage.
However, an annulment is going to differ from a divorce being that an annulment will act like the marriage never even happened in the first place.
While divorce will still end your marriage, but it will be known that you were once married to someone prior. However, even in 2019, there are still people who think divorce is a nasty, nasty word and carries a horrible stigma, so they rather choose to have an annulment rather than get a simpler divorce.
Types of Marriage Annulment in Nevada
What you may or may not know is there are a few different types of annulments you can get while you are in the state of Nevada.
You should never confuse a religious annulment with a civil annulment.
You are probably wondering what in the world is a religious annulment, if you are religious or belong to a strict religion, you will know divorce is heavily frowned upon. If you would like to get remarried, it is next to impossible to get remarried within the same church.
Well, there is a thing where you can get a religious annulment where you would have to go to your church or religion of choice to get your marriage annulled through them. However, this is not a legal binding thing. This won’t dissolve your marriage with the Nevada court, but will allow you to get remarried within that same church or faith once again.
While on the other hand a civil annulment is going to be the legal binding procedure with the Nevada court.
How to Get an Annulment? Requirements Must be Met
You should know that you cannot get an annulment for just anything in the state of Nevada, there are only certain reasons, or on certain grounds that an annulment will be approved.
However, those certain reasons are listed below:
The lack of insanity or understanding when it comes to your spouse or you
The lack of consent of guardian or parent, in cases where this applies.
The lies and/or fraud by either your spouse or you that started this marriage in the first place.
The marriage should never have been done since it was illegal as you and your spouse were related too closely
Your spouse or you were already married to someone while you got married again
What is the Process to Get an Annulment in Nevada?
For you to officially file for an annulment in the courts of Nevada, you or your current spouse, will have to reside in the state for a minimum of six weeks before you can file. If you currently do not reside in the state of Nevada, then you will have had to have been married in the state for you to file without residing here currently.
First and foremost, you will have to file a complaint for an annulment. This will be your first step of this entire procedure. In this complaint, you will need to give out the standard information on your spouse, you, your children you have with one another, your marriage, and what grounds you will be using to get this annulment.
After you finish filing the complaint, you will be required to have an outside adult hand-deliver, the copy of the complaint to your spouse. Whoever you choose to be that outside adult to hand-deliver the compliant will be required to fill out the Affidavit of Service, which will need to be submitted to the court of Nevada.
After you serve your spouse with the complaint, your spouse will have the chance to respond. Your spouse can file his or her answer or they can choose to file a counterclaim.
If your spouse goes with just filing their answer, then the Nevada court will schedule what is known as a case management conference which will happen in or around 90 days from the time, they file their answer.
After you have your case management conference, a judge will then schedule a hearing to ultimately decide if or if not, an annulment is going to be the right path for this certain case.
During this hearing with the judge, your spouse and you will have the chance to testify. The both of you can give the judge your evidence that either supports the annulment or does not support the annulment.
Now, if your spouse chose not to file an answer with the court, then the clerk can issue a “default” against your spouse. A default meaning that your spouse has failed to respond to the complaint at hand. Once this is done, the judge presiding over the case can officially enter the Decree of Annulment.
What is the After Effects?
Once the judge decides that an annulment is good for this case, your marriage will be voided as soon as the Decree of Annulment is signed.
However, if you and your spouse have children with one another, in the state of Nevada’s eyes, these kids will still be “legitimate” even if you get an annulment. This means the father will still have the same father privileges as he would have if you guys didn’t get your marriage annulled.
How to Handle Advanced Planning for Financial Decisions?
Just had a baby. Or perhaps you are getting up there in age and your children are telling you it is time to start making your advanced planning for financial decisions.
Of course, no matter what stage you are in your life, you are wondering what is advanced financial planning and how can you do that if you live in the great state of Nevada?
Luckily for you, it sounds more daunting than it really is. You can achieve your advanced planning for financial decisions in six simple steps.
What is Advanced Financial Planning? And Why Do I Need it in Nevada?
When it comes down to it, many people want to get full satisfaction from their finances. They do not want to be slaving away for their money day in and day out and not have anything to show for it.
Therefore, advanced financial planning is needed. This is so you can achieve your big financial goals such as purchasing a larger home, having money for your retirement years, buying that new car, taking luscious vacations, and just having enough money to live your daily life.
If you want to achieve these above goals, first and foremost you are going to need to identify what is most important to you right now and set your priorities. You will soon realize in the below process that personal and financial satisfaction is not always going to meet eye to eye. You will find that personal and financial satisfaction is sometimes completely opposite from one another as well.
But it will be your job to process the two, so you can have an organized view on your personal financial planning along with your personal money management as well.
When it comes down to personal financial planning, this is going to be a process where you will have to learn how to manage your money for you to gain the personal economic satisfaction. This personal financial planning process is one major step in the right direction, if you are ready to get your financial situation under control.
What you may or may not know is that every household will have their own unique financial situation, so what works for them, may not always work for you.
By having a comprehensive financial plan, not only are you going to maintain a better quality of life, but you will also know you will have the financial resources for your needs later in the future as well.
Guide to Advanced Planning for Financial Decisions
Now that you understand a bit about WHY you need advanced planning for financial decisions, let’s talk about the steps you will need to go through to attain this financial freedom.
Before we get completely started, you will want to know this process is not going to be an overnight change. This process is not going to be super easy either. This process is going to take ALL the effort you must really meet your financial goals.
This process is composed of six steps these steps are as follows:
Figure out your current financial situation
Figure out your financial goals
Figure out how you are going to achieve these goals
Figure out alternative ways to achieve these goals
Implement your course of action
Revise and reevaluate your plan occasionally
Figure Out Your Current Financial Situation
This first step will probably be one of the most daunting steps you will have to complete. No one wants to take their head out of the sand and see the situation they dug themselves in.
In this step, you will be uncovering what your current financial situation is when it comes to the following:
Your Debts
Your Income
Your Living Expenses
Your Savings
Also, in this step, you will need to start really digging deeper and compiling a list of what is your current assets, and a list of your current debt balances.
This is going to be your foundation for anything that will EVER have to do with your financial planning and decisions.
Figure Out Your Financial Goals
Now, that you have probably cried a bit and saw the error of your ways, it is time to sit down and figure out your financial goals and your financial values.
This is going to be just as hard as the first task at hand. You will need to identify how and why you feel about money the way you do. You absolutely will need to get to the root of the problem, prior to you even being successful at obtaining your financial goals and financial values.
Essentially, the purpose of this step is to finally for you to figure out the difference from what you need to what you want in life.
If you do not figure out your financial goals, you will ALWAYS fail at financial planning. You and only you can figure out your financial goals. Someone else cannot come in and tell you what you should and shouldn’t have on your financial goals. It honestly does not worth that way.
Ultimately, take your time and figure out what financial goals YOU want out of this and WHY do you want them.
Figure Out How You’re Going to Achieve These Goals
Now, that you finally get your financial values and goals picked out, how are you going to achieve these said goals? You don’t know?
Well, that is alright, because that is what this step is for! Yes, you heard that right. This step is going to be you hashing out a plan for you to achieve the goals you set for yourself in the previous step.
You will know that there will be several factors that can influence your achievement of goals as well as different alternative courses you can take.
When figuring out how you can achieve your goals, you will always need to figure out alternative courses of action as well. When doing so, you will want to think about the following as well:
How you can KEEP on the current course of action
How you can IMPROVE your current course of action
How you can CHANGE your current course of action
How you can take a NEW course of action
Please Note: The above things we said you should think about will not always apply to every decision that you make. However, they are good thinking questions for most situations that you will encounter.
Figure Out Alternative Ways to Achieve These Goals
Granted, we did touch upon getting alternative courses of actions in the previous step, but this is going to go much deeper than what we previously touched on.
Now, it is time to take into consideration much more than just what other course of actions you can take. You will need to consider the following:
Your Economic Conditions
Your Life Situation
Your Current Personal Values
You will also need to keep in mind that there will always be consequences of choices. Quite frankly, every decision you make can either open alternatives or close off alternatives. You will have to play this game very carefully to not screw yourself over in the end.
Please Note: This part of the planning will never fully be done. Decision making is going to be continuous component when it comes to your financial and personal situation.
Implement Your Course of Action
We are almost there, guys! We are finally at step five. This is going to be where you finally put all your hard work that you have done on your drawing board into motion.
This is where you are going to FINALLY execute your plan of action. This is going to show you if you have a good plan or if your plan is going to need some tweaking.
At this stage of your financial planning, it is completely okay to ask for assistance from others. Especially, if you are looking to see what other people do when it comes to executing their plans. However, while asking for assistance, you will also need to remember that their situation is different from yours. So, what worked for them may not always work for you either.
Revise and Reevaluate Your Plan Occasionally
Congratulations, you are on the last step. Just like that, you finally made it to the point of revisiting your plan occasionally.
This step will be yet another continuous step that you will be doing to ensure you are always on the right track with your financial planning.
This step will not take much once you are doing with your trial and error phase. You will typically only have to revisit your plan if you see a change in your social, economic, or personal factors. If everything stays the same, you shouldn’t have to revisit this plan all that often.
What is Housebreaking Law in Nevada?
