Karla's Paralegal Services, Inc.

08/13/2024

Starting January 1, 2024, if you set up a company in the U.S. (whether now or in the past), you have to report some new information. This rule applies to all companies, whether they're from the U.S. or another country.

In Arizona, if you've registered your company with the Arizona Corporation Commission or the Secretary of State, you're included, as your company is a legal entity.

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was signed into law on January 1, 2021. It's meant to help stop money laundering and other illegal activities. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the Treasury Department, will make sure this law is followed.

From January 1, 2024, it is mandatory to report details concerning certain beneficial ownership information on an individual who directly or indirectly exercises substantial control over the reporting company OR an individual who owns or controls 25% or more of the reporting company’s ownership interest. There are 23 exemptions to this rule, but most small corporations and LLCs are not exempt.

Here's the timeline:

• If your company was set up before January 1, 2024, you need to report to FinCEN within a year of that date.
• If your company was set up after January 1, 2024, you must report to FinCEN within 90 days after you start. Then, after January 1, 2025, you have 30 days to report after starting your business.

If you need help with filing your beneficial ownership information for your Arizona company, please feel free to reach out to me.

11/29/2023

We got our new sign at our new place. :)

10/03/2023

New location: 2323 E. Greenlaw Lane, Suite 9, Flagstaff, Arizona 86004

04/23/2023

Don’t have a will in the state of Arizona?
Wills are actually a necessary evil in Arizona.
Everybody’s situation is different, but if you are married or are married with a family or blended family, as a spouse you are not entitled to all of the decease’s estate. I am happy to discuss with you the different scenarios and what will work best for you so that your spouse, family members, or, if you wish, friends, charities or whomever, receive your inheritance without having the Court decide for you.

Karla's Paralegal Services, Flagstaff, Arizona. We specialize in mediation, matters of family law, contract preparation, LLCs & Corporations, probate, wills & trusts and QDROs.

02/09/2022

Bought your home with your spouse before 1980? Be sure you can sell or transfer your house with no red tape before your spouse passes.

Time to check your grant deeds if you live in Arizona. I am having to prepare a lot of probate cases related to real estate because of misunderstandings regarding the law prior to 1980’s and/or incorrectly prepared deeds. Please check your deeds to be sure that they state what you think they state.

Many married couples believe that if the deeds state “husband and wife,” which were prepared prior to the late 1970’s, then they do not have to worry regarding title because this a community property state. THAT IS INCORRECT. The deeds have to state either joint tenancy with right of survivorship or community property with right of survivorship; otherwise, if one spouse passes, then the other spouse does not have clear title to the property and, therefore, cannot sell it or transfer it to anyone else. This also affects people who are not married and held title as joint tenants, but did not include the phrase “with right of survivorship” on the deed. If they intended to have the other person inherit the property once they passed, it must have “with right of survivorship” on the deed.

Please call me if you have questions regarding your deed(s), wish me to prepare a deed to add “with right of survivorship” and/or prepare the necessary probate papers to correct the mistake.

09/17/2021

It’s been a while since I’ve posted so I thought I’d give you an update on our business. Since the pandemic, work has been nonstop. We have been doing substantial preparation of wills, trusts, transferring property via deeds, and, unfortunately, probate.

It appears that many people are getting their affairs in order and rightly so. In that regard, it’s not unusual for clients to call me with questions regarding how best to plan and/or set up their estate, large or small. If you know me or have heard of me (many of my clients are repeats or referrals), you know that I will listen to all your concerns and prepare the necessary documents for your estate, at a reasonable cost.

If someone has already passed and you need help in transferring the assets or need to proceed with probate, contact me. Call me when you have the need or simply wish to discuss your situation.

