Ruling from the Graveyard: Life Estates
Consider the following language that appears in a deed (but could also appear in a will): “The [...]
Articles by Amy Austin
Ripping and Tearing – How to Revoke a Prior Will
You’ve just looked at the will you created ten years ago and you say “Whoa, what was I thinking?” Then [...]
You died First – No, you died First.
Most wills have provisions in them that say that property goes to a certain person if they survive them. If [...]
Nominating A Guardian
At one time, the English Parliament passed a provision that a father could appoint a guardian to take control [...]
Fighting Wills and Playing Tennis
In New Hampshire, we have a concept called self-proving wills. A will is self proving as long as it [...]
No Contest Clauses
It has been a long-standing rule in New Hampshire that a beneficiary who contests a will will forfeit his/her [...]
How an Intestate Estate Passes in Vermont
In Vermont, if you die without a will, but are survived by spouse, the spouse receives the entire intestate [...]
History of Living Wills
When doing an estate plan, a person should not only consider writing a will; they should also consider [...]
Will Substitutes
Whenever we think of the process of transferring property at death, we always think of wills; however, there [...]
Formalities of Writing a Will
The following actually occurred. A man’s aunt, a New Hampshire resident, is dying in the hospital. She has [...]
Writing a Will When You Own a Business
My father owned a trucking company. At one point, it was quite large and reasonably profitable. It was a nice [...]
Focus Group: Alcohol Abuse
WILL YOU ACT AS MY FOCUS GROUP? I’m talking about alcohol abuse here! As you may know, there is something [...]
Channeling “Galvin”
Paul Newman once played a lawyer whose last name was “Galvin.” The movie was “The Verdict.” I had [...]
How to Analyze a Court Case
Every day a lawyer has to analyze a potential court case. They do this analysis because they eventually have [...]
A Christmas Story
It’s Christmas Day. 1953. I’m 6 years old, due to become 7 in 2 weeks. I know what Santa brought me. I [...]
NH and VT — Legal Differences
Decato Law Office practices in two states (New Hampshire and Vermont). Having grown up in Lebanon (a New [...]
We’ve launched our new website
Decato Law Office is reconstructing its website. Reconstruction is necessary as we want to build a site that [...]
The Bill of Rights Under the New Hampshire Constitution
When people hear about the “Bill of Rights”, they generally think about the first ten (10) amendments to [...]
Is Mediation the Right Choice for You?
Our firm has represented clients in the court room for over 35 years. What you may be surprised to learn is [...]
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