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Internet divorce seems to be the latest phenomenon in our do-it-yourself society.   It makes sense, these days more and more people meet and date on-line, why not get divorced that way too? The advantages seem obvious, but what about the disadvantages? Those, unfortunately, are not always so clear.

The obvious disadvantage is you don’t have the benefit of legal advice. In the event that a critical legal issue arises, you could unwittingly give up some or all of the things to which you are entitled . Questions such as-

    Am I entitled to a portion of my spouses’ pension plan? What if he was contributing to the plan before we met? What if she’s retired and what was a pension is now her income?

    My spouse stands to inherit a lot of money, am I entitled to any of it?

    How do we divide the proceeds of the marital home? What if my spouse and children want to live there?

    My spouse ran up excessive debt while we were married. Am I responsible for it now that we’re getting a divorce?

    Am I entitled to alimony? How much?

Massachusetts Mechanics Liens

What Every Homeowner Should Know About the
MASSACHUSETTS MECHANIC'S LIEN STATUTE

When you hire a contractor to do work on your home, he or she typically purchases materials for the job and hires subcontractors to do some of the work. No one would dispute that a homeowner should pay for goods or services provided to improve their home. What most homeowners don’t know is that, even if you pay the contractor, if the subcontractors, workers or suppliers your contractor hires aren’t paid, they can file what is called a Mechanic's Lien on your home.

A Mechanic’s Lien is a claim against real estate made by someone who contributed to improvements on the real estate. If there is no Homestead on the property, a Mechanics Lien allows the party who filed the claim to force a sale of the real estate to pay the claim. The lien is recorded with the Registry of Deeds and will appear whenever there is a title search done on the property, such as when the homeowner attempts to sell or refinance.

The main contractor has a direct contract with the homeowner, so if he isn't paid, he can sue on the contract and record a mechanic's lien. But subcontractors, workers and suppliers don't have a contract with the homeowner. A problem occurs when the homeowner pays the main contractor for all or some of the work, but the main contractor doesn’t pay the workers, subcontractors and materials suppliers that were hired to do portions of the job. If they are not paid, their only recourse is to file a Mechanic's Lien on the home.

A lien can result in many different problems for the homeowner. If the homeowner doesn’t have a Homestead on the property, the lien holder can force a foreclosure. To avoid foreclosure, the homeowner may find herself paying twice for the same job. Until the matter is resolved, there will be a cloud on the title of the property, which can affect the homeowner's ability to borrow against, refinance, or sell the property. In Massachusetts, for a Mechanic’s Lien to be valid the person filing the Mechanic’s Lien must file a law suit against the homeowner as well. This means legal fees and court time for the homeowner as well.

Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself from these liens by carefully selecting your contractor and managing your construction project. The first step, as with avoiding most legal problems, is do your homework. Investigate your main contractor before you sign a contract. Check with the Attorney General’s office, the Better Business Bureau, the Board of Building Regulations and Standards, the Office of Consumer Affairs and the Chamber of Commerce to see if there are any complaints on file. If you’re building from scratch, make sure your contractor is licensed with the Board of Building regulations and Standards as a construction supervisor. Hire only licensed contractors and check the contractor's license status on the State Board of Building Regulations and Standards.

Estate Planning

Changes in Federal Estate and Gift Taxes

by Francine Traiger Poor, Esq.

If you give someone money or property during your life, you may be subject to federal gift tax. The money and property you own when you die, which is your estate, may be subject to a federal estate tax. However, there are times when these taxes apply and times when they do not . You should know how much money or property you can give away during your lifetime or leave to your heirs at your death before any tax will be owed.

Every American receives a "credit" against federal Estate and Gift Taxes. Most states also provide their own credit for state tax purposes. This credit is referred to as the "unified" credit because federal gift and estate taxation are integrated into one unified tax system. The unified credit plays a major role in estate planning because there is no estate tax for estates that are less than or equal to the unified credit. For tax years 2006 - 2008, the amount you can pass tax free to your heirs increased to $2.0 million for federal purposes and will increase again to $3.5 million in 2009. Massachusetts exemption is $1.0 million as of 2006 and thereafter. In 2010, the estate tax (but not the gift tax) expires; in 2011, the estate tax again becomes effective at the 2002 exemption level for deaths occurring in 2011 and thereafter, unless modified by Congress. The unified credit may be used for property left to any donee, either outright or in trust. In a typical estate plan, the unified credit amount is used by creating a trust for that amount for the surviving spouse during his or her lifetime. Upon the surviving spouse's death, the children would then become the beneficiaries of the trust. This trust is sometimes called an "exemption trust," a "by-pass" trust, credit shelter trust, or B trust. Regardless of the name of the trust, its purpose is to reduce or eliminate federal estate taxes for a married couple's estate. This type of estate plan sets up an irrevocable trust that will hold the assets of the first spouse to die. The amount transferred to the irrevocable trust usually will not be taxed for federal estate tax purposes when the second spouse dies.

You can effectively reduce or eliminate estate taxes with a little planning and the use of different types of trusts. Planning is a must. For example, a married couple’s estate of $4.0 million or less can be passed to their heirs complete free of federal estate taxes and the state tax can be greatly reduced by putting the assets of the first to die into a trust for the benefit of the children or some other beneficiary while still having the income from the trust used by the surviving spouse. Once the second to die passes on, that person’s assets will pass estate tax free if less than the exemption amount on the date of death. If this all happened in 2006 or 2007, a total of $4.0 million could be protected from federal estate taxes.

Consult your estate planning attorney for advice on how to minimize your estate taxes.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Another new law in Massachusetts requires the installation of a carbon monoxide alarm in every building wholly or partially occupied for residential purposes which burn fossil-fuel for heat or incorporate enclosed parking within its structure. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 148 defines the new requirements. 527 C.M.R. 31.00 et. seq. further defines the terms of the law. The law takes effect on March 31, 2006 for battery powered alarms and January 1, 2007 for hardwired alarms.