Estate Planning

Life Estates

September 27, 2022 by Attorney Suzanne Sayward

Five Life Events That Merit a Review and Update of your Estate Plan

September 7, 2022 by Attorney Suzanne Sayward

Creating an estate plan (Will, Trust, Power of Attorney, etc.) is a key step in making sure that your wishes are carried out and that your family is taken care of in the way you wish when you pass away. But an estate plan is not a ‘one-and-done’ proposition. Life happens and when it does…well, it may be time to adjust your plan.

Read on for five situations that call for a review and update of your estate plan.

Your marital status changes. In Massachusetts, a change in your marital status impacts your current estate plan (even if you haven’t created an estate plan!). Marriage confers certain rights, including the right of spouses to inherit from each other. How much of your estate your spouse is entitled to inherit depends on whether you have children together, whether either of you has children from a prior relationship, or whether neither of you has any children. Regardless of your situation, most people prefer to decide for themselves what their new spouse will inherit rather than have the government make that decision. Similarly, divorce impacts your estate plan in that your former spouse is effectively ‘deleted’ as a beneficiary under your Will and removed from fiduciary positions. While this is usually the desired outcome as to a former spouse, the law also removes any of your former spouse’s relatives as beneficiaries and from fiduciary positions which may not necessarily be the intention. For example, a former spouse’s sibling may still be the person you would name as the guardian for your minor children. Further, although the law may “remove” these individuals from your plan, you should update your plan to include appropriate people in their place as beneficiaries and fiduciaries.
You have a child. The law in Massachusetts provides that if a person dies with a child surviving (or more remote descendants in cases where a child has predeceased the parent) the child will inherit from the parent before assets would pass to anyone else (other than a surviving spouse who is first in line to inherit). However, the law also deems that adult-hood is reached at age 18. That means children who inherit from parents who have not created an estate plan that provides otherwise, will be entitled to receive the full amount of their inheritance at age 18. Prior to reaching age 18, a child’s inheritance will be managed for her by a court-appointed conservator if the parents have not created a Trust to manage their estate for their children. Most parents: 1) would prefer to decide who should be in charge of managing assets for their children rather than have the probate court make that decision; and, 2) do not want their children to have full, unfettered access to the inheritance they leave them at age 18. Creating a Trust that designates the people who will manage assets for their children at their deaths and specifies the ages, or events, at which a child will be entitled to full access to their inheritance allows the parents make these decisions rather than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
You or your spouse are diagnosed with a serious illness. While having a child and getting married (and for some, getting divorced) are joyous life events that merit a review and update of an estate plan, not all life events are good. If either you or your spouse is diagnosed with a terminal illness, or with a serious disease or condition such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or dementia, that could result in the need for long-term care, reviewing and updating your estate plan is not just important but often urgent. There may be actions needed to reduce taxes or to preserve assets from being consumed by expensive long-term care costs that should be implemented right away. In addition, it is important to make sure there is documentation in place such as a robust durable Power of Attorney and a comprehensive, up-to-date Health Care Proxy so that you are able to make decisions for a spouse who may lose the ability to do so as a result of the illness. These documents need to be created while the maker still has the capacity to do so.
Your spouse passes away. Reviewing and updating your estate plan when a spouse passes away is a prudent action to take.
People usually name their spouse to the primary fiduciary roles of Personal Representative, Attorney-in-fact, Health Care Agent, and Trustee. While there is often a back-up named to those roles, reviewing your estate plan to re-visit whether that designated alternate is still the right person to serve and updating your plan to designate a successor to your new primary fiduciary is a smart thing to do.
One of your fiduciaries or beneficiaries dies or becomes ill. When someone you designated as a fiduciary in your estate plan passes away or becomes ill such that they would no longer be able to carry out those duties, it is time to update your estate plan. Similarly, when a beneficiary dies or becomes ill, a review of the provisions of your estate plan as they relate to that person is sensible. Your estate plan most likely includes a provision directing what should happen to the share of a beneficiary who predeceases you. However, it has been my experience that clients’ thinking often changes when one of their beneficiaries predeceases them and they want to update their plan to change their distribution provisions. Similarly, if a beneficiary of your plan is diagnosed with a disease or condition such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, meet with your estate planning attorney to consider whether leaving money to that person is still a good idea. Many individuals who need long-term care are eligible for needs-based governmental benefits to pay for that care. Receiving an inheritance can cause them to lose that eligibility.

