For many people, a successful estate plan needs to limit exposure to federal and/or state gift and estate taxes. Failing to incorporate tax avoidance strategies into your estate plan could cost your estate (and your beneficiaries) a substantial amount of money. A Beverly estate planning attorney at Legacy Care Law Firm explains how the yearly exclusion can help with tax avoidance in your estate plan. Understanding Federal Gift and Estate Taxes The federal gift and estate tax is essentially … [Read more...] about How the Yearly Exclusion Can Help with Tax Avoidance
Am I Entitled to Social Security Based on My Spouse?
For many retirees, Social Security retirement benefits play a significant role in financing their retirement years. If you recently lost a spouse, finances may be especially tight for you, leaving you to wonder whether you are entitled to any assistance based on your deceased spouse’s Social Security benefits. With that in mind, the Beverly estate planning attorneys at Legacy Care Law Firm discuss your eligibility for Social Security benefits based on your spouse’s work record. Social … [Read more...] about Am I Entitled to Social Security Based on My Spouse?
Trust Beneficiary Rights
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
Make Reviewing Your Estate Plan Your New Year’s Resolution
Creating a well-thought-out and comprehensive estate plan is one of the most valuable gifts you can give to yourself and to your loved ones. A successful estate plan can do so much more than just dictate how your assets will be distributed when you are gone. It can also do things such as plan for the possibility of incapacity, protect your assets, and provide for minor children if something happens to you. For your estate plan to work as you want it to, it needs to be updated from time to time … [Read more...] about Make Reviewing Your Estate Plan Your New Year’s Resolution
Can I Decant a Trust in Massachusetts?
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?
How Can a Trust Attorney Help Me?
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?
What Can I Do to Prevent a Guardianship?
In the United States, we enjoy a relatively long average life expectancy due in large part to advances in science and medicine. In fact, we can expect to live, on average, almost twice as long as our ancestors did just a century ago. Despite living longer, the natural aging process will still cause physical and mental deterioration at some point. For some, diseases such as Alzheimer’s may hasten that deterioration process. If you reach a point at which it is dangerous for you to continue caring … [Read more...] about What Can I Do to Prevent a Guardianship?
Common Mistakes in Estate Planning – Part III
Those who take the time to create an Estate Plan usually desire to keep it private and to ensure that no beneficiary can alter the plan after their death. Sometimes, the desire to maintain privacy backfires and produces unanticipated consequences, such as litigation. Read on to learn more. … [Read more...] about Common Mistakes in Estate Planning – Part III
Common Reasons to Update a Trust Agreement
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
How Can I Avoid Probate Disputes?
For most people, one of the primary motivations for creating a comprehensive estate plan is to ensure an orderly distribution of their estate assets after their death. The reality is that even when an estate plan works precisely as planned, the process of probating an estate is a difficult time period for the surviving loved ones. When disputes arise over the estate during the probate process, it can hold up the distribution of assets for months – sometimes years – and can significantly diminish … [Read more...] about How Can I Avoid Probate Disputes?
