Basic Estate Planning for Young Families

Setting up, or even just updating, your estate plan will never be first on your to-do list when coming home with a new child. There are far too many things to do and there is never enough time to do them. Whenever you get a moment of downtime, you're likely going to want to spend it catching up on sleep and not thinking about the doom and gloom scenarios that make estate planning necessary for your family. The good news is estate planning does not have to be a difficult process and with a small investment of time and money you can have an estate plan that gives you peace of mind.

Estate PlanningAndrew HillMarch 8, 2017estate planning

Maine’s Freedom of Access Act: An essential tool for governmental accountability

State and municipal governments are constantly making decisions that impact the lives of citizens. Commonly, the reasoning behind those decisions can be unclear. Further, problems with the process involved in making those decisions could weaken their validity. It is difficult to point out decision-making flaws when citizens are kept in the dark. Governments are commonly held accountable through open government laws that allow citizens to participate and remain informed. Here in Maine, we have the Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) to provide the public access to government information.

Municipal LawAndrew HillFebruary 1, 2017municipal law, administrative law, land use

Important Considerations when Granting or Acquiring Easements

When buying or selling real estate, the transaction often requires granting an easement to provide access, either physically or to utilities like water or electricity.  Briefly, an easement is the right of one property owner to use another's property for a specific purpose.  Commonly, easements are in the form of a right of way that allows the owners of a neighboring lot to pass over another’s land to access their own.  An easement could also allow placement of a well or access to a public water supply. Alternatively, a negative easement could provide that the owner of a lot will actually refrain from using his or her property in certain ways.  For example, a view easement could limit the height of any buildings to protect the easement holder's views.  

Real EstateAndrew HillJanuary 18, 2017real estate, easement

Why transfer jointly owned real estate to a Limited Liability Company?

Way back in June I briefly discussed some of the challenges that come with owning real estate jointly with others. At that time I suggested that a Limited Liability Company (LLC) may be a useful tool to limit conflicts from arising. In this post, I hope to go a little more in depth on why this is the case.

Real Estate, BusinessAndrew HillDecember 5, 2016real estate, business

Can you rely on zoning to protect your real estate investment?

Since 1926 when the U.S. Supreme Court held that local governments had valid interests to enact zoning regulations, zoning has been a central part of land use regulation by municipalities. Zoning ordinances have provided governments with the tools to manage the growth and development of their communities.

Land UseAndrew HillOctober 20, 2016land use, real estate, zoning, municipal law

Engage Early When Opposing Real Estate Developments

You have just moved into your dream house in what you believe to be the perfect community. Everything is great for a while. A few years later you receive a notice about a development being proposed in your community. Maybe it’s just a project that you think will greatly impact your life in the community. Maybe it’s a proposal to build a strip mall next to your home. Now you have a choice to make. Do you just sit back and hope the town planning board does, what you think is, the right thing? Do you chain yourself to a tree? Do you try to stop or, at least, alter the project by getting involved in the approval process? I would suggest that getting involved is your best bet.

Land Use, Real EstateAndrew HillSeptember 21, 2016land use

Limited Liability: What exactly is everyone talking about?

Limited liability, it's the reason everyone tells you that you need an LLC when you start up your new business. It's the reason you're paying the State of Maine a $175 filing fee and $85 a year to file an annual report.

BusinessAndrew HillAugust 29, 2016Business, limited liability

Municipal Land Use Violations: Landowners Can Unknowingly be Exposed to Enforcement Liability

"It's my property, I can do what I want" is a common statement made by some landowners. With the increase in land use regulation and zoning, it has increasingly become a falsehood. Land use regulations greatly impact how real property is used and can often prohibit seemingly harmless actions. For example, some Portland landowners are facing enforcement actions for renting out their property on Airbnb.com.

Land Use, Real EstateAndrew HillJuly 19, 2016land use, zoning, enforcement

Babies: How they make updating a law blog a low priority

Estate PlanningAndrew HillJuly 6, 2016babies

A Brief Introduction to Federal Taxation of Businesses

It would be impossible to fully explain the intricacies of the various federal business tax regimes in a blog post. I can assure you, nobody wants to read that. However, I will attempt to briefly introduce some keep pieces of the following business tax regimes:

Sole Proprietor (Schedule C of an individual return)
C Corporation (Subchapter C - Form 1120)
S Corporation (Subchapter S - Form 1120s)
Partnership (Subchapter K - Form 1065)

New Business: Some Considerations for Entity Selection

When starting a new business several considerations need to be taken into account when deciding what business entity, if any, you should form. Every business has it's own unique circumstances, however, there are two major benefits that can come with forming a business entity. First, entities formed pursuant to a state statute give owners the benefit of liability protection. Second, there is also a potential for tax savings coming in the form of a reduction of self employment taxes.

BusinessAndrew HillJune 13, 2016business, maine, limited liability, taxation, corporations

Family camps in Maine: Why you should plan for the future

The family camp is an important piece of many Maine families. However, the family camp experience is not limited to just campfires, swimming and relaxing. There are a wide variety of legal issues that can come with owning a piece of real estate with others. Two major issues will almost be guaranteed to come up at one time or another. First, who is going to be responsible for the burdens of ownership? Second, how are the benefits of owning a family camp going to be divided? Often these issues need to be considered while hoping to follow the wishes of the past generation that hoped to keep the property in the family for years to come.

Andrew HillJune 5, 2016real estate, camp, maine, estate planning