Above are just five of the life events that merit a review and update of an estate plan. Other changes such a significant increase in the value of your estate, relocation to another state, a disability affecting one of your beneficiaries, or even the passage of more than five or six years since your last estate plan review, are additional examples of life events that merit a review of your plan. If any of the above situations applies to you, don’t wait to contact your estate planning attorney to schedule a time to review and update your plan. If you have never created an estate plan, now’s a good time to do so. If we can help you create or update your estate plan, please contact our office to schedule a time to meet with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys.

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, elder law, estate and trust settlement and probate. 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.

September, 2022

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

August 16, 2022 by Attorney Abigail V. Poole

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

What’s New at Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC – Don’t Miss Our July 2022 Newsletter

July 27, 2022 by Attorney Maria Baler

Don’t Miss Our July 2022 Newsletter

Attorney Maria Baler discusses our most recent newsletter, for our Smart Counsel for Lunch Series. Please watch and if you have any questions or want to learn more then call us at 781 461-1020. Please find our newsletter below.

Pay Attention to your Deed

June 14, 2022 by Attorney Maria Baler

A Deed is a document that determines the ownership of real estate. When you purchase your home or other real estate, or if property is given to you, the person transferring the property to you (the Grantor) gives you (the Grantee) a Deed to the property, which is signed by the Grantor and recorded at the Registry of Deeds. For most people, that is the last time they look at their Deed.

In the old days, an original Deed (or Certificate of Title for registered land) was an important document, and people often kept them in their safe deposit box. Over the past decade, land records in Massachusetts have become fully electronic. Once a Deed is recorded at the Registry of Deeds, the electronic copy of that document is the one that matters.

It is possible for you to look at the most recent Deed to your property (or to your neighbor’s property for that matter), your most recent mortgage, homestead, or any other document that has been recorded at the Registry of Deeds on the website for the Registry of Deeds for the county in which your property is located. Go to www.masslandrecords.com, select your county from the state map, and then search for your name.

From an estate planning perspective, your Deed determines the ownership of what is probably your most valuable asset – your home. As part of creating an estate plan, your estate planning attorney should review your Deed to make sure the way your property is owned is consistent with your estate planning goals.

There are various ways to own real estate in Massachusetts if two or more people own property, and the form of tenancy is generally noted after the name of the Grantee. For example:

A Deed to “John Smith and Jane Smith as tenants in common” means that John and Jane each own a 50% interest in the property independent of each other. If John dies, his interest will not pass to Jane, and will instead pass according to his Will, or if he does not have a Will according to the intestate laws.
A Deed to “John Smith and Jane Smith as joint tenants with rights of survivorship” means that if John or Jane dies, his or her interest will pass automatically to the surviving owner, and will not be controlled by the provisions of John or Jane’s Will.
A Deed to “John Smith and Jane Smith, husband and wife as tenants by the entirety” is the form of joint ownership for married couples in Massachusetts, and as above in the case of “joint tenants”, the property will pass to the surviving spouse on the death of the first spouse.
A Deed to “John Smith and Jane Smith”, with no tenancy indicated after the names of the Grantees, means the property is owned as tenants in common. Not indicating a tenancy on a Deed to two or more people is often an oversight that can have serious consequences. A probate proceeding will be required at the death of an owner of the property. This is particularly unfortunate when the lack of tenancy on the Deed goes unnoticed until just prior to the sale of the property, in which case the sale will be significantly delayed, if not lost, until a probate proceeding is commenced and a Personal Representative can be appointed for the deceased owner’s estate.

For estate planning purposes, property may be transferred from an individual’s name to a Trust to avoid probate, or for estate tax savings or asset protection reasons. However, if your Deed is and will remain in your individual name, it is important to make sure the way you own your property is consistent with your planning goals.

It is important that the Deed to your property not be changed by anyone but an attorney who is experienced in real estate matters. Mistakes in the names of the Grantor or the Grantee, in the type of tenancy indicated, or in the legal description of the property being purchased or transferred, can create serious title issues, delays, expense and no end of headaches.

I was recently surprised to hear from a client that a bank, in connection with a mortgage loan transaction, changed the deed to the client’s property to add a child on to the deed. This change, although accomplishing the bank’s objectives regarding the mortgage transaction, changed the manner in which the property will be owned following the client’s death in a way that was not at all consistent with the client’s wishes or the client’s estate plan. Transferring title to real estate falls under the category of things you should not undertake on your own, nor should you sign a Deed prepared by someone else without having an attorney review the Deed and discuss with you any implications of the change in ownership.

