If a person dies without a will, state laws determine who will inherit the estate. The Probate Court will decide who handles your estate (the “Administrator”), and who will be appointed guardian of any minor children you may have. Generally, your entire estate will pass to your spouse if he or she survives you, except in second marriage situations where there are children from a previous marriage. If not, it will pass to your biological and adopted children (but not step-children). If you have no surviving spouse or children, the estate passes in the following order: parents; in none, then to siblings; if none, then to grandparents; if none, then to next nearest kin. Having a will allows you to choose who will manage your estate and who will inherit your property.

No. There are ways to avoid probate, but a will requires probate administration to be effective.

It depends. If you have a small family that gets along well, it may help save time and money if your affairs can be arranged to avoid probate. However, there are situations in which having the Probate Court oversee the handling of your estate can be very useful, especially if there is a possibility of discord among family members. There may be other technical reasons, involving tax planning or potential liability, for opting to go through Probate.

Estate taxes depend on the value of your estate. For 2011-12, the federal estate tax only applies to estates over $5 million. Vermont estate tax applies to estates over $2.75 million. For individuals with high net worth, it is important to discuss this subject with a professional. The rules pertaining to what assets are included in your estate and how they are valued are complex, and can be difficult to understand.

Trusts can be very useful estate planning tools, even for people with modest assets. They can allow you take advantage of certain tax provisions, avoid probate, simplify administration of your estate, insure privacy and manage assets for young heirs well after they reach the age of majority (18).

A Power of Attorney can allow you to handle a parent’s financial affairs as they reach an advanced age. Advance health care directives can also allow a family member to assist an individual with medical decisions, funeral arrangements, organ donation and end of life care. If a person has already be found to be incompetent, it may be necessary to apply to the Probate Court for an adult guardianship. This would be a good opportunity to make sure your parent’s assets are titled in a way that will be easy to administer once they pass away.

Unless you have long term care insurance or qualify for Medicaid, you will be required to spend down your savings until you meet Medicaid requirements, which are quite low. There are steps you can take to protect some assets, including your home, but they involve careful planning.

This can be a difficult time, both emotionally and logistically. Once funeral arrangements have been completed, it will be necessary to locate the will, if one exists. If a parent has any assets, which means cash, savings, personal or real property, it may be necessary to file a petition with the Probate Court to open an estate. Depending on the type of assets a person has, or how those assets are titled, probate may not be necessary. In any event, it will be necessary to take several steps to wind up a person’s affairs; everything from notifying Social Security, to collecting life insurance policies and gathering bills for payment. It may be necessary to search the home to make sure that you have all of the necessary documents you need to proceed.

To be successful, every business owner should have a team of professionals they can rely on to help them avoid common pitfalls. At a minimum, you should have an attorney, an accountant and an insurance agent. This kind of team can make sure you have the right kind of business entity, make you aware of any licenses and permits you may need, help you set up your accounts and make sure you have the right kind of insurance for your needs. As you grow, your needs will eventually include a retirement plan consultant, financial planner and advertising firms.

A business entity is the legal form in which you conduct your business. It can range from a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation and limited liability company (LLC), with variations on most of the above. There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to selecting your entity choice. Different companies will require different sets of attributes depending on their size, number of owners and employees, liability risks and tax optimization.

owner who is personally liable for any claims against the business. This means that the personal assets of the business owner could be exposed to those claims. In a general partnership, each partner is not only personally liable for his own claims, but claims against the other partners as well. A corporation has an identity separate from that of its owners, so it can shield its owners from personal liability. An LLC can also shield owners from liability, but it is often simpler, more flexible and easier to maintain than a corporation.

That will depend on a discussion between you, your accountant and your lawyer. While personal asset protection is important, there may tax-related concerns that will help govern your choice.

That, of course, depends on the type of business. However, there are several areas you may need to look into, such as:
-Professional licenses: Most professions require licenses from the governing state agency.
-Zoning and planning permits: Before you start your business, you will want to make sure it is a type that is allowed by the zoning bylaws in your town.
-State land use and environmental permits (including large farm operations permits): Some businesses will also require an Act 250 permit depending on the type of business, how it impacts the environment and the amount of land involved. In all, there are 45 different state permits in such areas as Wastewater Management; Water Supply; Air Pollution; Watershed Management and Hazardous Wastes.
-Restaurant and liquor licenses;
-Tradename registration: If you do business by a name other than your own, you will want to protect it by registering with the Secretary of State in each state where you do business. If you are a corporation or LLC and do business in other states, you will need to register as a foreign entity in those states.
-Copyright protection, Patents and Trademark Registration. All of these come under the general heading of “Intellectual Property”, which requires specialized advice to protect these valuable assets.
-Tax department business account number, which is used for your tax filings (sales and use tax, corporate income tax, employee withholding taxes).
-Department of Labor account number for unemployment filings.
-Federal tax ID number: Necessary for most federal income tax filings.

There is no requirement to have an attorney represent you in accessing workers’ compensation benefits. Moreover, an attorney can never guarantee any outcome for a client. If an attorney promises a particular outcome, you should look for another attorney! However, clients generally benefit from the experience and knowledge provided by a lawyer. Our aim is to makes sure you’re accessing the workers’ compensation benefits that you’re entitled. We encourage you to contact us so that we can discuss your claim and determine whether Kissane can help you.

If you are purchasing real estate, it is always advisable to have an attorney represent you. An attorney will: assist you in forming a purchase contract (unless you are dealing with a realtor) conduct a title search in the town land records to make sure that the property is free of liens and other encumbrances on title; review the seller’s transfer documents to make sure the are complete and in the proper form; organize and conduct the closing and explain loan documents to you.

If you are selling real estate, an attorney can prepare your transfer documents to make sure they are in the proper form, advise you of any permits you may need and prepare the tax forms that are associated with selling real estate.

A verbal promise to sell real estate is, in most cases, unenforceable. Real estate contracts are required by law to be in writing, otherwise the agreement may not be binding.

In the typical real estate transaction, you will need one or more of the following:
- For new construction, a building permit, residential building energy standards (RBES) certificate, wastewater permit and (for drilled wells) a potable water supply permit.
- For new developments, zoning and subdivision approval from the town or city, possible Act 250 land use permit, stream alteration permit, stormwater discharge and other environmental permits.
- For older homes, lead paint disclosure (for pre-1978 construction).
- For condo units or duplexes, a Department of Fire Safety Inspection.
- For any improved property, a zoning certificate of compliance.
- For non-resident sellers, a Non-resident tax withholding form.
- For persons selling non-primary residence held less than six years, a land gains tax return and withholding return.

policies are required by banks making mortgage loans, and they only protect the bank in the event of a title issue. Owners’ policies protect the owner in the event there is ever a dispute over your title. Even if an attorney does a proper title search, there are many types of problems that can result in a claim against your title. For example, if a document could not be found because it was misindexed, or a document was forged or signed by someone who did not have legal capacity to sign it. There are potential Native American claims, ancient roads and other problems that are not disclosed in the land records. Also, attorneys do not visually inspect a property, so there may be problems with right of way locations or other physical aspects of the property. For the relatively small one-time premium, an owner’s policy is almost always a good idea.