On December 16, 2010 Governor Patrick signed into law “An Act Relative to the Estate of Homestead”, a comprehensive revision of the Massachusetts declaration of homestead law.
Under prior law, a declaration of homestead protected up to $500,000 of equity in your primary residence. This protection was available only if the homeowner actually filed a declaration of… read more
LEGAL UPDATE: New Massachusetts Homestead Legislation Signed Into Law
Posted: January 07, 2011Tax Update – 2010 Tax Relief Act
Posted: December 21, 2010Congress approved and President Obama signed into law on December 17, 2010, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. This letter is intended to inform clients about changes made by this far-reaching tax law and impress upon them the many ways in which the new law will impact their personal… read more
Legal Update – Massachusetts Adopts Additional Foreclosure Requirements
Posted: October 26, 2010The Massachusetts legislature recently enacted emergency legislation which requires lenders to comply with new rules before foreclosing on a residential property. The new law essentially (i) expands existing pre-foreclosure notice requirements and (ii) creates a new statutory chapter granting additional protections to tenants impacted by foreclosures.
Pre-Foreclosure Notice Requirements.
The new bill, S 2407, (Chapter 258 of… read more
Tax Update – Small Business Jobs Act
Posted: October 07, 2010On September 27, 2010, the President signed the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, passed by Congress the prior week. The Act’s title “Small Business Jobs Act of 2010” does not reflect its true scope; its provisions impact businesses of many sizes.
In addition to the many non-tax provisions related to small business lending and access… read more
Legal Update – CORI Law
Posted: September 15, 2010On August 6, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law long-promised amendments to the Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information law, commonly referred to as the CORI law. The amendments are generally effective as of February 6, 2012. However, the amendments relating to written employment applications become effective on November 4, 2010. These changes will have… read more
Back to School Time
Posted: September 13, 2010
It’s that time of year where students head back to school. If you’re like me and your oldest is heading off to college, you might want to take some time to familiarize yourself with FERPA. FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99). It is… read more
Estate Planning – Estate Tax Marital Deduction
Posted: September 13, 2010First, an explanation about why this letter discusses the estate tax marital deduction at all. Technically, the estate tax marital deduction is no longer available for 2010 because there is no estate tax, period, currently on the books for 2010. Consensus, however, is that this interim 2010 period with no estate tax will be repealed… read more
How Should You Own Your Life Insurance? Is An ILIT Right For You?
Posted: September 13, 2010Besides protecting your family from financial hardship, life insurance also can be an estate-planning tool to transfer large sums to your loved ones free of estate tax and at little or no gift tax cost. This can be done using a life insurance trust. Life insurance trusts can have significant current and future use in… read more