Attorney Abigail V. Poole

How is Estate Planning Similar to Gardening?

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It’s that time of year when gardeners are breaking out their trowels and sunhats, and perusing nurseries for plants to create their gardens for the summer.  I love gardening and have spent that last couple of weekends planting seeds and seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, green onions, potatoes, kale, spinach, radishes, cabbage and Swiss chard.  And I still have more to plant!  While digging in the soil, it occurred to me that gardening and estate planning are similar in a few ways.

Last year, I planted several tomato plants on my deck and patio.  Mid-way through the summer, the tomato plants on the deck were decimated by an infestation of spider mites.  By the time I took action, it was too late to help the deck plants but luckily, I was able to save the tomatoes on the patio.  Now I am more knowledgeable and better prepared to stop the pests in their tracks if I encounter the same problem this year.  Creating an estate plan requires the same perspective.  Your estate plan should be rooted in the present based on your finances, family and health, but prepared to address both expected and unexpected circumstances. In short, your estate plan should have a solid foundation and the flexibility to branch in several directions depending on the situation that arises.

I also planted yellow squash and zucchini for the first time last summer.  The zucchini grew spectacularly; the yellow squash did not, despite fertilizer, more water, etc. I plan to plant yellow squash again this year, however, it will be a different variety and in another location with the hope that it will grow better.  Similarly, you should adjust your estate plan regularly through the years.   If you or your loved ones have major changes in health or finances, your estate plan may need to be updated. For example, if you name an adult child as your Personal Representative and she passes away, your Will should be updated to replace her and name a successor.  Additionally, you may want to direct that her inheritance is distributed differently than what is in your current Will.

For years, I have planted basil and marigolds with my tomatoes.  Besides the bright yellow, orange and red marigolds drawing attention to the cherry tomatoes hiding in the green foliage, the flowers also provide protection from several pests that can damage the tomato plants (except spider mites apparently).  Beyond pest control, some plants provide beneficial nutrients to the soil for other plants. Like strategically growing certain types of plants together, it is important to consider the relationships of the individuals you appoint to manage your estate after your death.  I often have clients ask if their adult children can serve together as fiduciaries (Personal Representatives, Trustees, Attorneys-in-Fact) when the real question is should they serve together.  If one of your goals is to preserve a harmonious relationship between your adult children and minimize conflict that could cause estrangement for the rest of their lives, it may be better to name one at a time, depending on your particular circumstances and their dynamics.

These are just a few examples of how estate planning and gardening are similar. At Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC, our knowledgeable attorneys will meet with you to thoughtfully assist with developing a foundational estate plan or adjusting your estate plan because of changes in your life.  And after meeting, I will return to playing in my garden.

Attorney Abigail V. Poole is a senior associate attorney with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of trust and estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. She is an active member and current President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).  This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020. 

May, 2023

© 2023 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Five Ways to Make It Easier For Your Family After You Pass Away

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I often hear clients say they want to make it as easy as possible for their loved ones to handle their estate after they pass away for a wide variety of reasons.  In particular, they want to minimize the hassle and time spent by their family members in dealing with “the business of death”.  Here are a few ways that you can make it simpler and faster for your family members and friends to take care of settling your estate. 

1. Create and Fund a Trust

A tried-and-true method to make it easier for your loved ones to access and settle your estate after your death is to create and fund a Trust. By creating a Revocable Living Trust and transferring assets into it during your lifetime, you can avoid the time-consuming, public, and costly process of probate.  This means your family members will be able to administer and distribute your estate in a more timely manner.  

2. Prepare Written Burial and Funeral Wishes

To streamline the process after your death, there are two things that you can do.  First, you may memorialize your burial or cremation wishes and funeral instructions in writing.  A Directive as to Remains accomplishes this goal and is tailored to fit your wishes.  Second, you may arrange services now by completing a prepaid funeral plan with a reputable funeral home.

3. Ensure You Have Beneficiaries Designated

It is important to designate appropriate beneficiaries on your life insurance policies and retirement accounts. That means confirming you have a primary beneficiary and a contingent (back-up) beneficiary designated on those assets. If you don’t, it may be necessary for your family members to go through probate after your death to gain access to those assets.

4. Share Where to Find Important Information

We generally suggest that you store the physical copies of your estate plan documents in a secure but accessible location for safekeeping.  You should tell a select few family members and/or friends the location so they may find that important information right away after your death. As part of your estate plan, you should also create and maintain a paper or electronic list of all the financial accounts, email accounts, social media accounts, and other accounts you access online along with their associated usernames and passwords. Your fiduciary (Personal Representative, Trustee) will need that information to manage and close the accounts.

5. Share Your Estate Planning Attorney’s Contact Information

If nothing else, make sure to tell your family members that you have an estate plan in place and provide your estate planning attorney’s contact information.  I often suggest that contact information is shared via email so that when they are searching for it (hopefully) many years in the future, it is still electronically saved.

Those are just a few of the steps you can take now to make it easier for your loved ones to settle your estate after your death. At Samuel, Sayward and Baler, LLC, an experienced attorney can guide you through other ways to leave your family members and friends clear directions regarding your wishes and make it simpler and faster for them to manage your estate after you pass away.   

