Charities are required by state and federal law to have board members, also called “directors.” The purpose of the board is to ensure integrity and accountability in the organization. It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to serve as a director of a nonprofit, but board membership carries significant responsibilities. DUTIES OF […]
This information is current as of December 27, 2017. At the request of our clients, we have summarized some of the more important provisions of the sweeping new tax law (“TCJA”), which was signed into effect on December 22, 2017. Please note that all of these provisions are subject to interpretation by the Internal Revenue […]
Farrow-Gillespie Heath Witter LLP is now a member of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. Membership in NAMWOLF is highly selective and offered only to the most qualified and successful minority-owned and woman-owned law firms in the nation. For more information, visit www.namwolf.org.
That flowery email from a Nigerian Prince who can’t spell has been supplanted by a far more dangerous phish — the Business Email Compromise (“BEC”). According to the FBI, in the past two years over 8,000 businesses, small and large, have been victimized by BEC attacks for combined losses of over $1.2 billion. What is […]
A Section 501(c)(3) tax–exempt organization may conduct limited lobbying activities without jeopardizing the organization’s tax–exempt status, so long as lobbying does not form a “substantial part” of the organization’s overall work. An organization that intends to lobby and wants to be tax-exempt can apply either as a 501(c)(3) public charity or as a 501(c)(4) organization. […]
By Maria Folkerth July 27, 2016 Maria Folkerth was a summer intern at Farrow-Gillespie Heath Witter LLP. Section 301.11 of the Texas Agricultural Code provides that a person must have a license and fill out an application for a permit to modify the weather. Cloud seeding is the most common form of weather modification in the […]
Individuals and families may establish a 501c3 tax-exempt charitable organization to accomplish substantive philanthropy while receiving very favorable tax treatment. The degree of maintenance such an organization requires depends whether the organization can be classified as a public charity or is instead a private or family foundation. Either way, forming a 501c3 is a three-step process. Step One: […]
What is zoning? Zoning is the division of land into districts. These districts have zoning regulations and limitations on land use, building height, setbacks, lot size, population density, coverage, and floor-area ratio. The purpose of zoning is to facilitate the organization of the city and its neighborhoods, and to promote good urban planning. Before a person […]
Under Chapter 151 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, parties to any civil litigation, including probate litigation, may choose to retain a “Special Judge” instead of proceeding to trial before the court or a jury. In a 2015 article appearing in Headnotes, published by the Dallas Bar Association, Judge Marty Lowy (Former) analyzed […]
A person (“agent”) holding a power of attorney for another person (the “principal”) must act with the utmost degree of loyalty to the principal. The agent must avoid being involved in any transaction which benefits, or even which potentially benefits, the agent. That rule of law was enforced once again in 2015 by the Texas […]
In July 2014, the Internal Revenue Service introduced a new, shorter application form to help small charities apply for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status more easily. The new Form 1023-EZ is three pages long, compared with the standard 26-page Form 1023. Most small organizations, including as many as 70 percent of all applicants, qualify to use the […]
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