Have you received a notification that soon you will not have access to your child’s healthcare portal? For better or worse, when your child turns 18, they are an adult in the eyes of the law. There is a federal law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which protects our medical records, commonly […]
Phew! There has been a lot of buzz lately with the new Massachusetts estate tax threshold being changed from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 – it’s been great news for many of our clients. When you are a Trust and Estate Attorney, dealing with death and taxes are part of everyday life, we hear bad news probably […]
Lots of people talk about spring cleaning and how spring is the time to clean up our lives after the “hibernation” during the winter. However, spring is my least favorite season of the year! Summer is great because it is daylight a lot longer, I love being outside in the sunshine and on the ocean. […]
I don’t think there is one person in this world who never procrastinates getting something done that they need or should do. We all do it! But there are ways to help us procrastinate less. I know this has been a constant work in progress for myself. For me, I procrastinate odd to-dos that aren’t […]
Trusts are legal entities, like an LLC or a corporation. You can place assets into trust, and you can take assets out of trust. You place assets into trust by retitling the asset. For example, your checking account statement comes with your name and address on it. When you go to the bank and fill […]
A common question I get from my clients is ‘Where does it say that my kids are to split everything equally?’ The law in Massachusetts is set up to help estate planning attorneys simplify the documents. However, the legal terms can be confusing for the clients. In Massachusetts, we use the term ‘descendants’ to describe […]
If you have life insurance, you should also have an estate plan. One of the first things people do when they have a baby or purchase a home is get life insurance. Life insurance can cover significant expenses if you pass away and give you peace of mind when thinking about an unexpected death. But […]
Many times, clients will come to me when their parents pass away and are surprised that we must go through the probate process even though they had done their estate plan, established a trust, and even funded the trust with assets. This came up very recently with a client whose mother had passed away in […]
You don’t need an estate plan – said no estate planning attorney ever. Estate plans aren’t about how much money you have, but about making an easy transition of anything you own to the rightful owners when you pass. Practically speaking, an estate plan is about making it easy for your kids, family members, or […]
This spring my study partner from law school passed away from pancreatic cancer. After college, I worked for three years before starting law school. I got engaged in November of my first year. I lived at home with my parents and commuted to Boston for School. Everyone else seemed to be right out of college. […]
About a year ago, my office implemented a Continuing Client Care program (C3 for short). The purpose of this was to continue to be of service to our clients. The program includes access to an app on your phone for your documents (who wants to carry around paper when traveling?), discounts on updates to Wills […]
You’ve done your taxes, now it’s time to get your estate plan done! Ugh, tax season is the worst! It’s so much work for the average person. You must compile so many different documents into one place, fill out endless questions from your accountant, and then more likely than not, write a big check or prepare […]
