CA SOS Makes Changes to Certified Copies

We received notice from the California Secretary of State (CA SOS) that in order to improve their services and reduce expenses, the Business Programs Division, excluding the Uniform Commercial Code Section, is changing the way that they process and provide certified copies of documents.

The CA SOS currently provides a separate cover sheet indicating that the copy is a true and correct copy of the original document of record with their office. The change will eliminate that cover page and now every document certified by the Business Programs Division, with the exception of Uniform Commercial Code Section, will contain a manually placed certification stamp. This procedure will be implemented for document filing and retrieval.

The stamp will appear on the back of the final page of the document in the lower right-hand corner. The stamp will contain the date the document was certified, the signature of the Secretary of State, and the California State Seal. Within the area of the stamp will be the handwritten number of pages being certified and the initials of the deputy certifying the document.

Please take a moment prior to submitting documents to ensure that they are complete and printed only on one side. As part of Parasec’s quality control process we will double check this prior to submitting to the Secretary of State as well to avoid any delays.

Make note that any pending orders that are currently at the Secretary of State for filing or retrieval will be returned to us using this new procedure.

Please contact your Account Executive directly if you have any further questions.

Parasec at the LBLPA Event

The Long Beach Legal Professionals Association (LBLPA) held its annual Installation of Officers Reception on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at the Grand Event Center in Long Beach. The event had a surprising turnout for a Tuesday evening, with nearly 20 legal professionals in attendance. Lynn Conner, President of Parasec, was invited to attend and speak at the event, where she gave her “Legal Ethics and Corporate Officer Fraud” seminar.

“I had a wonderful time at the event,” remarked Lynn. “Everyone was very welcoming and it was a pleasure to meet so many new people.”

Erin Sierchio, Executive Assistant to Mrs. Conner, was equally impressed with the folks she met. “Everyone I spoke with was friendly and they made me feel at ease. I can’t wait for them to come up to Sacramento next month for the Legal Secretaries, Incorporated (LSI) annual convention, so we at Parasec can repay the warm welcome.”

CA SOS San Diego Office Closure

Due to budget cuts, the California Secretary of State has decided to close its San Diego regional office. The closure will go into effect on April 2, 2010. Documents which would normally have been submitted at the San Diego office should now be submitted (via mail or in person) to the Sacramento location (1500 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814). Documents may also be delivered to the Los Angeles regional office (300 South Spring Street), which will continue to offer services previously available at the San Diego branch. If you need assistance with filing or retrieving public documents with the CA SOS, Parasec can help make the process seamless. Give us a call today at 800.533.7272.

State Turnaround Times

Well, we’re wrapping up the first month of the new year and I am happy to report that we are seeing some improvements in the economy and hearing good things from some of our clients about their businesses improving – two things that give me a very positive feeling as I look further into the year and beyond.

That said, I am still concerned with the ability of our governmental agencies to handle the volume of a growing workload as the economy begins to pick up and improve. I’ll use the California Secretary of State (CA SOS) as an example. At the end of the calendar year things tend to get a little wild in the corporate-filings division. Volume rises dramatically, special date requests are more frequent and the number of expedited filings increases. In past years, the CA SOS has accommodated this boost in business by working overtime – especially on weekends – to get the backlog completed and get back to business as usual.

With the state’s poor budget and mounting deficits, the CA SOS can no longer utilize overtime as they have, so timeframes have jumped exponentially. Documents that used to take five to seven business days to process are now taking 15 business days. As of today, January 27th, the state is working on documents filed on January 7th. I’m not sure how long it will take them to work through the holiday workload and bring the timeframes down to a reasonable range. The CA SOS isn’t even participating in furloughs as most other state departments are. What would things be like if their staff was taking an additional two days off a month?

While most states are not faced with quite the fiscal crisis that California is, many are still confronted with some significant financial belt tightening, which may well affect the turnaround times on document filing and retrieval. We are monitoring state timeframes on a daily basis and will continue to provide our clients with estimates based on the most up-to-date information.