Changing a Deed can also have tax implications, can expose the property to the creditors of a new owner, and can void Homestead protection. There is no end to the headaches and unintended consequences that can result from changes to your Deed, whether properly drafted or not. Take a look at the Deed to your home, make sure that the ownership reflected on the Deed reflects your wishes, and if it does not, or if you are not sure, ask your estate planning attorney to review it with you to be sure it is consistent with your planning goals for that property.

Maria 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 immediate past 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.

June 2022

Green Burials and Estate Planning

June 8, 2022 by Debbie Hayes

Attorney Megan Bartholomew discusses Green Burials 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 U.S. Supreme Court Decisions that Impacted Estate Planning

June 1, 2022 by SSB

Last month’s leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the constitutional right to abortion in most circumstances has led to the Court dominating the news yet again and serves as a reminder of the far-reaching consequences of the Supreme Court’s decisions. Although the handful of decisions on hot-button issues released by the Court every June frequently dominate the headlines and the public’s conception of what the Court does, it is important to remember that the Supreme Court also hands down numerous “under-the-radar” decisions that have far-reaching impacts on all areas of the law, including estate planning and elder law. As the month of June begins and the Court prepares to wrap up another term, We thought now would be a good time to showcase five Supreme Court decisions that have impacted estate planning and elder law.

Nichols v. Eaton (1875): Considered by some legal scholars to be the most important trusts and estates opinion ever produced by the Supreme Court, it could be argued that this decision laid the foundation for modern estate planning. Decided nearly 150 years ago, this case validates the use of “spendthrift clauses” in trusts. A spendthrift clause prohibits the beneficiary(ies) of a trust from transferring their interest(s) in the trust to a third party, either voluntarily or involuntarily. While this prevents, e.g., an impatient beneficiary from selling their income interest in a trust in exchange for a lump sum, far more consequentially, it also prevents potential creditors (including those with valid claims) from accessing a beneficiary’s interest in the trust. This means that, so long as a beneficiary’s interest stays in the trust, their creditors will not be able to access it or benefit from it. In the wake of this decision, spendthrift clauses have become ubiquitous in modern estate plans, to the point that it is rare to see a modern trust that doesn’t contain a spendthrift clause. It is the validity and enforceability of spendthrift clauses that makes the use of lifetime continuing trusts increasingly popular and common in modern estate plans.
United States v. Windsor (2013): It is a happy coincidence that the Supreme Court’s tradition of releasing opinions on hot-button issues in June has meant that several monumental decisions affecting LGBTQ rights have been issued during Pride Month, giving members of the LGBTQ community added reason to celebrate each June. Among those decisions was United States v. Windsor, which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act nearly a decade ago. Signed into law in 1996, among other things the Act defined “marriage” as between one man and one woman for purposes of federal law, meaning that even if a same-sex couple was legally married under the laws of their state, that marriage was not recognized by the federal government. As a result, married same-sex couples were unable to, e.g., file joint income tax returns, apply for survivor’s Social Security benefits upon the death of a spouse, take advantage of the more favorable asset limits for married couples applying for Medicaid long-term care benefits, or take advantage of the unlimited marital deduction for federal gift and estate taxes. This frequently resulted in estate and long-term care planning for same-sex married couples being more complicated and costly while still not always achieving the same outcomes that were possible for opposite-sex married couples. Fortunately, the Windsor decision more or less leveled the playing field for same-sex married couples, and recent actions by lower federal courts have attempted to remedy some of the wrongs suffered by same-sex married couples while the Act was in effect.
Clark v. Rameker (2014): This case deals with creditor protections for tax-qualified retirement assets (e.g., 401(k)s, IRAs, etc.). While federal law has long protected these assets from the reach of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, this case dealt with whether this protection extends beyond the original contributor to the plan to also cover beneficiaries who inherited these assets. The Supreme Court ultimately held that the creditor protection only applies to the original contributor and their surviving spouse, and not to inherited beneficiaries, ultimately changing the calculus for estate planners in terms of whether to name a trust or an individual as the beneficiary of such assets. By naming a lifetime continuing trust with a valid spendthrift clause as the beneficiary of these assets as opposed to an individual, it is possible to maintain creditor protection for these assets.
Sveen v. Melin (2018): While it is undoubtedly best practice to update beneficiary designations after a divorce, for a variety of reasons this doesn’t always happen. As a result, many states, including Massachusetts, have enacted “revocation-upon-divorce” laws, which automatically revoke the designation of an ex-spouse as the beneficiary of, e.g., a life insurance policy. In 2018, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether the Constitution permitted these laws to apply retroactively to beneficiary designations made prior to their enactment. While the Court ultimately held that these laws can apply retroactively, the protracted litigation in this case nonetheless highlights the importance of making sure to update your estate plan, including beneficiary designations, in the wake of major life changes such as divorce.
North Carolina v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust (2019): In the modern era, it is more common than ever for families to wind up spread out across the country. Gone are the days where multiple generations of a family can be counted on to live in the same town or even the same state. This makes it more likely that a trust will be created in one state, have a trustee in a different state, and have beneficiaries in one or more additional states. With the only constants in life being death and taxes, it is not surprising that all of these states might want to impose taxes on this one trust. Fortunately, the Supreme Court has taken notice of this and begun to establish guidelines for when states are constitutionally permitted to tax a trust. In 2019, the Court held that the mere fact that a discretionary beneficiary of a trust (i.e., a beneficiary who had no right to demand or force distributions from the trust) lives in a state is not sufficient to give that state the authority to tax the trust. Although this decision was fairly fact-specific, it nonetheless has provided some guidance to estate planners on the tax consequences of trusts that touch multiple states.

