Legacy Care Law Firm

While almost everyone executes a Last Will and Testament as their first estate planning document, the average estate plan eventually includes additional tools and strategies aimed at creating a more comprehensive estate plan. A trust agreement is one of the most common of those additional tools. If you decide to incorporate a trust into your estate plan, you will need to choose a Trustee to administer that trust. Choosing the wrong Trustee can dramatically increase the likelihood of problems … [Read more...] about How to Choose Your Massachusetts Trustee

Although a Last Will and Testament is likely the cornerstone of your estate plan, you will also probably incorporate additional estate planning tools and strategies into that plan to ensure that all your goals are reached.  Many people, for example, include a trust in their estate plan. To help your trust succeed, the Beverly trust attorneys at Legacy Care Law Firm explain several common mistakes to avoid when creating a trust. What Is a Trust? A trust is a relationship whereby … [Read more...] about Mistakes to Avoid When Creating a Trust

Proper tax planning is vital if you are trying to protect valuable assets. A properly drafted estate plan can diminish, or even avoid, federal gift and estate taxes. A bypass trust and portability are the two strategies that are commonly used to avoid an estate tax bill following the death of one spouse. Deciding between the portability election and a bypass trust requires a better understanding of both options. Toward that end, the estate planning attorneys at Legacy Care Law Firm offer a … [Read more...] about Comparing the Use of Portability with a Bypass Trust

Whether you are a new parent or the parent of adult children, protecting the inheritance you plan to leave your children is a common goal.  Creating a trust is among the most popular ways to accomplish this goal. To help you avoid making common mistakes, the Beverly trust attorneys at Legacy Care Law Firm offer five tips for parents when creating a trust for children. What Is a Trust? A trust is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another. A trust … [Read more...] about Top 5 Tips for Parents When Creating a Trust for Children

If you are the beneficiary of a trust, you are dependent on the Trustee to administer the trust faithfully and responsibly, to communicate with you regarding trust business, and to distribute assets to you pursuant to the provisions of the trust agreement. While most Trustees do fulfill their trust administration duties honestly and without issue, it is possible for a problem to arise that causes a beneficiary to question the Trustee’s intentions or ability to successfully administer the trust. … [Read more...] about Trust Beneficiary Rights

Like many people, you may have included a trust agreement in your overall estate plan. If that trust is an irrevocable trust, you were likely told that you cannot modify, amend, or revoke the trust. What happens though if circumstances change, and your irrevocable trust needs to be modified or amended? While it is always best to operate under the assumption that an irrevocable trust cannot be changed, there may be a way to make changes to an irrevocable trust by “decanting” the trust. The … [Read more...] about Can I Decant a Trust in Massachusetts?

There was a time when trusts were rarely used by the average person. Instead, they were the domain of the ultra-wealthy who used them to avoid taxation and to retain control of the family fortune as it passed from one generation to the next. Trusts have since become more “user friendly” and have evolved to the point where it is now common for the average person to be involved in a trust in one role or another. With that in mind, the Beverly trust attorneys at Legacy Care Law Firm explain several … [Read more...] about How Can a Trust Attorney Help Me?

Trust agreements are commonly found in a comprehensive estate plan. If you have established a trust agreement, you may need to update that agreement from time to time to ensure that the trust functions as intended. Toward that end, the Beverly trust attorneys at Legacy Care Law Firm explain several common reasons to update a trust agreement. Contact Beverly Trust Attorneys For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have additional questions about asset … [Read more...] about Common Reasons to Update a Trust Agreement