Managing Partner, John A. Hay III, is one of the nominees for Austin Business Journal’s Best CEO Awards program. Winners in each category will be named at the invitation-only ceremony on Thursday, September 22.
“Running a company, no matter the size, requires a delicate balance of accountability and compassion,” said Will Anderson, ABJ Digital Editor. Mr. Hay is nominated in the category of companies under $10,000,000 in revenue.
“I am honored and humbled to be nominated among this distinguished list of local CEO’s,” John Hay said. “The outstanding team of professionals at The Hay Legal Group PLLC all contribute to our success everyday.”
For the third year in a row, John A. Hay III, Founder and Managing Partner of The Hay Legal Group PLLC, has been selected to the 2016 Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star list.
Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
The selection process for the Rising Stars list is the same as the Super Lawyers selection process, with one exception: to be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less.
All attorneys first go through the Super Lawyers selection process. Those who are not selected to the Super Lawyers list, but who meet either one of the Rising Stars eligibility requirements, then go through the Rising Stars selection process. While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list.
Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.
Our own Beth Coffey joins 10 others as finalists for the Austin Young Chamber’s ChangeMaker Award. For the past two years, the AYC has honored two inspiring leaders in the market.
At their 3rd Annual State of AYC Annual Meeting on February 26, they will recognize and pay tribute to two more individuals who are doing extraordinary things in the Austin community.
Beth is an active member of the Junior League of Austin, performing weekly with the Playhouse singers in area elder care facilities. She is also a volunteer for Hospice Austin’s Big Hearts for Brave Hearts program, helping to raise funds for Camp Brave Heart for children who have lost loved ones. And she participated in the Austin Board of Realtors’ Habitat for Humanity Holiday Blitz Build in December.
By Patton VanVeckhoven
The 1031 Exchange derives its name from Internal Revenue Section 1031, which allows sellers to defer taxes on gains of the sale of property by reinvesting into like-kind properties.
Currently, high-income investors are subject to a 20% long-term capital gains tax, and an additional 3.8% net investment income tax to finance the Affordable Care Act. So an investor that purchased property in 2009 for $400K, and sold it today for $700K, could be liable for taxes of more than $70K on the $300K gain. This is where the 1031 Exchange comes to the rescue.
The basic requirements for a 1031 exchange are:
- The property must be held for business or investment use: Rental properties, raw land, and net leased properties all qualify, but fix & flips, primary residences, inventory, stocks and bonds do not. There is no established hold time, but if the exchange is ever audited, the IRS will look to whether the intent of the exchanger was to hold the property for investment purposes, as opposed to flipping it, so the longer the hold time, the better the chance the exchange will be allowed.
- The replacement property must be of a like-kind: Real property may be exchanged for other types of real property, e.g., residential rental property may be exchanged for farmland or an office building, but not for personal property. Tangible personal property, such as a fleet of trucks, may be exchanged for other tangible personal property, such as an airplane.
- The replacement property must be identified within 45 days of closing the relinquished property: The identification must have a specific description and be in writing. Multiple properties may be identified, as long as their aggregate fair market value does not exceed 200% of the sales price of the relinquished property. However, the property purchased must be 95% of the value of the properties identified.
- The replacement property must be of equal or higher value: Any gain will be taxed. The difference in value, known as “boot,” can consist of cash or a reduction in your mortgage, so if you don’t receive equity or cash, but your mortgage liability is reduced, the reduction will be taxed as “boot.”
- The exchange must be completed within 180 days: The replacement property must be closed on within 180 days of the closing of the relinquished property.
- Qualified intermediaries: The IRS provides that the exchanger must use a qualified intermediary (“QI)”, also known as an exchange accommodator, to hold onto the proceeds. If a disqualified party takes possession of title or the proceeds, the exchange will be disallowed.
Prior to selling an investment or business property, you should consult with your tax adviser as to whether a 1031 exchange makes sense. You may be eligible for offsets that leave you with a negligible capital gain. In addition to consulting your tax advisor, you should consult a real estate attorney regarding the conveyances involved with the exchange; our attorneys at The Hay Legal Group PLLC can help.