With the exception of the Windsor case, which was hotly contested and decided on a 5-4 basis with three rather vociferous dissenting opinions, none of the Supreme Court cases mentioned here were particularly controversial or headline-grabbing. In fact, most dealt with fairly technical issues of interpretation. Nonetheless, they should all serve as reminders that even “boring” decisions by the Supreme Court can have a far-reaching impact on the law.

June 2022

Five Reasons to Consider a Prenuptial Agreement

April 6, 2022 by Attorney Maria Baler

Five Reasons to Consider a Prenuptial Agreement

By Attorney Maria C. Baler

As Alfred Lord Tennyson said in his poem Locksley Hall: “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love”…and an estate planner’s thoughts turn to pre-nuptial agreements. With spring comes the start of wedding season. Although estate planners are romantics at heart, they also know that not all couples live happily ever after.

A prenuptial, or premarital, agreement is a contract between two people who are planning to marry, by which they agree in advance to a division of their assets in the event of divorce or death. Although some skeptics think that pre-nuptial agreements are only for the wealthy, here are five reasons you might want to consider a pre-nuptial agreement if you are headed to the altar.

Protect Inherited Assets

In dividing a married couple’s property in the event of divorce, all property the couple has brought to the marriage or acquires during the marriage is considered, including any assets a member of the couple may have inherited during the marriage. Massachusetts, like some other states, also allows a judge to consider the opportunity of each party to acquire assets and income in the future, including any inheritance a party may receive in the future. A prenuptial agreement is probably the easiest and best way to protect inherited assets from being considered when dividing assets between divorcing spouses. The agreement can provide that any assets a party inherits during the marriage or may inherit in the future should not be considered during property division in the event of the couple’s divorce. For many couples (and their parents), a prenuptial agreement that is narrowly tailored to protect inherited assets may provide peace of mind that family wealth will not be at risk if the marriage does not work out.

Protect a Family Business

If an owner or a member of a family business is getting married, this often (or should) raise concern about what will happen to that person’s ownership interest in the family business in the event of a divorce. Will a judge award an interest in the business to the ex-spouse? What will that mean to the family’s ability to continue to operate the business or make business decisions if the ex-spouse has a say in how the business is run? This can be a messy situation, and one which a prenuptial agreement can address. The parties can agree in advance that the party with the ownership interest in the business will keep that interest in the event of a divorce. This will go a long way to providing security for the other business owners and ensure the business can carry on without interference, regardless of how long the marriage lasts.

