Personal Injury Services
Our Services and How We Serve Our Clients
We provide a full range of personal injury services. Let us help you with all of your personal injury claims. For more than 50 years our attorneys have been handling the full spectrum of legal concerns related to personal injury.
Dealing with a personal injury of any kind, even if relatively minor, is a traumatic and challenging time. You may feel inundated with inquiries from insurers and overwhelmed by medical decisions. This office will do its utmost to help you in negotiating a path to wellness by dealing with the appropriate insurers and liable parties, so that you can concentrate on your medical needs and the needs of your family.
Your case will be handled with strict confidence by this office.
There is never a charge for an initial consultation, and you do not pay a fee unless we win your case. We fully explain all fees and associated expenses and tell you what is going to happen, step by step, until your case is completed. All your questions are answered thoroughly, in terms you can understand. You will be welcome to call, email or drop into our office at any time with questions or concerns you may have.
Don’t take the law into your own hands, put it in ours. We are highly competent lawyers who understand your claim and how best to advance it.
We Provide the Following Services in Hampden and Hampshire County MA:
- Auto Accidents – Not all injuries after a car accident are immediately apparent. Injuries may seem minor and not worth reporting. Or, drivers may be embarrassed and try to brush off their injuries as “nothing.” Unfortunately, speaking to an insurance company too early and without legal representation could limit your ability to collect full lawful damages for latent injuries in the future.
- Slip & Fall Accidents – What are slip and fall accidents? Slip and fall accidents refer to an accident resulting from wet, icy or slippery conditions or uneven or broken pavement.
- Product Injuries – Responsibility for an injury-producing product attaches to any party along the chain of distribution. Unlike some forms of personal injury law, the injured party need not prove specific acts of negligence. Rather, they must prove that the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous and caused an injury. Product liability cases are complex and almost always are disputed by the defendant and their insurance company, resulting in litigation in the courts.
Trucking Accidents – There are no “little” accidents involving a tractor trailer or semi truck on New England roads. Their sheer size compared to other vehicles means even a small accident will often result in catastrophic injuries and death because of negligence on the part of the driver or trucking company.
- Workplace Injuries – All employers are required by law to maintain a safe work environment, including proper training and safety equipment. When an accident occurs, you do not sue your employer. Instead, a Workers’ Comp claim is typically your sole recourse for compensation.
- Wrongful Death – If you’re looking for a lawyer who can represent your wrongful death suit, you need someone with experience. A wrongful death lawsuit is a case that has to be handled with care. Unfortunately, a wrongful death suit can be complex, so you need a lawyer who will approach the case with a careful combination of tenacity and delicacy. You also need someone who will conduct extensive research and gather expert opinions and evidence.
To schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury case, please contact our office at (413) 534-4214 or submit your contact information by completing our form.
Real Estate Services
Our Services and How We Serve Our Clients
We provide a full range of residential and commercial real estate services. Let us help you with all of your real estate needs. For more than 50 years our attorneys have been handling the full spectrum of legal concerns related to real estate.
We Provide the Following Services:
- Purchase and Sale Agreements – Advising buyer and seller clients on all aspects of Purchase and Sale drafting and negotiation, including negotiating sale price, preparing the offer to purchase, conducting the settlement, resolving title issues and other real estate disputes.
- Residential Real Estate Issues – Representation of buyer, seller and bank clients in all aspect of residential real estate including buying, selling, financing and leasing all types of residential properties.
- Conveyancing – Representation of clients who are buying, selling, refinancing or taking out a reverse mortgage, including title exam, settlement preparation and closing work.
- Reverse Mortgages – Assisting clients who are “house rich” and “cash poor” access equity in their home.
- Commercial Real Estate Issues – Counseling clients on all commercial real estate issues including financing, development, zoning opinions, and buy and sell agreements.
- Estate Planning/Probate Estates – Counseling clients through the estate planning/probate process. We assist in the proper planning of estates and throughout the probate process. Probate refers to the process whereby certain of decedent’s debts may be settled and legal title to the decedent’s property held in the decedent’s name alone and not otherwise distributed by law is transferred to heirs and beneficiaries.