When it comes to someone breaking into your home, you may not know the laws because you always think that that won’t happen to you.
According to a study conducted by the United States Justice Department, nearly 1.03 million homes are broken into every single year. This is CAN happen to you, this does not just happen in a Breaking Bad episode.
Today, we are going to go over some frequently asked questions concerning the housebreaking laws in Nevada, along with some helpful information that will help you navigate the housebreaking laws as well.
What is Housebreaking?
First and foremost, housebreaking is considered a crime. Housebreaking is when you enter a vacant home or structure for that matter with the intent to use it as your own residency or what is commonly referred to as squatting.
Housebreaking is very similar to burglary, but as you and I know burglary involves you forcibly entering a home and/or structure.
In Nevada Law NRS 205.0813, when it comes to housebreaking, this incident is going to be much more limited rather than burglary. According to NRS 205.0813, you commit housebreaking in the state of Nevada when you do the following:
When you choose to forcibly under a vacant or uninhabited home or dwelling
You have no permission from the owner
You are intending to use this residence as your own or provide residency to another.
When NRS 205.0813 uses “dwelling” they are defining that as a structure that is intended for residential use or for a sleeping place.
Common examples of dwellings will include the following:
Dormitories
Guest Houses
Hotel Rooms
Houseboats
Houses
Under the NRS 205.0813 statute, it does not matter whether you just enter the dwelling or take up residency because both options are going to be illegal.
Keep in mind that in the state of Nevada, that housebreaking is slightly different than home invasion. Home invasion is where someone will forcibly enter an already inhabited dwelling without any permission. There are times that a person can get charged with home invasion, even if they were never planning on squatting in the dwelling.
Under NRS 205.0813, it is irrelevant whether you take up residency or you just enter with the purpose of doing so. It is the entry itself that is illegal.
Define Unlawful Entry
I know we have talked a lot about unlawful entry, but what really is unlawful entry? Unlawful entry is going to be when you go into a dwelling without prior permission with the intent of squatting.
Squatting and Housebreaking Law in Nevada
According to NRS 205.0817 and NRS 205.082, housebreaking will typically be charged with squatting or unlawful reentry.
When you decide to commit an unlawful occupancy and you follow through with the act to occupancy, you are against the law in the state of Nevada.
What are the Consequences for Housebreaking in Nevada?
If this is your first time being charged with housebreaking in the state of Nevada, you will have a gross misdemeanor on your record. With that being said, the punishment can contain the following:
Up to $2,000 fine
Up to 364 days in a county jail
If this is your second time being charged with housebreaking in the state of Nevada, you will have a Class D felony on your record. With that being said, the punishment can contain the following:
Up to a $5,000 fine
Between 1 to 4 years in a Nevada State Prison
Now, if you have been convicted and charged with three or more housebreaking charges, the Nevada court will be required to send you to prison. You should know that you will not get a Nevada suspended sentence or probation, if you have been charged with four or more housebreaking charges.
Court Defenses for Housebreaking
When it comes to your defense team while in the Nevada court, you will need to display the facts. Housebreaking is solely going to depend on the facts of the case. However, some of the more common defense tactics will consist of the following:
You were not forcibly entering
The structure was not a dwelling
You had permission to enter the structure
You were not intending to squat
You were the one who was the victim of mistaken identification
Can You Shoot Someone Breaking into Your House?
First and foremost, the state of Nevada is a “stand your ground” state. But when it is a stand your ground state, there will be some conditions that need to be followed.
So, when it comes to Nevada self-defense laws, you will not be required to retreat prior to using deadly force on the intruder if they do one of the following:
Doesn’t start an altercation
Have belief your life is in immediate danger
Has the right to use deadly force where he or she is
Not breaking the law when you are using deadly force
In other words, all non-aggressors, yet law-abiding citizens can use deadly force if they fear their life is in danger, even if they had the chance to flee the scene prior to using deadly force.
Fair to All: Housing Discrimination and Retaliation Laws in Nevada
When you are a tenant in Nevada, your landlord cannot discriminate, harass, or even retaliate against you. Did you know that housing discrimination alone is against Nevada and even federal law?
Yes, there are laws out there that prohibit a landlord from discriminating against you based on your:
Race
Gender Identity
Color
Sexual Orientation
National Origin
Familial Status
Religion
Disability
Sex
What Type of Housing Discrimination is Not Allowed in Nevada?
If you are unfamiliar with the federal Fair Housing Act, you will want to peek into that because that is what prohibits ANY discrimination based on the following characteristics:
Race
Familial Status
Color
Sex
National Origin
Disability
Religion
Now, Nevada law has their own section that is against housing discrimination. Landlords in Nevada will NOT be allowed to discriminate against you based on the added following:
Gender Expression
Ancestry
Gender Identity
Sexual Orientation
Examples of Housing Discrimination
Now, that you know what a landlord cannot discriminate against, let’s get down to examples of housing discrimination. All the below examples are things that a landlord CANNOT do to you as a tenant. It does not matter if you are a current or a new potential tenant.
Landlord refusing to rent to, sell to, or even compromise with you
Landlord discriminating against privileges, conditions, and terms of housing, which can include security deposits, lease terms, purchase terms, types of residency, insurance rates, and interest rates
Landlord refusing to make the dwelling available to you
Landlord refusing any inspection to you, but allows others
Landlord advertising the dwelling for certain limitations or preferences when it comes to who is allowed and not allowed
Landlord intimidating, interfering, coercing, or threatening you for trying to avoid housing discrimination
You should also note that the Fair Housing Act does have an exception when it comes to religious organizations. Their exception is that it will allow the religious organization to limit or even give preference to people who hold the same religious views as they do.
The Fair Housing Act also allows the private clubs that are not open to the general public to have preference to its members ONLY if the club has a lodge that is for non-commercial use only.
What Does the Law Say About People with Disabilities?
Of course, up until now, we only really dived into housing discrimination based on everything but your disabilities.
Just like above, landlords in the state of Nevada CANNOT discriminate against you based on your disabilities either. Landlords will be required to make reasonable modifications to their dwellings to accommodate you and your disabilities to ensure that you have equal opportunity to enjoy their housing and common spaces.
You should also note that a landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you have a disability. The landlord cannot refuse you having a service animal as well. A service animal cannot have pet rent tacked on as well since it is NOT in the same category as a regular pet.
You should also note that all newly built multifamily housing units such as apartments, condos, and townhomes, will be required to be designed in such a way that will be accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.
What Action Can I Take When Someone Discriminates Against Me?
If you choose not to file a complaint with either organization, you can always file a lawsuit in federal or state court.
How Long Do I Have to File A Lawsuit or a Complaint?
In the state of Nevada, you will be required to file your lawsuit within a year after the alleged violation happened. However, in the federal law, you are given two years from the time the alleged violation happened to file a claim.
How Can a Landlord Retaliate Against Me?
A landlord cannot discriminate against you, but the landlord cannot even retaliate against you either. Retaliation means a landlord that either decides to not renew your lease, ends your lease abruptly, raises your rent, or takes away your utilities and/or amenities.
What Can I Do if a Landlord Retaliates Against Me?
If you find yourself dealing with a landlord that is retaliating against you, you as the tenant can sue your landlord for the following:
To Cover your court cost, but also to punish the landlord (can be up to a maximum of $2,500)
To cover any loss or injury you may have suffered.
6 Best Tips on How to Deal with Noisy Neighbors
Unless you reside in a remote location, chances are you have or have had some pretty noisy neighbors that don’t think about anyone else around them.
Whether they are blasting their music, revving the car they are working on, allowing their children to scream at the top of their lungs, or the nonstop barking of their dog(s), you are wondering what course of action you can take. Of course, your mind goes to stomping around your place, or even some sort of other revenge that you typically do when playing the Sims 4.
But we are all grownups here, so how do you come to a solution that is mature, respectful, and kind for everyone involved? Well, you are in luck, we have come up with a few options for you today.
6 Ways on How to Deal with Noisy Neighbors
If you want to keep things civil between you and your neighbors, you will want to try one or all these ways on how to deal with your noisy neighbors. Not only will it show everyone you know how to handle a stressful situation, but you’ll keep the peace among everyone as well.
1. What to do first? Talk to Them
You may have some noisy neighbors, and let’s be frank here, not everyone is a mind reader. Before you start taking any desperate measures, you should start out with talking to your neighbors about the noise.
What you may not know is your neighbor may not even realize they are being THAT loud or disrupting your day to day life with their noise.
If you have a specific reason what exactly is bothering you when it comes to their noise, do not be afraid to state it. Not everyone is going to be difficult, this will allow your neighbor to know what they should fix or be aware of in the future.
You should know that not everyone is going to be a monster. Not everyone is not going to listen to you. Many neighbors simply do not realize what their habits may be, may interfere with someone else’s life when they live in such close quarters.
When going over to talk to the noisy neighbor, many sources including Nationwide Insurance recommends that you bring over some sort of baked goods. This is to help soften the blow of an awkward conversation that is about to happen.
2. Come Up with a Compromise and/or Plan
So, you went over and you talked to your neighbors, and you found out that they had a legitimate reason for the noise that you absolutely hate so much. This noise could be them renovating their home, having their band rehearse, or sleep training their newborn.