Attorney Abigail V. Poole is a senior associate attorney with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. She is an active member and President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).  This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit www.ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020. 

April, 2023

© 2023 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Luck (o’ the Irish) is Not a Reliable Estate Planning Technique

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“I have always been really healthy” and “I plan to stay in my home until I die” are common refrains I hear when I meet with clients to discuss estate and long-term care planning. Unfortunately, relying on luck to plan for future circumstances can be detrimental to you and your loved ones. In recognition of St. Patrick’s Day, here are a couple of situations where expecting luck to be a sufficient estate planning or long-term care planning strategy should be reconsidered (even if you are Irish).

Luck is not the most supportive companion when you have a short or long-term health care problem arise. It cannot make health care decisions on your behalf nor can it pay your bills and transition you to a nursing home if you need long-term care when you are incapacitated. Instead, you could prepare documents such as a Health Care Proxy and Durable Power of Attorney to ensure you will receive appropriate health and financial care while you are alive, and that decisions can be made by the people you choose.

Luck plays the cards close to the vest and regularly withholds information about your date of death in advance. Your plan may be to spend all of your money while you are alive to avoid probate and minimize the need to pay estate taxes, but luck may have different plans in mind for you. You can outsmart luck by creating one or more Trusts to avoid probate, reduce estate taxes (and increase your beneficiaries’ inheritance, too), and protect assets from liability for long-term care expenses.

While luck may come to the rescue in some situations, relying on it to take care of you and your loved ones’ health and financial well-being is not a plan. Instead, make sure you are prepared by working with an experienced estate planning attorney to create the appropriate documents in case luck decides to abandon you in the future.

Attorney Abigail V. Poole is a senior associate attorney with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of trust and estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. She is an active member and current President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020.
March, 2023

© 2023 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Smart Counsel Series Funeral Planning, Green Burials and Organ Donation

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To our Clients and Friends:

Please join us for the next presentation in our Smart Counsel Series on Thursday, February 23, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. virtually via Zoom, hosted by Attorney Maria Baler.

Bob Folsom of Folsom Funeral Services with locations in Dedham, Westwood and Norwood, will be here to discuss everything you wanted to know about funeral arrangements but were afraid to ask! Should you pre-arrange or pre-pay for your funeral and how? What happens when a person dies at home or in the hospital? What choices do families need to make after someone has died if no pre-arrangements are made? How are the Directives you leave taken into account when funeral arrangements are made? And what are Green Burials all about? Bob will give us an overview of green burial options, explain a “modified” green burial, and will discuss the availability of green burials locally and further afield.

We will also be joined by Liz Sandeman, who has been volunteering with New England Donor Services for 8 years, ever since her sister died waiting for a lung transplant. Last year she was awarded the National Donate Life America Ambassador Service Award. She is a frequent speaker at local senior centers, driving schools, community organizations, high schools, hospitals, health fairs, road races and community events. She is the current co-chair of the Massachusetts Lions Organ Donor Awareness program.

Attorney Baler will discuss how we incorporate our clients’ wishes about funeral arrangements and organ donation into the legal documents we prepare for them.

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions of all speakers.

Contact Kenzie Sayward at 781/461-1020 or kenzie@ssbllc.com to reserve a spot for you and a friend.

Suzanne R. Sayward
Maria C. Baler
Abigail V. Poole
Megan L. Bartholomew

What’s New at Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC – Don’t Miss Our January 2023 Newsletter

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Don’t Miss Our January 2023 Newsletter

Attorney Abigail Poole discusses our current newsletter, for our Smart Counsel for Lunch Series. Please watch and if you have any questions or want to learn more please call us at 781 461-1020.

Five Things on an Estate Planner’s Holiday Wish List

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My father recently asked me what was on my wish list for gifts this year.  As an estate planning attorney, that got me thinking about what things would be on my wish list for clients to do to ensure they can enjoy the holiday festivities with peace of mind.  Without further ado, here are five things I wish for my clients and their families, and which make great conversation topics over a holiday family supper.

1. Estate Plan Documents for Every Young Adult on your Gift List

If you have a child, niece or nephew, or other young adult you care about who will soon turn age 18 and be heading off to college, it is important that young adult create some basic estate planning documents before heading off to college.  A power of attorney and health care proxy will ensure a parent or other trusted person can make financial and health care decisions for that young adult in the event of his or her incapacity.

2. A Completed Tangible Personal Property Memorandum

When you visited your estate planning attorney, he or she may have discussed with you completing a Tangible Personal Property Memorandum. The Memorandum is a separate document that is incorporated by reference in your Last Will and Testament.  It identifies specific items of personal property and the individuals who you would like to receive each specific item from your estate after your death. For example, the Memorandum might state that your wedding ring is to be distributed to your son Max after your death. If it is important that specific people get specific items from your estate and you have not put that information down in writing on the Memorandum (and sent us a copy of it), now is the time to do it. 

