Trusts are critical to be used when a person intends to pass on property or money to another party by leveraging existing control and moving it outside of their existing estate. By setting up a trust in Massachusetts you can control how money will be used and distributed to another person.

This can be especially relevant if the other person is a minor or suffers from a mental or physical incapacitation. Handling money can be especially difficult for these populations. Trusts can also be used to lower income and estate taxes since a trust set up for a person and properly funded is not in the actual estate of that person. Tax law has specific rules, however, for determining when an account is indeed classified in that person’s estate.

Since there are so many different kinds of trusts, you should also view your options to create a trust as something worthy of customization. You can discuss your primary goals to help your lawyer give you more information about the tools most relevant to your needs.

An experienced attorney can help you to navigate this situation and give you further understanding of how a trust can be a beneficial portion of your overall Massachusetts estate. You might have many questions about which type of trust to use and how to leverage a trust to accomplish your individual estate planning goals.

A Massachusetts estate planning attorney can guide you through this process and assist you with other documents you might need to create in the context of estate planning.

 

 

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. For legal advice specific to your situation, please consult with a qualified attorney.

Tiffany A. O'Connell, JD, LLM, CELA, AEP

About Tiffany A. O'Connell, JD, LLM, CELA, AEP

Tiffany A. O'Connell, JD, LLM, CELA, AEP is the CEO and Founding Partner of O'Connell Law, an estate planning and elder law firm serving clients across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. She is one of a select group of attorneys in Massachusetts certified by the National Elder Law Foundation as a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA). Tiffany focuses her practice on estate planning, trust and probate administration, Medicaid planning, long-term care planning, Alzheimer's planning, charitable planning, and retirement and wealth strategies. She has been helping families plan for their futures since opening her practice in 2010.

Credentials: JD, LLM, CELA (Certified Elder Law Attorney — National Elder Law Foundation), AEP (Accredited Estate Planner)

Licensed in: Massachusetts

Areas of Practice: Estate Planning, Elder Law, Medicaid Planning, Probate & Trust Administration, Alzheimer's Planning, Asset Protection

View all posts by Tiffany A. O'Connell, JD, LLM, CELA, AEP →

Comments are closed.