In the News
A number of newspapers and periodicals have featured stories by or about Legally Nanny®. Here are excerpts from just a few of the articles referencing our firm and its services:
The Wall Street Journal
It's never wise to evade taxes, but the trend poses particular risks now. The slumping economy means more nannies are likely to be laid off and then file for unemployment benefits, drawing the scrutiny of tax regulators, attorneys say. Also, avoiding the taxes leaves nannies devoid of a safety net, including Medicare and Social Security benefits, in an era when they may need it more than ever.
In truth, both parties stand to lose from evading taxes. One parent who paid his nanny cash fired her last month, only to be found out by state officials after she filed for unemployment benefits, says Bob King, an attorney and founder of Legally Nanny, an Irvine, Calif., employment-services firm. While nannies in these cases may find themselves on the hook for some back taxes, parents face a much larger hit, including both the nanny's and the employer's share of payroll taxes, plus interest and penalties.
ABC News
According to Bob King, lawyer and founder of Legally Nanny . . . confidentiality agreements are crucial.
"I have had a number of individuals, some celebrities, who have had nannies try to blackmail them," King said. "They've accessed personal computers at home, or overheard business transactions, or seen a spreadsheet left out on a table."
"With celebrities, I will have additional clauses in my agreements that say not only does everything done in the home stay in the home, but you can't talk with other employees about confidential info you may have learned," he added. "You can't say, 'Oh, so-and-so just signed a big movie deal,' or 'So-and-so are getting a divorce.'"
USA Today
Families bypass the nanny tax for many reasons. Some are already struggling to pay for child care and can't afford it. Others employ undocumented workers. And some don't understand the rules, or think the tax is too complicated or burdensome, says Robert King, co-owner of Legally Nanny, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that helps people pay nanny taxes.
But this much is clear, King says: If the IRS audits your return and finds you have an off-the-books nanny, you'll owe back taxes and interest — along with penalties for tax evasion and fraud.
CNBC
And any employer considering dodging the nanny tax by classifying their nannies as "independent contractors" should think again, said Bob King, an attorney and founder of Irvine, California-based Legally Nanny.
"[Some employers] think they can just hand their nanny a Form 1099 and label them an 'independent contractor,'" said King. "No. IRS Publication 926 clearly states who is and isn't considered an employee, and nannies are always employees."
King pointed out that these kinds of "misclassifications" are also considered a form of tax fraud and said the IRS has increasingly started cracking down on this tactic as employers have become more savvy.
The Los Angeles Daily Journal
Orange County attorney Bob King is reaping the benefits of the booming field of household employment law.
King's 10-year-old firm, Legally Nanny, has seen revenues increase by 43 percent in the past two years to meet the demands of a growing client base comprised mainly of retiring baby boomers hiring in-home caregivers in an effort to maintain their independence. The firm also assists home care agencies that employ caregivers directly and hire them out to clients.
Parenting Magazine
What to do before you hire: Write up a thorough job description. This is important, whether you're looking for a full-time caregiver or a neighborhood teenager to play with your child for a few hours in the afternoon. You can then ask each candidate if she can do the tasks on the list with or without assistance (such as needing a back brace to lift your toddler, for instance) says Bob King, an employment attorney and owner of Legally Nanny, an Irvine, California, firm that gives advice to household employers.
The Chicago Tribune
Bob King of Legally Nanny, a California firm that advises household employers on legal and tax issues . . . said if you file a tax return without paying household employment taxes, you've committed tax fraud and perjury.
If you're caught, King said, you'll pay back taxes, penalties and interest—at least.
"I hear from people who say they are not trying to be a judge or an attorney general anytime soon so they think it doesn't matter," King said. "But what if they let the nanny go and she goes to the unemployment office and they search the records and contact the tax authorities?"
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
But what if you've been operating under the radar (and outside of the law) for some time -- paying a nanny or other household worker in cash and ignoring the tax rules? What should you do now? "My advice is to come clean," says California labor attorney Robert King, who runs Legally Nanny, in Irvine, Cal. . . . King says that household employers get nailed when a former employee applies for unemployment, disability or social security benefits. If you're snared, you're on the hook for back taxes -- your share and the employee's -- plus interest and penalties.
TheStreet.com
Robert King, a labor and employment attorney and founder of Legally Nanny, says that . . . families who employ nannies often involve them in the more intimate parts of their lives. Sometimes a nanny is privy to or overhears information that the family wants to keep private. Also, many company executives take important work documents home with them, and they don’t want to worry about who sees them. The same goes for business related phone calls and emails. For these reasons, experts agree that regular people, not just celebrities or NYSE CEOs, should have an employee contract and a confidentiality agreement with their nanny.
A confidentiality agreement can also prevent a nanny from discussing their work online on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. “It protects your mail, email, and phone conversations,” says King. “Think about the conversations you have in your house. Would you want everything that goes on in your home broadcast?” And while it is acceptable to draw up your own document, King says, "you get what you pay for. If you write it yourself, you don't know what you don't know." . . . Overall, King says, it should take no more than three hours to complete the process. "It takes only a few hours of your time to protect your most personal belongings." That would be your family's peace of mind.
New York Daily News
Besides costing him a cabinet post and sparking questions about his business and sex lives, Bernie Kerik's illegal nanny confession is going to slam his pocketbook. . . . "If someone publicly admits they haven't paid taxes for their nanny, the IRS is just not going to let that go," said Bob King, a California lawyer who specializes in nanny law. . . . "Plus, you need a lawyer and accountant to figure out this mess, and those sorts of professional fees are extraordinarily expensive."
These testimonials and endorsements do not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction about your legal matter's outcome. The results above were dependent on each case's facts and results will differ if based on different facts.