When issuing a Parenting Plan, the divorce/family court will issue orders regarding how the parents will make decisions for the minor children given that the parents’ relationship has ended. By statute, there is a presumption that joint decision making responsibility is in the child’s/children’s best interests. However, this presumption may be overcome if the divorce/family court finds there has been…
It is not enough for an employee who was fired to prove that he is a member of a protected class to establish an employment discrimination claim. On December 3, 2013, the New Hampshire federal court entered summary judgment for Tyco Integrated Cable Systems, Inc. against Greg Hubbard’s claims of employment discrimination and retaliation. The judge provided a thorough analysis of…
In the recent case of In re: Susan Spenard and David Spenard, decided October 17, 2014, the New Hampshire Supreme Court clarified the authority of a trial court to impute income to a party for the purposes of calculating child support. By statute, a trial court may calculate child support using a higher gross income number than what the party…
It can be very frustrating to learn that a loved one, perhaps a widowed parent, has left what would otherwise be the family inheritance to someone that may have manipulated the person to leave the money and assets to them. Even if the donor has the mental competence to make the gift it is possible he or she is being…
To void a gift based upon challenging the mental competency of the donor is very difficult. A party must have a “sane mind” to make a valid testamentary instrument. See RSA 551:1. To make a valid testamentary instrument, the testator must, at the time the instrument is executed, have the ability to understand the nature of the act, understand the…
New Hampshire has a recent nursing home bill that should be considered by anyone receiving a gift from an elderly person because he may later be required to transfer the value of the gift to the nursing home if the gift results in the donor becomes ineligible for Medicaid and the law could make representative of a nursing home patient…
When a real estate Purchase & Sale Agreement states if the Seller defaults, the sole remedy is for the buyer to get its deposit back, it is possible the Court may find that the return of the deposit may not be the sole remedy when the seller intentionally defaults. In the December 6, 2013 New Hampshire Federal Court decision of James…
The New Act will become effective as of January 1. 2014. How does this affect you and your company? Well the changes are significant and will have a great impact on single member LLC’s as well as multi-member LLC’s. The New Act is organized so that all the sections that deal with single member LLC’s are together and adds more…
With the end of the year approaching, employees may find themselves socializing with co-workers at holiday gatherings, receiving year-end bonuses, and perhaps looking for a job change. Below are some considerations for each of the above. New Hampshire is an employment-at-will state which means that employers may fire an employee with or without cause and notice. While there are certain…
The majority of employees in the State of New Hampshire can be classified as being at-will employees. An at-will employee is an employee who does not have an employment contract with the employer. As such, their employment status is precarious in that an employer can terminate an at-will employee at any time for almost any reason. A wrongfully terminated at-will employee…
