West Townsend Estate Planning Lawyer, Massachusetts

Sponsored Law Firm


Includes: Gift Taxation

Steve R. Dubois

Real Estate, Litigation, Estate Planning, Accident & Injury
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  50 Years

David G. Southcotte

Income Tax, Corporate Tax, Tax, Gift Taxation
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  38 Years

David Karl Wittek

Commercial Real Estate, Federal Trial Practice, Estate Planning, Employee Rights
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  39 Years

John W. Harmon

Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning, Elder Law
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  16 Years

Karli S. Fernandez-Fontaine

Estate Planning, Divorce, DUI-DWI, Elder Law
Status:  In Good Standing           

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Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

Member Representative

Call me for fastest results!
800-943-8690

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

By submitting this lawyer request, I confirm I have read and agree to the Consent to Receive Messages from all messaging and voice technologies including Email, Text, Phone, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. Information provided is not privileged or confidential.

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LEGAL TERMS

ACCUMULATION TRUST

A trust in which the income is retained and not paid out to beneficiaries until certain conditions are met. For example, if Uncle Pierre creates a trust for Nic... (more...)
A trust in which the income is retained and not paid out to beneficiaries until certain conditions are met. For example, if Uncle Pierre creates a trust for Nick's benefit but stipulates that Nick will not get a penny until he gets a Ph.D. in French; Nick is the beneficiary of an accumulation trust.

POWER OF APPOINTMENT

The legal authority to decide who will receive someone else's property, usually property held in a trust. Most trustees can distribute the income from a trust o... (more...)
The legal authority to decide who will receive someone else's property, usually property held in a trust. Most trustees can distribute the income from a trust only according to the terms of the trust, but a trustee with a power of appointment can choose the beneficiaries, sometimes from a list of candidates specified by the grantor. For example, Karin creates a trust with power of appointment to benefit either the local art museum, symphony, library or park, depending on the trustee's assessment of need.

SURROGATE COURT

See probate court.

PROVING A WILL

Convincing a probate court that a document is truly the deceased person's will. Usually this is a simple formality that the executor or administrator easily sat... (more...)
Convincing a probate court that a document is truly the deceased person's will. Usually this is a simple formality that the executor or administrator easily satisfies by showing that the will was signed and dated by the deceased person in front of two or more witnesses. When the will is holographic -- that is, completely handwritten by the deceased and not witnessed, it is still valid in many states if the executor can produce relatives and friends to testify that the handwriting is that of the deceased.

ABATEMENT

A reduction. After a death, abatement occurs if the deceased person didn't leave enough property to fulfill all the bequests made in the will and meet other exp... (more...)
A reduction. After a death, abatement occurs if the deceased person didn't leave enough property to fulfill all the bequests made in the will and meet other expenses. Gifts left in the will are cut back in order to pay taxes, satisfy debts or take care of other gifts that are given priority under law or by the will itself.

SUMMARY PROBATE

A relatively simple probate proceeding available for 'small estates,' as that term is defined by state law. Every state's definition is different, and many are ... (more...)
A relatively simple probate proceeding available for 'small estates,' as that term is defined by state law. Every state's definition is different, and many are complicated, but a few examples include estates worth up to $100,000 in California; New York estates where property, excluding real estate and amounts that must be set aside for surviving family members, is worth $20,000 or less; and Texas estates where the value of property doesn't exceed what is needed to pay a family allowance and certain creditors.

INHERITANCE TAXES

Taxes some states impose on people or organizations who inherit property from a deceased person's estate. The taxes are based on the value of the inherited prop... (more...)
Taxes some states impose on people or organizations who inherit property from a deceased person's estate. The taxes are based on the value of the inherited property.

LAPSE

Under a will, the failure of a gift of property. A gift lapses when the beneficiary dies before the person who made the will, and no alternate has been named. S... (more...)
Under a will, the failure of a gift of property. A gift lapses when the beneficiary dies before the person who made the will, and no alternate has been named. Some states have anti-lapse statutes, which prevent gifts to relatives of the deceased person from lapsing unless the relative has no heirs of his or her own. A lapsed gift becomes part of the residuary estate.

GRANT DEED

A deed containing an implied promise that the person transfering the property actually owns the title and that it is not encumbered in any way, except as descri... (more...)
A deed containing an implied promise that the person transfering the property actually owns the title and that it is not encumbered in any way, except as described in the deed. This is the most commonly used type of deed. Compare quitclaim deed.

SAMPLE LEGAL CASES

Dwyer v. Dwyer

... trust. She alleges that, because of drafting errors, the trust as written fails to give effect to one of the donor's principal estate planning goals, that is, to transfer his property to his family while minimizing adverse tax consequences. ...

Shultz v. Shultz

... Hanna and Lucas are the minor children of Arnon. Jean and Samson retained attorney Judah Rubin to implement an estate plan that would achieve their estate planning goals, one of which was the minimization of Federal and State estate taxes. ...

Germain v. Girard

... the lawsuit. Alan conducted all communications with Bowditch & Dewey concerning George's estate plan, initially with Fenton and later with Attorney Maryjo Hart (who prepared the estate planning documents). On November ...