Janet W. Moore
Of Counsel
Legal Administrative Assistant Heather H. Rondeau
Janet has been with the Firm since 1980 and is a partner. She focuses her practice in estate planning and estate and trust administration, including prenuptial agreements, elder law and special needs planning, guardianships and probate law, charitable giving techniques, business succession planning and preparation of estate tax returns and fiduciary income tax returns for estates and trusts. She works with individuals in all areas of estate and gift tax planning, ranging from homestead declarations and testamentary estate planning (including wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies and living wills) to sophisticated lifetime gifting techniques, such as irrevocable life insurance trusts, lifetime QTIP trusts, charitable trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, intentionally defective grantor trusts, family limited liability companies and qualified personal residence trusts. Janet works with individuals who may need trusts for special needs, asset protection or Medicaid planning. She also handles estate settlement and administration, trust administration, and prenuptial agreements.
Janet was included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Trusts and Estates. She has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® since 1995. Janet has been a fellow of the America College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) since 1991 and is the current state chair for Massachusetts. Janet has been named one of Massachusetts “Super Lawyers” by Boston magazine and Law & Politics from 2006 to 2018, and in 2013 she was named as one of the “Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts” by Boston magazine. Janet was also named Best Lawyers® Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year” in Worcester, 2013 and 2016. Janet was also selected for the 2011 inaugural edition of Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers. Janet has received an AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating available for legal ability and professional ethics.
Bar & Court Admissions
- Massachusetts
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- Boston College Law School JD
- University of Massachusetts at Amherst BA, magna cum laude (1974), Phi Beta Kappa
- Prepared testamentary estate plans consisting of durable powers of attorneys, health care proxies, wills and revocable trusts
- Prepared and implemented irrevocable life insurance trusts
- Prepared and implemented sophisticated gifting strategies, including GRATs, installment sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts, and qualified personal residence trusts
- Prepared prenuptial agreements for high-net-worth clients or their children
- Administered complex estates, including the preparation of state and federal estate tax returns and fiduciary income tax returns
- Assisted clients with elder law and asset protection planning
- Served as trustee of various revocable and irrevocable trusts
Publications/Presentations
- "Publishing Clause" and "Ultimate Disposition," in Best Practices Series: Drafting Wills and Trusts-A Clause Primer, MCLE (co-author)
- "Pour-Over Wills" and "Gifts to Children: Outright and in Trust," in A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Massachusetts, MCLE (co-author)
- “Drafting Simple Wills and Trust Clauses,” Massachusetts Basic Practice Manual, MCLE (co-author)
- "Publishing Clause" and "Ultimate Disposition," in Drafting Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts, MCLE (co-author)
- "Planning Your Estate: A Primer on Documents Everyone Should Have," Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, March 2008 (August 2008)
- "Is Your Estate Planning in Good Health?" Worcester Medicine (Spring 1999)
Professional / Community Affiliations
- The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, fellow and state chair
- Estate and Business Planning Council of Worcester County, former president
- Children's Friend, Inc., former Board of Directors
- Greater Worcester Community Foundation, corporator and former director
- Goddard House/Homestead Hall, former trustee
- Worcester State College Foundation, former trustee
- American Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Tax Law Section
- Worcester County Bar Association
- United Way of Central Massachusetts, Women's Initiative, member
- ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER®
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 …
[ load webpage to read more ]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.” …
[ load webpage to read more ]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? …
[ load webpage to read more ]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 …
[ load webpage to read more ]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 …
[ load webpage to read more ]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 …
[ load webpage to read more ]Planning to Stay Home
Most seniors, like my friends Frank and Mary, hope they can live in their home until they die. But hope is not a plan. Here are some tips: Make your home safe. The older you get the greater the risk …
[ load webpage to read more ]The Planning You Need to Qualify for MassHealth
In previous columns I have explained how, whether you are single or married, you can always qualify for MassHealth at the last minute if you need to. Knowing that to be true, do you still need to plan ahead? The …
[ load webpage to read more ]Giving it All Away (Or at Least Some of It)
Every December my clients ask whether or not it makes sense to make gifts to their loved ones. In addition to getting to hear “thank you”, there are several advantages to giving assets away before you die, with few disadvantages. …
[ load webpage to read more ]Single? Need to Qualify for MassHealth?
It is important to know your options when it comes to qualifying for MassHealth should you require home health care or nursing home care. Many seniors who are single often lose sleep worrying about this very issue. Rest assured, whether …
[ load webpage to read more ]
