Product Description

Recent updates:

• Update: August 2024

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for choosing to stay current in estate planning with this new edition of A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Massachusetts . Inside, you will find new and updated material on such topics as the following:

  • Estate, generation-skipping, and gift tax. Chapter 1 offers updated hypotheticals demonstrating both tax-efficient and tax-inefficient estate planning with regard to use of the marital deduction.

  • Marital deduction in context of out-of-state plan. Chapter 4 addresses the situation where there is real estate or tangible personal property physically located outside Massachusetts that was included in the initial calculation of the tax and provides suggestions regarding applying a credit.

  • Gift tax. Chapter 5 offers information on three types of transfer taxes on the gratuitous transfer of assets: the gift tax, the estate tax, and the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax.

  • Rollovers. In Chapter 9, find a "caution" on designated distributions that are eligible for rollover distribution (as defined in I.R.C. § 402(f)(2)(A)) from a qualified plan or a Section 403(b) annuity.

  • Gifting strategies for business owners. In Chapter 10, find a practice note on determining fair market value, citing a 2023 decision from the Appeals Court. The note offers a practical solution with regard to shareholders purchasing life insurance as a strategy to increase the value of the company.

  We at MCLE trust that you will find this information useful in your practice and valuable in keeping your law library current.

  Cordially,

  MCLE Press

Table of Contents

Chapter 01 expand

Practical Steps in Handling an Estate Planning Matter

Buy Chapter

Jennifer T. Fleming, Esq., Prince Lobel Tye LLP

Exhibit 1A

- Estate Planning Questionnaire Buy Form

Exhibit 1B

- Sample Correspondence Buy Form

Chapter 02 expand

Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes

Buy Chapter

Patricia M. Annino, Esq., Rimon, PC

Chapter 03 expand

Fundamental Testamentary Planning

Buy Chapter

Tracy A. Craig, Esq., Seder & Chandler
William N. Friedler, Esq., Verrill Dana LLP
Lisa M. Neeley, Esq., Rubin and Rudman LLP
Jon E. Steffensen, Esq., McLane Middleton
Janelle A. Tanenbaum, Esq., Seder & Chandler

Exhibit 3A

- Pour-Over Will Provision: Pour-Over Residue to Own Trust Buy Form

Exhibit 3B

- Pour-Over Will Provision: Residue to Other Person’s Trust Buy Form

Exhibit 3C

- Marital Deduction/Generation-Skipping Trust Buy Form

Chapter 04 expand

Marital Deduction Planning and Drafting Techniques

Buy Chapter

Jon E. Steffensen, Esq., McLane Middleton

Exhibit 4A

- 26 U.S.C. § 2011 Credit for State Death Taxes Buy Form

Chapter 05 expand

Lifetime Asset Transfers

Buy Chapter

Molly R. Soiffer, Esq., Bove Langa Witherell & Soiffer P.C.
Karen L. Witherell, Esq., Bove Langa Witherell & Soiffer

Chapter 06 expand

Charitable Giving Outright and in Trust

Buy Chapter

Mark M. Christopher, Esq., Goulston & Storrs, PC

Exhibit 6A

- IRS Revenue Procedures Issuing Sample CRT Forms Buy Form

Chapter 07 expand

Life Insurance and Estate Planning

Buy Chapter

Robert L. Arone, Esq., Orsi Arone Rothenberg & Turner LLP
Richard P. Breed, III, Esq., Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, PC
William D. Kirchick, Esq., Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP
Alan S. Novick, Esq., Novick Law Offices
Ralph J. Rotman, CLU, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network

Exhibit 7A

- Unilateral Buyout Agreement Buy Form

Exhibit 7B

- Split-Dollar Insurance Agreement Buy Form

Exhibit 7C

- Crummey Instructions and Notice Buy Form

Chapter 08 expand

Advance Medical Directives: Living Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney, and Health-Care Proxies

Buy Chapter

Sheryl J. Dennis, Esq., Fields and Dennis LLP
Vicki L. Shemin, Esq., Fields and Dennis LLP

Checklist 8.1

- Health-Care Proxy Checklist Buy Form

Exhibit 8A

- Living Will Buy Form

Exhibit 8B

- Durable Power of Attorney Buy Form

Exhibit 8C

- Health-Care Proxies Buy Form

Exhibit 8D

- Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) Buy Form

Chapter 09 expand

Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits

Buy Chapter

Sarah Ryan Grandfield, Esq., Fiduciary Trust Company
Kelly J. Guarino, Esq., Fiduciary Trust Company

Exhibit 9A

- Uniform Lifetime Table Buy Form

Exhibit 9B

- Sample Basic Beneficiary Designation Buy Form

Exhibit 9C

- Single Life Table Buy Form

Chapter 10 expand

Basic Strategies to Preserve and Protect the Family Business

Buy Chapter

Luke C. Bean, Esq., Rico, Murphy, Diamond & Bean LLP
Lisa M. Rico, Esq., Rico, Murphy, Diamond & Bean LLP
Judith A. Saxe, Esq., CIBC Private Wealth Management

Chapter 11 expand

Medicaid and Creditor Protection Trusts

Buy Chapter

John J. Bowe, Jr., Esq., John J. Bowe, Attorney at Law, P.C.