- Landlord/Tenant Matters and Summary Process – Representation of clients through landlord/tenant disputes, lease violations and evictions.
- Private Financing – Representation of buyer and lender clients in all aspects of private financing for residential and commercial real estate transactions.
- Condominium Conversions – Advising clients on all aspects of condominium conversions, including engineering referral, condominium documentation preparation, sales and acquisition.
- Zoning – Representation of individual and developer clients before municipal boards and regulatory agencies.
- Land Court Issues – Assisting clients with title defects or landowner disputes that require Land Court intervention, such as tax lien foreclosures, S-Petitions, Quiet Title Actions and Adverse Possession matters.
- Residential and Commercial Lease Negotiation – Advise lessor and lessee clients in commercial lease situations.
- Probate and Elder Law – Probate of Wills & Estates, Preparation of Wills, Durable Power of Attorneys and Health Care Proxies, Trusts, Medicaid Consultations and Asset Preservation, Life Estate Deeds.
To schedule an appointment to discuss your real estate needs please contact our office at (413) 534-4214 or submit your contact information by completing our form.
Probate/Elder Law Services
Our Services and How We Serve Our Clients
Effective Estate Planning and Probate skills are crucial for the protection of hard-earned family assets and securing the care of loved ones. We have the experience and specialized knowledge of the tax and probate codes necessary to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled through the establishment of appropriate trusts, wills, medical powers of attorney, prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements as well as other vehicles.
We also have extensive experience in asset protection as well as Elder Law, Long Term Care and Medicaid Planning.
A Sample of the Services We Provide:
Wills – A will covers any property that is only in your name when you die. It does not cover property held in joint tenancy or in a trust. A will passes through probate. That means a court oversees the administration of the will and ensures the will is valid and the property gets distributed the way the deceased wanted. A trust passes outside of probate, so a court does not need to oversee the process, which can save time and money. We will assist you in the preparation of your will and/or trust.
Durable Power of Attorney (POA) – A durable power of attorney is essential because if a person becomes incapacitated or incompetent without preparing this document, family and friends will not be allowed to make many important financial decisions, pay bills or make important healthcare decisions on behalf of their parent. Nor can they do crucial Medicaid planning. Anyone who wishes to undertake these tasks would have to go to court and be officially appointed the person’s guardian.
Health Care Proxy – Medical power of attorney or appointment of a healthcare agent is a document that lets you to appoint another person (a proxy or agent) to express your wishes and make health care decisions for you if you can not speak for yourself.
Estate Planning/Probate Estates – Counseling clients through the estate planning/probate process. We assist in the proper planning of estates and throughout the probate process. Probate refers to the process whereby certain of decedent’s debts may be settled and legal title to the decedent’s property held in the decedent’s name alone and not otherwise distributed by law is transferred to heirs and beneficiaries.
Trusts – A revocable living trust saves your family time and money by avoiding probate after your death. A testamentary trust, also called a will trust, specifies how the assets of an individual are designated. This document arises at the time of the testator’s death. Unlike a will, which becomes part of the public record, a trust can remain private.
Medicaid Consultations – Medicaid consultations include a review of the current rules governing Medicaid eligibility. By applying those rules to a client’s specific financial and medical situation, solutions are developed. A client can then weigh the pros and cons of each optional solution and, ideally, leave the consultation with a plan of action that preserves, to the extent legally possible, the client’s assets for the benefit of a spouse or family members.
Asset Preservation Planning – Asset preservation planning is legal planning used to protect your home, investments and other assets from being taken or used during your lifetime to pay for things that won’t benefit you or your family. Protect your property and life savings from the potentially devastating cost of long-term care.
Probate and Elder Law – Probate of Wills & Estates, Preparation of Wills, Durable Power of Attorneys and Health Care Proxies, Trusts, Medicaid Consultations and Asset Preservation, Life Estate Deeds.
To schedule an appointment to discuss your Elder Law/Probate needs, please contact our office at (413) 534-4214 or submit your contact information by completing our form.
