The ProVisors community has provided a list of support and resources available to those who have been affected by the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

The topics covered below, include:

• • Personal Financial Considerations
  • Tax Relief
  • Insurance Guidelines
  • Employer Obligations
  • Communication

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PERSONAL FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Prepared by Robert Birgen, CFP^®, CIMA^®, Merit Financial Advisors, rbirgen@meritfa.com, 909-860-9992, CA Insurance Lic#0724551

If you lost your home, the magnitude of that loss must be bone crushing, so to talk about finances will no doubt seem trivial, and indeed it is compared to what you have been through.  Once you have resolved the more important and urgent matters, you may turn to this missive to address the financial ones.

Taxes:

March 15 and April 15 will be here before you know it.  Not to worry, you have time.  Your personal, fiduciary, and business income tax returns are automatically extended to October 15, 2025; you do not have to do anything to qualify.

2024 quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on January 15, 2025; 2024 income tax normally due April 15; and 2025 estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, June 16, and September 15, 2025 will not be due until October 15, 2025.

Quarterly payroll and excise taxes and tax returns normally due on January 31, April 30, and July 31, 2025 will not be due until October 15, 2025.

2024 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers normally payable April 15 may be paid as late as October 15, 2025 and still qualify as a 2024 deduction.

For details of federal tax relief, see: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-california-wildfire-victims-qualify-for-tax-relief-various-deadlines-postponed-to-oct-15.

California mirrors the above federal income tax treatment.  For details of state tax relief, see: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/01/11/california-provides-tax-relief-for-those-affected-by-los-angeles-wildfires/.

Casualty loss deductions for personal, investment, or business property may provide an important financial benefit.  You may claim such losses for 2025 or 2024.

Sales tax returns and payments due on or before January 31, 2025, are automatically extended to April for taxpayers whose last return was for less than $1 million.  For details of California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) tax relief, see: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/01/13/california-to-provide-tax-relief-to-businesses-impacted-by-los-angeles-wildfires/ and https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/services/state-of-emergency-tax-relief.htm.

Property tax help is also available.  California’s Calamity Claim Relief Program provides property tax relief for destroyed or damaged properties.  Your property is temporarily reassessed downward to reflect its damaged condition.  You may receive a pro-rated refund based on the reduced assessment.  Also, you can transfer the base-year value of your damaged property to a comparable replacement property within the same or another participating county.  Since Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency, your April 10 payment is postponed until the assessor reassesses your damaged or destroyed property and you receive a corrected property tax bill.

  Further, Executive Order N-10-25 allows taxpayers in the following zip codes to postpone their property tax payments and business personal property tax statement filings until April 10, 2026, without being subject to penalties and interest:

90019	90265	91001	91107
90041	90272	91040	93535
90049	90290	91104	93536
90066	90402	91106

This postponement relief excludes payments made through an impound account and/or to any taxes to a property that were delinquent as of January 6, 2025.  For further details, see: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/01/16/governor-newsom-extends-state-property-tax-deadlines-for-la-firestorm-communities-until-april-2026/.

Lost and destroyed financial information:

Estate planning documents: Contact your attorney.  Most law firms retain electronic copies.

Insurance policies: Contact your insurance agent for copies of property, life, disability, and long-term care insurance policies.  You can contact the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to search for missing life insurance policies: https://eapps.naic.org/life-policy-locator.

Tax returns:  Contact your CPA.  Also, you can request copies from the IRS using Form 4506.  While nothing has yet been announced, the IRS waived the standard fee for the 2021 fires if “California Wildfires” was written in bold letters at the top of that form.

Contact your own advisors for specifics on the above items.

 

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TAX RELIEF

Prepared by Kevin J. Moore (kmoore@kjmlaw.com) and Debby S. Doitch (ddoitch@kjmlaw.com), KJM Law Partners, 626-568-9300.

General Tax Relief:

 Governor Newsom announced on January 11 that Los Angeles County taxpayers will have until October 15, 2025 to file California tax returns on 2024 income and to pay their 2024 income tax liabilities. Likewise, the IRS has granted the same deadline to Los Angeles County taxpayers for their 2024 federal returns and tax payments.

Property Tax Relief:

California offers a few distinct options for property tax relief to those affected by the fires.

