This guide discusses emergency preparedness and business continuity planning for private employers. It addresses the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) and its corresponding general industry standards, steps for effective emergency planning, employment law considerations, and strategies for continuing business operations.
Commercial Loan Assessments
As many businesses are analyzing and adjusting strategy, operations & budgets amidst the COVID-19 virus, rapidly-changing regulations and new government relief packages, now is a good time to assess new and existing financing arrangements to keep businesses up and running.
Types of Probate and Benefits of Each
When you lose a family member the logistics can be overwhelming. Between funeral arrangements, coordinating with other relatives, and grieving, it can be hard to know how to proceed. After the initial decisions have been made, and life has settled down, you may have even more decisions to make. What do you do with your relative's personal possessions? What happens to bank accounts, investments or retirement assets? What about their real estate or their vehicles?
Avoid Courtrooms with Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods
Legal complications can arise for any business owner; even those who take reasonable precautions to avoid them. Owners may face contract disputes, allegations of employee rights' violations, and complications arising from complex business transactions.
While these matters can all require legally-sound solutions, they need not all go to court for resolution. There are numerous alternative dispute resolution methods, a few of which we describe below. With ADR, business owners can avoid the courtroom and minimize the time and money that litigation can demand.
Small Business Owners and the Annual Tax Crunch
Before you file away last year's paperwork, make sure you review everything and set aside any information that you need to file taxes. This can include employment records, donations and receipts for work expenses.
You can also collect the tax forms you will need to file and review them. Having these in advance can give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with them and the instructions for completing them.
Determining liability for construction defects
Any major construction project will involve numerous parties, from architects and engineers to contractors and suppliers. With so many people contributing to a single project, issues can arise when determining liability for problems like construction defects.
Defects in construction can lead to dangerous conditions, extensive damage and costly delays. Because of this, properly determining liability for a specific defect will be critical.
College Education Expenses and Child Support
The support of children during and following a divorce is a complex matter. The interplay between child support and college education expenses is an example of this. Payment of college education expenses, like child support, can be enforced, modified, or terminated in the Probate Court. Typically, when a child is attending college full time and is still financially dependent on a parent, they are not "emancipated". In Massachusetts, child support may not end when your child turns 18 and graduates from high school. Child support can continue up to age 23 or when the child graduates from college. In most cases, a divorce agreement will anticipate how the financial needs of a "adult-child" will be met including college education expenses. In others the Court will decide the issue of support of a child over 18.
Challenges Facing Business Owners During Divorce
Business owners and entrepreneurs face unique challenges when entering into a divorce. Any business that one or both spouses own, or in which they may have an interest, will come into play in a divorce case. There are three main areas in which treatment of a business in a divorce can be particularly important.
Four Elements of a Non-Compete that Can Trigger Disputes
Covenants not to compete (Non-Compete) have become increasingly common in recent years. In fact, some argue that they have become too common, adversely affecting the economy and creating unnecessary problems for both employers and employees.
These agreements can be vital to protecting a business' interests as long as they are crafted carefully and used judiciously. If you plan to use non-competition agreements, it is crucial that you make sure they are effective and enforceable. This means avoiding the following issues that can trigger a dispute:
Duties of a Personal Representative
You can determine the disposition of their assets and personal property after your death by creating a will and a comprehensive estate plan in advance. Without these documents, assets will pass to heirs as determined by state law through the probate process. Having a will can both simplify the process and enable you to make choices in advance about the disposition of your assets and personal belongings.
