Articles Posted in NEWS AND COMMENTARY

With everything happening in today’s economy, people have many questions about whether their money is safe in such banks as Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Union Bank, and many other banks in San Diego. The recent failures of IndyMac, Freddie Mac, and the insurance giant AIG has caused many bank depositors to ask about the protections of an FDIC insured institution.

The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) was established 75 years ago. All deposits worth $100,000 or less are automatically insured by the FDIC if the bank in which the funds are deposited are insured with the FDIC. Many retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs are insured up to $250,000 per person. If you have a joint account with someone else, that account is insured separately from the account you have in your name alone. In addition, trust accounts may be protected up to $100,000 per beneficiary.

The FDIC has nearly $53 billion in funds and in the 75 years since its creation, there has never been a bank depositor lose a penny. You can learn more about bank failures at the

San Diego: Have you ever wondered why part of our freeway system is named Ted Williams Parkway? How does this impact an estate plan in his case?

Most San Diegans remember when the Ted Williams Parkway off Interstate 15 was named in honor of Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams. But do you know why it was named in his honor?

Ted Williams grew up in North Park in San Diego and attended Hoover High School where he played baseball. He signed with the Padres, then a minor league team, before joining the Boston Red Sox in 1939. He had an amazing career in major league baseball, with 2 MVP awards and 2 Triple Crown awards. A left-hander and incredible hitter, he, along with Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth, is a member of the 500 club, for hitting more than 500 home runs in a season.. In 1992 Ted Williams was here in San Diego for the dedication of SR-56 east of I-15 now known as Ted Williams Parkway.

In San Diego, and California, there are many governmental agencies. Below is a list of links of some of the most important for your use and reference. In our firm of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP, we want to make sure you have information to make an informed and intelligent decision regarding legal services as well as other services. Official government websites can assist in obtaining reliable information as well as making sure that the information received is current and up to date. This is not a comprehensive list and is intended only for the reference of our viewers.

In San Diego, there are many useful websites in addition to the ones for the State of California below. The San Diego District Attorney office is a very informative website regarding the workings of the main prosecutor’s office in San Diego. The website for CalTrans is very useful since you can obtain current traffic information and, currently, there is also a service on mobile phones if you dial “511” for current traffic information in the event you are not near a computer with internet access.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is one agency in which people have many questions and the lines can be long at the local departments so a web search can save time. Another website which is useful is the California Secretary of State. This has many government services listed. Some find the California State Library a very useful website for information as well.

In San Diego, the District Attorney’s Office prosecutes criminal offenses. The District Attorney’s Office also has its own Report every year of their statistics for the public’s review. Crime affects all of us in San Diego, California and this document summarizes 2007 in many respects.

In San Diego, the District Attorney’s Office employs hundreds of attorney and thousands of staff. The Report includes staffing, office locations, cases and statistics, fiscal review, organizational chart and also awards.

Our office of Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP includes this in our blog as a public service.

In San Diego, California, there are many citizens, residents and visitors who enter the United States from Mexico. In San Diego County, there are two major border crossing facilities: San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. These are operated by the Department for Homeland Security. In order to enter the United States, you must prove that you are a United States Citizen, a United States Permanent Residence or a Legal Alien (visitor for any number of reasons) and there are many documents which can establish this.

In San Diego, many citizens travel to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean by land and sea. The State Department has recently begun accepting applications for the United States Passport Card. This will facilitate entry and expedite document processing at United States Ports of Entry. In San Diego, this is very applicable since many citizens take cruise ships and enter at the Port of San Diego.

This card will have the same validity period as a passport book: 5 years for children age 15 and younger and ten years for adults. The passport card will contain a vicinity-read radio frequency identification chip known as RFID. This will facilitate frequent border travelers. There are many technical rules and these are included on the website.

In San Diego, everyone is waiting for their stimulus payments from the Internal Revenue Service. As a public service, with making no representation, guarantee or warranty as to the date any tax payor receives or does not receive their stimulus payment, below is the schedule which has been provided for use by the general public. In addition, as a courtesy to our blog viewers, we have provided a link to the calculator for you to determine the amount of your stimulus payment. The San Diego Post Office will have a lot of extra mail.

All tax payers who filed their returns by the due date of April 15, 2008, will be receiving their stimulus checks [assuming they are eligible under the law of course] this calendar year. The payments will proceed by the last two digits of the main filer’s social security number. These are also broken down into two categories: Direct Deposit and Paper Check.

All tax payers who file their returns after April 15, 2008, will receive their stimulus payment and the payment will be later than the tax payers who filed on the due date. A return must be filed by October 15, 2008, in order for a tax payer to receive a stimulus payment for this year.

In San Diego, a Federal District Judge ordered that Mr. Kyle be barred from preparing tax returns for others. San Diego has both State and Federal Courts and the ruling was issued by San Diego Federal District Chief Judge Gonzalez. This preliminary injunction prevents Mr. Kyle, a resident of San Diego, California, from preparing tax returns for others as well as his companies. If you are a client of Mr. Kyle, you need to seek immediate assistance from a qualified Certified Public Accountant who can review your returns as Mr. Kyle is alleged to have prepared and filed over 10,000 returns since 2000 with an estimated tax loss of over $18,000,000. You will also want to seek the assistance of our law firm, Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP if you are charged with federal tax fraud.

The IRS is also involved in this case and is stating they will work to stop fraudulent preparers of tax returns. This is a very significant case and worthy of a news and commentary blog since this is a San Diego case and may well affect thousands in San Diego who may be audited and/or criminally charged.

Please e mail us directly if you have any notice from the IRS or Justice Department concerning this case and want a complimentary consultation.