Estate Planning

While death is an unpleasant topic to contemplate, and most would rather not plan for it, Benjamin Franklin’s astute observation that “in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes” remains as true today as it ever was. Fortunately, modern estate planning tools enable sophisticated legal counsel to mitigate a death’s effect on taxes. That being said, a well-considered estate plan does much more than provide for a tax-efficient disbursement of one’s assets at death; among other things, it grows and conserves lifetime wealth, governs who will care for minor children, appoints one or more persons to carry out a deceased’s wishes and administer the estate, provides for a smooth and efficient settlement of the estate’s affairs, and ensures that one’s wishes will be carried out in the event of mental or physical incapacity.

At Freed Law LLC we understand that each client has unique concerns, and unlike many larger firms, we can and will take the time to get to know—and work with—you, your family and your trusted advisors to understand your financial situation, goals, and objectives. By listening attentively to the needs of you and your dependents, our knowledgeable and dedicated attorneys will educate themselves as to your personal and financial situation in order to craft a well-tailored estate plan that operates as a seamless element of your family’s overall financial plan.

Wealth preservation and protection require an appreciation of the current and future needs of our clients and of those who depend on them. Multi-generational planning requires cutting-edge legal and tax planning techniques and an appreciation of the human dynamics involved therein. By both listening to our clients and staying abreast of ever-changing tax and estate law, we deliver on both fronts. Our clients rely on us to help them make prudent business, financial, and personal decisions and we take that responsibility seriously.

Wills

A will, often used in conjunction with one or more trusts, is an indispensable estate-planning tool. As most people know, a will serves to identify one’s intentions concerning the distribution of property owned at death; in its absence, such property is distributed according to state intestacy law, with potentially unintended consequences. For example, if a married person dies without a will in Massachusetts, nearly one-quarter of the deceased’s assets may pass to a parent or descendant rather than the spouse. A will is also valuable as it can dictate who will administer one’s assets at death, and who will become one’s children’s legal guardian at death – things better not left to chance. Lastly, a will is one means to ensure that wishes regarding end of life healthcare are respected.

We commonly prepare a “pour-over” will, which operates in conjunction with a trust established prior to death. Such a process permits substantial amounts of property to pass by will without making the identity of the beneficiaries and the nature of their interests a matter of public record, which is of great value to clients who wish to protect their privacy and the privacy of their heirs. Additionally, an inter vivos trust can be amended up until death without amending an existing will or executing a new will.

It is important to consult with an attorney who will not only protect you, but also work with you to keep current your wills and various other estate planning documents. Following any major change in your life, it is important to evaluate your comprehensive estate plan to determine if any changes and/or updates are required to be made. When possible, we will amend an existing trust or draft will codicils (amendments) to fine-tune your will without having to create a brand new document.

Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts

A trust is a device used to hold legal title to property for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries, and they have become an indispensable element of modern estate planning. Assets held in trust are not subject to the slow and costly probate administration process, allowing beneficiaries ready access to funds upon death, which can be essential to avoiding an interruption in dependents’ lifestyles following the loss of a primary earner. Trusts are also generally more flexible than wills, not requiring the same creation or amendment formalities, nor subject to the public disclosure of their terms during probate. Additionally, trusts are useful for protecting and controlling the distribution of assets: for example, a “spendthrift” trust’s assets are protected from a beneficiary’s creditors and a “discretionary” trust grants a trustee total discretion in determining the distribution of assets to designated beneficiaries, often useful for minor or young adult beneficiaries. An irrevocable trust is a useful tax-planning tool, as the pre-death transfer of assets into such a trust can reduce the grantor’s gross estate, thereby reducing potential estate tax liability. At Freed Law LLC, we specialize in counseling clients on the strategy, development and implementation of a wide range of revocable and irrevocable trusts, including:

Special-needs trusts
Spendthrift trusts
Discretionary trusts
Charitable remainder trusts
Irrevocable life insurance trusts
Credit shelter trusts
Generation-skipping trusts
Qualified Personal Residence Trusts

If you have questions about establishing a trust, an experienced estate-planning lawyer is here for you. We will work with you to make it part of an estate plan that suits your unique legal and financial objectives.