First, if your home lost more than $10,000 in market value due to the fires, you can file a claim with the County Assessor to have your property reassessed to reflect its reduced value. This reassessment would temporarily reduce your property taxes until you restore the property to its former condition. A claim for reassessment should be filed within 12 months, although extensions may be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Next, if your property was completely lost to fire, California’s Proposition 19 may allow you to transfer the base-year value of your old property (the value used to assess your property taxes) to a replacement property of equal or lesser value. This means that you will not face a dramatic increase in property taxes after buying or building a new home. Your new property should ideally be located in Los Angeles County, although other counties may allow transfers as well. Your new property must be purchased or constructed within 2 years of the fire.

Finally, if you still need to pay (or have already paid) current year property taxes on a home that was destroyed or significantly damaged by these fires, California’s Revenue and Taxation Code offers deferrals or prorated refunds on these taxes. You can apply for cancellation or a refund of property taxes for the period your property is uninhabitable. You have 12 months from the date your property was lost or damaged to make your application.

Regardless of which provision best suits your needs, it’s important to document and retain evidence of your damaged property, including photographs, repair estimates, and insurance claims.

 

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Insurance Guidelines

Prepared by David Scheidemantle, Scheidemantle Law Group, David@Scheidemantle-Law.com, 626-660-4434.

Opening Your Insurance Claim:

• Once you and your family are safe, open an insurance claim with your homeowners or renters insurance company as soon as possible.
• You can call the insurance company yourself or contact your insurance agent or broker and ask them to do so for you.
• Do not assume that the insurance company is on your side. They may not be.
  • The insurance company representative may ask you questions, such as whether you were performing renovations at the time of the fire, whether the brush was cleared, or when you last replaced your roof. These questions might be designed to entrap you.  Use your instincts, and exercise care in answering.  If the question seems unrelated to your current need, you can ask why that’s important right now and whether it can be addressed later when you have a clearer head.
  • Under no circumstances should you misrepresent any fact. This could constitute insurance fraud, which is a crime, and could void your rights under the insurance policy.
  • You can ask if the call is being recorded if this is not made evident at the outset.
  • Having your insurance broker notify the insurer can reduce some of these concerns.
  • If you are worried about having the conversation, ask your insurance broker or someone else to report the claim. That person can then relate to you any questions the insurance representative asked.
  • The final section of this Guide lists important monetary rights to which you are entitled from the outset. Some items are highlighted.  Play particular attention to the highlighted items and ask the insurance company representative about receiving these sums as soon as possible.
• If any vehicles were destroyed or damaged in the fire, also notify your auto insurance company.
• If you operated a business at your home and had insurance for your business, also notify your business insurance carrier.
• For any insurance company you notify:
  • Ask for a full copy of your current insurance policy – your insurance company must provide it to you.
  • Take note of the claim number.
  • Find out the name of the insurance representative and how to reach them.
  • Ensure they have your current email address and ask that all communications be electronic.
  • Ask what are the next steps in regard to your claim.
  • Take note of the California Insurance Code sections identified at the end of this Guide and ask whether and when the insurance company will abide by those requirements and make the required preliminary payments.

Communications

• Think of others you may need to notify and, as appropriate, ask for the cessation of services:
  • utilities, such as gas, electric, trash removal, land telephone lines
  • DirecTV, cable, and Internet services
  • burglar alarm and fire responding services
  • subscription home security systems, such as Ring
  • newspaper and magazine subscriptions, which can be canceled or paused
  • other subscriptive services, such as Trunk or Wine of the Month Club
  • lawncare
  • swimming pool servicing
• Notify your lenders (first or second mortgage) and inform them of the loss and ask what programs are in place to assist you during this time.
  • Check whether your mortgage is a nonrecourse loan, in accordance with the loan documents.
  • Be aware that the lender may be entitled to its share of insurance proceeds for the insured structures, in accordance with the loan documents.
• Contacting you
  • Provide the people you speak with a current email address that you check often.
  • If your landing spot is uncertain while displaced, set up a post office box at a location not impacted by the fires. File a change of address form online at https://moversguide.usps.com/mgo/disclaimer?referral=UMOVE.  Then notify insurers and others to send you communications to the new address.  Check it regularly.