Protect Children from a Prior Marriage

Prenuptial agreements are not just for first marriages, and in fact may be even more important for those who have been married before, and who may have more assets to protect and perhaps even children from a prior relationship. Marriage confers certain rights on your spouse under the law, including the right not to be disinherited at death. However, a prenuptial agreement can waive those rights, if appropriate. For example, if two people who have children from prior relationships decide to marry, they may enter into a pre-nuptial agreement that prevents the new spouse from claiming any interest in the estate of the deceased spouse, so that the deceased spouse is assured that his or her assets can be left to their children at their death, without the threat of interference from the surviving spouse. This can be especially important if the children of the deceased spouse are minors, and may need those assets for their support and education. It can be equally important for older children who may be nervous about their potential inheritance being disrupted by a parent’s new spouse. A pre-nuptial agreement will not prevent the couple from leaving assets to each other at death if they wish, but will prevent the surviving member of the couple from disrupting the deceased’s estate plan after the fact.

Address Long-term Care Concerns

A pre-nuptial agreement can make it clear, especially for couples who marry later in life, that each member of the couple is responsible to pay for their own care costs, including any long-term care expenses, rather than their new spouse bearing any responsibility for those expenses. Often, couples will consider purchasing long-term care insurance to insure against the possibility that care costs will reduce the assets they may otherwise be able to leave to their children. Keep in mind that if qualification for public benefits, such as Medicaid benefits, is necessary, a prenuptial agreement’s provisions will not be honored, and Medicaid will consider the assets of both spouses in determining eligibility for benefits. However, if the marriage is terminated (and in some circumstances, divorce is a long-term care planning choice), the pre-nuptial agreement may prevent the Court from allocating assets in conflict with the agreement.

Protect Special Assets

Perhaps one spouse has a home they painstakingly restored prior to the marriage. In the event of a divorce, that spouse may want to be sure they are able to keep the house, rather than having it go to their spouse or sold so that the value can be divided between them. Maybe the other party has a partial ownership interest in a ski condo, or a valuable antique car. A prenuptial agreement can address these special assets, and allow the parties to agree in advance how those assets would be treated and divided in the event of a divorce.

Whatever the motivation for creating a prenuptial agreement, the agreement must be created in a way that will ensure it will be enforceable if the parties divorce. Massachusetts courts have established very clear parameters that must be followed for a premarital agreement to be enforceable if, and when, the time comes for the agreement to do what it was created to do – protect assets. First, when creating and negotiating a prenuptial agreement, it is mandatory that both parties have their own attorneys to ensure each party understands how the terms of the agreement benefit and obligate them. Second, in order to be enforceable, Massachusetts courts have held that a prenuptial agreement must be fair both at the time the agreement is signed and at the time it is sought to be enforced. Third, each party to a prenuptial agreement must fully disclose his or her assets, including anticipated inheritances, to the other party. Full and complete disclosure of assets is essential to the agreement’s enforceability. Finally, prenuptial agreements must be entered into freely by each party, without coercion or influence from the other party or outside influences. For this reason, courts have found that the agreement must be entered into far enough in advance of the wedding that neither party feels coerced into signing.

Consider a prenuptial agreement if your assets or circumstances are such that you want added assurance that no matter how matters of the heart may go, your assets and your children will be protected.

April, 2022

Five Reminders of Things to Do this Groundhog Day

February 2, 2022 by Attorney Maria Baler

By the time you read this it will likely be Groundhog Day, February 2nd, the day each year when a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his burrow in western Pennsylvania and determines, with questionable accuracy, whether we are in for another six weeks of winter. After last weekend’s blizzard, I think it’s safe to say we are all rooting for winter to be over as quickly as possible!
Many of you may also remember the 1993 movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray as a TV weatherman who relives the same day over and over as he goes on location to cover Punxsutawney Phil, and famously says: “Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today.” In honor of Groundhog Day and in the spirit of the movie, I thought I would remind you of five things we talk about over and over and over again when helping our clients plan for the day when there is no tomorrow.

1. Create or Update your Estate Plan

An estate plan is your opportunity to create a roadmap for what happens to you and your assets if you become incapacitated or pass away. It is your chance to decide who makes legal, financial and health care decisions for you if you are sick, who will be in charge of settling your affairs and distributing your assets after your death, and how those assets will be distributed. Estate plans can be simple or complex. They can be designed to save taxes, avoid the involvement of the probate court, create a structure to manage an inheritance for a beneficiary who is young or foolish or both. Whatever your goals, create an estate plan, or update yours if it has been a few years since you did it. Life goes on, things change. As we say to our clients, it’s never too late to plan as long as you are alive and well, until you aren’t.

