Articles

What Is Required For A Will to Be Legally Binding And Enforceable?

What Makes a Will Legally Binding and Enforceable? For all the stories about great ideas or works of literature starting out as notes scribbled on a napkin, it is not advisable you do the same for your last will and testament. Making your last wishes known requires deliberation, preparation, and a final document of indisputable authenticity and provenance that will not be challenged in probate court. In this article, we will provide a brief overview of

New Hampshire’s common-law marriage exception

New Hampshire does not recognize common-law marriage. However, there is a unique exception allowed in probate. Recently, Attorney David M. Beliveau petitioned the New Hampshire court for a hearing for just such an allowance. Congratulations David for the court’s approval. Click to read the Order on Motion for Determination of Common-law Marriage. Common-law Marriage Order Allowed

Making The Most of Restricted Stock and RSUs

Restricted stock and restricted stock units (RSUs) are two alternative forms of employee compensation. They’re a way for a company to incentivize employees with equity in the company. Restricted stock is typically granted as a type of bonus or added compensation, using a vesting schedule. You receive partial ownership of the shares and may be entitled to voting rights and dividends before they vest. Until the stock is vested, however, you can’t sell it. If you

Including Life Settlements in Your Estate Plan

If you have a life insurance policy you no longer need, you may be able to sell it for significantly more than its cash surrender value (CSV). A life settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy to a third party. The sale can provide the policy holder with more than the CSV and even more than the premiums paid over the life of the policy. Life insurance settlement companies buy policies and then continue

RMDs Now Required For Death Beneficiaries

If you inherited an IRA after January 1, 2020, you might be in for a surprise. Under proposed rules issued in February 2022, you might have to start withdrawing that money now. The shift comes as a shock for many. When the Secure Act passed in 2019, it required most death beneficiaries to fully withdraw retirement plan assets within a 10-year window. The expected interpretation was that someone could let that money grow for nine years

How To Protect Your Child’s Inheritance From Their Spouse

One concern we hear in the estate planning process is how to protect an adult child’s inheritance from their spouse. Sometimes this stems from a place of animosity or concern over a child’s problem partner. Some people are concerned about divorce-proofing the assets they’ll leave behind for their kids. Still others simply believe that inheritances are best kept in the “family.” Naming your child alone as inheritor. The most basic option you have is to leave

Making It Easier For Loved Ones To Settle Your Estate

For many people, estate planning is about more than transferring assets after you’re gone. It can be about making life easier on your survivors and smoothing the way for your loved ones at what is sure to be a difficult time. If that’s one of the “gifts” you’d like to leave behind, consider taking the following steps. Work with an attorney: Consult an attorney who will help you prepare a correctly executed will and/or living trust.

Using Intrafamily Loans In Your Estate Plan

Interest rates are still at historic lows, despite an expected Federal Reserve rate hike. At times like these, families have a unique opportunity to transfer wealth via an intrafamily loan. An intrafamily loan is a way for family members to loan money to each other at a special rate. They might be used to help a relative buy a house or finance a startup, for example. But for some families, they’re a tool to transfer assets

Know Your Deeds: An Overview of Deed Types in Massachusetts

What Is a Deed? While the ‘title’ to a property is the abstract concept of rightful ownership, a deed is a legal document recognizing an individual’s, individuals’, or legal entity’s ownership of a property. A deed will include a detailed description of the property, including property lines, and name the seller (grantor) and buyer (grantee). Buyers do not sign deeds; only sellers do. Massachusetts law recognizes three types of deeds, each of which provides varying levels

Manage Your Business’s Unemployment Taxes

As a business owner, you’re required to pay three different types of payroll taxes. FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) is the tax used to fund Social Security and Medicare programs. FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act). Employers pay this federal tax to provide unemployment benefits to laid-off workers. SUTA (State Unemployment Tax Act). State governments also collect taxes known as SUTA that finance each state’s unemployment insurance fund. While FICA may be easy to understand, unemployment tax

Florida

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Beliveau Law Group