Estate Planning

Our attorneys provide individuals and families with sophisticated advice on a wide variety of estate planning and wealth transfer issues. In each case, we tailor our estate planning solutions to address the particular needs of the individual or family. 

The clients we represent come from a variety of backgrounds: from principals of closely-held businesses facing succession and liquidity planning issues to executives at public companies, from families just starting out and concerned about guardianship issues to families with mature children and concerns about aging parents, from single-parent families to same-sex-parent families, and from families faced with nursing home and health care issues to families with a non-citizen spouse facing sophisticated international and federal estate tax issues.

Nancy Gunnard quoted in "How Are Estates Distributed If There's No Will? A Lawyer Explains Intestate"

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Allen Falke Published in Kiplinger "To Protect Your Kids, Consider These Estate Planning Steps"

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Allen Falke Published in Kiplinger "What to Discuss With Your Aging Parents as They Get Older"

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Trusts and Estates e-News: Episode 2 of Trusts and Estates Podcast Series

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Mirick O'Connell Launches Trusts and Estates Podcast Series

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Avoiding Family Feuds

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PODCAST: Allen Falke discusses Considerations for Parents as Children Turn 18

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Living with Memory Loss

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Patricia Davidson was quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article, "Widow Gets Appreciation on her Share of Estate"

In the absence of language in a premarital agreement suggesting otherwise, is a surviving spouse entitled to benefit from the appreciation of the value of her share of the assets in her late husband's estate occurring in the years between his death and the settlement of the estate?

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Wills and Trusts

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Planning for the Last Year of Life

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Financial Planning for the Rest of your Life

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Tax Issues for Seniors

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Planning Ahead to Protect your Home as you Age

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James Donnelly and Chris Collins to co-chair MBA 18th Annual In-House Counsel Conference: The New (Not So) Normal

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses What Seniors Need to Know about MassHealth

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Massachusetts Elder Law: Gifting

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PODCAST: Arthur Bergeron discusses Medicare Open Enrollment

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PODCAST: Allen Falke discusses Estate Planning Techniques in a Low Interest Rate Environment

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17 Mirick O'Connell Attorneys Named to 2021 Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch List

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PODCAST: John Shea discusses Mediation in Divorce Cases

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PODCAST: Emily Crim discusses estate planning for same-sex couples | Recorded 5.1.20

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Free Estate Planning Clinic for Low-Income Veterans

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Joint Ownership: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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Even Your Pet Needs an Estate Plan

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Trusts and Estates Legal Update: "Mirick O'Connell's Trusts and Estates Team is here for you at every stage of your life."

03/29/2023[ read full story ]

e-Alert: COVID-19 Funeral Reimbursement Program

5/10/2021[ read full story ]

Extension of 2020 Federal Tax Return Filing and Payment

03/19/2021[ read full story ]

Mirick O'Connell Attorneys to Speak at Massachusetts Bar Association 19th Annual In-House Counsel Conference: Avoiding Traps for the Unwary

1/27/22[ read full story ]

Allen Falke Published in Kiplinger "Three Legal Documents Your Child Should Sign When They Turn 18"

05/12/2023[ read full story ]

TOD Accounts Versus Revocable Trusts - Which Is Better?

12/2/2021[ read full story ]

5 Ways to Incorporate Charitable Giving into Your Estate Plan

03/02/2020[ read full story ]

Trusts and Estates Newsletter - Spring 2018

06/01/2018[ read full story ]

Representative Matters

  • Advised clients concerning gift, estate and generation-skipping tax planning 
  • Drafted estate planning documents including wills, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, revocable living trusts, and homestead declarations 
  • Drafted irrevocable trusts, including life insurance trusts, family gifting trusts and marital deduction lifetime QTIP trusts 
  • Advised clients concerning asset protection issues 
  • Implemented sophisticated leveraged gifting transactions including qualified personal residence trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, intentionally defective grantor trusts and family limited liability companies 
  • Implemented charitable gifts including the formation and operation of private foundations and gifts to charitable split-interest trusts, such as charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts 
  • Created public charities 
  • Advised clients concerning elder and disability law issues, including asset preservation and Medicaid qualification 
  • Implemented special needs trusts, supplemental needs trusts, irrevocable income-only trusts and private annuities 
  • Prepared estate, fiduciary income tax, estate tax and gift tax returns 
  • Represented clients in tax matters before the Internal Revenue Service and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue 

PLANNING TO KEEP CONTROL

This article was co-authored by Arthur Bergeron and Leah Kofos. Does this dilemma sound familiar?  On one hand, you want to keep control of your life and make all of financial and medical decisions yourself.  On the other hand, you …

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Living with Memory Loss

Thirty years ago next month, my mother died in a nursing home.  Back then, there weren’t open discussions, shared knowledge, or resources available to people with Alzheimer’s Disease.  Most seniors died from “hardening of the arteries” or just “old age.” …

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Emergency Broadband Benefit

One lesson the pandemic has taught us is that having Internet access is essential, now more than ever. However, many people are struggling to afford Internet services. Luckily, a new federal coronavirus aid program might be able to help. Launched …

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COVID-19 Funeral Reimbursement Program

Has a loved one passed away due to COVID-19 complications? If so, you may be eligible for a government reimbursement for funeral expenses to assist with funeral services, interment, and cremation.  The assistance is limited to a maximum reimbursement amount …

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Durable Powers of Attorney: What You Should Know

You have worked hard to grow and nurture your assets throughout your lifetime. What happens if, due to illness, hardship, or other difficulty, you are unable to continue to do so? A Durable Power of Attorney answers this question. A …

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Do I Need a Health Care Proxy?

If you have found yourself asking this question, the answer is an emphatic yes. Health Care Proxies are one of the most important documents in your estate plan. So what is it, and why is it so important? A Health …

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Financial Planning for Seniors

This article was authored by elder law attorneys Arthur P. Bergeron and Leah Kofos. To whom do you trust to give your financial planning advice?  Your accountant?  Your kids?  The guy you have coffee with at Dunkin Donuts?  Your lawyer? …

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Extension of 2020 Massachusetts Tax Return Filing and Payment

This article was authored by Allen J. Falke, Tracy A. Craig, and Leah Kofos. Following the recent federal extension for tax filings, Massachusetts has announced that it will extend the filing and payment deadline for individual income tax returns until …

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Extension of 2020 Federal Tax Return Filing and Payment

This article was authored by Allen J. Falke, Tracy A. Craig, and Leah Kofos. The Internal Revenue Service announced yesterday that the federal income tax filing and payment deadline for individuals will be extended until May 17, 2021. This extension …

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A Few Tips for Tax Season

This article was authored by elder law attorneys Arthur P. Bergeron and Leah A. Kofos. I love being at Mirick O’Connell because when my elder clients inevitably call me at this time of year asking tax questions, I can always …

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