Q: "If I have a will, is my estate and family safe from delays and expenses from Probate Court?” A: This is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of estate planning, and unfortunately, just having a will is not sufficient to avoid probate. WHAT IS A WILL? A will is a document that details your final wishes for your personal and/or real property after death. When you create your will, you'll notice clauses that
If you listen closely to Town Hall conversations across Massachusetts today, you'll likely encounter residential permitting discussions at a standstill between planners and developers. In fact, the rate of permitting across the Commonwealth since 2010 is less than half of what it was in the 1980s, according to Urban Land Magazine. As a real estate attorney who has permitted hundreds of residential and commercial buildings in dozens of municipalities across Massachusetts over twenty years, I've
The Moment of Realization: When The Government Delays Payment You finally won that big public contract after months (or years) of committing your company to the lengthy government proposal process. After scrutinizing over evaluation factors, you nailed the technical approach, management plan and safety and health plan and even came in under budget. You planned for issues that often arise once you’ve been awarded the work (such as subcontractor issues or customer “scope creep”), but
Some may argue that emojis, the popular small images used to communicate digitally are “the universal language”. However, as many of us have experienced, emojis often have different interpretations. WHAT IS AN EMOJI? An emoji is defined by Mirriam-Webster dictionary as “any of various small images, symbols, or icons used in text fields in electronic communication (as in text messages, e-mail, and social media) to express the emotional attitude of the writer, convey information succinctly,
Planning for your future and what will happen to your estate upon passing is a topic that every person should discuss. Everyone's goal should be to minimize delay and expense when dealing with not only their financial accounts, but their entire estate plan. If your estate plan is done correctly, there should be minimal- to-no cost upon your passing and the transfer immediate. My opinion is that probate should be avoided whenever possible, due to
A device that can take aerial photos or video and deliver goods to your door seems pretty cool, right? But buyers beware…that device could land you in hot water. Recent incidents involving drones raise questions and concerns over the regulation of drones in the United States. In an incident on July 4th in New York City, a drone crashed into a store front causing damage. When it comes to drones, questions arise over what liability
Since FHA and VA are federal loan programs, continuing to grow marijuana could put a borrower in default on their loan, due to the fact that it is considered an illegal activity
Michelle Oliveira, Esq. talks about what you need to know and how to protect yourself when you buy a foreclosure.
When House Speaker Paul Ryan used a clip from a Boston College student’s footage of a recent graduation in a video he made about simplifying the tax code, he had no idea he would become the poster child for copyright infringers who think they can get away with using content without permission. In the past, you'd automatically picture a student pulling a sentence or two from Encyclopedia Brittanica when plagiarism came to mind, since using
Work Permit Changes Ahead? Mayor Marty Walsh Proposes that City Officers Approve or Deny Massachusetts' Work Permits.