11 Dec, 2024 Corporate Transparency Act— Nationwide Injunction Update and Key Considerations By Mark Christopher Vaishali Goyal Gary Ronan On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction halting enforcement of the...
24 Oct, 2024 Further Updates to the Massachusetts Estate Tax By James Casiello Matthew Hillery John Ramsey Andrew Rothstein Kerry Spindler +2 more... Show less On October 4, 2023, the Massachusetts estate tax was updated for the first time in seventeen years (the “2023 Act”). Primarily, the 2023...
09 Jul, 2024 Do You Have a College Student? Maintaining Decision-Making Rights During Unexpected Situations By John Ramsey Kerry Spindler Parents with young children often hear that “the days are long but the years are short.” However, this phrase may not truly resonate...
15 May, 2024 Surrogate’s Court Orders DNA Testing to Verify Claim to Be Decedent’s Biological Child By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Can a person claiming to be the decedent’s biological child out of wedlock obtain a court order directing DNA testing of the decedent’s...
15 May, 2024 SJC Finds Words of Survivorship Sufficient to Avoid Anti-Lapse Statute By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Does the phrase “if they survive me” demonstrate a testator’s intent to avoid the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (“MUPC”) anti-lapse...
07 Feb, 2024 The Impact of the Corporate Transparency Act on Estate Planning By Mark Christopher Vaishali Goyal For over a decade, the world’s developed nations, through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), have worked to set international...
11 Jan, 2024 Supreme Court Tax Case Reveals Two Issues in Estate Protection By Michelle Porter Emily Berlin An estate tax case before the US Supreme Court underscores the importance of stock-purchase agreements and life insurance arrangements,...
20 Dec, 2023 SJC Finds Severance of Joint Tenancy and Affirms Judgment of Civil Contempt[1] By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Where joint tenants with rights of survivorship reached an agreement requiring one of the joint tenants to remove his personal belongings...
11 Dec, 2023 New York Courts Consider “In Terrorem” Clauses with Mixed Results By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Two recent decisions illustrate the continued mixed reception that “in terrorem” clauses in wills or trusts, also known as “no-contest”...
01 Nov, 2023 Beneficiary Has a Right to an Accounting Despite the Trustee's Return of Funds By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Kaylie v. Kaylie, 2023 WL 6395345 (1st Dep’t October 3, 2023) Can the beneficiary of a trust require a trustee to provide an accounting...
01 Nov, 2023 Conformed Copy of Will Not Admitted to Probate By Charles Jacob III Molly Quinn Jennifer Mikels Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less In Matter of Estate of Slezak, 218 A.D.3d 946 (3rd Dep't July 13, 2023) Where a conformed copy of a will was located where the decedent...
01 Nov, 2023 Voluntary Personal Representative Is a "Prior Appointment" For Purposes of the Limitation Period for Commencing Formal Probate By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less In The Matter of the Estate of Patricia Ann Slavin, 492 Mass. 551 (2023) Does the position of voluntary personal representative under G....
04 Oct, 2023 Massachusetts Doubles Estate Tax Threshold as Part of $1 Billion Tax Reform Act By Matthew Hillery John Ramsey On October 4, 2023, Massachusetts enacted a new law called “An Act to improve the Commonwealth’s competitiveness, affordability, and...
21 Aug, 2023 A Guide to the Corporate Transparency Act for Individuals with Closely-Held Businesses and State-Monitored Entities Created for their Estate Planning By Mark Christopher Vaishali Goyal This article was also published on the Boston Business Journal and New York Business Journal. In an effort to curb money laundering, tax...
03 Aug, 2023 Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter - August 2023 By Charles Jacob III Molly Quinn This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New...
24 Jul, 2023 Do You Have a College Student? Maintaining Decision-Making Rights During Unexpected Situations By John Ramsey Kerry Spindler Parents with young children often hear that “the days are long, but the years are short.” However, this phrase may not truly resonate...