Our Services

We are a full service estate planning firm, using wills and trusts to plan for our clients. These documents can provide for asset protection during life, asset distribution upon death and may allow the estate to avoid probate. We advise clients regarding the benefits, advantages and disadvantages of different trusts, including revocable and irrevocable trusts, and assist clients with funding issues.

When drafting a last will and testament, we take all issues into consideration including provisions for spouses, children, and pets, beneficiaries with problems or disabilities, and choices of personal representatives.

We use revocable trusts to allow our clients to avoid the probate process, provide a means for proper asset distribution, and ensure the proper management of clients’ assets in the event of incapacity.

We create irrevocable trusts to protect client assets from creditors (including Medicaid as a creditor), provide a means for asset preservation, create a vehicle to receive asset transfers, maximize tax benefits, and facilitate planning for Medicaid.

We establish supplemental needs trusts within a trust to provide financial support for a spouse who is or may be receiving Medicaid benefits to enhance his or her quality of life while preserving the ongoing Medicaid benefits.

We represent executors, administrators, personal representatives, and trustees in connection with the administration of probate estates and trusts. Being cognizant of the emotional stress fiduciaries are often under as the result of the death of a loved one and conflicts within the family, we approach every client with empathy and sympathy. We serve as the liaison between the Probate Court and the fiduciary, with the goal of efficiently administering and distributing the estate. We are careful to consider all beneficiaries and comply with notice requirements. In short, we make the probate process less frustrating and more satisfying for our clients.

In addition, we also represent beneficiaries of estates or trusts in Probate and Superior Court when they feel left in the dark, uninformed, and need protection. In the event that matters become complicated or entangled, as they sometimes do, we have the experience to reach a satisfactory resolution for our clients.

We handle trust and estate litigation, including appeals from Probate Court, actions to remove fiduciaries, actions to compel accountings, and to preserve beneficiaries rights. We also handle actions to assert or defend expected inheritances for beneficiaries, or to protect their interests against delay or improper actions by fiduciaries.

If you or your loved one needs help managing his or her financial affairs we can help. As a fiduciary, named as a Trustee under a Trust, attorney-in-fact under a Durable Power of Attorney, or a guardian appointed by the Court, our duty is to prudently manage your assets.

When we serve as your fiduciary, we run monthly accountings to track the assets coming into your estate and expenses being paid out. We make sure that your bills are being paid so that the heat stays on in the winter and you are safe in your home. If homecare or long term nursing care become necessary, we evaluate your assets and file Medicaid LTSS applications if or when it becomes necessary.

Over the years, our firm has assisted numerous orphaned seniors who can no longer manage their own financial affairs. If you have a neighbor, co-worker, or friend who does not have family to help, please let us know.

We provide comprehensive Medicaid pre-planning and crisis planning for our clients. We can advise clients on the most appropriate long-term living arrangements for their particular situation and assist with facility placement. In addition, we advise clients on how to obtain public benefits, including Medicaid LTSS, to pay for long-term care in a nursing home.

Our firm develops personalized plans for clients and their families as loved ones age, including the best use and management of personal and financial resources to meet their long-term objectives, exploring home-based care options as a first priority when appropriate, and easing transitions in the event a facility placement is required. If facility placement becomes necessary, we utilize a variety of legal techniques to protect and preserve assets. The Medicaid LTSS application process is lengthy and cumbersome, and most people are unfamiliar with Medicaid regulations. To help ease the burden for our clients, we will prepare, file, and track your Medicaid LTSS applications through approval.

Even if your loved one is already in a skilled nursing facility, it is not too late for us to help your family.

We help families plan for the possibility that a loved one may need long-term care, and develop asset protection strategies tailored to meet your needs.

During your planning session, we will gather information from you regarding your (and if applicable, your spouse’s) health, finances and family objectives. During this stage, we review with you Medicaid Law and explain how your assets will be counted for Medicaid eligibility purposes. We will also review any financial transfers affected by the ‘look-back’ period and the impact to you. Based on this information, we review in detail the options available to you to finance long-term care and, if possible, protect your assets.

We will evaluate asset protection tools, including gifting programs, funding certain trusts, and deed transfers. Each situation is different, but recommendations may also include disclaimer, disinheriting an ill spouse, or opening pre-paid funeral accounts which spend down your assets and allow you to qualify for Medicaid benefits. We will assess all Medicaid options available to you and determine the amount of resources you are entitled to retain under Medicaid standards. The primary objective of the plan is to protect your hard-earned assets. Of course, we will also take into consideration the tax consequences of any recommendations.

Once we have presented the plan and our recommended strategy, we will help you implement the plan by drafting the appropriate legal documents, completing and submitting a Medicaid application, if appropriate, and working together with you and your other professional advisors.

In the event an individual is unable to manage his or her own affairs and advance directives have not been completed, we counsel clients regarding all aspects of legal guardianship proceedings.

Obtaining guardianship requires the filing of court documents, the appointment of a Guardian ad Litem, attendance and presentation of evidence at a court hearing, and the post-appointment filing of court documents.

Children and other relatives frequently consult our firm about their legal rights and obligations in guardianship proceedings. In many cases, children and other relatives live out of state, making it difficult for them to participate in the guardianship process. We can fill this void by attending court hearings and outlining our clients’ position regarding the need for the appointment of a guardian and who should be appointed as guardian. Once appointed, we help legal guardians develop a care plan for the ward and develop a plan for the management of the ward’s assets.

In some cases, guardianship matters are adversarial due to family conflicts. We have extensive experience handling contested guardianship proceedings and are able to guide our clients through very difficult and often emotional proceedings.