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Your Kids, Your Plan: Choosing Short-Term and Long-Term Guardians

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Choosing someone to care for your kids if something happens to you is one of the most important – and most emotional – decisions you’ll ever make as a parent. It’s not just about picking someone you love; it’s about finding the right people who can step into very different roles when your family needs it most. For young families, especially those juggling busy schedules and ever-evolving support systems, it’s important to think about guardianship in two distinct categories: long-term (permanent) guardians and short-term (temporary) guardians.

Long-Term Guardians: The Ones for the Long Haul

When most people think about naming a guardian, they’re thinking about long-term guardians. These are the people who would raise your children if you no longer could. It’s a big responsibility – emotionally, financially, and logistically – and your choice should reflect that.

Start by considering values and parenting style. Do they share your views on education, discipline, religion, and lifestyle? Your kids don’t need an exact replica of you, but consistency in core values can make a difficult transition more stable.

Next, think about practical realities. Where do they live? Would your children need to move schools, leave friends, or adjust to a completely different environment? Some parents prioritize continuity by keeping kids in the same community, while others focus on the strength of the relationship above all else. This often varies based on the age of your children and how deep their roots are in their community.

Also consider willingness and capacity. The person you choose should not only love your kids, but be ready and able to take on the responsibility for many years to come. That means having an honest conversation with them. It may feel awkward, but it’s far better than making assumptions about their readiness.

Short-term Guardians: Your Emergency Safety Net

Short-term guardians, on the other hand, serve a completely different – but equally important – purpose. These are the people who can step in immediately if something unexpected happens like a medical emergency or an accident. Their role is temporary: to care for your children until the long-term guardian is confirmed by the court and able to assume responsibility. 

Think of them as your kids’ emergency landing pad.

Short-term guardians should live nearby – ideally within 30 minutes – so they can respond quickly. They’re the ones who can pick your kids up from school, stay with them overnight, and care for them until a long-term guardian is formally confirmed.

These individuals don’t have to be the same as your long-term guardians. In fact, they often aren’t. A nearby friend, trusted neighbor, grandparent, or even a nanny who already spends significant time with your children can be a great fit. The key is familiarity and accessibility. Your kids should already know and feel comfortable with them.

Why does this matter so much? Without a clearly legally documented short-term guardian, authorities are required to involve the Department of Children & Families (DCF) in an emergency. That can mean your kids are temporarily placed with strangers chosen by the court while officials sort things out – an outcome most parents want to avoid at all costs.

By naming a short-term guardian and documenting your wishes, you create a clear plan that keeps your children in familiar, loving hands – and out of DCF.

Why You Need Both Roles Covered

It’s easy to focus only on the “big picture” decision, but without a short-term plan, there’s a gaping hole between an emergency and when that long-term guardian is officially able to step in. Having both roles legally documented creates a seamless safety net. Your short-term guardian handles the immediate situation, while your long-term guardian prepares for what comes next.

It’s also helpful to make sure everyone is on the same page. Your short-term guardian should know who the long-term guardian is and how to reach them. Communication between everyone involved helps ensure a smoother transition if your plan ever needs to be put into action.

A Plan That Grows With Your Family

It’s also worth revisiting your choices over time. As your kids grow, relationships change, people move, and circumstances evolve. What made sense when your child was a toddler might look different when they’re in elementary school.

No one will ever replace you. You know your kids better than anyone – their routines, their quirks, what comforts them, and what helps them thrive. You are, without question, the best person to raise your children. But at the end of the day, choosing guardians isn’t about finding “perfect” people or finding someone who could ever fully take your place. It’s about building a thoughtful, layered plan that protects your kids in case the unexpected happens.  By choosing trusted people to step in, you’re making sure your kids are cared for, supported, and surrounded by love – no matter what.

Attorney Leah A. Kofos is an 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. 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.

© 2026 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

5 Estate Planning Myths for Young Families

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Happy April Fools’ Day!

Today is day full of trickery and pranks, but hopefully these following estate planning myths won’t fool you. 

Myth 1: Young people don’t need estate plans.

A lot of media centered around estate planning focuses on elderly millionaires leaving behind their expansive estates. However, estate planning can be extremely useful for people from all walks of life. Regardless of the amount of assets you own, estate planning can make sure your assets pass to the people you want them to and pass to your beneficiaries in ways that make sense based on their age and abilities (i.e., giving money to minor or incapacitated beneficiaries in a way that benefits them without giving them money outright). Estate planning also can help reduce the administrative burden for your loved ones at death or should you become incapacitated by giving them the power to take care of you and your assets without the need for court intervention. 

