Video Summary

I’m Tom Mitchell, one of the partners at Waller & Mitchell, and I’m here to talk to you today about my areas of law practice.  I do practice in the areas of wills and trusts.  That is drafting the estate planning documents, wills and trusts, Power of Attorney, healthcare service and the like. 

I also do a lot of guardianship work.  I do elder law work, which is helping families plan for the incapacitation of a senior member.  And I also have a background in tax, so I do all the tax work here in the office.  So if you have a chance, stop by or give us a call at (727) 847-2288. 

Thank you.


Video Summary

Hi, I’m Tom Mitchell, one of the partners at Waller & Mitchell.  I’m here today to tell you about my legal background, specifically where I got my education. 

I went to undergraduate at the United States Naval Academy and after graduation I spent a couple of years in the fleet driving ships around.  But during that time the Navy decided they wanted to send me back to law school, so I went back to law school at Ohio State.  I graduated from there and became a Navy JAG for the next fifteen-odd years.  And then just before I was ready to retire, I went back to law school at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.  This time on the GI bill, where I got a Masters in Taxation. 

So that’s how I came to be where I am today.  Thank you.


Video Summary

I’m Tom Mitchell.  I’m with the partners of Waller & Mitchell, and I’m here to talk to you today about why I wanted to become a lawyer. 

I was born into a family of lawyers.  My dad was a lawyer, and eventually became a judge, and so I was hanging around lawyers and courtrooms pretty much my entire life.  And I like helping people, and that’s what I get to do as an attorney.  I get to help people try and have positive outcomes from their problems. 

Visit us at Waller & Mitchell.  Thank you.

 

Video Summary

How does buying a house affect my income taxes?  Well, once you buy a house you can deduct off your income tax the interest that you pay on any mortgage.  That deduction will go away as your income rises, and at a certain level you won’t get that benefit. 

You are also in a position to deduct your real estate taxes.  If you obtain a loan and you have to pay any closing costs or points on your mortgage, that’s considered an interest deduction and can be taken for the year in which you obtain your loan. It’s a prepaid interest charge, and it can be computed if you tell your accountant about it on your income tax for the year in which you buy your home. 

So as a result to purchasing a home you have certain income tax deductions that you can take for your real estate taxes and any interest that you pay on any mortgage that you have (although that is limited or starts diminishing as you make more and more money).  So if you have any questions about that, give us a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

How does selling your house affect your income taxes? Well if you sell your house for a loss you don’t’ get to deduct the loss.  If you sell your property for a gain you have to pay long term capital gains on the sale of your property, if you’ve lived there for over a year. If you’ve lived there for less than a year well then you have to pay short term capital gains. 

If you’ve lived in the property for two out of the past five years and you’ve occupied it two out of the past five years you can exempt up to $250,000.00 of gain.  If you owned it as husband and wife you can deduct up to $500,000.00 of gain.  So if you sell your house, you can’t take any losses, and if you have a gain and you’ve lived there for two out of the past five years, you can exempt those from your income and you do not have to pay long term capital gains on the sale.

So if you have any questions about selling your home well give me a call at (727)847-2288.