Do Not Fall Prey to Scare Tactics or False Urgency

• It is unfortunate that, in times of crisis, there are those who seek to take advantage of the victims. Keep a watchful eye, and do not get ensnared by fear.
• You may be contacted by restoration companies or contractors who attempt to convince you that you’d better sign up early with them to ensure that your needs will be met. In our experience, many of these are charging an inflated and unfair price under very unfavorable contract terms.  The insurance company may not be willing to pay the inflated charge, leaving you with the risk of having to pay the bill.
• On the opposite extreme, an insurance company may attempt to persuade you to hire a firm that may charge less but perform unsatisfactory work.
• In either case, obtain information about the firm, seek references, and do not sign contracts without very careful review.
• You may also be contacted by lawyers or public adjusters who seek to sign you immediately as a client. You may not need either to have your claim satisfied, so exercise extreme care with these professionals as well.

Best Practices During the Claims Process

• Document every interaction with your insurance company, contractors, and public adjusters.
• Track all expenses incurred after the fire and keep all receipts. This includes temporary housing, meals, and other necessities.  If you have expenses unrelated to the fire, segregate those expenses and receipts from fire-related ones.

Techniques for Establishing Loss of Property

• Create a spreadsheet to organize items by category for easy tracking.
• Do a thorough search through your phone and social media for photos and videos to document the interior and exterior of your home and any personal belongings.
• Ask family and friends for photos and videos. Small items such as jewelry and collectible items can be easily seen in photos, but difficult to recall by memory.
• For things purchased through on-line shopping, visit those sites for your purchasing history.
• Sit with your family to think about and reminisce about your possessions.
• If you had a wedding gift registry, access it to identify the items you were gifted.
• If you frequently visit a particular store for jewelry or other collectibles, ask the store if they have your purchasing history.
• For fine fashion items and such, your purchasing history may be obtained through those establishments.

Important Provisions of California Insurance Law

• On January 9, 2025, a one-year moratorium was put in place for zip codes in or adjoining the Palisades and Eaton fires– no insurer can cancel or non-renew in those areas for a year.
• Even if your property has not incurred damage, evacuation orders trigger coverage for additional living expenses (“ALE”) for a minimum of two weeks (Cal. Ins. Code § 2060(c)).
• In a declared state of emergency, you’re entitled to an advance payment for living expenses covering at least four months of anticipated costs (Cal. Ins. Code § 2061(a)(1)).
• Your insurer must pay ALE for up to 2 weeks if you are restricted access to your property by a civil authority, with additional two-week extensions available for good cause. (Cal. Ins. Code §2060(c)).
• In a declared state of emergency, your insurer must offer at least 30% of your personal contents coverage policy limit without requiring an inventory (Cal. Ins. Code § 10103.7(b)(1)).
• Your insurer must provide you with a complete copy of your policy, including all endorsements and the declaration page, within 30 days of your request. (Cal. Ins. Code § 2084).
• Once you have filed a claim, your insurer must acknowledge the claim, provide forms, and begin investigating within 15 days of notice. (10 Cal. Code Regs. § 2695.5(e)).
• You are not required to use your insurer’s inventory form and you are not required to itemize; you can bulk-list items. (Cal. Ins. Code § 2061(a)(2)(3)).
• The insurer must respond to questions, letters, calls, or emails within 15 days of receiving that communication. (10 Cal. Code Regs. § 2695.5(b)).
• Your insurer must accept or reject your claim within 40 days of receiving the proof of claim. If they refuse the claim, they must provide all factual and legal bases for the refusal and references to policy provisions. (10 Cal. Code Regs. § 2695.7(b)).
• If the insurer accepts the claim, they must pay all undisputed portions within 30 days. (10 Cal. Code Regs. § 2695.7(h)).
• The insurer can request more time to review the claim, but they must put the request in writing, state what else they need, state any continuing reasons for their inability to make a determination, and provide an estimated time frame to make a decision. (10 Cal. Code Regs. § 2695.7(c)(1)).
• Your insurer must provide you with a copy of claim-related documents within 15 days of your request. (Cal. Ins. Code § 2071).
• If your insurer assigns you to 3 or more claims handlers within a 6-month period, they must provide a written status report summarizing their claims handling to date and provide you with an ongoing person as a point of contact and a direct means of communication to that person. (Cal. Ins. Code §§ 2071, 14047).
• In a declared state of emergency, you can utilize combined coverage from the dwelling coverage and other structures coverage up to the policy limits to rebuild or replace your home. (Cal. Ins. Code §10103.7(a)).
• Your insurer cannot cancel your insurance while your home is rebuilt and cannot charge you on renewal for the cost of your non-existent home. (Cal. Ins. Code § 675.1).
• Your insurer must offer to renew the policy for at least 24 months after a total loss caused by a declared disaster. (Cal. Ins. Code § 675.1(a)(3)).
• Regardless of the time limits in the policy, in a state of emergency, you have 36 months to rebuild from the date of the first payment made. An additional 6-month extension may be provided for good cause. (Cal. Ins. Code §§ 2051.5(b)(1), 2051.5(b)(2))