Myth 2: A Will avoids probate.

When it comes to estate planning, people are often trying to create the simplest plan that achieves their goals. This often takes shape as people avoiding using trusts and just creating a Will. Although Wills are useful estate planning documents that can name guardians and conservators for minor or disabled children and dictate the disposition of your assets at death, Wills do not avoid probate. In fact, the reverse is true where a Will needs to be probated to be enforced. It’s possible that a Will-based plan is the best solution for your estate planning goals, but that decision should be made after weighing the probate burden placed on your loved ones. 

Myth 3: The Guardians named in your Will become immediately effective upon death.

If you have minor or disabled children, one of the most important estate planning steps you can take is naming permanent guardians in your Will. These guardians are the people that you would like to take over raising your children if something happens to you. However, it’s important to note that these guardian nominations do not immediately become effective at your death. Instead, your named guardians must go to the Probate and Family Court to petition to become your children’s guardian legally. Being named in your Will simplifies the process for your nominated guardian but does not remove the court involvement. The issue then becomes having a gap in time between your death and the appointment of a new guardian. To fix this, you can appoint an emergency temporary guardian that will become immediately effective for 60 days following your death or incapacity, filling in the gap in time while waiting for the court. This is done in a separate estate planning document, sometimes called a Parental Appointment of Temporary Agent.

Myth 4: Naming minor children on a beneficiary form is a good way to avoid probate.

A common way to avoid probate is to name beneficiaries on your various bank, retirement, and investment accounts. At your death, the asset will pass to the named individuals or entities (if they are still alive) without the need for court involvement. However, there is an extra wrinkle when minor children are named as beneficiaries. Because minor children cannot own assets like an adult (unless they are legally emancipated), there will need to be a court process to appoint a legal guardian for the child to receive the asset where they are named as beneficiary. The account will ultimately go to the minor child’s benefit, but there will still be the need to go to court and pay legal fees, similar to the child receiving the asset via probate. A great way to avoid this issue is to use a trust. A trust can be named as a beneficiary on an account and direct the trustee to use the account assets for a minor child’s benefit without the need for any court involvement or delay. 

Myth 5: Your spouse automatically becomes your health care agent.

Your health care agent is the person who steps in to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself. For children or other people with legal guardianship over them, their legal guardian makes those health care decisions. However, for emancipated adults, there is no automatic person who makes those decisions for you. This is still true even after you get married. Your spouse is not your health care agent by default. Thus, you need to create a Health Care Proxy if you would like to name your spouse or any other person such as a sibling, parent, or friend, as your health care agent. 

 

Smart Counsel Interview: Christina Pavlina, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Jane Does Well

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In this episode of Smart Counsel for Lunch, Attorney Leah Kofos sits down with Christina Pavlina, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Jane Does Well, a nonprofit organization providing divorce care, support, and educational programs for single women and mothers.

They discuss the importance of community, support, and practical resources for women navigating divorce and major life transitions.

To learn more about Jane Does Well or get involved, visit: https://www.janedoeswell.org

Please watch and if you have any questions or want to learn more please call us at 781 461-1020.

Why ‘Everything Goes to My Family Anyway’ Isn’t a Plan

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Many people assume that if they pass away, everything will simply go to their spouse and children automatically—so there’s no real need for a Will. It’s an understandable assumption, but, unfortunately, it isn’t always how things work. When someone dies without a Will, state law determines who inherits their assets and how those assets are distributed. While family members are often included, the outcome may not be as simple, efficient, or aligned with your wishes as you might expect. 

For Massachusetts residents, the Massachusetts laws that govern intestate succession determine how an estate is distributed when there is no valid Will. Heirs at law are those individuals who are entitled by law to receive property after one’s death if the person did not have a Will. Although the order of inheritance prioritizes the surviving spouse and children, there may be situations where your surviving spouse and children do not receive your entire estate.  

  • Surviving Spouse: If a married person dies intestate and with children, and all of the children are children of the marriage, then the married person’s entire estate will pass to the spouse. However, if either spouse has a child from a prior marriage or relationship, then the amount passing to the surviving spouse is the first $100,000 plus 50% of the remaining probate estate. If a married person dies intestate and does not have children, but has at least one surviving parent, then the estate is divided between the surviving spouse and parent(s).

