Massachusetts Estate Planning Lawyers
Securing your assets and your future involves more than writing a will.
We look at your entire personal, financial and health picture to provide comprehensive estate planning. Both you and your family will benefit as our experienced estate planning attorneys guide you through the creation of estate planning documents that fulfill your needs and desires, for the efficient distribution of your assets, guaranteeing that your wishes will be carried out. We strongly recommend the employment of a living trust as a sensible alternative to the expensive and troublesome probate process, as well as to possible prevent your assets being eaten up by Medicaid or estate taxes. We are also happy to help those with a family member who has died without having done any estate planning.
- Distribute estate assets precisely as you wish
- Complete a Last Will & Testament, Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy & Living Will
- Appoint a Personal Representative (formerly known as Executor or Administrator)
- Nominate a Guardian to care for your minor children
- Create a Trust and appoint a Trustee
- Protect assets from the costs of long-term care
- Minimize estate taxes
- Avoid the expensive and time consuming probate process
- Maintain independence and control over personal health care and financial decisions
We will guide you and your family through the confusing process of comprehensive estate planning and administration, including Probate Litigation, probate, administration, asset management and liquidation. We will always keep you informed of your options and provide you with viable solutions to fit your needs and wishes.
You can rest easy knowing your plans are in our hands. At SKB Attorneys, we are Committed to Helping You.
ESTATE PLANNING
Securing your assets and your future involves more than writing a will. There is no simple solution when it comes to Estate Planning. Our mission is to advise our clients in the preservation, management and distribution of family wealth. Our focus is on providing our clients with peace of mind that their affairs are in order. This typically involves the preparation of wills, trusts and other estate planning documents designed to minimize estate taxes and ensure the disposition of property in accordance with your wishes. We are dedicated to providing personalized counsel to clients at all stages of their lives.
Estate planning seems like a simple matter, but in today’s changing world, considering the prevalence of second marriages, blended families, same-sex relationships, and domestic partnerships, each estate presents unique challenges that need to be addressed. Also, protection of a special needs child or a vulnerable adult require highly individualized considerations.
TRUST ADMINISTRATION
Serving as a Trustee is a serious undertaking. Although in most cases, where the estate plan involves a revocable trust, clients name themselves Trustee of their self-directed trusts during their lifetime so they may continue to have complete control over their assets. However, in cases where it is preferable to name another person as Trustee, clients usually name a family member, a friend or a trusted professional advisor as Trustee. The reasons for doing so are understandable, since such people are familiar with the family dynamics and the wishes of the person establishing the trust. However, these individuals typically need guidance interpreting the trust language and understanding the duties and responsibilities of being a Trustee. We can provide that assistance by advising Trustees on all aspects of trust administration, including how to properly interpret the trust, the trustees’ responsibilities to beneficiaries, their fiduciary duties and liabilities, as well as their related tax questions. We can also assist Trustees by periodic accountings to the beneficiaries. In appropriate situations, when asked to do so by a client, we will serve as trustee.
TRUSTEES
We routinely advise those serving as Trustees on their fiduciary duties and how to properly carry out the role with which they have been entrusted. Will and Trust documents, as well as current law, impose significant duties on individuals serving in these roles. Typically, the Trustee is a friend or family member who may have no prior background serving as a fiduciary. We have over thirty years of experience interpreting and translating complicated laws and legal documents to educate personal representatives and trustees on how to properly perform the duties they have been entrusted to perform.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
We also assist clients with the formation of limited liability companies and corporations.
Our Estate Planning Archive is the perfect resource for information on wills, trusts, probate, long-term planning and estate administration.
Massachusetts Estate Planning Attorneys
Conveniently located on the South Shore in Hanover and Quincy, MA serving Boston and Eastern Massachusetts