In summary, the 1031 exchange is a fantastic tax saving tool available to parties looking to convey business or investment property, and the proper professionals should be contacted to ensure that the above rules are strictly complied with.
Remember, it’s not what you make on the sale, it’s what you keep!
After floods ravaged Central Texas in May, members of The Hay Group PLLC rose to the occasion. Our first thought was “what can we do to help?” And help we did.
-Over 225 lbs of food was gathered through employees and clients that went to The Hays County Food Bank.
-Patton Van Veckhoven, Karen Aboussie, John Hay III, Tom Hoekstra and Beth Coffey (not shown above) helped clean up the mess at Pease Park caused by Shoal Creek flooding.
– The Hay Group joined a team from Zip Realty to help with the flood victims in Wimberly.
Our own marketing manager, Beth Coffey and her dance partner, Marlan McAllister, brought home a First Place Two Step Competition trophy, awarded by Austin’s own Dale Watson.
The competition, held at Greune Hall, featured more than 20 couples from around the state, as masters of the two step. In addition to winning the competition, the event was filmed for an upcoming season of The Bachelorette. Stay tuned for more details on the air date!
John A. Hay III, Founder and Managing Partner of The Hay Legal Group PLLC, has been selected for the 2015 list of “Nation’s Top Attorneys” by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel (NADC). Each year, lawyers from around the country are selected through an objective, rigorous, multi-stage process to identify the finest lawyers in the country.
Members of NADC represent the Top 1% of lawyers throughout the country, and are dedicated to promoting the highest standards of legal excellence. Hay’s selection is one of only 6 in Austin and 93 throughout the state of Texas.
The NADC is an organization with a mission to objectively recognize the attorneys who elevate the standards of the Bar and provide a benchmark for other lawyers to emulate. By virtue of their extensive research process, only the elite few – who have demonstrated the highest ideals of the legal profession – are named “Nation’s Top Attorneys.”
John A. Hay III, Founder and Managing Partner of The Hay Legal Group PLLC, has been selected to the 2015 Texas Rising Stars List. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
The selection process for the Rising Stars list is the same as the Super Lawyers selection process, with one exception: to be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less.
All attorneys first go through the Super Lawyers selection process. Those who are not selected to the Super Lawyers list, but who meet either one of the Rising Stars eligibility requirements, then go through the Rising Stars selection process. While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list.
Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.
John A. Hay, III, founding partner of The Hay Legal Group PLLC, has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows of the Foundation are selected for their outstanding professional achievements and their demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system throughout the state of Texas. Election is a mark of distinction and recognition of Mr. Hay’s contributions to the legal profession.
Selection as a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation is restricted to members of the state Bar of Texas. Each year one-third of one percent of State Bar members are invited to become Fellows. Once nominees are selected, they must be elected by the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. Membership has grown from an initial 254 Charter Fellows in 1965 to more than 8,500 Fellows throughout Texas today.
The Texas Bar Foundation is the largest charitably-funded bar foundation in the country. Founded in 1965 by lawyers determined to assist the public and improve the profession of law, the Texas Bar Foundation has maintained its mission of using the financial contributions of its membership to build a strong justice system for all Texans.
To date, the Texas Bar Foundation has distributed more than $15 million throughout Texas to assist nonprofit organizations with a wide range of justice-related programs and services. For more information, contact the Texas Bar Foundation at www.txbf.org.
The Hay Legal Group PLLC adopted a family through APD’s Blue Santa program in December. Members of our staff and their friends generously donated more than $1500 to bring the magic of Christmas to our family. They also helped shop and team members (pictured above) took a whole day to wrap the gifts.
“Santa” brought the children toys, clothes and even bicycles, while Mom and Dad received several much-needed items.
“Delivering the wrapped gifts and seeing the joy on everyone’s face was worth all the effort to make this happen. It was truly what Christmas and the spirit of giving is all about,” said John A. Hay III, managing partner.