Whatever, the reason may be, instead of walking off angrily that there is nothing you can do to please both of you, instead sit down and come up with some sort of compromised plan.
This plan could be anything from having set hours for their band to rehearse, no loud noise before 8 am, etc.
Of course, this will only work if both of you are willing to come to an agreement. Always first try and make a plan that can fit both schedules without it feeling like one or the other is living with an overbearing parent.
3. Come Up with Solutions Beforehand
Let’s say the issue with your noisy neighbor has to do with them playing loud music during the nighttime hours and you must be up early in the morning for work.
Here’s what you can do, prior to going to talk to your neighbor, you could come up with solutions to this problem first.
For the theory at hand, a solution could be use wireless headphones, lower the volume of the music past a certain time, etc.
But, if the problem is something that can easily be fixed like the theory above, do not be afraid to have a few solutions while you go talk to your neighbor.
4. Give the Noisy Neighbor a Warning
So, you have already tried talking to your neighbor, coming up with solutions, and even went as far as trying to compromise with a plan, but they are just not following through on their part.
Before you decide it is time to get the police involved or another extreme tactic, go back to your neighbor and just give them a warning. Just let them know that if this continues, you will have no other choice but to contact either your landlord, the homeowner’s association, the management company, or in worse situations the police department.
When you relay this information over to your neighbor, you will want to do this as maturely as you can. Do not try and instigate an argument with them. You want to come over there as calm and cool as you possibly can be. This will help alleviate any tension that could possibly start a fight where the cops will need to get involved right then and there.
5. Get in Contact with Your Landlord, HOA, or Management Company
Now, if you warn your neighbor that they left you no choice, but to get your landlord, homeowners association, or management company involved did not fix the situation at hand, then it is time to file your complaint.
When filing your complaint it is always best to include the times and dates of the incidents at hand. You can even document how you tried to solve the issue by bringing the situation up to them, tried to compromise, and even gave them a fair warning that you would have to get someone else involved if things did not settle down.
When filing a complaint, you can always ask them to keep you in the loop with updates on how the situation is going. But we can guarantee, if the noise level decreases then you know everything is in working order. You may have a mad neighbor, but there is nothing you can do when they didn’t try and resolve with you in the previous steps.
6. How to Report Noisy Upstairs Neighbors to Police
Now, if talking to your landlord, homeowner’s association, or management company still didn’t do the trick, then you only have one final option left. And no, this option is not to take matters into your own hands and get the broom to make their life a living nightmare.
The only option you have left is contacting your local police department. We know getting the police involved in these types of manners is not always the best idea, because it can cause rifts between neighbors and even neighbors who are not involved in this matter. When it comes to getting this under control, you have nothing left to do, but file a noise complaint with them.
When speaking to the police and filing your complaint, you will need to show that you tried to resolve the issue at hand with them prior to contacting them. But what you should really do is if they are playing excessively loud music at night to the point that it is keeping you up, you should contact them then. Do not wait and contact them during the day when there is no noise going on. This will allow the police to observe the situation firsthand and not through your mouth. Not to mention they will be more than willing to try and fix the issue when the issue is happening versus when the issue is not currently happening.
How to Handle Your Tax Liability of Forgiven Mortgage Debt
Did you know in certain instances mortgage lenders will forgive or even cancel your debt?
This can certainly relieve you of the financial burden, but what you may or may not think of right away that it can easily cause a tax liability. The tax law states that any and all canceled debt will be looked at as income and should be part of the debtors (you) annual income for that year it is canceled or forgiven.
The mortgage lender will be reported this canceled or forgiven debt to you and the IRS via Form 1099-C. This is when you will have to report this canceled or forgiven debt on your next tax return.
However, the tax law will give you three solutions that can exclude your canceled or forgiven debts from ever having to be on your taxes. These solutions consist of insolvency, this will happen in situations that involved bankruptcy, short sales, and foreclosures.
How to Avoid Taxes on Canceled Mortgage Debt?
Curious about how you can avoid these taxes on your canceled or forgiven debt? We briefly just touched upon this subject a few minutes ago, but let’s dive deeper into the answer of this question.
Back in December of 2007, you might have heard about the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act that was passed by congress. This act was to provide tax relief to homeowners who were losing their homes through either short sales, foreclosures, or those who were restructuring their mortgages to get a much lower principal.
This act allowed these homeowners to exclude their forgiven or canceled debt up to $2 million.
How to Qualify Using Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act?
Now, that we have talked a little bit about the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, let’s talk about how you can qualify.
As we previously mentioned the law states that specific types of canceled or forgiven mortgage debt can indeed be excluded from your tax liability.
Listen closely, if you have had your home sold in a short sale, your home has been foreclosed on, or you had to restructure your mortgage.
You should first and foremost know this, when it comes to the tax code, you will find two types of mortgages: home equity debt and acquisition debt.
The difference between the two-mortgage debt will impact which exclusions will be added.
When it comes to the acquisition debt, that is debt which was used to build, buy, or improve your home. While home equity debt is debt which was NOT used to build buy or improve your home.
You should know that acquisition debt CAN be excluded from your taxes when it comes to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act.
You should know that home equity debt CANNOT be excluded from your taxes when it comes to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. When it comes to having home, equity excluded from your taxes, you will need to go through the bankruptcy or insolvency route.
Tax Liability of Forgiven Mortgage Debt
Now, you are wondering what in the world is your tax liability for this forgiven debt under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act?
This will go into detail, only IF you got approved under the act. If your debt or canceled mortgage was under $2 million, it will be excluded from your income between 2007 to 2016. Then in 2017 and beyond, you can still have your debt excluded, if you and your mortgage lender have a written binding agreement to cancel your debt, but it had to have been done no later than December 31, 2016.
How Do I Report My Cancelled Debts on My Taxes?
Any canceled or forgiven debts done by your mortgage lender will still need to be reported on your tax return at the end of the year no matter what. However, it is going to be HOW you report them, whether you are eligible for any or all the exclusions available.
Your mortgage lender will submit to the IRS and send you a copy of the Form 1099-C. This will have your forgiven or canceled debt listed on it with the amount. You can find the amount of debt that was forgiven or canceled in box 2 on the form.
If you were one of those people who lost their homes due to a foreclosure, short sale, or another settlement procedure, then the amount you see is going to be for the loan principal that was not paid during the settlement. You can locate Box 5, which will show the description of the debt, such as the address of the home that had the loan. Then in Box 7 you will see the fair market value of the home in question.
In the situation of a foreclosure, the net bid price that came directly from the foreclosure sale will be used for the fair market value.
However, you will need to follow the following steps to properly and accurately report your canceled or forgiven mortgage debt on your current tax return:
On Form 1040 Line 21, you will need to list ALL canceled or forgiven debts that were not excluded
If some or all of the debts were excluded, then you will be required to fill out Form 982
Using Form 982, you will need to state which exclusions applied to your situation on line one. If you have more than one exclusion, you will need to fill out Form 982 for every exclusion.
If using bankruptcy or insolvency for your exclusions, you will be required to make some adjustments to your other tax figures. In order to do so, you will need to brush up on Publication 908.
If you were able to keep your home, but you had to restructure your mortgage, then on line 1e, you will need to check the box. On line 2, you will have to report the income. You will have to report the same income again on line 10b.
Your Guide to Social Security Survivors Benefits
Planning to protect your family financially if you die is going to be one of the hardest things you will have to do. You can talk about life insurance, savings accounts, stocks and bonds, and even Social Security Survivors Benefits.
Today, we are going to go over the Social Security Survivors benefits that will be available to you, if you are a survivor. A survivor meaning you were either the parent, spouse, or child of a person that worked that passed away. You should also note that the person will need to have worked enough to qualify for Social Security benefits.
How Can Your Spouse Earn Social Security Survivors Benefits for You?
First and foremost, you will need to know that anyone that works can earn up to four credits per year. For example, in 2019, your spouse will be eligible to earn one credit for every $1,360 of self-employment income or wages. So, when your spouse has earned a total of $5,440 in the year, they will have earned their four credits for that year.
Now, you are probably wondering, how many credits does my spouse need to get Social Security Survivors benefits? Well, the number of credits that are needed is going to be solely dependent on the worker’s age when they passed away.
But to give you a peace of mind no worker will ever need more than 40 credits, which equates to 10 years of work to get any form of Social Security benefits.
But you should also note that there will be fewer credits needed for a younger person who passes away to get survivor benefits.
These Social Security Survivors benefits can be paid out to the surviving spouse or surviving children, even if the spouse did not meet the required credit number.
The surviving spouse can get benefits even if the spouse that passed away only had 6 credits within the last three years of his or her life.
But you should always keep in mind that every case will differ, and it is always best to contact a Social Security claims representative with questions pertaining to your case.
What to do When a Family Member Passes Away?
When a family member passes away, you should always notify the Social Security office immediately. Unfortunately, you will not be permitted to report that person’s death online. You cannot even apply for the Social Security Survivors benefits online either.
Please Note: In many cases, the funeral home will report your loved one’s death to the Social Security Office. You will need to give the funeral home your loved one’s Social Security number for them to report the death.
If you are either going to report a death or you want to apply for the Social Security Survivors benefits, you will need to speak to a representative at the Social Security office anywhere from Monday through Friday between the hours of 7 am to 7 pm by calling 1-800-772-1213.
