In the first part of this series, we explored intestacy and wills. Today, we will delve deeper into what Massachusetts estate planners should know about trusts.Trusts hold and distribute or maintain assets for beneficiaries. A trust is administered by a designated...
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Probate & Estate Administration
Types of estate plans: part 1
At Curley Law Firm, L.L.P., we have answered many clients' questions about Massachusetts estate law. One of the most fundamental questions that all of our clients face is which type of estate plan is right for their needs.In this two-part series we will...
Elements of an inventory estate
After someone in Massachusetts dies, the administrator of the estate has a number of duties to perform. One of these, according to The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is to prepare an inventory of everything the decedent owned at the time of his or...
Many Americans have debt at the time of their death
Assets aren’t the only things that can be in a person’s estate when they die. Debt can also be present. Recent statistics point to dying with debt being fairly common here in the United States.The statistics are based on a database containing data on some...
Mistakes by a personal representative can have big impacts
The administration of a deceased person’s estate is managed by the personal representative of the estate. There are a wide range of different responsibilities and rules placed on a personal representative in connection to this management. So, there can be a lot...
Dealing with credit card companies when administering an estate
There are many things regarding the credit card debt of the estate that a personal representative needs to determine when administering the estate.Among these are whether the estate has any such debt and, if it does, what the amount of this debt is. This is because...
What does the probate process involve?
It is a term that some might find intimidating: probate. But what exactly is the probate process?Generally speaking, the probate process is the legal process for sorting out what happens with the property in a person's estate after they pass away. Now, there are many...
What types of property can avoid probate?
From an estate planning perspective, informal probate may be better than formal probate, and bypassing the process altogether may be the best approach of all. Yet is avoiding probate a realistic goal?As a law firm that focuses on estate planning, we would answer that...
Probate can be avoided when necessary
Keeping an estate out of probate is at the top of many people's estate planning wish lists. Probate does of course have its place in the estate administration process, but it can create unnecessary headaches and lengthy time commitments when not needed. For those in...
Compiling an inventory one of the personal representative’s tasks
Being a personal representative of a person's estate is no minor thing. It is an important role and there are many different tasks that go along with holding this role.One of the things a personal representative of an estate here in Massachusetts is to do is complete...