07/16/2020

Due to COVID-19, many incomes have been decreased. As a result, you may want to consider filing a Petition with the Court modifying child support and/or spousal maintenance (if spousal maintenance was modifiable). Further, if your child graduated from high school or turned 19, it is your burden to file a Petition with the court to terminate child support. In Arizona, the court does not modify or terminate child support automatically. Even if you paid for child support that wasn’t due the other parent, you will not receive that money back. It is not retroactive, but from the time the Petition is filed. Please get in touch if I can be of assistance.

07/06/2020

I can do work for you face-to-face in the office, via telephone, video conferencing via Zoom and through email. All signings for wills and trusts will be in front of me as I am a notary. I'll take care of getting the two witnesses. We are open and back to normal business hours, Monday through Thursday 9-5.

Masks are required if you come into the office. For your safety I sanitize before and after every meeting.

03/23/2020

I am still open for business. I can do work for you via telephone, video conferencing via Zoom and email. All signings for wills and trusts will be in front of me as I am a notary. I'll take care of getting the two witnesses. I will work with everyone's schedule during this difficult time.

03/09/2019

Twenty years has come and gone for Karla’s Paralegal Services, which started in 1998. As I remanence, I think about my children who were grade schoolers and my husband, Ed, when I first went out on my own. All were very supportive. In fact, my children gave me this surprise crystal tribute for my twenty years in the business, which is the catalyst for this post.
When I first went out on my own, I think my children were either thinking, great, more time with mom or darn, more time with mom, depending on the time of the day and what was going on. Ed was thrilled that I was going to be able to work part-time, be a mom and a wife.
Initially, I worked out of my kitchen, which was quite the struggle to concentrate. Then we remodeled our garage and utilized the loft for my office. Ed built a massive desk that worked perfectly. (The only real issue was that it was so massive that it will remain there forever.) Working in the garage had its pros and cons. There was no air conditioning so about by 1 in the afternoon in the summer months, it was about 90 degrees and my computer would start to shut down, along with me. Then I’d take a break until it cooled off and go back to work in the evening. However, I wouldn’t trade that time in a million years because this gave me more time to raise my children and still work part-time.
Once my youngest daughter was in college, we decided to move the office in town so that I could meet with clients more easily. I have been at this office at 2217 N. Cedar Avenue for over ten years. My landlord and her staff are great. We are a family.
Our business is a mom and pop shop. Ed is part owner of the business. He files and records my documents. My youngest daughter and her husband have been working for me in the summers for approximately five years. Our other daughters have helped us in the past as well. This is truly a family business which could not have existed without everyone’s help.
Lastly, one might ask me why we opened our own business. I love helping people. I listen to everyone’s story, needs and issues and then figure out how I can help them in the best and most cost efficient way. I feel that our business has been successful because we have wonderful clients that either keep coming back and/or refer me to their friends and family. The other reason is that I chose to open my own business so that when I work for other people, I work on my terms and with my standards and integrity and not someone else’s.
Thank you everyone for your support during the years. I am humbled.

11/27/2018

Why it is a great idea to set up a Trust

As you may be aware, a will distributes your assets upon your death and a trust distributes your assets while you are living and upon your death (thus called “a living trust”). A will does not avoid probate but a trust can, if the assets are transferred into the trust before your death.

Do you have a trust already created? If so, have you transferred all your assets to the trust? Many times trusts are created, but the assets are never transferred or transferred incorrectly. If you do not transfer your assets, your trust is not worth the paper that it was printed on. Your estate will go to probate, which will cost your beneficiaries a lot of money and time, keeping your assets in limbo until they are transferred via the court.

So you ponder whether or not you have transferred your assets, but you are not sure. Look at your deeds—are they in the name of the trust or do you have a beneficiary deed naming the trust? Are your bank accounts, CD’s, mutual funds, stocks in the trust name? Do you have the beneficiaries correctly named in your insurance, 401(k), pension, etc.? Did you change the membership of your LLC to the trust? How about that corporation—did you transfer the stock into the trust?

If it’s time for a checkup, call me and I will go over your trust and assets and determine whether they have been transferred and if not, assist you in transferring them.

Send a message to learn more