You do not need to make an appointment, but you can, if you want to reduce your waiting time to speak to a Social Security representative.
Is There Social Security Death Benefits for Spouse?
Yes, yes, there is. If your spouse passes away you will get a check in the amount of $255, if you were living with the spouse at the time of their death.
If you were living apart, but you were receiving the Social Security benefits from that spouse during his death, you will also get a check in the amount of $255.
However, if there is no spouse in the picture, then the check in the amount of $255 will be given to a child who will be eligible for the benefits.
Nevada Social Security Death Benefits for Children
Children of those who passed away will get a check in the amount of $255, if there is no spouse available.
Children can also be eligible to get survivor benefits as well. Typically, they will receive 75-percent of the workers benefits.
What Will Happen if the Person Was Receiving Monthly Social Security Benefits When They Passed Away?
If the person was receiving their Social Security benefits when they passed away, it will be up to you to return the Social Security benefits that was received during the month of their death and any month after.
For instance, let’s say your spouse died in July, you will be required to return the Social Security benefits that was paid in August.
Now, you are probably wondering how in the world can you return these Social Security benefits. This will solely be based on how you receive these benefits.
If you get them direct deposited into the bank account every month, it is up to you to contact the bank and request that they send back the money to the Social Security office.
If you get a check every month, you will need to send the check back to the Social Security office immediately after receiving it.
Who Can Receive Social Security Survivors Benefits?
Only certain family members can receive these Social Security Survivors Benefits. This criterion includes the following:
The widower or widow is at least 60 years of age or 50, if disabled
The widower or widow is caring for a child who is under the age of 16
Under various situations, a surviving divorced spouse
Unmarried child who is under the age of 18
An unmarried child who is older than 18, but disabled before they reached age 22
What About Other Family Members?
There will be a few different situations, where other family members can be eligible. These family members typically are the following:
Adopted Child
Stepchild
Step-Grandchild
Grandchild
Parents who are over the age of 62 (must be dependent on the deceased person for a minimum of half of their support)
What Happens if You are a Widow or Widower?
If you happen to be the spouse of the person that is deceased and that person worked and earned enough credits under the Social Security requirements, you can do the following:
You will be eligible for full retirement benefits or even reduce benefits when you turn 60.
You can start receiving benefits as soon as you turn 50 if you are disabled
You will be eligible to receive survivors benefits at any age, if you do not get married and you are taking care of children under the age of 16.
Please Note: That if you get married after you turn 60, your new marriage will not in any way affect your chances for getting survivors benefits.
What Happens if You are a Surviving Divorced Spouse?
If you are divorced and your ex-spouse passes away, you may be eligible to receive some of the same benefits as you would if you were still currently married to them. However, you would have had to have been married to them over 10 years for you to qualify.
Please Note: The marriage term rule will not be put in place if you are caring for a child or children who are disabled or under the age of 16. The children will need to be biologically your ex-spouses or legally adopted by him or her for this to qualify.
These survivor benefits that will be paid to you will not affect any other benefits you could receive from the deceased ex-spouse.
Please Note: That if you get married after you turn 60, your new marriage will not in any way affect your chances for getting survivors benefits.
How Much Money Can I Get from Social Security Survivors Benefits?
The amount of benefits you will get will solely be based on the earnings of the person who passed away. So, if the person who passed away paid more money into Social Security, you will have more benefits than someone that did not.
But, let’s be honest, the monthly earnings you will get will be based on a percentage of the person’s standard Social Security benefit.
For instance, if the person who passed away was collected reduced benefits, your survivors’ benefits will be on that amount.
But other examples of benefits that you may receive could be one of the following:
Widower or Widow with full retirement age will receive 100-percent of the workers benefit amount.
Widower or widow 60 plus will receive 71.5 to 99-percent of the workers benefit amount
Widower or widow who is disabled and between 50 to 59 years of age will receive 71.5-percent of the workers benefit
Widower or widow of any age who has a child under the age of 16 will receive 75-percent of the workers benefit
Child who is still under the age of 18 or a disabled child will receive 75-percent of the workers benefit.
Parents of those who passed away and relied over half of their support on the deceased
For one parent will receive 82.5-percent of the workers benefit
For two parents will receive 75-percent each of the workers benefit.
Protect Your Money: Nevada Rental Laws Security Deposit
If you are currently renting in the state of Nevada, you more than likely had to give a security deposit to your landlord upon moving into your new home. Did you know just like every other state that Nevada has their own security deposit rules that you and your landlord must follow?
Today we are going to talk about the nine basic rules that both you and your landlord should abide by.
Nevada Rental Laws Security Deposit
You should know that the state of Nevada has a limit on the amount of money that a landlord can charge you when it comes to your security deposit. This amount will vary because it is solely dependent on the type of rental property you will be renting from them. But the factors are the following:
Public Housing: The maximum-security deposit can be one month’s rent.
Private Housing: The maximum-security deposit can be three month’s rent.
Section 8 Housing: The maximum-security deposit can either be $50- or one-month’s rent, whichever is higher.
In the state of Nevada, all your security deposits will be deemed refundable on the basis that you were compliant with all the terms that were stated in your lease agreements.
However, in the state of Nevada, the landlord can collect a nonrefundable cleaning fee, if they so choose. But this cleaning fee and the amount they spend will have to be written into the lease along with its terms.
But overall, a landlord cannot legally charge you a nonrefundable security deposit.
Can You Use a Surety Bond as Your Security Deposit?
In short, yes, yes, you can use a surety bond as your security deposit.
In the state of Nevada, the tenant and landlord laws give you permission to purchase a surety bond in replacement of your security deposit.
If you are unsure of a surety bond is also commonly called a performance bond. But the bond is where you will need to either have an investment or a collateral property to fulfill its wishes for the surety agency.
So, you can purchase a surety bond in the replacement of a security deposit, but your landlord cannot force you in any way to purchase one.
Your landlord also does not have to accept the surety bond in replacement of your security deposit either. It is not written in the Nevada law that the landlord will be obligated to accept your surety bond. For a landlord to accept your surety bond, it will be completely up to them.
What are the Rules for Storing Your Security Deposit in Nevada?
Many states throughout the United States have very specific rules on how the landlord will have to store your security deposit. But in the great state of Nevada, there are not any specific rules for how the landlord is supposed to store your security deposit.
The only thing the landlord is technically not required to do is to store your security deposit in a banking account that will collect interest. Your landlord is also not required to give you the interest they earn on your security deposit either.
Most other states in the United States prohibits landlords from putting your security deposit into an account that bears interest. They require all security deposits go into an account where they will not collect interest, but since the state of Nevada does not have any specific rules landlords are free to do what they see fit with your security deposit.
Am I Supposed to Get a Receipt After My Landlord Deposits My Security Deposit?
The landlord will only supply you a receipt if you request it. If you do not request it by law your landlord does not have to give you any sort of written notice or any receipt that they deposited your security deposit.
However, if you request a written notice of receipt and the landlord does not supply it to you, you are in your legal right to withhold future rental payments until the landlord supplies your written notice or your receipt.
Reasons Why Your Landlord Can Keep Your Security Deposit (Partial or Full)
Just like nearly every other state in the United States, Nevada landlords will be able to make deductions from your security deposit for the below reasons:
Costs to clean out the unit
Costs to fix up the place beyond the normal wear and tear
To cover your unpaid rent (if applicable)
In the state of Nevada, the landlord is required to list in their lease agreement a clause that states upon move out the unit must be in the same condition as it was given to you.
Is My Landlord Supposed to Do a Walk-Through Inspection?
Prior to you moving out of the rental unit, the landlord is not required under law to do a walk-through inspection.
How Long After I Move Out Will I Receive My Security Deposit?
In Nevada, landlords will be required to give back your security deposit or your surety bond, minus any deductions within 30 days of your lease ending.
If there are any deductions, the landlord will be required to send you an itemized list of what was deducted and how much of it was deducted.
But when it comes down to it, your landlord will have two options when it comes to giving you back your security deposit. These options are:
Your landlord can hand deliver your security deposit to you. If they do this, they will ask you to come to the leasing office or wherever you pay your rent.
Your landlord can mail you your deposit to your new address, if given. If you did not give your new address, the landlord will mail the security deposit to your last known address.
What Happens If I Disagree with My Landlords Deductions?
If for some reason you do not agree with your landlords’ deductions, you will need to send a written statement where you are disputing these charges to the landlord or surety bond. If you cannot conclude outside of court, you do have the right to sue your landlord and recover your security deposit.
It’s Been 30 Days and I Still Haven’t Received My Security Deposit Back. What Do I Do?
If your landlord does not hand deliver or send in the mail your security deposit or surety bond in the 30-day time frame and does not give you a written itemized list of your deductions, you will have the opportunity to sue your landlord.
The landlord is going to be liable to your security deposit along with any other amount awarded to you by the Nevada court. However, you will need to keep in mind this amount will never exceed your security deposit amount.
My Landlord Sold His Rental Property. What Happens to My Security Deposit?
