Comprehensive Estate Planning in New England and Florida

Established in 1984 by tax attorney and certified public accountant Leo J. Cushing, our firm provides sophisticated estate planning, tax planning and succession planning to individuals, families and businesses in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and beyond.

The Boston area estate planning lawyers at Cushing & Dolan, P.C., work closely with clients to understand their goals and concerns, and ensure they have everything in order. For an evaluation of your estate planning needs, arrange a free consultation today.

Massachusetts Tax Attorneys Protecting Your Long-Term Interests

Many of our Boston area estate planning attorneys are also certified public accountants (CPA) or have advanced law degrees (LL.M.) in taxation. This expertise enables our clients to take their estate plans to highly sophisticated levels in reducing exposure to state and federal estate, gift, income and capital gains taxes. Tax planning is a key consideration in our comprehensive and long-range approach to your estate planning, which may include:

• Wills — Stipulating who shall inherit your estate upon your demise
• Durable powers of attorney — Appointing a trusted person to manage business and personal affairs
• Health care proxies — Authorizing another to make medical decisions on your behalf in the event you are unable
• Living wills — Declaring your wishes regarding heroic measures and end-of-life decisions
• Revocable and irrevocable trusts — Advanced strategies to protect assets from taxes, probate and litigation, ensure your assets pass according to your wishes, generate income or provide for special needs or charity
• Asset protection — Shielding family wealth from “creditors and predators”
• IRA minimum distributions — Minimizing the tax “hit” when inheriting an IRA (large or small)
• Multi-generational IRA planning — Planning for long-term revenue streams for loved ones
• Elder law — Strategic planning to fund long-term care or preserve Medicaid eligibility
• Family law considerations — Planning for marriage, prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements, affidavits, unmarried partners
• Business succession planning — Buy-sell agreements, family limited partnerships, limited liability companies (LLC), S corporations, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Planning

Estate planning involves more than creating a will. It is an essential step in protecting your assets, preserving your legacy and minimizing future tax burdens for your family. The following questions and answers provide deeper insight into why working with an estate planning attorney can be valuable and when to revisit your plan.

How do estate planning attorneys help minimize estate taxes?

Estate planning attorneys play a critical role in reducing estate taxes through careful structuring of your assets and the use of tax-saving strategies. At Cushing & Dolan, P.C., many of our attorneys are also certified public accountants or hold LL.M. degrees in taxation, allowing us to combine legal knowledge with a deep understanding of tax law.

We help clients reduce or eliminate estate taxes through:

• Strategic use of trusts, such as irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) and charitable remainder trusts
• Gifting strategies, including annual exclusion gifts and lifetime gift tax exemptions
• Asset transfers and business succession planning, using tools such as family limited partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs)
• Marital and credit shelter trusts to protect both spouses’ exemption amounts
• Structuring retirement account distributions to manage income tax impact and preserve tax-deferred growth

Our approach aims to preserve family wealth and reduce the likelihood of unnecessary tax liability at the state and federal levels.

How often should I update my estate plan?

It is important to review and update your estate plan regularly to reflect changes in your life, finances and the law. These include:

• A marriage, divorce or death in the family
• The birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
• A significant change in assets, such as purchasing or selling real estate
• A change in your health status or care needs
• Updates to state or federal tax laws that may impact your estate

An outdated estate plan may no longer reflect your wishes or could result in unintended tax consequences or legal disputes.

Why should I hire an estate planning attorney instead of using online forms?

Online estate planning tools may seem convenient, but they often create more problems than they solve. Every estate is different, and boilerplate documents cannot address the full range of legal, financial and personal considerations that go into planning for the future.

• Working with an experienced estate planning attorney offers benefits such as:
• Customized legal strategies that reflect your unique goals, family dynamics and tax exposure
• Compliance with state laws regarding wills, trusts and health care directives
• Integration of asset protection, elder law considerations and business succession planning
• Peace of mind knowing your plan has been carefully reviewed and implemented correctly

At Cushing & Dolan, P.C., we help clients create estate plans that are comprehensive, tax-efficient and designed to stand the test of time.

Tax Minimization · Probate Avoidance · Gifting Strategies

Our clients include closely held and large business owners, executives, professionals and other high net worth individuals whose estates would be subject to significant estate taxes; however, our sophisticated estate plans can help minimize estate taxes. With a home, retirement portfolio, and other investments, many small businesses and double-income families who are at or near the current estate tax exemption threshold can also benefit from our planning services.

As part of your estate plan, Cushing & Dolan, P.C. can also help you employ gifting strategies to take advantage of annual and lifetime gifting exclusion amounts, to protect family vacation properties or to transfer other wealth to further reduce tax liability for taxable estates. Our attorneys are familiar with a wide range of trusts and tools to accomplish all of your estate planning goals.

Please e-mail us or call 888-759-5109 to arrange a free consultation at one of our many convenient locations in the Greater Boston area.