Attorney Maria C. Baler is a partner in the firm who has been with the firm since 1991. Attorney Baler concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, including wills and trusts and estate tax planning, probate and trust administration, and elder law. Attorney Baler is a member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys where she served on the Board of Directors from 2009-2016, and as chair of the Program Committee in 2010 and 2011. She was named as the Outstanding Chapter Member of the Massachusetts Chapter in 2010.  Attorney Baler is a past president of the Massachusetts Forum of Estate Planning Attorneys, where she has served on the Board of Directors for many years. Attorney Baler has been named to Boston Magazine’s annual list of “Massachusetts Super Lawyers” since 2019.

Attorney Baler received her undergraduate degree from Franklin & Marshall College, and her J.D. cum laude from Suffolk University Law School, where she was a published member of the Law Review. She contributes a newspaper column on estate planning matters and elder law issues to the Dedham Transcript on a regular basis, and also speaks regularly on estate planning and elder law topics, often at the Westwood Council on Aging.

Attorney Baler lives in Medfield, where she was active for many years in the Medfield Music Association. She satisfies her interest in historic preservation as a member of the Medfield Historical Commission.  She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the now disbanded Vine Lake Preservation Trust which supported Medfield’s historic Vine Lake Cemetery.  Among her favorite things are a good restaurant, a good book (and time to read it!), travel, live jazz, and spending time with her husband and son.

Areas of Practice

• Estate Planning
• Elder Law
• Estate and Trust Administration
• Estate Tax and Gift Tax Planning
• Fiduciary Representation

Education

• Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts, J.D. 1987
  Honors: Cum Laude
  Law Review: Suffolk University Law Review, 1987
• Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, B.A. 1983

Bar Admissions

• Massachusetts, 1987

Professional Associations and Memberships

• National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter
  
• Bar Association of Norfolk County
  
• Massachusetts Bar Association
  
• Massachusetts Forum of Estate Planning Attorneys

Community Activities

• Medfield Historical Commission (2003 – Present)
  
• Director, Vine Lake Preservation Trust (2009 – 2021)
  
• Secretary, Medfield Music Association (2011 – 2013)
  
• Vice-President, Medfield Music Association (2014)