If you found out that your landlord sold the property, the landlord is going to have two options on how to handle your security deposit:
Your landlord can transfer your security deposit to the new owner taking over. If this happens your landlord will have to notify you in writing that they are transferring your deposit over to the new landlord. The landlord will be required to give you the name of the new landlord, phone number, and address.
Your landlord can return your security deposit to you. If the landlord does this, the landlord will have to notify the new landlord that he or she is giving you back your security deposit.
How to Navigate Nevada Wage and Hour Claims
In the state of Nevada, there are federal and state laws that dictate how much you will be paid, when you will be paid, and even more.
However, if your employer fails to follow these rules, you could very well be entitled to collect your unpaid wages, and even extra money from penalties that in results punishes your employer for not following the laws.
Today, we are going to go over how your wages are calculated and even collected to see what you are truly owed.
Nevada Wage and Hour Claims
Throughout the United States, each state has their own set minimum wage. If they do not have their own set minimum wage, then they will go by the federal wage. The federal wage comes in at $7.25 per hour.
In the state of Nevada, the minimum wage is currently $7.25, that is only if your employer gives your health benefits. If your employer does not give your health benefits, then the minimum wage is $8.25 an hour.
But, if you live in a county or even a city that has a higher minimum wage, you will receive that amount instead of the federal minimum wage.
How to Calculate Unpaid Wage Claims?
Now, you are wondering how in the world can you figure out your unpaid wage claims. All you need to do is find the difference of what you were originally paid for the hour and what you should have been paid for that said hour. Then you will need to time it by the number of hours you worked.
For instance, let’s say you are at a job in Nevada and your employer didn’t offer your health benefits, but they only paid you $7.25 for the first three weeks of you were there. Let’s say in those three weeks you worked a total of 120 hours.
Now, your employer should have been paying all along $8.25 an hour. So, what you will need to do is multiple $1 (the difference) to 120 hours. You get a grand total of $120.
Unpaid Overtime
A more common wage violations made by employers is failing to pay overtime premium. Now under state and federal law, employees will be entitled to overtime if they put in over 40 hours within a workweek.
Now, the state of Nevada has a law that also has a thing about daily overtime. This law states that employees who make under 1.5 times the minimum wage will have the chance to get overtime, if they put in over 8 working hours in a day.
However, you should keep in mind that not every employee will be entitled to receive overtime either. You should know that all hourly, nonexempt workers will be entitled to overtime, but there are other employee categories that will be exempt.
If you are wondering who is exempt from getting overtime, they are typically the “white-collar” employees such as people who are high-level administrators, managers, and salespeople.
Your employer will have to show proof that you fit into one of these VERY narrow exemptions, if they truly do not want to pay you overtime.
How to Calculate Your Unpaid Overtime Claims?
Now, if your employer does not want to pay you for those overtime hours, your unpaid overtime claims will be the difference between what you paid and what you should have been paid.
Now to truly calculate your overtime hours, you should know that you are entitled to get time and a half.
What does this mean?
This means you will be getting a bonus 50-percent on top of your current hourly rate. For instance, if your current hourly rate is $16 an hour, when you are in overtime, you will get $24 an hour.
Unpaid Time Off & Unpaid Breaks
In the state of Nevada, you will have the right to have a 30-minute unpaid lunch break, if you work a straight through eight-hour shift.
In the state of Nevada, you as an employee will also be entitled to have a PAID ten-minute break every four hours of your shift. The only time you are NOT entitled to a PAID ten-minute break is when you work less than 3.5 hours.
You should also note that the federal law does not talk about the right for employees to have a break during their workday. However, if your employer chooses to give you work breaks, the federal law does state that you are required to be paid for the following:
ANY break that lasts 20 minutes or less throughout your workday
ANY time during your workday, where you are REQUIRED to work.
How to Calculate Unpaid Time Off & Unpaid Breaks?
When you need to calculate your unpaid break wages, this will be a little bit trickier than the above calculations.
You will need to figure out how much time you spent on your breaks that should have been paid for. This can be tricky if you don’t remember the exact times.
Once you figure that out, you will need to time this unpaid time to your hourly rate. You also do not want to forget about overtime as well. If your unpaid breaks are supposed to be counted towards your work time, then that could possibly put you over 40 hours a week, where you should have been getting time and a half pay.
Prevailing Wages Nevada
The federal law will give you the employer the opportunity to receive these cash penalties along with your unpaid wages, if you win your lawsuit or administrative claims.
Now, we are going to get into some of the more common penalties that you will see for your employer failing to pay you the correct amount.
If your employer fails to pay you overtime or your corrected minimum wage, then you will have the chance to request for liquidated damaged. Now, liquidated damages are going to be in the amount of what your unpaid wages are.
So, in short, let’s say your employer did not pay you your overtime. Your overtime was at $3,000. You will now have the chance to add on an additional $3,000 in liquidated damages, so you would get a total of $6,000.
What many people do not know is under the Nevada Law your employer is required to give you your last paycheck immediately if they fired you, you quit, or they laid you off. When we say immediately they either have 7 days or they can pay you on your next payday, but whichever one comes first.
If the employer does not pay you on time, that is another penalty. They will be required to pay you one day’s wages for every day your paycheck is not sent to you, up to 30 days.
How to Start a Lawsuit?
If your employer failed to pay you the correct amount of money, the next step is to start a lawsuit, or you can opt into filing a wage claim with the Nevada Labor Commissioner.
It does not matter what you decide to do, what you ultimately will need to do is get in contact with a Nevada wage and hour lawyer who can help you file your claim or lawsuit on your behalf. This will save you a lot of time and frustrations. If you succeed at your lawsuit, your lawyer can even ask the judge to have your place of employment to pay for your attorney fees as well.
If your employer is failing to pay you the money you are owed, you need to either file a wage claim or start your lawsuit within 2 years of the incident. You will not be permitted to proceed if you file after the two-year mark.
IRS Collection Process: How Can I Pay My Tax Bill?
If you have always paid your taxes in full or never owed any taxes, you will never know about the IRS tax collection process or their options.
However, if this is your first-time owing money to Uncle Sam, this may be a scary situation to navigate. You are probably wondering where you can find a flow chart, what are your options, and how does this process work.
Well, today, we are going to go over what the process will be like when you cannot pay your taxes in full while you file your tax return.
IRS Collection Process Timeline in Nevada
One of the first notices you will receive from the IRS after you did not pay your tax bill will be a letter. This letter will explain your outstanding balance and it will demand that you pay it in full.
This letter will also include how much you owe, along with any penalties that you received on your outstanding balance from when your tax bill was due.
You should note that your outstanding balance is going to have interest that compounds not only a monthly, but a daily late payment as well. So, it is going to be best that you pay your tax bill completely as soon as you can to help minimize all interest and penalty charges.
Methods to Pay Your Outstanding Tax Balance
If you are left with an outstanding tax bill and you do not know where to turn or how to pay for it. You should know there are always some conventional and unconventional options.
You can always investigate getting a cash advance on your credit cards, a personal loan from the bank, or even borrow money from your friends or relatives.
If all those options are not something you can do, you are in luck. The IRS has a few different options that can help you pay off your outstanding Tax Balance.
You should know before you cannot pay your balance in full, that you should investigate the IRS monthly installment agreement plans. In most cases, you can get on an installment agreement, by filling out the Online Payment Agreement Application or Form 9465 with your tax return.
You can also request an installment agreement when you call the IRS as well. You should keep in mind that there may be a small user fee to set up your monthly agreement as well.
But if you are coming from a low-income family, the fee is typically either waived or reduced.
How to Get on an Installment Agreement?
If you are a taxpayer that cannot pay your taxes in full, you are looking into the installment agreement. An installment agreement is where you will have the chance to pay off your outstanding balance throughout time rather than in one large lump sum.
When you complete your application online, you will get an immediate approval or denial of your application.
How Do I Know I Will Qualify?
You should know that your certain tax situation is going to solely determine what payment options you will eligible for. What we mean by payment options is whether you need to pay in full, have a short-term plan (where you will need to pay in 120 days or less) or a long-term plan (which is known as an installment agreement)
You should know that you will be eligible to apply for any of these above options online if you meet the following criteria:
For a long-term payment plan, you must owe under $50,000 in tax, interest, and penalties
For a short-term payment plan, you must owe under $100,000 in tax, interest, and penalties
If you are an independent contractor or a sole proprietor, you can apply as an individual for the payment plan. You do not need to apply for a business payment plan.
What Do I Need to Apply?
Technically when applying to get put on a payment plan, you do not need much, but you will need the following items:
Your name as it appears on your tax return
Your email addresses
Address as it appears on your tax return
Your date of birth
Your filing status
Either your Individual Tax ID Number or your Social Security number
What is the Cost?
If your application was approved for the payment plan, then you will have the choice of one of the following to be added to your current outstanding tax bill.
Please note: If you owe more than $25,000 you will be required to have automatic payments taken from your checking account on a monthly basis.
Pay Now
If you pay the full amount that is owed today, you will not be charged a setup fee and you will stop incurring interest and penalties. You will need to pay your balance directly from your savings or checking account. You can also pay by money order, check, or your credit or debit card.
Please note: There will be charges if you choose to pay using either your debit or credit card.
Short-Term Payment Plan
If you applied for the short-term payment plan, then you have 120 days to pay the remaining balance. There is no fee for this plan. You will have the same options to pay your bill as you would in the pay now plan above.
