Magazine Archive
Magazine Archive
Monte Belmonte Gives Voice to the Community
Monte Belmonte has a great fake laugh. Ha-ha! “It sounds like a record skipping,” observes his 10-year-old, Pax. We’re at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls, where the longtime, bigtime radio personality and his family have been instructed to ham it up for the camera. On cue, Pax giggles infectiously. Monte’s wife Melissa, his 16-year-old Enzo and his 19-year-old Atticus are much quieter laughers, though all the kids are naturals on-stage. But while Monte made a name for himself on-air at Northampton’s WRSI “The River,” he never had to contend with the camera. He actually hates having his picture taken. But he loves being a voice for the community.
A Year in Review in the Happy Valley
Let’s start with the good news. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, forecasts that existing home sales will rise by 13.5% and mortgage rates will be in the 6% range in the Spring 2024 market. This will hopefully thaw our market a bit, bringing more housing options to hopeful homeowners. Yun also predicts that we will be in a seller’s market as long as inventory is low, which seems likely to remain the case in Massachusetts, where exacting building codes contribute to the high cost of new construction.
The Enduring Value of Asset Protection Trusts
Considering that almost half of marriages end in divorce, worrying over the possibility of an adult child's divorce is common for many parents. If you are a parent of two married children, there's about a 50 percent chance one of your children will get divorced. If you have three or more children, the possibility becomes even more likely. Statistics aside, if your parental instinct says that your child's marriage is in trouble, it probably is. While you can’t prevent a child’s heartbreak, you can utilize your estate plan to ensure financial turmoil doesn’t compound the anguish of a foiled “happily ever after.”