YOUR ESTATE PLANNER
FOR LIFE

Yes, you do. Here’s the thing: a will does not avoid probate! All it does is tell the probate court what to do with your stuff, and probate can be long, expensive, and public. A trust lets you skip all of that. If you want privacy, speed, and control over how your assets are distributed, a trust is the way to go.

A revocable trust offers flexibility and control. You can change or revoke it at any time. It helps your family avoid probate and keeps your affairs private, but it doesn’t protect your assets from nursing home costs or estate taxes.

An irrevocable trust provides a much stronger level of protection. While it’s less flexible, that doesn’t mean you lose control. With the right design, it can protect your home and savings from MassHealth Medicaid while also reducing — or even eliminating — estate taxes. It’s one of the most effective ways to safeguard your legacy and give your family peace of mind.

We help clients weigh the pros and cons of each and design a plan that aligns with their goals, level of control, and need for protection.

Absolutely! Divorce changes everything about your financial and personal life, and if you don’t update your plan, your ex-spouse could still be listed as a beneficiary or decision-maker in major legal documents. While Massachusetts law automatically removes your ex-spouse from certain roles, it doesn’t fix the rest of your plan, which can leave huge gaps or make your documents ineffective.

If you include your Bitcoin or other digital currencies in your estate plan, your Bitcoin can safely pass to the people you choose. But if you don’t plan, your loved ones could lose everything. Without clear instructions, your Bitcoin won’t automatically go to anyone. It becomes trapped in probate, frozen in a system that can take months or years to unlock.

To qualify for MassHealth Medicaid, there are several planning tools available that can help families protect their assets while still meeting Medicaid eligibility requirements. For the most part, planning ahead is the best course of action. But there are still tools available for those that need immediate care and don’t have any planning in place.

Each planning tool has its own pros and cons, and what works best for one family may not work for another. That’s why it’s important to work with an experienced elder law attorney who can help you choose the right strategy for your unique situation. With careful planning and the right guidance, it’s possible to protect your assets while still getting the care you need.

Probate in Massachusetts and New Hampshire can take far longer than most families expect. Even straightforward estates often stretch close to a year, and more complicated cases, especially those involving real estate, debt, or family conflict, it can drag on much longer. During that time, assets are often frozen, property can’t be sold, and loved ones are left waiting for access to funds they may urgently need.

Strict court deadlines, backlogs, and paperwork errors can cause additional setbacks, turning what should be a simple transfer of assets into a drawn-out legal process. Many families don’t realize how draining probate can be until they’re already stuck in it. That’s why so many families choose to work with a trusted probate attorney who can handle every step, ensure deadlines are met, and prevent avoidable mistakes. Having experienced legal guidance can make the difference between a smooth transition and a stressful, expensive ordeal.

And while we can guide you through probate when it’s required, the best way to protect your family from these delays is to plan ahead. With the right estate plan in place, you can often avoid probate altogether, saving your loved ones time, money, and heartache later on.