2. Fund your Trust

If you have created a Trust as part of your estate plan, you have heard us say many times that funding your Trust is one of the most important tasks that you need to do to ensure your plan works as intended. This means re-titling assets so that they are owned by the Trust, and not by you individually, or designating your Trust as the beneficiary of certain assets so that they will pay to the Trust at your death. Funding a Trust ensures the assets owned by the trust will avoid probate at your death. Funding a Trust can also ensure assets will be sheltered from estate tax at the death of the first spouse of a married couple, savings tens of thousands of dollars in taxes for your children or other heirs. Funding a Trust may also allow someone to manage and use those assets for you if you become incapacitated. So, if you have a Trust, don’t forget to fund it, and don’t delay in doing so.

3. Compile Important Information

If you become incapacitated or pass away, there is a lot of important information that your loved ones will need to know – What assets do you own and where are they located? Who prepares your income taxes? Do you have life insurance? Where is your safe deposit box? Where did you hide your stash of gold coins? What is the password to your Shutterfly account? What is the significance of those old candlesticks that occupy a place of honor on your mantle? Consider sitting down and writing a list of things someone would need to know if you were not able to tell them, including a list of your assets, your advisors (legal, financial, tax), and where your estate plan documents are located. Tell someone you trust where to find this information if necessary. And lastly, keep that list updated so that it will be current when it is needed.

4. Name Financial and Health Care Decision-Makers

Much of the fun and games in your estate plan happens after your death – taxes are paid, assets are distributed, beneficiaries divvy up your tangible property and fight over the patio furniture. However, there are two important documents that will directly impact you while you are alive – your Power of Attorney which names a person who will make legal and financial decisions for you and your Health Care Proxy which names someone who will make health care decisions for you if you are not able to make decisions for yourself. Make sure you have control over who is making decisions for you by creating these documents while you are well, and naming people you trust will make good decisions for you. Taking control of the situation and choosing your decision-makers while you are still able to do so will allow you to make the best choice, will allow you to prepare those decision-makers by discussing your wishes with them. Doing so will avoid a situation where no one is named and a judge decides who will serve in these roles rather than you.

5. Name a Guardian for Minors

Parents of young children do not have a lot of free time, and often the last thing on their mind is writing a Will, since the thought of passing away is remote and very scary. However, as a young parent, writing a Will is one of the most important things you can do. A Will is the one opportunity you have to decide who will serve as your child’s guardian if you are not able to do so. A guardian is a person who will be appointed by the Court to have custody of your children, and to make decisions regarding where they live, where they go to school, and their health care. If one parent dies, a child’s surviving parent will be named as the child’s guardian unless that parent is unfit. However, if both of a child’s parents are deceased, an alternate guardian should be named.

Naming a guardian for your minor children is one of the most difficult decisions you will make, but is arguably the most important thing you can do to ensure your child’s well-being if you die before your child is an adult. There is no perfect choice for this role, and often parents need to compromise on their ideal choices. As your children grow and change, a different person may be more appropriate, and your Will can be changed to name a different guardian at a later date. Naming someone is better than naming no one. If you die without naming a guardian for your children, the Court will have to choose among the people who ask to be appointed. And chances are some of those people may not be the people you would have chosen if you had the choice. Unfortunately, without a Will, the Court has no idea who your choice would be.

Long winter weekends, especially when COVID-19 has limited many people’s activities, are a good time to cross things off the To Do List. Put some of the above items on your list and get them done. Here’s hoping you will be around to celebrate many more Groundhog Days to come and fingers crossed for an early spring!

Smart Counsel Webinar – Fraud Prevention in the 21st Century – What You Need to Know to Keep Your Information Safe

January 19, 2022 by Attorney Maria Baler

Join us for our next Smart Counsel webinar on Thursday, February 24th when Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey will share his expertise on fraud prevention, cyber hacking, scams and identity theft.

Attorney Maria Baler will join him and speak to the importance of having updated estate plan documents that permit trusted individuals to assist you if necessary, including the ability to access your digital assets.

In addition to hearing from both Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Attorney Maria Baler, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Join us virtually for this presentation on Thursday, February 24, 2022 from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.

Contact Victoria Ung at 781/461-1020 or ung@ssbllc.com to reserve a spot for you and a friend.

The program is free but registration is required.

Suzanne R. Sayward

Maria C. Baler

Abigail V. Poole

Francis R. Mulé

Megan L. Bartholomew