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  • Biological and Adopted Children: If an unmarried person dies intestate and has children, then the entire estate will pass to the surviving children. An individual is the child of his/her natural parents regardless of their marital status. A legally adopted individual is the child of his or her adopting parents and will inherit the same as if they were a biological child.

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  • Stepchildren: A stepchild is not considered an heir at law unless the child was legally adopted by the stepparent before their death. Keep in mind that even though the child was adopted by the stepparent, the child can still inherit from or through his or her natural parent.

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  • Grandchildren: A grandchild will only inherit if your child (the grandchild’s parent) dies before you. If your grandchild is not your child’s natural or legally adopted child, then the grandchild will not be considered an heir at law

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An estate plan is an investment and not having one because “everything will go to my spouse and children anyway” may lead to unintended consequences. Not having an estate plan in place can turn what would have been a seemingly simple property distribution to your spouse and children into a complicated, time-consuming, and expensive mess. Taking the time to put a plan in place helps ensure your assets pass the way you intend and can spare your loved ones unnecessary complications during an already difficult time. 

If you are ready to create your estate plan, give us a call to meet with one of our attorneys so that we can help you clearly articulate your intentions, even if “everything will go to your spouse and children anyway.”

Attorney Brittany Hinojosa Citron is a senior associate attorney with the law 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. 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. 

 

March 2026

 

© 2026 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Five Things an Estate Planning Attorney Thinks About While Stuck at Home During a Blizzard

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During this interminable winter of 2026, when our minds and bodies are numb from the cold and starved for Vitamin D from the lack of sunshine, an estate planning attorney’s thoughts turn to things that are always on our mind: death and taxes—the two certainties of life—and how to minimize the impact of both on our clients.  Here are five things for you to think about in planning for your death, minimizing taxes, and making things easier for your family while stuck at home waiting for the snow to melt:

1. Taxes can be avoided if you’re willing to move.

The estate tax is a one-time tax paid at the time of death on the value of the assets owned by the deceased at the time of death.  Estate tax is most often paid when a single person dies, as assets that are left to a spouse pass estate tax free.  There is a federal estate tax that applies to every citizen or resident of the United States; however, because the federal estate tax exemption (the amount below which no tax is due) is so high—currently $15 million per person—most people do not need to worry about planning to avoid the federal estate tax.

Massachusetts is one of a handful of states that imposes a separate state estate tax on its residents, and the exemption amount is not as generous as the federal exemption amount. The Massachusetts estate tax exemption amount is $2 million, which means that if a Massachusetts resident dies with over $2 million in assets at the time of death, then their estate will be subject to Massachusetts estate tax liability.

This fact often prompts clients to ask if they can avoid the estate tax by moving out of Massachusetts.  The answer is yes, but the reality is not quite that simple.  An estate tax is imposed on a person who is domiciled in Massachusetts at the time of death.  Domicile is determined by intent. Do you intend for Massachusetts to be your home?  And the Department of Revenue has a whole lot of factors it considers in making this determination if you have moved out of Massachusetts and then die claiming you owe no estate tax to Massachusetts.  For example, where are you registered to vote? Where are your cars registered? Where are your doctors located?  Where do you file your income tax returns? Where do you receive your mail?  Where were your estate plan documents created?  Do you belong to clubs or religious organizations in your new state?  And how do all these factors add up (or not) to show that you intended to make that new state your domicile, and that you were no longer domiciled in Massachusetts.  This is harder than it seems when people have doctors or grandchildren or friends that still live here in Massachusetts.  Despite the snow, there are reasons we all chose to live here, and many people find it hard to cut all those ties and move to a state that does not impose a state estate tax.  However, if you are willing to do so, and would enjoy living in Florida, New Hampshire (the only New England state without a state estate tax), or any of the many other states that fall into this category, get some good advice from your estate planning attorney and your tax accountant, and godspeed!

Keep in mind that if you move out of Massachusetts to avoid the Massachusetts estate tax but you continue to own that house on the Cape (or any other real estate in Massachusetts), your estate will be taxed on the value of the Massachusetts real estate at your death without proper planning.  

2. Taxes can be reduced by proper planning (without having to move).

It has been said that death is better than taxes because it only impacts you once, while taxes impact us year after year, and don’t end with our death (assuming you have an estate large enough to pay an estate tax). Although death is inescapable (at least at the time of this writing), taxes can be minimized with proper planning. This is especially important if you like where you live and are not inclined to move out of Massachusetts any time soon.

