2011 News

Massachusetts Homestead Law Changes

On December 16, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a bill that provides all Massachusetts homeowners an automatic homestead exemption of $125,000 for protection against certain creditor claims on their principal residence without having to file a declaration of homestead with the Registry of Deeds. The new homestead law goes into effect on March 16, 2011. read more


Tax Relief Act of 2010

On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the “Tax Relief Act of 2010”). The Tax Relief Act of 2010 at last addressed the applicability of the estate tax to decedents who died in 2010 and prescribed the future of the transfer tax system for 2011 and 2012, among many other tax measures. read more