Financing Your Loved One’s Skilled Nursing Care – Medicare vs. Medicaid
Many of us have experienced that moment of panic when we learn a parent, grandparent or other beloved elder is being rushed to the hospital after a fall. Once the frenzy of the immediate crisis passes, reality sets in. Our loved one is no longer safe to return home immediately and live on his or…
Establishing and Maintaining Legal Domicile (Residence) in Florida
Registering to Vote: Supervisor of Elections Automobile Registrtion: Tax Collector’s Office (Plates) Automobile License: Florida Highway Patrol (New Driver’s License) Homestead Exemption: Residents may file for homestead exemption at the property appraiser’s office. Filing must be accomplished between January 1 and March 1. Bring your warranty deed so legal description may be ascertained, together with…
Why Do I Need a Power of Attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document in which you can designate a person to make financial decisions for you. Unlike a will (which takes effect only after your death), the authority under a power of attorney is valid only while you are alive. If you start to need help managing finances, it can…
Social Security and Rep Payees
The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) has long used the representative payee program to designate who will manage the funds of a minor or incapacitated beneficiary. As demand for this program is growing, the government is reviewing how the program functions and the role of a representative payee (also referred to as a “rep payee”). The…
Just for the Wealthy? Rethinking the Trust Fund
When you hear the phrase “trust fund” you may think of wealthy families like the Rockefellers or Vanderbilts. However, trusts today are useful for families with estates of all sizes. A trust is essentially a money management tool that designates a fiduciary, called the trustee, to manage the trust’s assets. The trust creator, called the grantor, determines…
Contractors Beware: Know When You Really Last Performed on the Project
We previously featured a construction law article concerning the timing requirements for “perfecting” a general contractor’s or subcontractor’s mechanic’s lien on private construction projects in Massachusetts. That article, titled “What You Need to Know About Massachusetts Mechanics Liens,” provided contractors with an overview of how properly to record and prosecute liens against a project owner…
Demands for Direct Payment on Public Construction Projects
Many subcontractors, after substantially completing their work, find themselves eagerly awaiting payment from their project general contractor – beyond the contractual deadline for payment. In such a situation, the general contractor also might be awaiting payment from the awarding authority for various reasons, even if the associated subcontractor’s work is fully completed. For example, the…
Know Your Collateral: Unique Risks in Lending to Condominium Projects
When a real estate developer seeks financing from a lender in connection with a construction project, it is common for the lender to receive a mortgage from the developer on the property to be developed. This mortgage, along with the associated loan agreement and promissory note, constitutes security for the money loaned to the developer….
Payment Bond Claims on Public Construction Projects
Those of us in the construction business, whether as a project owner, general contractor or subcontractor/supplier, know all too well that payment claims or set-off claims are to be expected throughout a project’s life cycle. Despite the best efforts of a general contractor that timely submits requisitions, or a subcontractor that timely and properly completes…
