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The following is provided solely for informational
purposes and does not constitute legal advice. It
does not address specific situations, and no attorney-client
relationship is created by its provision or receipt. Contact
an attorney for legal advice that is specific to your
circumstances.
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| Estate planning is a series of strategic decisions and actions
designed to provide for and protect you and your loved ones
in the event of your death or disability. People often
think of estate planning as just drawing up a will, but there
is much more to it than that. |
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| Click
here for Estate Planning 101: Frequently
Asked Questions |
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| 1. Wills: To
be sure, a will accomplishes several things. First,
your will provides instructions for the disposition of your
assets. Having a will ensures that your wishes will
be carried out after your death. If you die without
a will, state intestacy law will determine who gets your
assets. For example, if you die without a will, your
assets will not all go to your spouse (as most people assume),
but will be split equally between your spouse and your children. Second,
in your will you appoint the executor of your estate, the
person who will marshal your assets, pay your debts, and
distribute the rest as you have instructed. Third,
in your will you nominate the person or persons you want
to take care of your minor children after both parents are
gone. |
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| 2. Trusts: But
estate planning involves many issues besides the ones resolved
through your will alone. Depending on your circumstances
and your goals, one or more trusts may be appropriate as
well. Among other things, you may hold all of your
assets in a trust to minimize your probate estate and avoid
some of the effort and expense of administration in the
probate court. A trust can also manage assets for
your children after your death, and you may use one or
more trusts to defer and minimize estate taxes. A
properly drawn special needs trust can provide for a disabled
family member while allowing him or her nevertheless to
qualify for federal and state benefit programs. Having
a trust own your home can ensure that you will not have
to sell it later to pay for nursing home care. Trusts
can also be used in combination with other planning methods
to protect your assets from the claims of future creditors. |
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3. Powers
of Attorney; Health Care Proxies: A
complete estate plan should also address what
happens if you become disabled or incapacitated
during your life. If you are unable to
manage your own financial affairs, some or
all of your assets will be frozen until a court
appoints someone to make decisions on your
behalf. If you are unable to make decisions
about your own medical care, again, a court
must appoint someone to make decisions on your
behalf. In either case, a court’s
choice may not be the choice you would have
made, and competing appointment requests can
increase the stress on your family. But
by signing a power of attorney (for financial
and personal affairs) and a health care proxy
(for medical care), you choose who will act
for you, and you lessen the stress on your
loved ones, should you ever need someone to
make decisions and enter into transactions
on your behalf. |
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4. Advance
Directives (Living Wills): On
the subject of medical care, if you should
become very ill, your health care agent may
need to decide whether to continue with artificial
life supports or life prolonging procedures
where you have a terminal condition or your
odds of recovery are very low. If you
do not want such supports or procedures (which
doctors and hospitals are otherwise required
to provide), you can say so in an advance directive,
also known as a living will. In it you
state your desire that such supports and procedures
be withheld or withdrawn and that you be allowed
to die naturally while receiving only medication
or care necessary to provide comfort or alleviate
pain. An advance directive is not binding
in Massachusetts as it is in other states,
but your health care agent and doctors will
take it into account when making end-of-life
care decisions. It is also strong evidence
of your contrary wishes should someone seek
in court to have such supports or procedures
maintained. |
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5. Emergency
Guardianship Proxies: Difficult
decisions can also arise with respect to the
care of minor children if their parents are
unable to care for them due to disability or
other circumstances. By signing an emergency
guardianship proxy, you can appoint the persons
you want to care for your children on a temporary
basis should you be unable to do so. This
limits the potential for disputes over who
should care for your children and court proceedings
to resolve them. It also significantly
reduces uncertainty and anxiety for the children
and other family members during what may be
an already difficult time. |
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6. Homestead
Declarations: Recording
a homestead declaration for your family’s
home is a basic, inexpensive asset protection
device that should be part of any estate plan. Once
properly recorded, a homestead declaration
protects your home, with certain limitations,
for up to $500,000 from the claims of future
creditors. A homestead declaration will
always be subordinate to any bank mortgage
on your home (the loan documents will require
it), and there are other limitations, but it
can prevent you from losing your home in certain
circumstances. |
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| 7. Making
Your Plan: The issues
that your estate plan must address and the components
that should be part of your plan will depend
on your family’s particular circumstances,
your assets and financial position, and your
goals. Effective estate planning involves
identifying the issues, understanding how they
interrelate, and crafting a plan that balances
and resolves them in a way that achieves your
goals to the greatest extent possible. |
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| 8. Implementing
Your Plan: Once you have
constructed your plan, you must implement it
by signing the relevant documents. The
documents must be prepared very carefully and
signed according to specific procedures to ensure
that they do precisely what you intend and that
they are operative under the law. Additional
steps, such as changing life insurance or retirement
plan beneficiaries or deeding real estate to
a trust, may also be necessary to fully implement
your plan. |
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| 9. What
I Do: I work closely
with my clients to effectively and efficiently
address the issues relevant to their unique situations
and to develop and implement estate plans that
reflect their needs and wishes, protect their
assets, and, to the greatest extent possible,
account for potential future changes in their
family and financial circumstances and the law. I
also help my clients prepare their estate plans
and related documents to prevent later disputes
as much as possible. Finally, I adapt my
own work and schedule to make the planning and
implementation process as simple and convenient
for my clients as possible. |
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Please contact me to
discuss your situation and how I can help you
construct and implement an estate plan that is
tailored to your circumstances and that advances
your goals in providing for and protecting you
and your loved ones
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