This week we feature Attorney Leah Kofos’ interview with FriendshipWorks Executive Director, Janet Seckel-Cerrotti. FriendshipWorks is a nonprofit that reduces elder isolation by connecting volunteers with older adults for friendship and support. We appreciate Janet taking the time to share her wisdom and experience with us.

Since 1984, FriendshipWorks has been matching caring volunteers with elders in need of companionship, support, and assistance. Whether it’s a weekly visit from a Friendly Visitor, completing a household task with a Friendly Helper, a Medical Escort to be there for a medical appointment, the joy of a PetPals visit, or a MusicWorks session, these five programs bring warmth, connection, and friendship into the lives of Boston’s older adults.

https://fw4elders.org/

During the week of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re all dreaming of finding that elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But if you’ve worked hard to build your own wealth, you know that keeping it safe is just as important as acquiring it. Without careful planning, your financial security could be eroded by taxes, legal complications, and unexpected expenses. To ensure your “pot of gold” remains intact for you and your loved ones, consider these key asset protection strategies.

Minimizing Estate Taxes

Estate taxes can take a significant bite out of the wealth you intend to pass on to your heirs. Fortunately, with proper planning, you can minimize this tax burden and keep more of your assets where they belong—within your family. One effective strategy is to take advantage of the annual gift tax exclusion, which allows you to transfer a certain amount to beneficiaries each year without triggering federal taxes. Establishing revocable trusts with estate tax minimization provisions can also be a powerful way for married individuals to lessen the burden of estate taxes. Other strategies, such as charitable giving and life insurance trusts, can further reduce estate tax exposure. A proactive approach ensures more of your wealth stays within your family.

Avoiding Probate

Probate is a legal process that can be costly and time-consuming, delaying asset distribution to your heirs. Fortunately, there are ways to structure your estate to bypass probate entirely. One of the best strategies is to set up a revocable living trust which allows assets to transfer smoothly without court intervention. Proper designation of beneficiaries on financial accounts is also an effective way to ensure your wealth passes directly to your loved ones. But beware the ides of March…I mean, beware the improper designation of beneficiaries! Naming minor or incapacitated beneficiaries on your accounts is an easy pitfall to stumble into.

Planning for Long-Term Care

No one wants to think about the possibility of needing long-term care, but failing to plan ahead for it can be financially devastating. Nursing home and assisted living costs can deplete your savings quickly if you don’t plan ahead. One way to protect your assets is through long-term care insurance, which can cover many of these expenses and prevent you from having to rely solely on personal funds. Another approach is restructuring your assets through your estate plan in a way that allows you to qualify for assistance while preserving your wealth for your heirs. By planning ahead, you can take precautions to ensure your financial resources aren’t wiped out by unexpected healthcare costs.

Diversification: Don’t Put All Your Gold in One Pot

Diversification is key to protecting your wealth from market downturns and economic uncertainties. By spreading your investments across different asset classes—such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and alternative investments—you reduce the risk of losing everything if one market takes a hit. Whether it’s gold coins, property, or investments, a well-balanced portfolio is essential for long-term financial security.

Creating a Legacy

Preserving your wealth isn’t just about protecting assets during your lifetime—it’s also about ensuring it benefits future generations. Trusts can help secure your legacy and provide financial stability for your children and future descendants. Educating your heirs about financial responsibility and smart money management is just as important as passing down assets. Estate planning is about more than passing down money; it’s about securing a lasting financial legacy.

Guard Your Treasure with Care

Protecting your assets today means securing a brighter future for yourself and those you care about. Proactive financial planning allows you to pass on more than just wealth—it lets you share values, stability, and opportunities with future generations. Whether through trusts, investment diversification, or long-term care strategies, each step you take now strengthens your financial foundation and ensures lasting prosperity. A strong estate plan provides confidence that your hard-earned resources will support your family’s future.

This St. Patrick’s Day, take some time to review your estate plan and make sure your pot of gold is safe from unnecessary losses. After all, luck may help you find treasure, but smart planning ensures you keep it!

Attorney Leah A. Kofos is an 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. 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

Attorney Suzanne Sayward discusses The Differences Between a Named and Appointed Personal Representative. Please watch and if you have any questions or want to learn more please call us at 781 461-1020.

 

 

One of the most common ways to own real estate is in a revocable trust, also called a revocable living trust. A revocable trust allows for unrestricted control and use of the property by the owners for their lifetimes.

A revocable trust is created by a person called the “grantor” or “settlor” who designates a “Trustee” who will manage the assets owned by the trust for the benefit of the trust “beneficiaries”. In a revocable trust, the owner of the real estate is typically the grantor, Trustee and beneficiary of the trust during the owner’s lifetime. If a married couple transfers their home to a revocable trust, both members of the couple are often the grantors, Trustees and beneficiaries.

There is a federal law that permits the transfer of mortgaged residential real estate with less than five units to a revocable trust of which the borrower is a beneficiary without impacting an existing mortgage loan and without requiring permission from the mortgage lender.