Long-Term Payment Plan
The long-term payment plan has two different options underneath it that you can choose from.
Automatic Withdrawals
If you are low-income, there will be no fee. If you are not low-income there will be a $31 setup fee. There will also be added interest and penalties until you fully pay off your outstanding balance. You will pay a monthly amount that is automatically debited from your checking account each month. If you owe more than $25,000 in taxes, this option is required.
Non-Direct Debit
If you are a low-income, you will have a setup fee of $43 which can be reimbursed under certain situations. If you are not low-income, you will have a setup fee of $149. There will also be added interest and penalties until you fully pay off your outstanding balance.
What Happens if I Do Not Apply for an IRS Payment Plan?
If you fail to make any sort of arrangement with the IRS, the IRS will have no choice but to take other actions to collect the outstanding taxes you owe. Typically, the IRS will do the following:
File a Notice of Federal Tax Lien
Serve you a Notice of Levy
Or take your future refund (next tax year)
What is a Federal Tax Lien?
The Federal Tax Lien is going to be a legal claim on your property. This lien will also include property that you get AFTER the lien happens as well.
The only way you will get a Federal Tax Lien is if you fail to pay your taxes. The IRS can also file what they call a Notice of Federal Tax Lien in your public record, which will notify all your creditors that they have a claim against your property. You should know if you have a Federal Tax Lien on your record, it can appear on your credit record a well and this can have a negative impact on your rating.
What Is Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Are You Eligible?
Do you come from a low-income family? Do you have trouble understanding or preparing your own tax return? Do you believe you would benefit from a service that will guide you through doing your tax returns, answering any questions you may have, and provide you resources at little to no cost to you?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you will want to keep on reading about the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program!
What Is the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program?
First and foremost, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program is a program that will offer free or heavily discounted tax help to those taxpayers who make less than $55,000 a year. They also offer their services to those who are disabled, elderly, and even those who do not speak English as a first language.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program is all about aiding when you, the taxpayer is going through and doing your tax return. All volunteers here are IRS-certified, which means they will be able to answer all your basic income tax questions and help you file your taxes electronically.
What Does the VITA Program Handle?
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program handles a lot of tax things including the following:
Self-employment income
Cancellation of Debt
Gambling Winnings
Limited Itemized Deductions
Health Savings Account
Child Tax Credit
Education Credits
Earning Income Credit
Limited Amended Returns or Prior Year Returns
Interest Income
Salaries and Wages
Dividends Received
Interest Income
IRA Distributions
State Tax Refunds
Pension Incomes
Unemployment Benefits
Simple Capital Loss/Gain
Social Security Benefits
Sale of Home
What Does Volunteer Income Tax Assistance NOT handle?
As you can see above the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program handles a lot of tax-related situations, but there are some tax-related situations that it does not handle. These include the following:
Form 8962, Parts 4 & 5
Losses with Schedule C
Form SS-8
Complicated Schedule D
Form 8615
Form 8606
What Should You Bring to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance?
Now that you know what the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program prepares and does not prepare, you will need to bring the following items with you, so they can help you prepare your tax return. Failure to bring these items will result in your return not being fully completed.
Identification for you and your spouse
Amount paid to daycare and their tax ID number
Birth dates for your spouse, yourself, and your dependents
ACA statements
Your last year tax return
If you are filing as married, you need to come with your spouse
Your 1099s along with your W-2s
Information on all income
Information on your credits and/or deductions
Bank account information for direct deposit
Social Security card
Where Can I Locate a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program Site?
If you fit the above criteria and you are looking to find where the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program is near you, you will want to check out the VITA site locator. This will give you all locations of where you can find the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program.
Be sure to bring all the required documents with you, so you can file your tax return as soon as possible.
How to Locate VITA Sites and What Are They?
VITA or also known as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance is a program that offers free tax help to those people who make under $55,000, people with limited English skills, and people with disabilities who need the extra assistance in doing their taxes.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program has IRS-certified volunteers that will provide this free yet basic income tax help for these eligible people mentioned above.
Alongside the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, there is also TCE or also known as the Tax Counseling for the Elderly. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly is another program, but this program will offer free tax services for taxpayers who are over the age of 60. These IRS-certified volunteers can help the elderly with any of their retirement and pension-related questions.
What Will the Nevada Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program Help With?
First and foremost, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program will not help you with all your tax questions. They are only obligated to help you with the following tax questions, comments, and concerns:
Salaries, wages, etc.
Dividends received
Interest income
Unemployment benefits
State tax refunds
Pension income
IRA distributions
Simple capital gain/loss
Social security benefits
Self-employment income
Sale of home
Cancellation of debt
Gambling winnings
Limited itemized deductions
Health savings account
Child tax credit
Education credit
ACA statements
Earned income credit
Limited Amend and prior year returns
What to Bring to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program?
In order to get help as quickly and efficiently as possible, you are going to need to bring some documents with you. These documents are going to be vital for you to get help while you are using the program.
You will need to bring the following:
If you are filing jointly, both of you will need to be present
Bring all 1099s and W-2s
Information for all credits and deductions
Information for all income
Your copy of the previous year’s tax return
Account information for deposit of refund
Your social security cards
Government-issued identification card for you and your spouse
The amount paid to the daycare provider along with the company’s tax ID number
Birth dates for your spouse, you and your dependents
ACA statements
How to Locate VITA Sites?
You can typically locate a Tax Counseling for the Elderly or the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site in neighborhood centers, community centers, shopping malls, libraries, and other easily accessible placed throughout your community.
You can either use this nifty VITA locator tool or call this toll-free number 800-906-9887.
If you need a Tax Counseling for the Elderly, you should know that most of these sites will be operated by the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. To locate a Tax Counseling for the Elderly, you can use the AARP Site Locator Tool or you can call the toll-free number 888-227-7669.
Your Complete Guide About Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics
The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic or also known as LITC is a federal grant program that provides qualified organizations around $100,000 every year to help low-income taxpayers file their taxes. These low-income taxpayers typically would not have the education or resources to do their taxes on their own. And they even have people who speak English as their second language.
You should also note that qualified organizations will be required to meet the goals of the program in order to stay on board. If they fail to meet the goal of the program the organization will not be funded and shut down immediately.
What is LITCs Services?
When it comes to the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics, they will teach you and provide you with these three services:
They will prove you with pro bono representation if you are a low-income taxpayer during any sort of tax dispute that you may have with the IRS. This will include collection matters, appeals, audits, and even the federal tax litigation.
The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics will also educate those low-income and English as a second language taxpayers about their responsibilities and rights when they file their taxes.
The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics will also advocate and identify any and all issues that affect low-income taxpayers.
Why are Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Important?
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics are to because they help represent low-income taxpayers who may or may not have the resources to represent themselves.
The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics also offers educational resources for low-income and even English as a second language taxpayers about their responsibilities and their rights while filing their taxes.
The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics do this all for free or for a small fee for eligible individuals. You should also note that the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics are separate from the IRS. While they receive a small funding from the IRS, they are a separate entity.
About Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Eligibility Criteria
First and foremost, in order to be eligible to receive services from the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics you should know there are income guidelines that you will need to meet along with other factors before you can receive any services from the program.
As for income in the state of Nevada, you cannot exceed the following amounts per your family size:
Size of Family
Annual Income
1
$31,225
2
$42,275
3
$53,325
4
$64,375
5
$75,425
6
$86,475
7
$97,525
8
$108,575
Each Additional Family Member…
$11,050
How to Locate a Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic?
Do you need to locate a Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic? You can easily do so by checking out this list. It will give you all Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics near you. This list lists all the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics in the United States.
Save Your Home: Mobile Home Evictions in Nevada
In the state of Nevada, the relationship between landlords and tenants who live in a mobile home park is governed by Chapter 118B of the Nevada Revised Statutes.
The Nevada agency is going to oversee ensuring that mobile homeowners and their occupants are protected under the Nevada Manufactured Housing Division. The Nevada Housing Division is responsible for the following:
Titles of mobile homes
Inspecting mobile homes
Licenses of the mobile home parks
Licenses of managers of the mobile home parks
Investigates complaints made against the mobile homeowners and/or managers
But for today, we are going to dive deeper into mobile home park evictions, and what you as a mobile homeowner duties and rights are.
When Do You Apply Chapter 118B to Mobile Home Tenants and Landlords?
This is a very good question. You will typically apply Chapter 118B when the following happens:
When there are more than two mobile homes rented
Over half the park is rented for more than one night
Over half the park is rented for longer than 3 months
Mobile homes are for permanent residences and not vacation residences
When Do You NOT Apply Chapter 118B to Mobile Home Tenants and Landlords?
Now, that we have gone over when you should apply Chapter 118B to mobile home tenants and landlords, let’s talk about when Chapter 118B will NOT be applied. The Chapter 118B will not be applied in the following situations:
If the mobile home park is under the public housing authority operation
A lot is rented less than three months
Mobile home park is for recreational purposes and not permanent residences
How to Evict a Mobile Home from My Land
If you are a mobile homeowner who currently rents a space but owns their own mobile home in a park where Chapter 118B applies, your landlord will be required to go through the formal eviction process.
