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• Estate Planning
• Internet, Email & Business News
• Employers and Employees
• Real Estate
• Long Term Care Insurance
  

Estate Planning

Many people have a power of attorney or health care proxy, so a loved one can care for them & their affairs during illness.

A new federal law (“HIPPA”) may frustrate these well laid plans, barring doctors from sharing essential information with your proxy or attorney in fact.

Does your trust and health care proxy comply with new HIPAA regulations?

It may be time to update your current estate plan. Please call for further details on how these new regulations affect you.

Internet, Email & Business News

A new Massachusetts law permits email contracts, effective February 24, 2004.

Benefits:

• If you use purchase orders, loan applications, leases, or any other business documents, you could “close the deal” more quickly & effectively with a properly drafted “e-form”.

Hazards:

• A casual exchange of emails by employees could result in a binding contract with significant liability, when that is not your intent.
• An important business deal may fail, if your e-messages don’t meet the statutory requirements.

To increase your customer base and work flow without expanding your sales force, we can assist you in preparing “e-contracts” that comply with new statutory requirements.

Employers and Employees

What is your company policy on vacation time? Does it accrue weekly? Monthly? Annually? Do you have a “use it or lose it” rule? What if the employee is fired? If the employee leaves voluntarily?

Unless your policy is written and clear, failure to pay may violate the Fair Wage Law even for an employee who is fired“for cause, such as theft. According to a recent Supreme Judicial Court decision, unclear policies may lead to violations resulting in liability for:

• Payment of wages
• Civil penalties
• Criminal prosecution

This is an area where “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. If you would like a quick review of your company’s policy, please let us know.

Real Estate

So, you want to buy a home . . .

Making one of the largest investments of your life can be a daunting and frightening process. Although you may share a cordial relationship with your real estate broker, most brokers represent the seller and do not have the buyer’s best interests at heart. By allowing us to work with you from offer to closing, we can bring you peace of mind. Let us assist you with the following:

• The Offer Process
• The Purchase and Sale Agreement
• Financing – the Lender & Lender’s Counsel
• Title Issues
• Closing

Long Term Care Insurance

Long term care insurance is an increasingly popular method among "baby boomers" to provide for their medical needs and protect their estates from medical and nursing home costs. An effective policy will work in connection and not as a hindrance to other health care programs that are available to you.If you are interested in learning more about long term care insurance,click here

These materials are offered for information purposes only. Do not act or rely upon any of the resources and information available in or from this site without seeking professional legal advice. This material may be considered advertising under the rules of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

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