Here are five things to know about transferring your home to a revocable trust:

1. Benefits of a Revocable Living Trust

Transferring real estate into a revocable trust has many benefits and can achieve many common planning goals.

Holding real estate in a revocable trust will allow the property to avoid the probate process at the death of the owner (or at the death of the surviving owner if the property is owned by more than one person). Probate is the court process that transfers title from a deceased person to the deceased person’s heirs or the beneficiaries under the Will. In Massachusetts, it can take several months or more for the probate court to appoint a Personal Representative of the estate and this delay can wreak havoc with the management of property. No one has the authority to sell or lease the property until the court makes the appointment. If a trust is used to avoid probate, the successor Trustee of the Trust can manage or sell real estate owned by the Trust immediately after the owner’s death for the benefit of the Trust beneficiaries.

Holding real estate in trust can be especially beneficial if you own real estate in multiple states, since real estate must be probated in the state in which it is located. Owning real estate in trust will avoid multiple probate proceedings.

If the value of your estate is large enough to be subject to estate tax ($2 million in Massachusetts, $13.9 million for federal estate tax purposes) and you are married, holding real estate in a trust can be part of a plan to shelter assets at the death of the first spouse to die from taxation at the death of the surviving spouse, saving overall estate taxes for those who inherit the assets at the death of the surviving spouse.

Last but not least, revocable trusts can be used to manage real estate for young children or other beneficiaries. For example, if you have school-age children and would like your home maintained for them if you passed away so they can continue to attend school in the town where they live, or if you would like a beloved vacation home held in trust for the benefit of your children and grandchildren after your death, a trust is an excellent vehicle for these situations.

2. Homestead Protection

The Massachusetts Homestead Law allows you to protect some or all of the equity in your primary residence from creditors’ claims by filing a Declaration of Homestead with the Registry of Deeds. If you transfer your home to a revocable trust, the Declaration of Homestead you filed when your home was individually owned will likely be void. A new Declaration of Homestead, signed by the Trustees of the revocable trust should be filed with the deed conveying the property to the Trustees. Homes held in trust are entitled to the same Homestead protection as homes owned individually, as long as a proper Declaration of Homestead is filed by the Trustees.

3. Title Insurance and Homeowners Insurance

Two important tasks that should be undertaken when you transfer real estate to a trust relate to your homeowner’s insurance and your owner’s title insurance.

You should notify your homeowner’s insurance agent when you transfer property to a revocable trust and ask them to update your policy to reflect that your property is titled in trust. Also note that holding real estate in a revocable trust does not afford you any liability protection. You should make sure to maintain adequate liability insurance to protect the real estate against liability. If you do not presently have an umbrella policy you may wish to speak with your homeowner’s insurance agent about obtaining such a policy.

If you purchased owner’s title insurance when you purchased your property, you may need to take action to continue that coverage following transfer of your property to a revocable trust. Some types of owner’s title insurance policies require an endorsement to continue coverage after property is transferred to a trust and some do not. Some title insurance companies will require a title rundown before issuing an endorsement to the policy, and some will charge a fee for the endorsement.

4. Residential and Other Property Tax Exemptions

Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and other cities and towns in the Commonwealth offer a residential real estate tax exemption to homeowners who occupy real estate as their principal residence. If you transfer your property to a trust you may need to re-apply for the exemption and provide a copy of the relevant trust documents to the city or town. To ensure you do not lose your residential exemption (even temporarily) when your property is transferred into trust, contact your city or town to determine what steps you need to take to continue that exemption after your property is transferred into trust.

Cities and towns may also offer property tax exemptions to blind, elderly or disabled property owners. If you are eligible to receive a property tax exemption from the city or town where your home is located, the transfer of your home into trust may affect these exemptions. If you receive a property tax exemption you should contact your city or town to determine whether or not the conveyance of the property into trust will affect the exemption, and whether or not this can be avoided.

5. Beach Stickers, Dump Stickers, and Other Amenities

Every city and town is unique, and some cities and towns offer amenities that are only available to residents of that city or town. For example, only people who own property in a particular town on the Cape can get a beach sticker that will allow them to park at the beach in that town. In other towns, only homeowners can get a sticker that allows them to bring trash to the town’s transfer station. Other cities may allow you to park on certain streets if you are a resident and have a resident parking permit. If your town offers any of these amenities tied to home ownership, you should inquire with your city or town whether the conveyance of your property into trust will affect your eligibility for these services, and whether or not this can be avoided.

Ownership of real estate in a revocable trust provides many estate planning benefits and is a common practice here in Massachusetts. If you are interested in taking advantage of these benefits, consult with an experienced estate planning attorney who can review with you the pros and cons of transferring real estate you own into a revocable trust. If you do transfer your property, keep in mind the things noted above so that you can enjoy the benefits of a revocable trust without any issues.

