Massachusetts Estate Planning Lawyers

An estate plan includes various documents that can protect you, your assets, and your loved ones. Depending on your wishes and requests, one of our Dedham estate planning attorneys can help you fund or retitle assets into trusts, create a will, establish a healthcare proxy, etc. By creating an estate plan, your assets can transfer to specific family members upon your death, ensuring that they and your assets are protected. If you have certain documents included in your estate plan, such as a healthcare proxy, someone you appoint can make healthcare-related decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated.

Probate is the process of transferring specific items to heirs upon an individual's death. Certain items are subject to probate; if a comprehensive estate plan was not created prior to a loved one's death, family members may have to undergo the probate process. Properties often subject to probate include money, real estate, stock shares, valuable personal property, etc.

If a comprehensive estate plan is created, yes, probate can be avoided. At the Law Office of Frederick N. Pellegrini, we are firm believers in trusts and can help clients fund or retitle assets into trusts. From bank accounts to life insurance policies, we can transfer your items into specific types of trusts-therefore helping your loved ones avoid the probate process.

A trust is a legal agreement that allows a third party (called a trustee) to hold certain assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries. Depending on the trust you wish to create, you can either have complete or absolutely no access to your trust. Certain types of trusts cannot be counted toward probate, so fewer taxes may be due upon your death and your beneficiaries can receive items in the trust faster.