Massachusetts Trusts Attorney

Establishing trusts that avoid unnecessary taxes and meet the family and business needs of clients

Because every family's circumstances and assets are unique to that family, the Massachusetts trusts lawyers at Cushing & Dolan will establish a trust to meet your specific requirements. If your family has business succession concerns, those matters an also be addressed by a trust.

Avoid probate. When you deposit your assets in a trust, you can designate how those assets should be distributed while avoiding the time delays, expense, and publicity of a probate proceeding. You may select a revocable trust or an irrevocable trust, depending upon your specific objectives. Your trust lawyer at Cushing & Dolan can advise you on the types of trusts that will best suit your needs.

The revocable trust. A revocable trust (often referred to as a “living trust”) places your assets in a trust that can change over time as you buy and sell assets and as circumstances change. The revocable trust contains instructions about distribution of assets, much as a will would but without the need for probate. When you establish a revocable trust, your attorney will also prepare a "pour-over will" that simply pours assets into the trust for administration purposes.

Married couples. In the case of a married couple, our estate planning and trust attorneys recommend that each spouse has his or her own pour-over will and revocable trust. When a married couple has properly drafted revocable trusts, up to $4,000,000 of wealth can be protected from the federal estate tax.

Large estates. For larger estates, your attorney may recommend one or more types of irrevocable trusts, such as an irrevocable life insurance trust, an intentionally defective grantor trust, a charitable remainder trust, or a qualified personal residence trust.

Your estate plan may also include realty trusts or nominee trusts, which hold title to real estate, and which are primarily established to maintain confidentiality.

Contact the experienced trust lawyers at the Boston law firm of Cushing & Dolan for information on living trusts and how they can be effective tools in your estate plan.

For more information, see Articles written by our attorneys or feel free to e-mail or call (617) 523-1555 our firm.