If you are curious what the formal eviction process is, it is going to be the same way you would evict someone who is living in an apartment. You will need to go through the courts, file your motions, get a hearing, and have the judge decide with you on the case.
However, if you do not own your mobile home and you are renting a space in the mobile home park, then the landlord will have to use the summary eviction process to evict you.
If you are curious about the summary eviction process, it is where your landlord will serve you, the tenant with two eviction notices. When you receive this notice, you will have the choice to leave the mobile home or you can file an affidavit with the court of Nevada to dispute this motion.
If you decide to file an affidavit, then the landlord will get to file a complaint within the Nevada court to evict you. This will lead to having a hearing in which the final decision will be made.
Where Can I Find Self-Help Forms for My Mobile Home Eviction?
Of course, you want to do everything yourself, including filling out forms and getting the ball rolling. You should know that you can find all the instructions and forms you will need on formal mobile home evictions located on the Nevada Supreme Court Law Library official website.
If you need the forms for a summary mobile home evictions, you can find them on the Self-Help Center official website.
Will My Landlord Need a Reason to Evict Me from the Mobile Home Park?
Your landlord will certainly need to have a reason to evict you from your mobile home park. They cannot evict you for no reason. That would be illegal.
Your landlord will need a reason such as the following:
Failure to pay rent
Violating the rules of conduct
Nuisance
Annoyance
Non-compliance with rule or law of the park
In most cases, the landlord will be required to give you time to fix the violation. If you fail to fix the violation, the landlord is then permitted to give you your termination notice.
The amount of time a landlord will give you will all depend on why the landlord is terminating residency with you.
However, in the termination notice that the landlord sent, the landlord will be required to give you the reason why you are being terminated along with the places, dates, and times of the violations.
By Law How Much Time is a Landlord Supposed to Give During Mobile Home Evictions?
As we mentioned above the landlord will have to give you a variable amount of time depending on why he or she is terminating residency with you. Here we are going to discuss the amount of time for each reason why he or she would be terminating your residency
Failure to pay your rent will consist of a ten-day notice.
Failure to comply with ordinances, laws, and governmental regulation will consist of a forty-five-day notice.
Being a nuisance will consist of a forty-five-day notice.
Failure to comply with the code of conduct, use of park facilities, and occupancy will consist of a forty-five-day notice.
Changes in the usage of land will consist of a 180-day notice
Failure to abide by local ordinances and state laws will consist of a five-day notice.
Failure to meet all income and age qualifications will consist of a forty-five-day notice.
What are the Duties and Rights of Mobile Home Tenants and Landlords?
We previously mentioned that Chapter 118B outlines the duties and rights when it comes to mobile home park tenancies and mobile home parks in general. This is where tenants and landlords both can come to educate themselves on what is to be expected of them.
But for your benefit, we are going to display some of these duties and responsibilities below:
Your landlord is required to give you at least a 90-day notice, if they are going to raise your rent.
Mobile home park landlord is responsible for maintaining the trees, removing the snow, and keep the common areas safe and clean.
Mobile home park landlord will be solely responsible for any and all abandoned and unoccupied lots.
Tenants will be solely responsible for their lot that they rent. But this will also be dependent on what your lease says that you signed with your landlord.
Tenants can withhold rent, if the mobile home is unfit to stay in for over 48 hours.
Mobile home park landlord will be required to lessen the rent if they take away an amenity, service or utility.
Mobile home park landlord cannot turn off any of the tenant’s utilities.
Is It Legal for My Landlord to Put a Lien on My Mobile Home?
Yes, a landlord can put a lien on your mobile home if you failed to pay your rent or failed to pay your utilities. However, the landlord’s lien cannot be more than $2,000 or the amount that is overdue, whichever option is the least expensive.
As a landlord, they will be required to place this lien within 15 days after the utilities or rent is 30 days past due. So, in simpler terms, the landlord will put a lien on your mobile home within 30 to 45 days after your utilities and/or rent is due.
If you fail to pay the lean, the landlord will have the option to sell your mobile home to pay the lien themselves.
What you should know is that they cannot sell your mobile home until four months have passed, so you will have some time to pay off the lien before they can legally sell your mobile home.
What is an Affidavit Claiming Exemption? How to Handle it
Have you been served with papers stating that a debtor is going to either garnish your wages or something else?
Are you now panicking and realize you can file an Affidavit Claiming Exemption, but don’t know where to begin, what this truly is, or how the process works?
You have come to the right place. Today, we are going to answer all your questions and give you a general breakdown of how the process will work.
What Type of Property and/or Money Cannot Be Taken Under a Judgement in Nevada?
As usual, there are a few different types of property that will never be collected from you, if you have this judgment on your record. This property is known as exempt property. Along with the exempt property, here are some other exempt things that will not be taken from you under the Nevada state law:
50 times the minimum wage, which is at $362.50 per week or 75 of your earnings. Whichever is greater.
Unemployment benefits, disability benefits, or illness benefits
Workers’ Compensation payments
Public assistance benefits such as Food Stamps, Welfare, TANF, or General Assistance
Veterans Benefits
Social Security Disability benefits
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security
Court order payments (alimony, child support, etc.)
State and federal retirement monies
Vocational rehabilitation benefits
Specific Individual Retirement Accounts
Life Insurance. Only if your annual premium is below $15,000.
One vehicle only if the equity is below $15,000
A homesteaded house
Vital personal effects, yard equipment, or household goods. Maximum limit of $12,000.
Necessary tools and materials for your business or trade that supports you and your family. Maximum limit of $10,000.
Personal injury benefits up to $16,150.
Wrongful death compensation
Restitution payments
Security deposit you put down for your primary home.
Personal property up to $1,000
Private Disability Insurance plan proceeds
Money set aside in a trust fund for burial and funeral services
Unemployment benefits
Money paid out by the Public Employees Retirement System
Vocational Rehabilitation benefits
Child welfare assistance
Please Note: The above list is not the FULL list of exemptions. This list is of the more common exemptions. If you need a full list of exemptions, you will need to consult with an attorney.
The Process of Filing an Affidavit Claiming Exemption from the Taxpayer POV
Now, that we went over common exemptions and before we get into the frequently asked questions about the process, let’s get into how this process truly works.
Keep in mind, everything here should not be taken as legal advice. If you have any legal questions it is always best to consult with an attorney as they will be able to give you the soundest advice possible.
If you are looking to file either a Third-Party Claim or an Affidavit Claiming Exemption, you will need to do so with the Court of Nevada.
You will find the entire process of how you can claim exempt property in the Notice of Execution that was mailed to you recently. This will be your lifeline during this process. If you are unsure of the instructions or want to get advice on how to proceed, your best option is to consult with an attorney or go to the Nevada Legal Services.
When you finally get the Third-Party Claim or the Affidavit Claiming Exemption filed with the Nevada court, you will need to have it notarized along with the file-stamped copy for their records. You will then need another copy for the attorney of record as well.
How Can a Debtor Claim an Exemption?
Just because your property may be exempt, that does not mean the debtor cannot bring this to the court and creditors attention.
For anyone to claim an exemption on any sort of property, it must be levied upon. The debtor will have 10 days after the Notice of Execution was mailed out to serve the plaintiff and constable with the claim of exemption to the clerk.
The clerk will then provide them with a checklist along with a description of the more commonly claimed exemptions (like we placed above). The clerk will also give you detailed instructions concerning your process of how the property will be released, if there is no objection filed afterward, and the process that the court will use to either deny or approve your exemption. You should know there is no price for filing this form with the Nevada court.
What Happens When the Debtor Files Their Affidavit Claiming Exemption?
The sheriff or constable will be the one who will release the property to the debtor in between the 9 judicial days after the claim of exemption was properly served. However, if the creditor decides to file an objection to the claim or a notice for a hearing was not filed within 8 judicial days after the serving of the claim of exemption.
When Will My Hearing be Scheduled?
If there is an objection to the claim of exemption when the notice for a hearing is filed with the creditor, the creditor will then need to serve a hearing date. The hearing date will be served not be fewer than 5 judicial days.
What Will Happen if a Creditor Wants a Hearing?
If that is the case, you will need to prepare yourself for the hearing. You will need to prove during the hearing that your property is indeed exempt. You will need to bring bills of sale, receipts, assessors’ statements, Kelly Blue Books, monthly bank statements, vehicle registration renewals, and anything else you would think to help prove your side of the story.
During the hearing, if you convince the judge, they will then state that the property or money be released back to you.
If you fail to convince the judge, they will not release the money or property back to you.
What Happens if I didn’t Convince the Judge?
You can appeal the decision. It is best to do this process with an attorney, to ensure you get the best possible outcome.
Your One Stop Shop for Nevada Estate Planning Checklist
No one ever suspects that today is going to be their last day. Hardly anyone ever has a plan for what to do with their estate after they have passed on or if they become incapacitated and unable to make these decisions.
The time to start planning for what will happen to your estate is not tomorrow, next week, or next year. The time to start planning is now.
Today, we are going to go over an entire basic estate planning checklist. This checklist will include documents such as a Living Trust, a Last Will and Testament, Medical Power of Attorney, and lastly the Financial Power of Attorney.
