Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

In 2009, the Massachusetts Appeals Court handed down the decision of Doherty v. Director of the Office of Medicaid, which upheld the denial of Medicaid benefits to someone who had prepared a trust. Since then, lawyers representing the state have been distorting what the Court actually held, and have challenged nearly every irrevocable trust that […]

The New York Times (2/22/16) has reported on an interesting nursing home case in Massachusetts. The case arises out of a very tragic incident: in 2009 a 100-year-old nursing home resident suffering from dementia murdered her 97-year-old roommate. The roommate, due to her dementia, was deemed unfit to stand trial, and she was committed to […]

This week, Probate Judge Gary Cassavehia will retire. Judge Cassavechia has been on the probate bench for 35 years, the past 16 of those years full time. He has presided over the state’s complex trust docket since it was established two years ago. The complex trust docket encompasses the most complex trust cases. According to […]

When it comes to distributing assets at death, all assets are not created equal. Most people believe that what you say in your will controls how your assets are handled when you die. However, this is a very common misconception, often leading to some unfortunate surprises. As I like to explain to clients, there is […]

As all of our clients know, our firm is a huge believer in doing trusts to avoid probate. Essentially, a trust can assure that your estate is handled quickly, efficiently and privately after your death, usually at a much lower cost than a probate proceeding. However, (and as we stress to all of our clients) […]