- Divorce
- Child SupportAs a life tenant, the parent retains the right to live in the home for his or her lifetime. Upon the parent’s death, the estate fully vests with the child who was deeded the remainder interest. The transfer is accomplished outside the probate process. One consequence is that the parent will no longer own the property. Should the child develop financial troubles, the property will be vulnerable to the child’s creditors. Also, if the child divorces, the property could be subject to alimony or child support orders. On the positive side, the child receives a stepped-up basis in the property equal to the value of the property at that time of the parent’s death. There are tax benefits to this type of transfer, especially if the child will not live in the house, and, thus, can not take advantage of the exemption from capital gains taxes for equity increases in the sale of a homestead.
- Spousal Support
- Child AbuseEh You and attorney Mitchell Garabedian, the “Spotlight” attorney uncovering child abuse and corruption within the Catholic church, each tried to do something that had not been done before.
- Criminal DefenseSuzanne Hard has experience with business formation issues, intellectual property, lease and contract drafting, negotiation and review, wills, criminal law, and immigration. In addition, she provides Social Media services to individuals, small businesses, and non-profits, specializing in strategy and content creation. She offers Social Media workshops on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging for career development, marketing and platform-building. Suzanne assists clients with Public Relations, including event planning, publicity, communications, press releases and article-writing.
- Business Formation
- Business DisputesAdmitted to Massachusetts Bar in 1986; admitted to Washington, DC Bar in 1988; admitted to Connecticut Bar in 1990; admitted to Supreme Court Bar in 2018. Juris Doctor Degree, University of Michigan Law School, 1986. MS Degree, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 1987. BA Degree, Vassar College, 1982. Particular areas of concentration - real estate, litigation, consumer and commercial collections, personal injury, foreclosure, consumer protection law, mechanic's lien law, contract disputes, discrimination law and bankruptcy.
- Intellectual Property
- Land Use and Zoning
- Landlord-Tenant Disputes
- Personal InjuryJs Good, bad, ugly, all the reasons people get captured by something. I was young, ambitious, successful, I really liked personal injury law. I liked contingent fee practice, I liked working for people, mastering science, engineering, investigating the past. One of the Woburn mothers asked a colleague for help, my name came up. She came to me, told the story, I met with the families, but I realized it was not something that I could do. It was way too complex, too big. I tried to get other lawers involved; they wanted nothing to do with it. I went out to San Francisco for a convention. Ralph Nader came to a group of attorneys and said that there are cases out there that we must take as lawyers, and we need to form an organization to support that project. He asked each of 200 lawyers to contribute $1,000 each, and the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice was formed. When I returned to Boston, I had a phone call from Rony Roisman, just hired as Executive Director of the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. He wanted my help with the Woburn contamination case.
- WillsThe new law does not invalidate any previously completed living wills. In fact, it provides for legal recognition of living will documents from other states, when they have been properly created in accordance with the laws of the other state, and when they do not conflict with Connecticut law.
- TrustsA different way to avoid probate is to place the property in a revocable living trust. In such a case, the deed to the property is transferred into a trust, with the children as beneficiaries. The trust does not die with the parent and is not subject to probate. Thus, the parent accomplishes the transfer but can maintain control of the property and protect it from the potential creditors of the child.
- Power of AttorneyA Power of Attorney refers to a document that authorizes someone to act as the agent, or Attorney-in-Fact, for the Principal, the person conveying the power. An every-day example can be found in the sale of a home, where a wife signs paperwork on behalf of a husband who is unable to attend the closing.
- Probate
- Bankruptcy
- ForeclosureAdmitted to Connecticut Bar in 1987. Juris Doctor Degree, University of Connecticut School of Law. MBA Degree, University of Connecticut, 1987. BA Degree, University of Notre Dame, 1983. Particular areas of concentration - consumer and commercial collections, foreclosures, replevin actions, bankruptcy and real estate.
- Tax Law