Business Services
Our Services and How We Serve Our Clients
We service a variety of clients from small businesses and family-owned operations to sizeable corporations. We advise on the full spectrum of commercial and corporate law:
A Sample of the Services We Provide:
Admitting and Terminating Partners – Changes in the ownership of a practice or other healthcare business can have profound effects on the professional and personal dynamics within the group. We recognize the tension inherent in such transitions and seek to minimize the stress and maximize the benefit to the partners and the business itself.
- Alternative Dispute Resolution – Often times, the speediest and most cost-effective way to resolve a dispute is outside of the courtroom. For issues that arise throughout the planning and execution of a project, we are experienced in all forms of arbitrations and mediations, as well as serving as arbitrators and mediators.
- Appellate Representation – We offer experienced assistance representing clients through the complexities of the appeals process, regardless of whether we or another firm handled the lower court proceedings.
- Bankruptcy Related Transactions and Acquisitions – We assist our clients with transactions associated with bankruptcy, including forbearance agreements and workouts, asset purchases, cash collateral stipulations, subordination agreements, leveraged leases, securitizations and other structured financings and debtor-in-possession loans.
To schedule an appointment to discuss your business needs please contact our office at (413) 534-4214 or submit your contact information by completing our form.
- Business Separation – The break up of a business partnership can be a very stressful and costly process. Whether because of deteriorated personal relationships, financial strains, an aging partner who is seeking an exit strategy, a junior partner wanting to elevate his/her position or a poorly-crafted business model, disputes may escalate to a level where the parties’ differences are (or at least initially appear to be) irreconcilable.
- Construction Litigation – We handle disputes involving bid challenges, professional malpractice, construction defects, payment disputes, lien law application and enforcement, delay damage claims, mold claims, work-site injury claims, product defects, negligence, breach of warranty, contract, fraud and consumer fraud act claims.
- Employee Benefits: Labor and Employment – We have considerable knowledge when it comes to designing, implementing and administering a complete range of employee benefit programs. We represent employers, plan fiduciaries and service providers in tax and ERISA compliance, and transactional and litigation matters. This includes audit and other agency representation. We tailor solutions by designing a full range of programs that include traditional profit sharing and 401(k) plans and cafeteria plans.
- Wage & Hour and Compensation Law – Federal and state wage and hour laws (laws governing minimum wages, overtime pay, training time, vacation pay, wage deductions, payment terms and similar matters) are so complex that they are often misunderstood or ignored by employers—to their great peril. Failure to comply with these laws can lead to serious consequences, including class-action lawsuits and huge monetary damages awards. We provide practical advice to comply with the applicable laws, and help resolve problems quickly if they arise.
General Services
Our Services and How We Serve Our Clients
We service a variety of clients with an array of needs from family mediation to litigation.
A Sample of the Services We Provide:
Litigation Law – Litigation law refers to the rules and practices involved in resolving disputes in the court system. The term is often associated with tort cases, but litigation can come about in all kinds of cases, from contested divorces, to eviction proceedings.
Dividing Marital Property and Debt – These days, a number of divorcing couples have marital debt to divide along with marital property. Our attorneys are very experienced in handling these often contentious issues.
Divorce – You’ve decided you’re ready to get divorced, but what do you need to do next? You need to learn how the process works. While divorce is generally an adversarial action, pitting spouse against spouse, we will provide the legal resources to help individuals navigate the process as smoothly as possible.
Child Custody – If you are going through a child custody battle, you’ll want to know the laws and how decisions about your child will be made.
Alimony Issues – The purpose of alimony is to limit any unfair economic effects of a divorce by providing a continuing income to a non-wage-earning or lower-wage-earning spouse. Part of the justification is that one spouse may have chosen to forego a career to support the family, and needs time to develop job skills to support his or herself. Another purpose may be to help a spouse continue the standard of living they had during marriage.
Elder Law – We handle a wide range of legal matters affecting an older or disabled person, including issues related to health care, long term care planning, guardianship, retirement, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and other important matters.