The Pros and Cons of PODs (Payable On Death accounts)
Nancy Demeanor was always ready to take end runs around routine practices if she could save money. Miss Demeanor realized it was time to establish an estate plan so her considerable resources would go to the people she wanted to get them. Unfortunately, Miss Demeanor didn’t want to incur the legal fees necessary to create a plan, nor did she […]
Reminiscences Installment 2
Last month’s Insight Blog focused primarily on real estate related matters. Dramatic changes have occurred in other areas of the practice of law over the past fifty years. Here are five more that come to mind. 1. Jury System. No one likes to get summoned for jury duty. Everyone agrees it is an essential part of our judicial system, but […]
Reminiscences– 50 Years of Practice
As of December 19, 2022, I will have been a member of the Massachusetts Bar for fifty years, and a practicing attorney all those years. Needless to say, there have been many small as well as drastic changes in the practice of law over those years. Following are five things that are different than they were in 1972. Next month’s […]
Do It Yourself Estate Planning
The temptation to draft your own will, even a trust, may be strong. We see advertisements for forms that can be obtained online and easily adapted to various specific situations. Online forms are not necessarily “bad” but they tend to try to address every situation using a “one size fits all” approach. If you are really in a “do it […]
Bad Real Estate Decisions Part 2
Robert Feline (his friends knew him as Bob Kat) was very stubborn and some may have called him a curmudgeon. He grew up in a large family, having five siblings. Interestingly, neither Bob, nor any of the siblings had children. They all grew up in a house in one of Boston’s nicer neighborhoods. Bob’s parents weren’t much into legal stuff. […]
Bad Real Estate Decisions Part 1
Sam and Ella lived in a nice Boston suburb on a quiet street where every house lot was at least an acre. They were good friends with their next-door neighbors, Phil and Rhoda Dendron. Sam and Ella’s daughter babysat for Phil and Rhoda’s children and looked after their pets when they were away. It is good they were always on […]
Suing Somebody
Penny Pincher decided to have some relatively minor renovations done to her home. She hired Robert Feline (better known as Bob Katt to his friends) to do the work. Bob gave her an estimate of $15,000.00 to do the work. Bob did a terrible job, and his work was worthless but by the time Penny realized this, she had already […]
Transferring Title of Your Home to Your Children
Fred and Ethyl had three children, Mo, Larry, and Curley. They wanted to be sure the three kids inherited their home with as little cost and inconvenience as possible. A friend told them they had put their house in a trust for their benefit while living, then for the benefit of their children upon the demise of the second of […]
A Second Marriage
John and Mary, both in their early sixties, found each other after each going through a divorce. They were happy and after dating for a few months, they decided to get married. John’s three children from his prior marriage were delighted with their father’s happiness and happily attended the small, simple wedding ceremony. Similarly, Mary’s two children were pleased with […]