Worcester Business Journal

30 Worcester Business Journal | March 4, 2024 | wbjournal.com By Katie Calo Katie Calo is a part- ner at law firm Mirick O'Connell, which has offices in Worcester, Westborough, and Boston. 1) Execute a prenuptial agreement prior to their marriage. A prenuptial agreement, if properly drafted and executed, can help ensure any property gifted or inherited by your children remains their separate prop- erty in the event of a divorce. 2) Absent a prenuptial agreement, com- pleted gifts are marital assets. Any assets you give your children, which may include shares of a family business or property held in trust, can be considered a marital asset subject to division in a divorce. This may leave your business exposed to a claim by your child's soon-to-be ex-spouse. 3) How your children use gifted or inherited assets impacts how they are divided. If they are deposited into a joint account between your child and their spouse, a court is more likely to give their spouse a percentage closer to 50%. If the assets are held solely in your child's name and not utilized in the marriage, a court is likely to give their spouse less. 4) Discuss with your estate planner. In ad- dition to the financial and tax considerations, you should discuss how to best protect your assets in the event of a divorce. 5) Regular gifts or distributions to your children can be treated as income. If you consistently give your children and/or their spouse money or help them pay expenses, a court can consider this income when fashioning a child support or alimony. 6) Gifts to your grandchildren don't count. As long as your children are not in control of the money, it will not be classified as a marital asset in a divorce. 7) You could be forced to testify in your child's divorce. While a court must balance your right to privacy, you could be deposed or ordered to produce financial and estate planning information. 8) Do not transfer your assets, real es- tate, investments, or personal property (e.g., boats, classic automobiles, jewelry, collections, etc.) outright. Wait until your estate plan is in effect. Use the tools of the estate plan (wills and trusts) to transfer your assets upon your passing. Employment lessons learned in 2020 we're failing to remember BY EMILY MICUCCI Special to WBJ T he memes don't lie: American professionals think the work week is full of too many wasted meet- ings. With the benefit of fast commu- nication aided by ever-improving tech- nology, the modern workplace seems to struggle with how to fit conventional conference room-style meetings into the schedule. Harvard Business Review cited research in 2022 showing 92% of employees consider meetings costly and unproductive. If you're a manager who schedules meetings, this has to give you pause. But don't consider this a call to banish all meetings from the calendar. Take stock and consider how meeting time can be reworked for your benefit and the people you manage. Cut status meetings. If you've been holding weekly check-ins with your team, it may be hard to consid- er changing that routine. But such recurring events may only be occasion- ally productive, and keeping everyone informed is probably just as easily done on a channel such as Slack or Teams, suggests Harvard Business Review. Pilot a scheduled messaging system and poll your department on whether this is the right alternative to an in-person meet- ing, aer a few weeks. Cancel plans. Canceled work plans oen create an instant mood boost. A found hour on the calendar gives everyone room to breathe. Instead of a rigid approach, try giving yourself and others a break and make it acceptable to cancel meetings when you suspect they may not be necessary – provided you're considerate. CNBC contributor Gary Burnison warns last-minute cancella- tions can backfire, especially if you're meeting with busy executives who may miss last-minute notifications. Review your plans a day ahead and update accordingly. Vet the guest list. Once you're sure a meeting is required to discuss the topic at hand, make sure to invite only people who need to be there, or consider making the meeting optional for those who aren't essential to the discussion. In a 2023 article, McKinsey & Co. advised defining roles for participants – whether advisors, decision-makers, or executors, for example – so everyone knows why they were in the meeting and what their next steps are. M A K I N G B E T T E R U S E O F M E E T I N G T I M E BY JULIA BECKER COLLINS Special to WBJ T he COVID pandemic caused seismic shis in the playing field for employers, employees, and the physical and digital spaces where they do business. And yet, we see some companies trying to return to their pre-pandemic business models. But the new normal has come, and by ignoring it and reversing the systems in place for remote work, communication, and sales, all these employers are doing is hand- icapping themselves when it comes to recruitment, retention, and competition. Pushback to the return to office push As a society, we took the plunge into remote work unsure if it was going to work. e big experiment paid off with many businesses, especially those in white-collar industries, being able to continue service amid lockdowns. With those lockdowns a more distant memo- ry, we're seeing the return-to-office push return. I've heard it from both sides: e managers are confused why employees are leaving over something they had to do pre-pandemic, and workers are frustrated with giving up a way to work that better fits with their lives. Remote work is a valued benefit I'm seeing a huge disconnect between employers and both current employees and job seekers when it comes to requir- ing in-person work. ey don't seem to understand the new normal funda- mentally changed the perks available for current and would-be employees. During the pandemic, many moved to more favorable locations, found relief not having the daily commute, and made their home their perfect office. Employers can't put that genie back in the bottle, and those who try face a loss in employees and their loyalty and productivity. Remote work at Vision Advertising Vision Advertising went remote and then completely virtual during COVID, and we've never looked back. It's improved retention, hiring, and even internships. Not to mention saving on the lease. My advice: If you can't go remote, go hybrid; just remember four days in office and one at home won't cut it. Ignoring the new normal is costing you the best employees And it's not just a numbers game, but quality. e very traits you may look for in employees (self-starters, big ideas, innovators, and those who work well without oversights) make them more likely to seek out remote work. ese people don't want or need to report to a because-that's-how-we've-always-do- ne-it micromanager who thrives in the return-to-office setting. You might be losing out on the perfect employees with the traits you value because remote work isn't negotiable for them. You need to revisit your benefits package for the post-2020 employee, both the current employees you want to keep and those you're hoping to entice to join your company. It's not just remote work; it's remote care. It's about flexibil- ity, more time off, and fewer meetings. e patience of the modern employee is shorter; you need to be transparent from the first interview to the fih-year review. Remote work, virtual offices, and even virtual businesses are here to stay. Adapt, or you'll see your workforce flocking to the competition. 8 Things I know about … ... Protecting your assets when your children get divorced W W Julia Becker Collins is the chief operating officer of Northborough-based Vision Advertising, a full-service marketing agency celebrating 25 years in business. W

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