Estate Planning
Overview of Services
Estate Planning Services
Protect those important to you — both today and tomorrow
Baker Law Group provides a full range of estate planning services. Contact us to create your first estate plan, update your plan to reflect changes in your life, and for advanced estate planning topics.
- Last Wills and Testaments
- Trusts
- Durable Powers of Attorney
- Healthcare Proxies
- Living Wills and Medical Directives
- Estate Tax Planning
- Estate Asset Protection
- Wills and Probate Administration
- Medicaid Planning
- MassHealth Applications
Estate Planning Attorneys
Working closely with clients, we help to select the best way to own and manage all of their property, and upon death, leave property to their intended beneficiaries – spouses, children, family members and charities.
Your estate consists of your net worth – the total value of your real property holdings, investments, retirement accounts, bank accounts, insurance policies and other assets, after debts and taxes. In preparing your estate plan we will discuss your goals for leaving your assets to your beneficiaries, as well as caring for minors and dependents.
High Net Worth Estates
For large estates with approximately $1 million or more in assets, our lawyers have estate planning strategies that consider the ever changing estate laws and tax rules.
We can help you to minimize your estate tax, capital gains tax, and gift tax liability.
Read about Advance Planning for High Net Worth Estates.
Asset Protection
We strategize with clients to find the best methods to protect their assets.
Estate planning tools include many types of trusts (such as irrevocable and revocable trusts), stretch IRAs, homestead declarations, family limited partnerships, and limited liability companies.
Read about: Asset Protection, Trust Types Explained, Stretch IRAs, and Homestead Declaration
Last Will and Testament
Your will is used to accomplish a few key items: (a) designate who inherits your property; (b) nominate a Personal Representative to administer your estate and distribute your property; and (c) nominate a guardian to be appointed to care for your minor children. Our attorneys can assist in preparing or modifying your will.
We also offer services to administer an estate upon death. This commonly involves preparation of time-sensitive probate forms and making decisions that could have tax implications.
Read about Probate and Estate Administration.
Trusts
A trust may offer you several benefits.
- avoid probate
- provide for children and dependents
- avoid the need for a conservatorship
- fully utilize tax exemptions
- protect your assets
We can help you to select, create and administer the best type of trust for your needs. Many estate plans use revocable, irrevocable, and/or special needs trusts.
Durable Powers of Attorney
A durable power of attorney is a legal document that allows you to appoint a person or persons to handle your financial affairs — from bank accounts to real estate. Durable powers of attorney may be written to become effective only when you are unable to handle them yourself.
Having Durable Powers of Attorney can help your family by preventing a lengthy court proceeding in which the court appoints someone on your behalf.
Read about Durable Powers of Attorney.
Healthcare Proxies and Medical Directives
A healthcare proxy designates someone to make medical decisions for you in the event you are unconscious or mentally impaired, either temporarily or for an extended period of time. A properly drafted healthcare proxy can help avoid having the probate court appoint a guardianship in the future.
Read about Healthcare Proxies and Medical Directives.
Living Wills
A Living Will is a written expression of your preferences as to how you want to be treated in certain medical conditions. It is typically a non-binding document. Living Wills are often used with a Healthcare Proxy but generally only used in the case of a terminal illness. Living wills are very different from last wills and testaments. They do not direct where your property goes.
Read about Living Wills.
Elder Law
Some aspects of estate planning are specific to seniors. Our attorneys help with the complex federal and Massachusetts laws and regulations governing Medicare, Medicaid (known as MassHealth in Massachusetts), Social Security, veteran’s benefits, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and care at home. We assist families caring for aging parents, spouses dealing with nursing homes, and those assisting disabled individuals to find the best solutions to ensure resources are available when needed.
Read about Elder Law.
Our greater Boston firm provides
the following estate planning services
- Wills
- Powers of Attorney
- Revocable Trusts
- Irrevocable Trusts
- Charitable Trusts
- Dynasty Trusts
- Nominee Trusts
- Charitable Gift Planning
- Medicaid Planning
- Medicaid/MassHealth Applications
- Emergency/Temporary/Testamentary Guardianships
- Health Care Proxies
- Medical Directives
- Special Needs Trusts
- Testamentary Trusts
- Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
- Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
- Life Estates
- Stretch Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
Contact Us
Complete our online form to Schedule a Free Consultation or call Baker Law Group at 781-996-5656 or 800-701-0352 to set up a confidential meeting. Consultations are available by phone or at one of our offices in Hingham, Plymouth, Brockton, and Holliston.