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...
Albanese Law, LLC
Administering a Massachusetts Special Needs Trust
Over the past twenty years, estate planning attorneys in Massachusetts (and elsewhere) have turned to a special type of trust known as a “special needs trust” to help families with a disabled member. The basic purpose of a special needs trust (SNT) is to protect the...
Differences between revocable and irrevocable trusts
As people grow older in Massachusetts, they may gain a stronger understanding of their mortality and begin to focus on ensuring that they assets end up with the people they intend for them to go to. There are different ways that people can do that though. Some choose...
How do conservatorships work?
When a person is having trouble in administering his or her property and assets, it is normal for the court to set up a conservator. Typically, what a conservator does is that he or she has the legal responsibility to manage another person’s affairs, which can be...
Minimize death taxes with trusts
Estate taxes, sometimes called death taxes, are taxes taken from the transfer of an estate upon a person’s death. Often expensive, these taxes can take around 50% of the value of an estate, after a certain threshold. With payment due nine months after an individual’s...
What are the advantages of a revocable living trust?
The goal of estate planning is to allow someone to control and designate how their property is distributed to others when they die. The goal for estate planning attorneys is to help people pass along as much of their estate as possible, avoiding probate, taxes and...
Setting up the right sort of trust
Setting up a trust may not be enough to protect the money you wish to bequest to your loved ones. There are instances where the trust may not cover a particular asset. And in some instances, a prepared trust may not cover the asset at all.It is a good idea to...
The ups and downs of a revocable trust for Buzz Aldrin
Elderly people across the country have been involved in legal battles where people, including family members, are attempting, or have attempted, to gain control of their assets. Some Massachusetts residents may find themselves in a similar situation to former...
The pros and cons of an incentive trust
An incentive trust appeals to you. Your two children are very different. While your daughter is well-grounded and you have no doubt she will spend her inheritance wisely, your younger son is far different. He has always spent money quickly and made frivolous purchases...
Setting up a special needs trust
Caring for a special needs child can often be more complicated than many Massachusetts parents expect it to be. Many parents of special needs children have come to realize that their children may not be able to live independently, and they are constantly...