Gifting can reduce the value of your estate that is subject to estate tax at your death.  If you are not inclined to give assets away, certain types of trusts can be used to shelter assets in trust at the death of the first spouse in a married couple for the benefit of the surviving spouse in such a way that those sheltered assets avoid estate tax at the surviving spouse’s death.  Life insurance (which is taxable for estate tax purposes if you own a policy on your own life) can be owned by an irrevocable trust which can avoid estate tax on the death benefit of the policy.  If you are interested in staying in Massachusetts but minimizing the estate tax your family will pay at your death, get advice from an experienced estate planning attorney who can walk you through the tax minimization options that will work for you.

3. Death is difficult, but there are things you can do to make things easier on your family.

We help families settle estates and administer trusts as part of our daily work.  There are a few things that make a big difference in the amount of time, energy and money your family will spend settling your estate after your death.  

First, work with your estate planning attorney to consider how you can avoid a probate proceeding at the time of your death.  Probate is necessary for assets owned by the deceased in the deceased’s individual name at the time of death that do not have a designated beneficiary.  You can avoid a probate proceeding at your death if you own assets jointly with someone else, such as your spouse, if your assets like retirement accounts and life insurance have a designated beneficiary, or if your assets are owned by a trust.

Before you jump to owning assets jointly with someone else or designating beneficiaries on your accounts, you should consult with an estate planning attorney to make sure you understand the legal implications of doing so. For example, if you designate a minor child or disabled person as a beneficiary of your retirement account, after your death, the financial institution may require a conservator be appointed to handle the retirement funds that passed to the child or disabled person. Consulting with an estate planning attorney will help ensure that your beneficiary designations or jointly owned assets don’t lead to unintended, costly consequences.

For many assets, owning them in a revocable trust is the best way to avoid probate and make sure those assets will be distributed to your intended beneficiaries at your death, while making sure that if a beneficiary predeceases you, or if minor or disabled individuals are involved, assets will pass to them in ways that will protect the inherited assets for their benefit.  

4. Make Some Lists and Check Them Twice

If you do one thing to make things easier on your family (OK, maybe two things) do these:

First, make a comprehensive list of your assets. When we work with clients on settling an estate or trust, one of the most frustrating aspects of the process is their inability to locate information about a deceased’s current assets, debts, or benefits. To make this process easier for your family, create a comprehensive list of your assets, including real estate, bank accounts, IRAs, 401(k)s, brokerage accounts, life insurance, annuities and any other assets you have or that your family or estate would be entitled to receive at your death. If you have valuable personal property – like artwork, or sports collectibles – provide as much information as you can about the provenance of those items, the purchase price (if applicable), and any trusted source for appraisal or sale of the items after death if that is anticipated. If you have cash or gold stored at home or offsite, provide information about where to find those assets.

As to any bills you pay on a regular basis – monthly, quarterly, annually – describe from what account each bill is paid if paid automatically. Provide the names of the financial institutions and account numbers for mortgages and car loans.

Include the name and contact information of your attorney, your accountant or tax preparer, your insurance agent and your financial advisor, if any.

In addition to asset information, think about other information that would be useful for your family to have if you were suddenly unavailable, such as a list of employers from whom you receive, or from whom your beneficiaries may be entitled to receive, pension or other group benefits; access information for safe deposit boxes or storage facilities; and a list of your online accounts, usernames and passwords (more on this below). 

Make sure a trusted person knows where to locate the list after it is created. And finally, review this list every six months or so and keep it updated.

Second, if you have any online accounts or websites where you store important information (think photos, recipes, documents, cryptocurrency, email, etc.), keep a current list of your usernames and passwords in an online password manager or recorded in another way where a trusted person can access this information if needed, and let that person know where this information is located. Be sure to update this information on a regular basis as passwords change and new accounts are created.  If an online entity offers a way for you to give permission or access to your digital assets to specified individuals after your death, use their directions to set up online access to those accounts for those individuals.  For example, Facebook allows you to designate a “Legacy Contact”, who can either manage your account or delete the account once you pass away. Google allows you to control what happens to your account through their “Inactive Account Manager” option. If you have cryptocurrency, provide detailed information about how to access those assets.

