If you are like most parents, it is difficult to imagine someone else raising your children. You want to be there for every milestone through childhood and into adulthood. Unfortunately, there are circumstances where you may need to consider appointing a legal...
Boston Elder Law Blog
Preserving means-tested benefits with a special needs trust
If you have an adult child who has a disability, you may want to use your estate plan to make life easier for him or her after your death. If you gift cash or other assets to your child, you may inadvertently harm his or her eligibility for Supplemental Security...
How do trusts work?
When you create your estate plan, you have a wide variety of tools that you can use to ensure your heirs receive the assets that you want. One of those options is a trust. SmartAsset explains that a trust is a financial tool that gives you control over the assets you...
Medicaid planning considerations in Massachusetts
Planning for long-term care before you need it can improve your chances of Medicaid eligibility. As you approach retirement age, you may want to learn more about Massachusetts' income and eligibility limits for the state's Medicaid program, known as MassHealth. Review...
The difference between guardianships and powers of attorney
Watching your parents age and begin to lose some of their cognitive or physical abilities is often difficult. At some point, you may question your mother or father’s ability to make sound decisions. Guardianships and powers of attorney both give you or someone else...
Do I really need a health care proxy?
We all like to think that we’ll be hale and hearty until the end of our days. For many of us, just thinking about becoming terminally ill, being in a serious accident, or losing ourselves to a degenerative disease can be too much to bear. Sadly, though, ongoing good...
Planning to improve the lives of those you love
People tend to think about estate planning in terms of death and dying. While these concepts are central to the process of estate law, preparing for your death is not the point of most estate plans — you are preparing to improve the lives of those who survive you....
Important times to update an estate plan
There are several important times in the life of an estate planner when they should consider updating their estate plan. This is in addition to regularly reviewing their estate plan. Estate planning is in important part of an estate planner’s life which is why an...
Choosing the right estate administrator is important
Making end of life decisions is usually not on the top of most people’s to-do lists. However, it is important for people to decide how to divide up their estate and distribute assets. One part of estate planning is to name an estate administrator. This person carries...
5 questions to help your parents with estate planning
When adult children find out about their family’s estate after the parents die, this limits the extent of what they know about their parents’ wishes. Having financial discussions up front gives more opportunity for planning. Asking the right questions of your aging...