Caring.com, in association with You.gov conducts annual surveys on the state of estate planning in the US.  The 2024 Survey has encouraging and discouraging news.   The encouraging news is the percentage of the population of 18-35 year olds with a plan in place continues to grow – 50% increase since 2020. Whoo Hoo! The discouraging news is for the rest of us, now fewer than 1/3 of us have a plan in place – 32%. It’s also fundamentally for the same reasons – “I don’t have enough assets,” or “I’ll get to it when I have a health crisis.” Both those reasons misunderstand the point o ..read more

“All to my spouse, then in equal shares to my children,” or “all to my children in equal shares.” This is a common set of instructions we estate planners see with our clients. What if we don’t have a spouse, or children? What if we don’t have siblings, or aren’t particularly close to those siblings, emotionally or in proximity?   We are allowed to leave our assets (under trusts, wills, or beneficiary designations) to our “family by choice.”  (Note: Under Massachusetts law we are not allowed to disinherit our spouse, generally) Society and intestacy (no will) laws are not on ..read more

After many years, legal fees, familial strife, and much wrangling,  “a six-person jury decided after less than an hour of deliberation that a four-page document written…and discovered under a couch cushion at her home, months after [her] death — should serve as her will.” Is this how you want a determination made on how your assets get distributed and by whom? The above quotation applies to the estate of Aretha Franklin.  The “Queen of Soul” died in 2018 and it was initially believed she had not left any will.  Her sons were able to come to “unanimous” determinations about ..read more

Winter is approaching and for many of us we’ll swear “I hate the cold, I’m moving.”  For estate planning purposes, this is a bigger decision than simply a change of address card and setting up a home office in a new state.  What are the major considerations with respect to: Estate Planning Documents Estate Tax Exposure With regard to estate planning documents, all are state specific.  While the documents we generate together contemplate needing to use them elsewhere (Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, etc.), each supposes you are a MA resident.  If that is no longer th ..read more

Still only about 1/3 of us have a plan of OUR design in place…some of us have started but never followed through.  What can this mean for our assets in the future: I don’t need a plan…I don’t have an “estate.” If you have a bank account, a condo/house, retirement plan, bitcoin, baseball card collection – you have an “estate.”  It’s truly not about HOW MUCH, it’s about WHO you want it to go to and WHEN you want someone else to have it and under WHAT conditions.  See below for why those conditions matter. “…having a will in place can direct the probate court how you want your asse ..read more

This is a big day for the residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with respect to “when does the MA Estate Tax kick in?”  While MA is still one of  only a handful of states that have an estate tax (a tax assessed on the value of our Massachusetts property when we pass away), we are no longer the worst. On October 4, 2023, with the Governor’s signing of the “An Act to improve the Commonwealth’s competitiveness, affordability, and equity,” the threshold for those of us who pass as residents of Massachusetts will not be subject to that tax unless we, individually, have assets tha ..read more

August is National Wills Month according to the American Cancer Society.  As estate planners we are always grateful when attention is brought to this crucial document, but an estate plan is more than just a Will. An “ESTATE PLAN”….sounds complicated and a bit grand.  I can’t possibly have an “estate.”  Surprise, we all have an estate.  If we own our own home, a car, a bank account, a retirement account, a stamp collection, a piece of art, a pet, children, etc., those things make up our estate. What an estate plan allows you to do is provide instructions to individuals desig ..read more

Turning 18 is just as big a deal “legally” as turning 21.  Yup 21 is more fun, but 18 is more consequential, legally speaking.   We tend to overlook this age because you get your license at 16 and can legally have a cocktail at 21.  Age 18 is even more important because the law now considers you an adult (albeit a teetotalling one).  Once we reach age 18, a parent may no longer be able to make health care decisions for us, nor can they access our financial accounts and records just by saying “I’m Mom,” or “I’m Dad.”   Your 18-year-old heads off to college, a ..read more

“May you live in interesting times.” While the attribution of this quote is in doubt, there can be no doubt about its effect. We do live in interesting times. This is especially true for the LBGTQIA community as politicians, judges, community organizations and social media appear focused on calling into question the rights of the community. Read the full article here > The post LGBTQIA Clients Need Estate Plans ASAP first appeared on DangerLaw ..read more

“All to my spouse, then in equal shares to my children,” or “all to my children in equal shares.” This is a common set of instructions we estate planners see with our clients. What if we don’t have a spouse, or children? What if we don’t have siblings, or aren’t particularly close to those siblings, emotionally or in proximity?   We are allowed to leave our assets (under trusts, wills, or beneficiary designations) to our “family by choice.”  (Note: Under Massachusetts law we are not allowed to disinherit our spouse, generally) Society and intestacy (no will) laws are not on ..read more