Archive for September 2011
Estate Planning – What About Your Young Children?
September 14, 2011 | Author ASkarmeas
Planning your estate is a very important process because it serves as a precautionary measure against the unexpected. In the event of a sudden injury or an unanticipated death it is important to have your affairs in order to ensure that your belongings and family members are protected. But many people think they are not “old enough” to plan their estate. Others think that they do not have enough money or property and there are some that have convinced themselves that while yes, most people will die – they certainly will be an exception. Unfortunately, of course, this is not true. Death is inevitable and, while the younger you are the better your chance of putting this off for a while, the fact is we should all plan for the eventuality.
Now what about that young couple that has limited assets and maybe a couple of kids. They are just trying to get by, so they certainly are not thinking that they have to do any estate planning. Instead they are more likely thinking: “What do I have to leave?” Putting aside the question of financial assets for a minute – the first question that they should be asking is – what about the kids?
There is no more important reason for getting your estate plan in place than removing as much uncertainty as possible from your childrens’ futures. Who is going to be responsible for raising your children? Is this something you want to leave to chance or do you want to pick the person(s) that are going to take care of your kids? The most important aspect of the estate plan for the younger couple with minor children is to name the guardian or guardians who will be responsible for your children.
Now, what about the assets that you are leaving behind? You may think that you are just getting by, but that may be different after you are gone. Do you own a home? Do you have life insurance or retirement accounts? You will want to make sure that these assets are left for your children and managed in their best interests. Again – this is something that you do not want to leave to chance. You should and you can pick the people that will be responsible to manage these assets so that you can insure the best possible future for your children.
The fact is just going through the process allows you to answer crucial questions for your family’s future. It will also usually result in discussing succession issues with your family members to make sure that they are willing to take on the important roles as discussed after you are gone. Further, and maybe most important of all, if you have a specific plan in place your children will not be left guessing as to what their future holds. Think about that for a minute – don’t you want to leave your children with as little uncertainty as possible?
The bottom line here is that Wills and estate planning are most definitely not just for the aging individual, but are for any person with assets or people that they would like to protect. The process of estate planning is fairly simple when handled by an attorney and is relatively inexpensive and brief. It doesn’t make sense to wait – ever, and it certainly doesn’t make sense if you have small children at home!
“Psychological Impacted Events” and the Sale of Real Estate
September 4, 2011 | Author ASkarmeas
Buying and selling a house can be quite daunting with all of the paperwork, agreements, and negotiations that accompany the process, not to mention the money involved. Buyers are faced with the task of finding a suitable property that fits their needs and is within their financial reach—which is easier said than done a lot of the time. Sellers are presented with the responsibility of preparing the property, providing all of the information to the buyer, and attaining an adequate amount of money for the home. Everyone involved in the process has specific roles and responsibilities that are controlled by various laws and regulations that must be followed to avoid an unwanted claim or worse, litigation.
One of the gray areas of real estate dealings lies in what the seller must necessarily disclose to the interested buyer. First it is important to note that in Massachusetts seller’s have limited obligations. Still, revealing general information about the property is a no brainer. It is customary, for example, to disclose all dimensions of the house, number of rooms, type of materials used, quality of construction, the age of the house, and other various tidbits of information that the MLS listing sheet includes. But how much is one required to reveal about the events which occurred on the property? Legislators have a difficult time determining such boundaries and balancing the seller’s privacy with the buyer’s right to have a full understanding of the home he or she is about to purchase.
As a buyer in the market for real estate, one may want to know more about the property he will potentially purchase and find out what really went on in the house he could be living in. Law MGL c. 93 s.114 lays out a standard of disclosure that may be displeasing to an interested buyer because it outlines that the seller need not reveal “psychologically impacted events.” But what does that actually mean? A “psychologically impacted event” is quite an ambiguous term that only vaguely indicates what a seller is not obligated to disclose. Basically what the law states is that the seller does not need to necessarily reveal any event of psychological significance that occurred on the premises including death of an occupant, paranormal activity, health issues of a prior occupant or if a murder or suicide occurred in the house. In the interest of the buyer the law also delineates that the seller may not willfully deceive the buyer in any way; otherwise, if the buyer inquires about any one of the previously mentioned occurrences, the seller may not withhold information at that point. The informed individual can ask such questions of the seller if these instances are of interest to him, but otherwise a buyer may find himself purchasing a home with a hidden history.
So who does this law protect and how does one use it to his or her advantage? Largely it protects the seller and alleviates the legal responsibility to disclose information that is potentially harmful to the sale of his home. Even though buyers generally communicate with the real estate brokers more than the actual sellers, this law provides a provision for the seller to, best said, “avoid” such information. The law does protect the buyer by necessitating that there is no willful deceit and that the seller is straight forward in responding to the buyer’s inquiries. It aims to protect the buyer from unscrupulous behavior on behalf of the seller and broker in the way of intentionally lying about the events on the property. If “psychologically impacted events” are of interest to you when purchasing a home be sure to discuss this with your attorney or buyers agent and ask your seller or seller’s agent.