3. A Complete List of Digital Accounts and Passwords

Now more so than ever, it is imperative that you create and maintain a paper or electronic list of all the financial accounts, email accounts, social media accounts, and other accounts you access online along with their associated usernames and passwords. Your attorney-in-fact, Personal Representative or Trustee will need to access your accounts if you are incapacitated or deceased to manage and/or close your accounts. As more and more information is solely shared and stored electronically, providing a list of accounts and passwords for your fiduciary will help make his or her job much easier when the time comes that he or she must assist you or settle your estate.

4. Written Funeral Wishes

Many of my clients have a pretty good idea about what they would like to happen following their death in terms of funeral and burial or cremation instructions. They may have shared those wishes verbally with family but not put them down in writing.  Now is the time to memorialize your burial or cremation wishes and funeral wishes in writing.  A Directive as to Remains accomplishes this goal and is tailored to fit your wishes.  For example, Aunt Sally might prepare as part of her estate plan a Directive as to Remains that states she wants a green burial and a gathering of friends and family to celebrate her life.

5. Confirmation of Beneficiaries on Retirement Accounts and Life Insurance Policies

A crucial step that is sometimes missed during the hectic rhythm of life is designating beneficiaries of your retirement accounts and life insurance policies. There is no time like the present to confirm that you have designated the appropriate primary beneficiary and contingent (back-up) beneficiary on those assets.  Doing so will guarantee that your retirement accounts and life insurance death benefits will pass to the correct individuals outside of probate at your death.

And there you have it, my estate planner wish list for every client to complete this holiday season. Doing so will give you (and me!) peace of mind that you are leaving your loved ones clear directions regarding your wishes and making it easier for them to manage your estate while you are alive or after your death.   

Attorney Abigail V. Poole is a senior associate attorney with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. She is an active member and President-Elect of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).  This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit www.ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020. 

 

December, 2022

© 2022 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Reverse Mortgage Webinar

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Join Attorney Abigail Poole as she presents a webinar on Reverse Mortgages, for our Smart Counsel Webniar Series. Please watch and if you have any questions or want to learn more please call us at 781 461-1020.

(Halloween) Trick of the Trade: Accessing a Decedent’s Bank Account Without Probate

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(Halloween) Trick of the Trade: Accessing a Decedent’s Bank Account Without Probate

An acquaintance of mine recently reached out because his mother passed away with a bank account held in her individual name.  Typically, probate is necessary to give a Personal Representative (Executor) the legal authority via the court to access, manage and distribute the assets titled in the individual name of a decedent at the time of death. However, there is a little-known statute in Massachusetts that permits a surviving spouse or next of kin to withdraw the funds from a decedent’s individual bank account without going through probate.

Massachusetts General Law Chapter 167D, Section 12 (M.G.L.c.167D, §12) states that a bank, at its discretion, may pay to the decedent’s surviving spouse or next of kin, the funds in the decedent’s bank account if the amount is under $10,000 and it has been thirty (30) days or more since the decedent’s date of death. A death certificate must be provided to the bank.  Practically, the bank may choose to decline to pay out the funds in the account, and require a person to be appointed as Personal Representative.  If the bank chooses to proceed with paying the funds to the surviving spouse or next of kin according to the statute, it is released from liability.  It is important to note that the statute is only an option where there is a surviving spouse or clear next of kin, such as children who are all from the marriage of the decedent and surviving spouse.

Unfortunately, the funds in the mother’s account of my acquaintance were a few thousand dollars more than the statutory amount and a voluntary probate will be necessary to access the bank account. If his mother had spoken with an estate planning attorney prior to her passing, the attorney could have advised her on ways to avoid the need for probate by creating a Trust or designating beneficiaries on the account, to name a couple.

At Samuel, Sayward and Baler LLC, we comprehensively educate and advise you about your assets and your options to make it as easy as possible for your family to take action with your assets at your death.  And if no planning is done, or an unknown asset is discovered, we guide your family through the best choices available to access, manage and distribute your assets after your death.

Attorney Abigail V. Poole is a senior associate attorney with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of trust and estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. She is an active member and current President Elect of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).  This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020. 

October, 2022

© 2022 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Smart Counsel Series: The Nuts and Bolts of Reverse Mortgages and When to Use Them

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To our Clients and Friends:

Please join us for the next presentation in our Smart Counsel Series on Thursday, September 15, 2022, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. virtually via Zoom. 

Learn about reverse mortgages and when they may be beneficial in connection with long-term care planning by joining us for this program, The Nuts and Bolts of Reverse Mortgages and When to Use Them. 

Reverse Mortgage (HECM) Loan Specialist Stephen R. Pepe, JD, of Reverse Mortgage Funding LLC and Attorney Abigail V. Poole will discuss the basics of reverse mortgages and when they may be a good option to protect assets from being spent-down on long-term care costs. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Contact Holly Hayes at 781/461-1020 or hayes@ssbllc.com to reserve a spot for you and a friend.   

Suzanne R. Sayward
Maria C. Baler
Abigail V.  Poole
Megan L. Bartholomew

Wills • Trusts • Elder Law • Long-Term Care Planning • Estates

©2023 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLP. All Rights Reserved. The information presented on this website should not be construed to provide legal advice, nor does it constitute the formation of an attorney/client relationship. Read the disclaimer.