How Much Money Must Be Deposited Into a Coogan Account from a Child’s Earnings?

Image via Wikipedia, Coogan Account or Piggy Bank?

It is required by law in California and New York  that a percentage of a child’s entertainment industry earnings be deposited into a Coogan Account, a.k.a. a Coogan Blocked Trust Account. In California, only 10 days after getting an entertainment work permit, you must have also opened this special Coogan account specifically for that purpose.

The California Child Actor’s Bill (a.k.a. the Coogan Bill, the Coogan Law, and the Coogan Act) came into being after all the money of child actor, Jackie Coogan, was spent by his parents.  He was left with nothing from all his hard work as a child actor. As a young adult, he filed a lawsuit, but was only able to get back a very small amount of all the money he made.  For more details on this topic, see “What Is a Coogan Account?”

A question many parents ask is “Exactly how much of the child’s earnings must be deposited into this Coogan Account?”

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How Do the California Wildfires Affect Your Health?

California Wildfires, Image by Getty Images via Daylife

When we made the move to Los Angeles for an acting career, we did not anticipate dealing with the California wildfires. But over the last 6 years since we’ve been here, we’ve had to learn how to deal with them.

The Good News — Wildfires Getting Under Control

It is good news that the California wildfires in the Angeles National Forest are now 42% contained (under  control).  The humidity is up, the wind has died down, and the temperatures are a little cooler and heading down.

The slight weather changes should allow the firefighters to continue to make gains in the battle with the wildfires that have been going on for over a week now in the Los Angeles area.

Fortunately, in our area, the air is a little better today than it was yesterday. With the cooler temperatures predicted for the weekend, that trend is likely to continue.

The Bad News

The bad news about the California Wildfires is that over 140,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest have burned, two firefighters have died, people have been injured, people have lost their homes, and the fire is still burning. And even worse, it is believed that the fire is the result of arson. And now there is some talk about there having been some toxic fumes in the air in one of the areas where the firefighters were stationed.

And now there is a new fire South of Los Angeles near Lake Elsinore.

The air quality continues to be extremely poor, and it is not likely to improve much for quite a while.

The threat of additional fires also still remains high, so residents in the L.A. area need to continue to be prepared for evacuation and need to think about the quality of the air they are breathing. (See Are You Prepared for the California Wildfires? for more information.)

Breathing In Smoke and Particles in the Air

Yesterday, when I ventured out to take kids to school, my eyes, nose, and throat were burning, and the windshield was covered in flakes of ash. The whole area was covered in a fog of smoke.

As a parent of a child actor, I am continuing to drive all over the area to auditions and rehearsals and to take care of other tasks related to my child actor’s acting career even with all the smoke and fire nearby.   This is yet another negative of making the move to the L.A. area in pursuit of an acting career for my daughter!

Life still goes on. But the smoke is taking its toll on all of us. We are all suffering with minor symptoms of smoke inhalation, and I am hoping it will get significantly better soon.

I took some time to do some more research on protecting my family from the dangers of breathing in the smoke and ash. I read all about the effects of the California wildfires and how to prevent health problems related to them. I’d like to share what I’ve found with you.

So, “How Are the California Wildfires Affecting Your Health?“  and what can you do about it?

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Should You Move to Los Angeles for Your Child to Become a Child Actor?

Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles

When we were faced with the decision of whether to move to Los Angeles for our daughter to become a child actor, we did not know where to turn for answers.

We had a talent manager who was urging us to move to Los Angeles so he could represent our daughter.

Our daughter was doing some acting locally, but the fact is that Charleston, SC, is not exactly a hotbed of acting activity.  There were not very many auditions for her there.

My daughter also had an agent in Atlanta, but that is about a five-hour drive, which is a long way to go for acting auditions.

Surprisingly, many of our family and friends thought we would regret it if we did not at least give our daughter the chance to pursue acting in Los Angeles.  Of course, others thought we were totally out of our minds for even considering such a thing.

There were so many things to consider, such as whether we could afford it, how long we’d be in Los Angeles, how we’d manage with our family divided that way, and how my husband would work his full-time job and take care of our home and 12-year-old son with us away.

I was worried about leaving my family and friends and going alone with my daughter to this place that I’d heard so many negative things about. And that meant that I would not have anyone I knew nearby to help if we needed it.

And then I had to think about whether I wanted our lives to change that much. We were living a very comfortable life in South Carolina.

It was a very difficult decision to make, especially knowing that there are no guarantees in the entertainment industry.

Certainly, the decision to move to California or New York for your child to become a child actor is a decision that should only be made after a lot of  soul searching.

Is moving to Los Angeles for your child to become a child actor the best decision for you and your child? How will a move like this affect your whole family?  Are there other choices you can make for pursuing a show business career for your child?

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