5. Consider and Express Your Wishes about End-of-Life Care and Post-Death Instructions. 

Many of our clients feel strongly about the type of care they want (or do not want) to receive at the end of their life.  Although Massachusetts routinely considers right to die legislation, we do not yet have that type of control over the timing of our own death.  It is therefore important to create a Health Care Proxy that names the person who will make health care decisions and end-of-life decisions for you if you are unable to do so for yourself.  It is equally important to inform that person of your wishes or at least have a conversation about what quality of life means to you, and whether you want to be kept alive by artificial means if that quality of life is no longer available.  There are many tools available to help with these conversations and to express your wishes in this regard, including https://theconversationproject.org/ and the MOLST/POLST form that you complete with your physician (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/molst-transition-to-polst).

Our clients also have a good idea about what they would like to have 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 can be created by your estate planning attorney.  This type of document can be important if you anticipate any disagreement among family members and are concerned that your wishes will not be carried out.  Otherwise, it may be sufficient for you to write a letter to your family detailing your instructions, and give that letter to a trusted person or tell them where it is located so that they will be able to access and follow those wishes promptly following your death.

Death and taxes are a complicated business and doing what you can to help your family navigate these certainties of life when you are no longer there requires thoughtful and careful planning at a time when you are able to do so.  An experienced estate planning attorney can help you clarify your goals and put a proper plan in place to make sure those goals are attained.

Attorney Brittany Hinojosa Citron is a senior associate attorney at Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and trust administration. 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 or to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys, please call 781-461-1020. 

 

March 2026

 

© 2026 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Do Fundraised Assets Belong to the Estate?

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Can money raised on GoFundMe become part of someone’s estate? Attorney Brittany Citron breaks down how fundraised assets may be treated in estate planning, what families should know, and why proper planning matters. If you’re organizing a fundraiser or thinking ahead for loved ones, this is an important conversation to have.

Broken Hearts and Lost Inheritances: Protecting Money Left to a Divorcing Child

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It’s almost Valentine’s Day, a celebration of all types of love in your life. But sometimes love doesn’t work out, and it’s important to plan ahead to protect your assets from the worst-case scenario.

A common concern for clients is what happens to their child’s inheritance if that child goes on to get a divorce. The fear is that a portion of the hard-earned inheritance left to their child will instead pass to the divorcing spouse. Depending on the state where the divorce is taking place and the nature of the couple’s assets, this is an entirely real possibility, especially in a state such as Massachusetts with its open-ended divorce law.

The best approach to solve this is for your child to enter into a legally binding prenuptial agreement, often called a prenup, before marriage. A prenup can dictate that inheritances are considered the separate property of each spouse. In the case of a divorce, that separate property would not be divvied up with the other joint marital assets but instead stay with the spouse who inherited the assets.

However, sometimes it is too late to get a prenup or the parties involved are resistant to get one. An alternate approach then would be to add protections to your child’s inheritance in your estate plan.

A simple will, trust, or beneficiary designation on an account will give assets to your adult children outright and free of trust. This means that the assets become the child’s assets with no strings attached. In some states, there are some built-in protections for inheritances so long as they don’t become co-mingled with joint assets, i.e., the inheritance remains in a separate account and isn’t used on a joint purchase. However, this is not the case in Massachusetts.

The solution is to give assets to your children in trust. This means that your child will need to ask a trustee to access their inheritance, and the trustee will give the child money according to the standards set up in the trust. A child can be named as the trustee of their own trust share holding their inheritance (meaning they would just need to ask themselves), though for optimal protection another trustee should be named as co-trustee or sole trustee. Because the assets remain in trust, they never become your child’s property. The theory is that these assets are thus not divisible during the divorce.

A couple of caveats: divorce laws are constantly changing particularly in this area as more and more divorcing couples have their wealth established in significant part due to their inheritances. There is no guarantee that a trust set up now will work years in the future. Second, in Massachusetts, a divorce judge divides marital assets “equitably”, not “equally”. A judge could thus give a bulk of the marital assets to one spouse because the other spouse has a large inheritance (even if that inheritance is locked away in a trust). This may not matter much if the inheritance includes assets such as a family vacation house or the like where it’s not just about protecting money from going to the divorcing spouse but rather specific assets.

Even with these caveats, leaving assets in trust for your children is a great way to protect the assets in case your child divorces. Additionally, if your child lives in Massachusetts or another state with estate tax (or qualifies for the federal estate tax), these trust shares provide an estate tax reducing benefit for your child when they pass away.

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

©2026 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.