The Vacation Home Question Almost Every Massachusetts Family Eventually Asks If you own a place on Lake Winnipesaukee, a cottage on Cape Cod, a ski condo in the Berkshires, or a seasonal home in Maine or Florida — at some point, the question comes up. Should the vacation home go into a trust? Sometimes the […]
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The Hardest Estate Planning Conversation Most Families Will Have When you remarry, you bring a whole life with you — children, savings, a home, sometimes a business, sometimes complicated history. Your new spouse brings the same. And somewhere in the middle of building this new life together, a quiet question shows up: who gets what
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When Your Spouse Dies, Here’s What Actually Happens to the Bank Accounts In the first days after losing a spouse, one of the most disorienting questions is also the most practical one — how do you pay for things? The mortgage is still due. The funeral home wants a deposit. The estate has bills that
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When Time Is Short, Here’s What to Handle First A terminal diagnosis changes the math on everything — including the estate plan you’ve been meaning to finalize for years. The good news: even with weeks or months instead of years, there’s still meaningful work that can be done to protect your family, reduce taxes, and
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The right guardian for your children is the person whose values, parenting style, and life circumstances most closely match what you’d want your child’s life to look like — not necessarily your closest relative, your wealthiest sibling, or your oldest friend. In Massachusetts, you nominate a guardian in your will, and the Probate and Family Court
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Joint tenancy with right of survivorship means the surviving owner automatically gets the property when the other dies, outside probate. Tenants in common means each owner’s share passes through their estate to whomever they’ve designated — spouse, children, or, in the absence of a will, intestate heirs. For unmarried couples in Massachusetts, the choice between
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A UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act) account is simple, low-cost, and ends when the child turns 21 in Massachusetts — at which point the child gets the entire balance with no strings attached. A trust costs more to set up, requires a trustee, but lets you control when and how the child receives the
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In Massachusetts, a non-biological LGBTQ parent’s rights depend on which legal pathway has been established — second-parent adoption, the marital presumption of parentage, a court order of de facto parenthood, or, since 2024, a confirmatory adoption or judgment under the Massachusetts Parentage Act. A name on a birth certificate alone is not enough to guarantee parental
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If you can’t find the original signed will, Massachusetts law presumes the decedent destroyed it on purpose — meaning they intended to revoke it. That presumption can be overcome, but it shifts the burden to whoever wants the will admitted. You’ll need to file for formal probate, present a copy of the will, and offer evidence
What Happens If You Lose the Original Will? A Massachusetts Estate Lawyer Explains Read More »
The short answer: yes, mostly — but the documents that can quietly fail are often the most important ones. A will that was validly executed in your old state will generally be honored in your new state. The real risk areas are health care directives, durable powers of attorney, the way your trust holds assets, your
Will Your Estate Plan Work If You Move to Another State? Read More »
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