Maria C. Baler, Esq. is an estate planning and elder law attorney and partner at Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC, a law firm based in Dedham. She is also a former director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MassNAELA), and the former President of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Forum of Estate Planning Attorneys. For more information, visit www.ssbllc.com or call (781) 461-1020. 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 2025

© 2025 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Attorney Maria Baler discusses Prenuptial Agreements, 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.

As in most areas, myths, misconceptions, and misunderstandings abound in the estate planning arena.  Read on for five common estate planning myths. 

Myth No. 1 – If you have a Will your Estate will not need to go through Probate.   Many people think that if they create a Will, their estate will avoid probate.  This is not true. Probate is the court process of changing the title on assets when someone passes away.  Assets that are owned in a deceased person’s individual name and for which there is no named beneficiary are no longer accessible once the owner of the asset has died.  This is the case whether or not the owner of the asset had a Will.  A Will allows the maker of the Will to choose who will receive his or her probate assets.  However, a Will does not avoid probate.  

Myth No. 2 – A Couple that lives together for 7 years in Massachusetts will be deemed Married under Common Law. While common-law marriage does exist in some states, Massachusetts is not one of them. No matter how long a couple lives together, neither Massachusetts nor the federal government will recognize them as married.  This is important to understand because a non-spouse has no inheritance rights (unlike a spouse), nor is a non-spouse partner entitled to Social Security benefits or pension benefits that a spouse is entitled to receive.  Of course, partnered couples are not prohibited from leaving assets for the benefit of each other.  The key is they must take steps to make that happen; it will not happen under the intestate law in Massachusetts.  

Myth No. 3 – If a Trust is irrevocable, no distributions can be made from the Trust.    An Irrevocable Trust is an excellent planning tool for some circumstances such as tax planning and long-term care planning.  Many people think that if a Trust is irrevocable that means that no distributions may be made from the Trust.  This is not true.  For example, an Irrevocable Income Only Trust is an irrevocable Trust often used to preserve assets from needing to be spent down on long-term care costs.  The way that it works is that the maker of the Trust transfers assets to a Trust that strictly prohibits distributions of principal from the Trust to the Trust maker but permits distributions of income.  For example, if I had rental real estate and transferred it to an irrevocable Trust, I could continue to receive the rental income, but I could not receive a distribution of the property.

Myth No. 4 – The law authorizes a Parent to collect an Inheritance on behalf of their Minor Child.   Leaving money directly to a minor (under age 18) creates an administrative nightmare and should be avoided.  A minor is not legally able to own assets.  As such if a minor is the beneficiary of an estate or is named as a beneficiary of a retirement account or life insurance policy, a legal representative for the child will need to be appointed by the court in order to collect that inheritance.  While the parent of the child may be the best person to serve in that role, it is not automatic.  The parent must petition the court to be appointed as the child’s conservator.  The court will investigate whether the parent is a suitable person to receive the funds for the minor and if the Judge finds the parent a suitable custodian for the funds, the court will issue a decree appointing the parent as the child’s conservator.  At that point, the parent may collect the inheritance on behalf of the child.  But it doesn’t end there.  The parent, in her capacity as the conservator for the minor child, must file a report (called an accounting) with the court on an annual basis itemizing all of activity in the child’s account (i.e., earnings and disbursements) during the prior calendar year. The court may appoint a guardian ad litem to review the accounting submitted by the parent-conservator and that person may challenge the parent’s management of the funds.  All of this is time-consuming, expensive and aggravating.  To add insult to injury, once the minor turns 18, he or she is entitled to receive the assets outright and is free to do with them as he or she wishes (think fast cars, spring break, and lots of shopping).  Creating a Trust to receive assets passing to a minor, or even to a young adult beneficiary, is the best way to ensure that the court is not involved in the process, that the person you want to manage assets for the beneficiary is able to do so, and that the beneficiary may use the assets only for purposes you decide are important and/or at ages that you dictate.

Myth No. 5 – Just because you are an Heir does not mean you are Entitled to Anything.    For the most part, people in our country have the right to leave their estate to whomever they wish.  There are some exceptions to this general rule.  For example, in Massachusetts we have a statute that protects a surviving spouse from being disinherited.  In addition, there may be situations where someone is legally obligated to benefit someone via their estate (e.g., a divorce agreement to leave assets to a former spouse or for the benefit of children).  Assuming those situations do not exist, a person is free to leave their estate to whomever they wish; they are not obligated to leave their estate to their family members, not even to their adult children. While an heir may have the right to contest a Will or challenge a Trust, there are specific and limited reasons that someone will be successful in doing so.  

The above are just five of the many misconceptions we hear from clients who are starting the estate planning process.  If you have been relying on your friends and neighbors to advise you about your estate plan, you may want to reach out to an experienced estate planning attorney to learn the real scoop.  Please call us or email us to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys who will debunk those myths and advise you about the best way to plan your estate.  

Attorney Suzanne R. Sayward is a partner with the Dedham law firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate and Trust settlement and elder law matters. She is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, a private organization whose standards for certification are not regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  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 our website at www.ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020.

February, 2025

© 2025 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC