What is Mortgage Escrow? Escrow involves a third party (often an escrow agent) temporarily holding money or property until specific conditions are met. These conditions could include the fulfillment of a purchase agreement. In the context of real estate, escrow serves to protect both the buyer and the seller during the home buying process. Types...Read More

TAX IMPLICATIONS SURROUNDING RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES IN MASSACHUSETTS: Q. Are last year’s mortgage escrow payments tax-deductible?A. You can deduct only the payments applied to your 2005 tax bills; you can’t deduct any payments that were carried over and applied to your tax bills for the current year.On the other hand, if you purchased a home last...Read More

The Power of Trusts in Estate Preservation In 16th century England, wealth and power were largely a matter of how much land an individual owned. The king paid close attention to the inheritance of land to limit anyone from becoming too powerful. Land transfers following a death were governed by the king’s courts in an...Read More

How to prepare your children for a life without parents As young parents, it’s truly one of your worst nightmares: Both you and your partner die and leave your children orphaned.For many, the thought is so painful that they can’t begin to tackle the task of drawing up a will and choosing who would look...Read More

Who would raise your children if you couldn’t If you have young children, you should choose a personal guardian — someone to raise them in the highly unlikely event you can’t.If your children are young, you’ve probably thought about who would raise them if for some reason you and the other parent couldn’t. It’s not...Read More

What to know about using life insurance as a source of income for your children. Life insurance may be a good source of income for your children if you die. Here’s what you should know.At some time or other, all parents worry about what will happen to their children if one or both parents were...Read More

Lawyers said a new law that will eliminate the requirement of filing entire trust documents in real-estate matters will help ease administrative headaches and protect their clients’ privacy.The new law, effective immediately, allows attorneys to record simply a trustee certificate at the Registry of Deeds when a property interest is owned by a trust, instead...Read More

Balancing Personal Use and Investment: Tax Tips for Vacation Homes Q. I recently purchased a vacation home, which I probably will rent out part of the time. What’s the limit on the amount of time I can use the property myself and still treat it as an investment for tax purposes? Also, must I pay...Read More

Rental Income Tax Treatment Q. We recently purchased a summer home, primarily for our own use, but we will probably rent it out now and again, just to pick up a little extra income. What tax deductions (if any) will we be able to claim?A. To start, you’re going to have to be a lot...Read More

The necessity for clients to maintain the relevance of their estate plans cannot beoverstated. One of the most significant errors individuals commit in the realm ofestate planning, aside from not having a plan at all, is allowing an existing plan tobecome outdated. An obsolete plan is incapable of achieving its intended goalsand may inadvertently result...Read More