 

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EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS  

Prepared by Valerie Costanza, San Gabriel Valley Law, P.C.  Hello@SanGabrielValleyLaw.com. 818-949-8029

If you’re a business owner and employer in California, you are likely experiencing issues related to employees due to the local emergency situation. In times like this, it’s important to remember the humanity of our employees and not just the legality of the situation. What we do in the face of tough times is what our employees will remember and can do much to increase their loyalty and trust of us. Conversely, if we handle things poorly we can damage the relationship and reputation of our companies and possibly end up in legal hot water.

Even in emergency situations, California employers have obligations to their employees. Below is a list of legal reminders for California Employers as well as HR Best Practices:

Paying Employees:

Exempt Employees:  Employers must pay exempt employees a full weekly salary for any week in which any work is performed. If the business is closed for the whole week, however, employers don’t need to pay exempt employees.

Non-Exempt (Hourly) Employees:  If your business shuts down for emergency reasons, you must pay nonexempt (hourly) employees only for the hours they worked prior to being sent home.  Examples of emergency reasons include:

• Operations can’t start or continue due to threats to you or property or when recommended by civil authority (such as mandatory evacuation orders);
• There are no public utilities such as water, gas, electricity or sewer; or
• Work is interrupted by an “Act of God” or other causes not within the employer’s control (for example, your place of business has been destroyed by a wildfire).

If you are not experiencing emergency conditions but you decide to shut down your business, keep in mind that reporting time pay may be owed to non-exempt (hourly) employees, especially on the day that you decide to close.   When a nonexempt employee shows up for work as scheduled and is not put to work or is given less than half of his/her scheduled hours, the employee is eligible for reporting time pay.  Reporting time pay is one-half of the scheduled shift, no less than two hours and no more than four hours.

Of course, you may choose to pay employees or let them use vacation or other personal time.   If you decide to do so, it is important to be consistent so that all similarly situated employees are treated the same.

Time Off for Emergency Personnel:

If you have employees who volunteer for fire departments or other emergency response entities be aware that you must provide leaves of absence for them if they are required to perform emergency duty.

The time off is unpaid but must be permitted.

Handling Health Issues:

Employees may be entitled to time off to deal with health issues that occur as a result of the disaster (for example, employees with respiratory conditions may need time off during a wildfire). Remember that employees may use their paid sick leave for the care or treatment of a health condition for themselves or a family member, as defined by the law.

They also may be eligible for time off for family or medical leave for themselves or to care for family members with any serious health conditions under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) or the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

An employee who has a physical or mental injury because of a natural disaster may be entitled to protections under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

School or Child Care Leave:

Employers with 25 or more employees working at the same location may need to provide unpaid time off (up to 40 hours per year)  to employees whose children’s school or child care closes due to a natural disaster, such as a fire or earthquake.

Safety Protections for Employees:

Employers must remember their obligations to provide a safe workplace. Cal/OSHA requires employers to monitor air quality and take the following steps in the workplace:

• When wildfire smoke might affect a worksite, employers must monitor the Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM2.5 before and throughout the work shift.
• Where the AQI for PM2.5 is above 150, the employer must provide respirators to all workers and encourage workers to use respirators.
• Where the AQI for PM2.5 exceeds 500, respirator use is required.

Air quality can be tracked through websites like the U.S. EPA’s AirNow or local air quality management district websites. Employers can also use their own instruments to measure PM2.5 at worksites per Cal/OSHA’s requirements.

As always, we are here to help with any employment questions you may have.  Please stay safe and let us know how we can assist you and your employees.