Sacramento Valley Paralegal Association Luncheon

Today I was invited to sit in on the Sacramento Valley Paralegal Association’s monthly CLE luncheon. I was unable to attend, so I sent my right-hand person, Erin Sierchio. Here is her recap of the event:

Nearly 20 SVPA members attended today’s Sacramento Valley Paralegal Association meeting, which was held in the conference room here at Parasec’s Sacramento office. The featured speaker was Gregory Axten, CEO of American Geotechnical, who gave an unexpectedly interesting presentation on "Diagnosing Soil Problems."

Mr. Axten is a civil/geotechnical engineer with more than 37 years of experience in the fields of soil engineering, foundation engineering, geology, materials engineering and hydrology. He has acted as an expert witness for problem analysis and dispute resolution in nearly 100 trials.

One of the interesting tidbits that Axten discussed was the impact landscaping, and trees in particular can have on soil and therefore on structures built nearby. Tree roots can lift foundations and slabs as well as create soil shrinkage so it’s important to consider this when planting them near structures. When determining where to plant trees, Axten suggested that we estimate that the roots will grow to extend out from a tree at a distance equivalent to the tree height, and simply trimming a tree will not stop the roots from growing!

Axten also discussed common indicators of structural problems, such as cracks and separations, slope movement, wall tilt, soil features, seepage and poor drainage. Axten was able to illustrate – in layman’s terms – how analyzing soil samples, investigating damage, and running field and laboratory tests can help determine what caused specific structural damages. It’s his keen eye and expertise in identifying these problems that have led people from the legal community to seek out his assistance with cases.

IRS Amnesty Program a Success

The IRS recently ran a very successful amnesty program which ended October 15, 2009, for individuals who have been maintaining offshore accounts to avoid US taxation. The hope was that citizens would voluntarily come forward to report their accounts rather than the IRS having to track them down at significant taxpayer expense. As a result of the program, nearly 7,500 citizens and residents came forward to report their offshore accounts. The amnesty provided said individuals with an incentive for reporting any illegally hidden assets, including a significant reduction to any unpaid taxes and penalties, and the removal of criminal penalties and/or prison time.

Of the citizens/residents that voluntarily came forward, the dollar amounts associated with the hidden assets varied from accounts as small as $10,000, and as large as $100,000,000. The IRS did not estimate how much tax income would be generated as a result of the program, but they were very pleased with the program’s turn out.

The benefits of the program are not limited to the individuals who have come forth thus far. As the IRS has time to process these accounts and speak at length with the individuals, they are certain they will be able to identify additional offshore account holders who did not come forward. For example, CPAs, investment advisors and others who have participated in helping citizens to hide their money off shore. As these individuals are identified, more offshore accounts will be identified and the monies will become available for taxation.

Another benefit is that the taxpayer will now be in the system for each year from now forward. Depending upon the number of tax avoiders found during this amnesty program and the follow up searches, that could be a significant addition to the state and national tax rolls for years to come.

If you have an offshore account that is hiding income and did not sign up for the amnesty program, all is not lost. The IRS is considering extending the program but has not made a decision yet. Also, there are other programs available to help you mitigate the penalties involved. Contact your CPA for assistance with bringing your offshore accounts into tax compliance.

Santa Barbara Paralegal Association Luncheon

It’s a beautiful Thursday afternoon and I just finished speaking at the Santa Barbara Paralegal Association (SBPA) luncheon in sunny downtown Santa Barbara. The event marked the association’s annual meeting, during which they held elections for next year’s officers and listened to me speak for an hour on “Legal Ethics and Corporate Officer Fraud.”

There was a great turnout at the event, with somewhere between 35 and 40 members in attendance. The group was very friendly and I didn’t catch a single person sleeping during the presentation. I’d love to think that it is because of the quality of my presentation, but I can’t quite be sure.

The meeting was held at the Santa Barbara Bank and Trust Community Conference Room, which is a beautiful facility and perfect for meetings of this type. Sandwiches and salads were served, the elections went smoothly and the results announced after the presentation. The results of the election should be posted on the SBPA website (www.sbparalegals.org) in the near future. I can guarantee they haven’t had time to update the site just yet!

I want to extend a warm thank you to this great association and group of paralegals for a very warm welcome as well as for their attentiveness and questions. I look forward to having the opportunity to speak with SBPA again soon!