Is Your Inheritance Up For Grabs in a Divorce?

In Massachusetts divorce cases, expected future property acquisitions in the form of inheritances or family trusts may be taken into consideration by the Court when dividing marital property.  The law has been very well settled that “Opportunities for future acquisition of capital assets and income” are one of the factors the Court should take into consideration as under M.G.L. Ch. 208, §34.

During the divorce process, each party seeks to obtain from the other evidence of financial assets so that the Court properly takes them into consideration when determining the division of marital property. A party in a divorce case will want evidence of the other parties future interests (i.e. money or property), which may take the form of future inheritances. The private nature of these possible future interests raise a problem for parties in a divorce which is not easily dealt with without use of a common discovery tool known as the “Vaughan Affidavit.”

In order to establish a balance between the privacy interest of third parties and the right of a divorcing spouse to the full disclosure of marital assets, in 1991 the Court in Vaughn v. Vaughn held that third parties have legitimate privacy interests that need to be protected while acknowledging that the Court may properly take a party’s expectancy interests into consideration when determining what disposition to make of the marital property that is subject to division. The result was the so-called Vaughan affidavit.

The Vaughan affidavit is a document supplied by the third party (usually the parents or grandparents of a divorcing spouse) in a divorce proceeding, that provides limited disclosure of the individuals financial assets, net worth, and a general description of their estate plan. The affidavit is supplied in lieu of deposing the third party.  If the third parties reside in Massachusetts, they will in all likelihood confer with their own counsel once they receive the subpoena to get legal advice.  Upon doing so, they will understand that they may choose to either produce the documents and/or appear for the deposition, or execute the Vaughan affidavit.  When presented with these options, they will almost always choose the latter, less intrusive alternative.

The Vaughan affidavit is an important tool for lawyers practicing family law, but judges are entitled to a substantial amount of discretion when taking it into consideration. Parties in a divorce action have a right to know about substantial expectancy interests of the opposing party but the Court is mindful that a person could be dis-inherited or divested of any such interests at the sole discretion of a third party.  Nonetheless, the importance of obtaining a Vaughan affidavit in a divorce action cannot be overstated where one party suspects the other of having a substantial inheritance coming their way. Taking a future interest into consideration can make a significant difference when calculating divisible marital assets and should not be overlooked.

 

Helpful Tips for Co-Parenting During the Holidays

Source: Helpful Tips for Co-Parenting During the Holidays

Insurance Company Propaganda: Don’t Be Fooled

Since the September 2011 attacks in New York City, the insurance industry has taken it upon themselves to market a campaign which has diminished and made a mockery of the personal injuries that drivers and passengers can sustain in car accidents and slip and fall claims.
The American culture is bombarded daily with insurance company misinformation and misrepresentations concerning the nature of the Massachusetts personal injury claims process and how it works. Most law abiding, tax paying citizens in Massachusetts believe that the insurance system is out of control and is an open target for abuse. They do not realize that the insurance industry has propagated this illusion in order to influence jury verdicts and foster skepticism of plaintiffs cases. As a consequence, Massachusetts personal injury lawyers in the past 15 years have learned that it can be difficult to achieve a plaintiffs verdict, even when there may be very serious injuries invloved and negligence is conclusively established. Juries tend to view personal injury claims as frivolous, and plaintiffs attorneys as “ambulance chasers” and actors in the theatre of the american courtroom instead of learned advocates for their clients. The public, by and large, seems to have developed an irrational fear of their own insurance premiums going up as a result of the claims process.

 

Dont take any chances with your personal injury claim

Most people do not realize that claims adjusters are trained to settle a claim for as little as possible and to save the insurance company money. They do not necessarily care whether or not the settlement is fair and reasonable and are not likely to empathize with a claimant. Many of their pay structures are based upon year end bonuses which reflect the amount of money that was saved in paying on the true value of a given personal injury claim. The public is also not aware that a fair percentage of these clakms adjusters are also attorneys. When injured in a Massachusetts car accident, Massachusetts slip and fall or any other Massachusetts claim involving personal injuries, it is important to retain a lawyer who has extensive experience in handling these types of claims in order to make sure your outcome is as favorable as possible.