Should I Place My Home and Assets Into a Revocable or Irrevocable Trust?

Reasons and foundations for creating trusts date as far back as Ancient Rome. But even under modern U.S. legal structure, the trust is still one of the most important innovations in property law. So it is natural that we frequently use trusts in estate plans for our Massachusetts clients. To begin with, trusts are advance […]

What Do I Pay on Taxes for an Estate in Massachusetts?

When a family member or other loved one passes away, there can be a lot of feelings and side issues that hit a family all at once. The event, in short, is overwhelming. And when time passes, giving the survivors a period to mourn and collect themselves, their thoughts turn inevitably to shoring up the […]

Protecting Your Business – Preventive Legal Audits Part 2

Though the first part of our article series on legal audits focused on a business sale, we mentioned that there are more reasons to consult an attorney for a legal audit. Even the best intentions with a limited liability company, partnership or corporation can lead to serious problems down the road if all of the […]

When Is Probate Required? Massachusetts Law and Probate Alternatives

People during their lives focus on squaring away their estates to achieve all sorts of goals; to avoid inheritance taxes, to survive the MassHealth look back rules, or maybe simply to forego the probate process. Some, of course don’t plan for anything at all. And despite what many may think, due to loopholes in Massachusetts […]

How to Sell a Business – Preventive Legal Audits Part 1

Many small businesses considering a sale are at least two years out from obtaining fair market value on their operations. This is mainly due to the fact that the business owner(s) has been focused inward on running the business, not outward on selling the business. But the more a buyer is able to see for […]

Cape Cod Medicaid Home Health Care Introduced for 2013

Thousands of elderly on Cape Cod are regularly faced with choosing one of two very difficult alternatives: Stay at home and struggle all alone in their activities of daily life, or give in completely and move into a nursing home. But the MassHealth agency has been working towards providing at home Medicaid care for these […]

Starting an Online Business in Massachusetts

With increasingly fewer exceptions, every business that exists in the real world should also have a strong presence on the internet. This might be merely through the use of an informative website, or more frequently by staying in the minds of consumers with social media, or even by distributing the actual products themselves online (e.g. […]

Simplifying & Avoiding the MassHealth 5 Year Lookback Rule

Probably about half of the estate planning clients we meet with have come to us after mulling for several years over the threat of Medicaid seizing assets in the event someone goes into a nursing home. It must be that the 5 year lookback rule frequently comes up in dinner conversations. But approximately 100% of […]

Don’t Form an LLC Online! 5 Warnings for Massachusetts Businesses

Over the years we have counseled many businesses to become LLCs and S Corporations that operate on Cape Cod, southeastern Massachusetts and even nationwide. These clients come to us at one of roughly three different stages: 1) during the business start-up period, 2) when it is clear that the business is established and making a […]

Contesting a Trust in Massachusetts | How the New MUTC Works

Lawyers in estate planning know the term “dead hand” to refer to efforts that living persons make to control property after they pass away. And while the term itself can cause an unpleasant mental image, it is the idea behind it, a.k.a. the “settlor’s intent,” that has created serious difficulties with millions of beneficiaries over […]