At D’Ambruoso & Freed LLP, we understand that each client has unique concerns, and unlike many larger firms, we can and will take the time to get to know—and work with—you, your family and your trusted advisors to understand your financial situation, goals, and objectives. By listening attentively to the needs of you and your dependents, our knowledgeable and dedicated attorneys will educate themselves as to your personal and financial situation in order to craft a well-tailored estate plan that operates as a seamless element of your family’s overall financial plan.

Trust Administration

A trustee is the person or entity holding legal title to the assets placed into a trust. While subject to a fiduciary duty to administer the trust in accordance with its terms and for the benefit of its designated beneficiaries, a trustee typically also has extensive discretion and management powers over the trust, including the powers of sale and investment, responsibility to account for the trust’s income and manage costs, reporting requirements, and responsibility for making disbursements while following or interpreting the expressed intentions of the grantor or decedent. Without proper legal guidance, this burden can be overwhelming and can expose the trustee to significant liability.

At Freed Law LLC, we can lighten or relieve these burdens by providing a complete range of cost-effective trust administration services. Clients have the assurance that all affairs of the trust will be managed in an efficient, orderly and conscientious manner.

Lifetime Gifting Strategies

As part of your estate plan, Freed Law LLC can help you identify and employ charitable and other gifting strategies to take advantage of annual and lifetime estate- and gift-tax exclusions, to protect family real estate holdings, or transfer wealth to reduce estate-tax liability. Our attorneys are experienced in the use of a wide range of trusts and tools to accomplish your estate planning goals.

Advance Medical Directives

One of the greatest gifts we can give our loved ones is to instruct them as to how we would make critical medical decisions if we were able, and/or giving a trusted person the authority to make those decisions when we cannot. The time of a sudden, serious injury or critical illness is very stressful for a family. Written guidance about your wishes for medical care can give family members the comfort that the actions being taken are the ones you would want. Apart from the humane and emotional benefits that this planning provides, advance medical directives can significantly reduce the estimated 90% of lifetime medical spending that occurs in the last 12 months of a person’s life, conserving assets that an incapacitated and terminally ill person may prefer be passed on to his or her heirs.

Among the instruments that we prepare to effect a person’s wishes are the following:

Durable Power of Attorney. A durable power of attorney for healthcare grants a family member or another trusted person the full authority to make health-care decisions on your behalf.
Appointment of a Healthcare Proxy. This instrument is the most widely recognized device in Massachusetts. Once it is determined, pursuant to statute, that a principal lacks the capacity to make or communicate healthcare decisions, the agent appointed as healthcare proxy becomes empowered to make healthcare decisions on the principal’s behalf. This instrument becomes effective any time a principal is incapacitated, not solely at end-of-life.
Living Will. Although not recognized as a valid legal document in Massachusetts, a living will can serve as valuable evidence, or apply to out-of-state clients. This document gives specific instructions about the type of medical care one would or would not like to receive, such as the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment.

We consider end-of-life healthcare planning and advance medical directives to be a crucial part of every estate plan. Many people find it difficult to think of such issues; they are uncomfortable with the topic or are unsure about how to plan for end-of-life medical care. D’Ambruoso & Freed LLP’s compassionate estate planning attorneys have experience helping people consider these important topics and can provide the knowledgeable legal guidance you need to make these difficult decisions.

GLBT and Cohabitant Estate Planning

Will you be shut out when your partner really needs you? Will your or your partner’s assets be distributed in an unintended fashion? If a member of the GLBT community fails to properly plan, both scenarios are possible and the results can be devastating to his or her partner.