HR Best Practices when your Employees are Evacuated:

Remember the humanity of our employees not just the legalities of the situation.

• Consider providing pay during this time so that employees can focus on meeting their immediate physical needs rather than their financial.
• Communicate your support to employees to hold their job and cover their responsibilities, while they take the time off that they need.
• Utilize credit card points to pay for local accommodations for the employee.
• Take donations from other employees in order to build camaraderie and support for the affected employees.
• Solicit help from unaffected employees as well as customers or colleagues by asking for volunteers who can house a pet, provide transportation, make donations, or provide other services.
• Offer to make phone calls or be a central point of contact for the affected employees’ family members in order to maintain communication during this time.

Most of all, remember that what you do or do not do will be remembered by your employees and can build loyalty and goodwill or it can directly destroy it. Be mindful of this when making your choices.

 

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COMMUNICATION

Prepared by Dave Oates, APR, david@publicrelationssecurity.com.

In a crisis like a wildfire or natural disaster, you possess the ability and responsibility to convey information that gives people hope and direction. Your commitment to this can make a big difference for those seeking your guidance.

Most insurance policies fund professional crisis management communication initiatives during an adverse event. That will come in handy because time is not on your side when wildfires happen. You can’t wait hours to respond. You have minutes. Delaying conversations with employees, customers, business partners, and news outlets will mean others will speak on your behalf and set the narrative. We saw this only too well recently in Los Angeles. Without warning, devasting winds and dry conditions sparked mass conflagrations that made the region hellish. The ensuing chaos tied up first responders, elected leaders, municipal services, transportation corridors, and business operations. Misinformation from city, county, and state officials filled the void and littered press coverage.

I often get asked if executives can plan for responding to a crisis like a wildfire before it occurs without knowing all the facts. Absolutely! Here’s how.

Figure out with whom you need to communicate, why, and how. As self-evident as it seems, most leaders neglect to engage ALL audiences. While many companies pay significant attention to news outlets in a crisis, journalists aren’t the only concern. Instead, prioritize audiences this way:

1. Employees
2. Customers
3. Business partners
4. Agency officials/government entities
5. Investors/Donors
6. Press/General Public

Staff must always—ALWAYS—get informed about an adverse news event before any other audience, regardless of the type of crisis. Employees are the most effective and valuable marketing assets. They operate as your director of first and last impressions. Provide staff with information on the situation and empower them to convey your message clearly and effectively.

Next, figure out how to reach these audiences. Since you’ll likely experience power disruptions during a wildfire, plan to use multiple channels, such as group text, internal chat apps, phone trees, and email. This approach will give you the best chance of your information reaching people promptly.

Know what to say. Communicate what you know, as incomplete as it may be, and without speculation. Your official word will tell audiences what information they can rely upon.

Also, keep everyone updated. Get audience feedback about what’s on their minds and what they need. Then, respond to it and communicate with current information regularly. Don’t just send out one statement and expect to kick back.

Be sure to incorporate empathy and action in each message. Remember that audiences feel great angst during a wildfire. Your messaging should recognize those anxieties to let people know you hear them and understand why they’re concerned.

At a minimum, you should prepare to address how you and others can help employees and others who lost homes or are injured and how operations will continue during and after the wildfire event.

Practice. Developing “muscle memory” in communicating during a wildfire or natural disaster will allow you to address things immediately in an empathetic and action-oriented manner. If you don’t practice it, particularly on the gotcha questions, you’ll likely default into a “fight” or “flight” mode.

The fight mode arises when you instinctively argue with someone, like an employee, who posts on Indeed that their bosses don’t know how to support team members after they’ve lost their homes. Reacting publicly with sharp, angry, and dismissive tones is natural. However, taking this route only elevates audience anxiety and anger, provides search engines with a compelling clip to rank highly, and hampers your ability to return to normal operations.

I’ve also seen executives entering the flight mode during a crisis by saying little or nothing. Your silence can amplify the other narrative, cause employee morale to plummet due to your lack of response, and alienate customers.

You can avoid these two pitfalls by preparing to answer the seemingly random “gotcha” questions. These questions carry an inherent bias, implying that you’ve intentionally or negligently done something wrong.

We hope you never need to use this information beyond the planning and practice stage, but the cold, hard reality is that you might. Getting prepared could mean the difference between getting through it and never recovering.

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