Jul 09, 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...
May 15, 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...
May 15, 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...
Feb 07, 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...
Jan 11, 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,...
Dec 20, 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...
Dec 11, 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”...
Nov 01, 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...
Nov 01, 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...
Nov 01, 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....
Oct 04, 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...
Aug 21, 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...
Aug 03, 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...
Jul 24, 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...
Jan 25, 2023 Trust Administration and Estate Planning in the Age of Climate Change By Goulston & Storrs Boston Business Journal A recent foreboding report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change offers warnings to policy makers...
Nov 21, 2022 Taxachusetts Redux? The New Massachusetts Millionaires Tax By Matthew Hillery On November 8, 2022, Massachusetts voters elected to adopt Question 1, the so-called Fair Share Amendment or Massachusetts Millionaires...