As far as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is concerned, same-sex spouses are no different from their straight counterparts in estate planning, probate, and family law matters. However, the Federal government does not (yet) recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions. This creates unique problems for gay or lesbian spouses regarding inheritance, business succession, taxation, divorce and healthcare decisions. Given the lack of Federal recognition of GLBT partnerships, having no estate plan, or relying upon a will, joint tenancy, or tenancy in common as an estate plan, is tantamount to giving up control of one’s assets. Without a will specifically naming your partner, your assets may pass to unintended heirs. Without a written power of attorney or healthcare proxy, you may have no legal standing in your partner’s financial or medical affairs, and may not even have access to an incapacitated partner. Despite the lack of Federal spousal benefits for GLBT couples, strategies are available to avoid penalties, minimize potential tax exposure, reduce the court and attorney costs of probate, and ensure that your healthcare wishes are followed. We appreciate the special planning considerations arising from the paradox of being legally married under Massachusetts’s law, but being regarded as nothing more than “roommates” under Federal law. The attorneys at Freed Law LLC can provide knowledgeable counsel to same-sex couples to ensure that their rights, wishes and entitlements are respected in the event of either spouse’s disability or death.

Unwed cohabitants have even weaker standing than married GLBT couples in the eyes of the law– Massachusetts does not recognize “common law marriage,” regardless of how many years a couple lives together. Without a marriage certificate, equitable distribution of property under Massachusetts’s matrimonial law does not apply. It can be devastating to find out you have no claim to assets, particularly if you are on the hook for a mortgage or other jointly incurred debt.

Many of the tools illustrated on this site can be used to provide for a partner and/or bolster a partner’s rights and responsibilities, financially, medically, and otherwise, and ensure that surviving minor children are raised by the person so designated.

Prenuptial Agreements

Fundamentally, a marriage is a legal arrangement, essentially a contract between two people. A savvy businessperson would not sign a business contract without a clear arrangement for the rights and responsibilities of each party upon termination of the relationship. Why should you treat marriage, one of the most important contracts you will ever make, any differently?

No one expects their marriage to end in divorce but by some estimates, one in every two marriages will. By creating an effective prenuptial agreement, you can establish the terms of any separation at a time when you and your future spouse have a strong relationship, rather than trying to fight out the terms at a time when you struggle to agree on anything. This allows you and your partner to address matters, such as alimony and property division, when you are on good terms.

You can reduce the likelihood that you will drain your bank accounts to finance the expensive legal fees involved in a long and drawn-out divorce. Prenuptial agreements can also be an effective means of asset protection (i.e., in the event of a divorce, you can preserve your familial assets for your heirs). Look to us for compassionate guidance on the delicate issues surrounding a prenuptial arrangement.

Wealth-Planning Implications of Divorce

A typical person’s estate plan centers on the other spouse. The husband or wife likely has powers of attorney in the event of disability, and that spouse is probably the primary beneficiary in the event of death. The house, investments and debts are all intertwined. Divorce can void portions of your will and estate-planning documents, including any jointly funded trusts. It may be necessary to start over and address who inherits your assets, and who governs your affairs if you cannot. Divorce also has ramifications for your retirement nest egg, long-term care plans, estate taxes and, perhaps, bankruptcy.
If you are preparing for divorce or recently divorced, we will sit down with you to address all the relevant issues and revise your estate plan accordingly, including:

Re-titling assets and creating new trusts
Changing beneficiaries of trusts, life insurance policies, etc.
Redrafting your will, powers of attorney and health care proxies
Nursing home planning and Medicaid eligibility

Pet Trusts

As a pet owner, you want the best for your pets. Creating a pet trust as part of your comprehensive estate plan will ensure that your pets are well cared for and that your wishes are carried out after you are no longer able to care for your animals. A pet trust will ensure that your pet receives the proper care and support by:

Appointing a pet guardian
Appointing a trustee to oversee and manage the funds of the pet trust
Outlining your wishes regarding medical care
Giving direction about your pet’s needs and routines
Providing a source of funds for your pet’s care

We cannot be certain that we will outlive our pets and yet they will always depend on us for their care. Proper planning ensures that your pets will be cared for in the event of your death, incapacity or during temporary emergencies.

I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.