Chapter 12 expand

Marital Agreements

Buy Chapter

Mary H. Schmidt, Esq., Verrill Dana LLP
Christopher H. Suh, Esq., The Wagner Law Group, A Professional Corporation

Checklist 12.1

- Prenuptial Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Checklist 12.2

- Postnuptial Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Checklist 12.3

- Separation Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Chapter 13 expand

Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples

Buy Chapter

Donna M. Turley, Esq., Turley LLC

Chapter 14 expand

Planning for Incapacity

Buy Chapter

Rebecca Caitlin O'Brien, Esq., O'Brien Cavanagh Ivanova LLP

Exhibit 14A

- Language Defining Incapacity Buy Form

Exhibit 14B

- Special Clauses for Durable Power of Attorney Buy Form

Exhibit 14C

- Escrow Agreement Buy Form

Exhibit 14D

- Durable General Power of Attorney Buy Form

Exhibit 14E

- Affidavit Regarding Power of Attorney (REBA Form 1) Buy Form

Exhibit 14F

- Sample Health-Care Proxy Buy Form

Exhibit 14G

- HIPAA Release Form Buy Form

Exhibit 14H

- Additional Resources Buy Form

Exhibit 9D

- Distribution Period Buy Form

Chapter 15 expand

Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples: Selected Issues

Buy Chapter

Thanda Fields Brassard, Esq.,

Chapter 16 expand

Same-Sex Marriage, Divorce, and Estate Planning Issues

Buy Chapter

Lisa M. Cukier, Esq., Rubin and Rudman LLP
Andrea E. Nelson, Esq., Koiles Pratt

Checklist 16.1

- Adoption Checklist: Coparent Adoption (Where One or Both Parties Are Already Legal Parents to Child) Buy Form

Checklist 16.2

- Known Donor Checklist for Married Same-Sex Couples Buy Form

Checklist 16.3

- Adoption Checklist—Private Domestic or International Adoption Buy Form

Checklist 16.4

- Alternate Routes to Parentage Buy Form

Checklist 16.5

- Guardian ad Litem Initial Questions (When Ascertaining Whether to Propose or Agree to GAL) Buy Form

Exhibit 16A

- Joint Representation Consent Buy Form

Exhibit 16B

- Motion to Waive Six-Month Residency Requirement Buy Form

Exhibit 16C

- Motion to Waive Notice [to Be Filed Where Child Conceived Prior to Marriage or Nonmarital] Buy Form

Exhibit 16D

- Affidavit [to Be Filed Where Child Conceived During Marriage] Buy Form

Exhibit 16E

- Motion to Waive Home Study Buy Form

Exhibit 16F

- Affidavit of Parents Buy Form

Exhibit 16G

- Form R-891S: Certificate of Adoption Buy Form

Exhibit 16H

- Complaint to Establish Parentage and Support Memorandum Buy Form

Exhibit 16I

- Client Intake Checklist for Dissolutions/Divorce and Potential Issues Buy Form

Exhibit 16J

- Complaint in Equity for Dissolution of Civil Union Buy Form

Exhibit 16K

- Health-Care Proxy Buy Form

Exhibit 16L

- Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information Buy Form

Exhibit 16M

- Massachusetts Health-Care Proxy Information, Instructions, and Form Buy Form

Exhibit 16N

- DNR Order Verification Buy Form

Exhibit 16O

- Statement Concerning Durable Power of Attorney Buy Form

Exhibit 16P

- Durable Power of Attorney Buy Form

Exhibit 16Q

- Will Buy Form

Exhibit 16R

- Declaration as to Remains Buy Form

Exhibit 16S

- Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage Buy Form

Chapter 17 expand

Postmortem Estate Planning

Buy Chapter

Clifford R. Cohen, Esq., Burns & Levinson LLP
George L. Cushing, Esq.,
Eric P. Hayes, Esq., Goodwin Procter LLP
Meaghan E. Kelly, Esq., Doherty, Dugan, Cannon, Raymond & Weil, PC
Colin M. Korzec, Esq., Bank of America, Private Bank
Karen L. Witherell, Esq., Bove Langa Witherell & Soiffer

Checklist 17.1

- Checklist for Disclaimers Buy Form

Exhibit 17A

- Disclaimer of Survivorship Interest in Joint Property and of Powers as Beneficiary and Trustee of Trust Buy Form

Exhibit 17B

- Disclaimer of an Interest in Real Estate Buy Form

Editor(s)

Ethics Editor(s)

Author(s)