What is Estate Planning in Nevada and How do you Start?
Estate planning is going to be the plan for your belongings after you passed on or in the event you become incapacitated and you are unable to make decisions for yourself.
Getting an estate plan together sounds like it is a daunting task. It does not have to be that way. If you can follow the directions closely, you should have an easy time. If you feel as if you are unsure of something or you cannot do this on your own, then you should look for an attorney to help you through this process.
You should know that all legal instruments in your estate plan will have a different purpose, and not all legal instruments will be designed for your situation. This will be where you must pick and choose which legal instruments you will need and which ones you will not need. This choice is completely up to you and your situation.
The Estate Plan Checklist
Now with that all being said, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of it all the step-by-step instructions on how to get your estate plan all set up.
Pick Your Health Care Agent
First and foremost, your health care agent is going to be someone that you trust with your life. Literally, this person will be the one who will make all the hard-medical decisions if you are unable to.
Your health care agent will have his or her obligations and duties spelled out in the below document. But typically, a health care agent will be the person to make your medical decisions when you are incapacitated.
Medical Power of Attorney
In order to have a health care agent, you will need to have filled out and completed a Medical Power of Attorney document. This document will allow the person you pick to make your decisions if you were ever incapacitated. This document will have your future wishes spelled out very thoroughly, so he or she will know what choices to make and when to make them.
For this document to be a legal binding document, you must sign either in front of two witnesses or in front of a notary public.
Pick Your Financial Agent
Your financial agent is going to be the person who will be in control of your finances. When we say finances, we mean the following:
Taxes
Accounts
Personal property
Investments
Real estate
Gifts
Retirement Plans
Stocks and Bonds
Benefits from military or civil service or governmental programs
Commodities and options
Family and personal maintenance
Insurance and Annuities
Banks along with your other financial institutions
Beneficial interests, estates, and trusts
Claims and litigation
Operation of business or entity
When picking your financial agent, you are going to need to pick someone you completely trust to take care of your affairs, if you were incapable to do so. Typically, for your financial agent, most people will choose either a relative they can trust or their spouse.
Durable (Financial) Power of Attorney
The Durable Power of Attorney form is going to consist of all areas of your finances that the financial agent will have control over. Once this document is filled out, your financial agent will have the power to make financial decisions on your behalf no matter if you are or are not capable of making those decisions.
So, you should 100-percent trust the person you put in place for your financial agent as once this form is signed, it will go into effect immediately.
For this form to be legal binding, you must sign this form in front of a notary public.
Make an Inventory Sheet of Your Assets
No one really thinks about all their assets, but in your estate plan, you should think about each one of your assets.
It is going to be smart to make an inventory sheet of your debts, assets, and even your liabilities. You do not want to leave out anything when you are going through this estate planning process.
When making your list, it would be wise if you put next to each asset who will be receiving that in the event of your death, so everything can be divided without hassle.
Pick Your Beneficiaries
When you pass away, your estate will be divided up per your wishes that will be in your Will or Trust. The people who will receive portions of your estate are known as beneficiaries or also known as heirs.
Typically, when people choose their beneficiaries, they will choose people who were close to them such as their immediate family members, close friends, relatives or colleagues.
Establish Your Will or Living Trust
One of the biggest parts of this entire estate planning process is to find out which of the following documents will work for your needs and your situation. You are going to have to choose in between a Revocable Living Trust and a Last Will and Testament.
If you are completely unsure which one is best for you, you will need to find an attorney near me to help you decide before you start on either document.
Last Will and Testament
The Last Will and Testament is going to be the instructions on who is getting what in your estate after you were to pass away. This will also go over your taxes, debts, and even your liabilities and how you would like them to be handled. If you have children, this document will go over who will be their guardians as well.
After you were to pass away, your Last Will and Testament will need to be verified in the probate court before anything can be handled.
When signing the Last Will and Testament, you must sign in front of two witnesses.
Revocable Living Trust
The Revocable Living Trust is a little bit different than the Last Will and Testament. The Revocable Living Trust is not just instructions that you set forth, but it will explain how your estate will be transferred.
You will then need to transfer items to a Trust, so once you pass away, the assets will have to go through probate prior to being given to the beneficiaries.
You are free to revise this document at any time while you are alive. However, any property or asset that is not placed in the trust should go into your Last Will and Testament to ensure it goes to the proper person when you pass away.
To make a Revocable Living Trust legal binding, you will need to sign this document in front of a notary public.
Store Your Estate Plan in a Safe Place
All your estate planning documents should be stored in a safe and secure place. Typically, you should invest in a fireproof/waterproof safe and keep that in your home or at your attorney’s office.
Please do not store these documents in a security deposit box because the court will not open them after you have passed away.
However, it is vital wherever you store your documents, you should always share the information on where they are, the key or combination (if applicable) with an executor, an agent, or an attorney in the event of your passing.
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If you believe caring for your relative, typically a child for more than the next few weeks, you will want to start gaining some sort of legal binding. This will help you provide a stable environment while also protecting the child in question.
When it comes to your employer terminating you, you should know that you cannot get fired over discriminatory reasons such as the following:
Last year in 2018, nearly 498,000 Nevada residents received some sort of Medicare coverage, which was reported by the 
If you are dealing with issues with the IRS, this can be such a frustrating, stressful, and isolating time for you. You may not know how to navigate all the mumble-jumble tax talk that the IRS is spilling out to you.
Can’t decide on what type of guardianship you will need for your situation? If you are currently residing in Nevada, all guardianship cases will be required to go through the courts by Nevada laws for it to be legal.
At one time or another, we have received those pesky, pesky, and annoying calls from debt collectors. They can be one of the most annoying types of calls to the point where you think about changing your numbers to end contact with them.
When you are counting your every penny to support your family, that typically means every penny matter. But, when it comes to tax time, that can either be a good time of the year because you get a wealthy tax refund, or that could mean a devastating time of the year because you owe Uncle Sam some serious change.
If you are getting a divorce in Nevada, you will be happy to know that it is pretty much straightforward procedure.
Did you know as a taxpayer you have a set of rights? You didn’t? Not many people do. As a taxpayer, you will have a set of rights that you should ALWAYS be aware of when you are communicating or even having to deal with the IRS.
Whether you saw this coming or you had no idea, getting served with your divorce papers is a stressful and sometimes highly emotional situation.
The U visa or what is commonly referred to as the U nonimmigrant status is going to be solely for victims of specific crimes who underwent physical or mental abuse and are currently in the process of helping government officials or law enforcement agencies in the prosecution or investigation process of these criminal activities.
When a contested divorce happens, this is since you and your spouse are not capable of coming to a compromise or an agreement on various issues that include child custody and the placement of your marital assets.
You may or may not be awarded with unemployment benefits, when you lose your job at no fault of your own. These unemployment benefits will be here to help you pay your bills such as your rent/mortgage, utilities, and food while you are trying to locate your next job.
If you are a battered parent, spouse, or child, you will be happy to know that you can file for an immigrant visa petition directly under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which is adapted by the Violence Against Women Act or VAWA for short.
Are you no longer in love with the person you thought you would spend the rest of your life with? Have you been looking for ways out of the relationship and to end it for once and for all?
Just had a baby. Or perhaps you are getting up there in age and your children are telling you it is time to start making your advanced planning for financial decisions.
When it comes to someone breaking into your home, you may not know the laws because you always think that that won’t happen to you.
When you are a tenant in Nevada, your landlord cannot discriminate, harass, or even retaliate against you. Did you know that housing discrimination alone is against Nevada and even federal law?
Unless you reside in a remote location, chances are you have or have had some pretty noisy neighbors that don’t think about anyone else around them.
Did you know in certain instances mortgage lenders will forgive or even cancel your debt?
Planning to protect your family financially if you die is going to be one of the hardest things you will have to do. You can talk about life insurance, savings accounts, stocks and bonds, and even Social Security Survivors Benefits.
If you are currently renting in the state of Nevada, you more than likely had to give a security deposit to your landlord upon moving into your new home. Did you know just like every other state that Nevada has their own security deposit rules that you and your landlord must follow?
In the state of Nevada, there are federal and state laws that dictate how much you will be paid, when you will be paid, and even more.
If you have always paid your taxes in full or never owed any taxes, you will never know about the IRS tax collection process or their options.
Do you come from a low-income family? Do you have trouble understanding or preparing your own tax return? Do you believe you would benefit from a service that will guide you through doing your tax returns, answering any questions you may have, and provide you resources at little to no cost to you?
VITA or also known as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance is a program that offers free tax help to those people who make under $55,000, people with limited English skills, and people with disabilities who need the extra assistance in doing their taxes.
The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic or also known as LITC is a federal grant program that provides qualified organizations around $100,000 every year to help low-income taxpayers file their taxes. These low-income taxpayers typically would not have the education or resources to do their taxes on their own. And they even have people who speak English as their second language.
In the state of Nevada, the relationship between landlords and tenants who live in a mobile home park is governed by Chapter 118B of the Nevada Revised Statutes.
Have you been served with papers stating that a debtor is going to either garnish your wages or something else?
No one ever suspects that today is going to be their last day. Hardly anyone ever has a plan for what to do with their estate after they have passed on or if they become incapacitated and unable to make these decisions.