Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Estate Planning In Massachusetts: What Is The Best Way To Leave An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) To My Heirs?
Do you have a retirement account? Whether it is an IRA or a Roth IRA, a retirement account is an important asset. It is crucial that you are able to pass on your retirement savings to your beneficiaries in the most effective, efficient manner. What is the right estate planning strategy? Within this article,… Read More »
What To Know About The 2023 Massachusetts Tax Relief Plan (Estate Tax Considerations)
According to a report from Forbes Magazine, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey recently signed a comprehensive tax relief plan into law. The new legislation could have significant implications for certain estates in the Commonwealth. Within this blog post, our Boston estate planning attorneys highlight the most important things that you should understand about the Massachusetts… Read More »
Bring In The New Year With A Review Of Your Estate Plan
According to the AARP, the majority of Americans do not have an estate plan in place. If you have a comprehensive estate plan, you are doing better than most—but you might not be properly protected. An estate plan that has fallen out-of-date may not protect your interests or achieve your goals. Here, our Boston… Read More »
The Three Big Special Needs Planning Mistakes To Avoid
According to the Pew Research Center, more than 40 million Americans live with some form of a disability. These disabilities can range dramatically in their scope and their effect on a person’s life. If you have a child or another loved one with special needs, it is essential that you consider their unique situation… Read More »
Estate Planning In Massachusetts: Three Key Things To Know About Medicare
Most people have a general awareness that Medicare is the primary federal health insurance for people who are 65 years of age or older. As medical needs tend to increase as we age, understanding Medicare is key to estate planning/elder care planning. There are a lot of misconceptions about how Medicare actually works. Here,… Read More »
Want To Change Your Will In Massachusetts? Avoid These Three Common Mistakes
Every adult in Massachusetts can benefit from a comprehensive, well-drafted will. You are never too young to write a will. It can be easily revised to account for life’s ever-changing circumstances. That being said, there are some all-too-common errors that people make when revising a will in the Commonwealth. Here, our Norwood estate planning… Read More »
What is Massachusetts Medicaid Estate Recovery? (And How You Can Protect Your Assets)
Long-term care costs are extraordinarily high. For the most part, they are not covered by Medicare. Instead, Medicaid—a means-tested program—is the primary form of public support for nursing home care and other types of long-term care. In Massachusetts, the Medicaid program is called MassHealth. The Commonwealth may actually try to “recover” funds paid for… Read More »
Do You Still Need An Estate Plan If You Are Married?
According to data from Statistics Atlas, approximately half of adults in Massachusetts are currently married. You may be wondering: Do I still need an estate plan if I am married? While it is an understandable question—you may want to simply grant all rights to your spouse—the answer is a clear and resounding “yes.” All… Read More »
The Estate Planning Guide For Millennials In Massachusetts
Millennials are currently the largest generation in the United States. The Pew Research Center estimates that there are 75 million Americans who were born between the years 1981 and 1996. Notably, an alarming number of millennials lack a comprehensive estate plan. Some surveys show that significantly fewer than half of millennials have estate planning… Read More »
Estate Planning In Massachusetts: What Is Portability?
Tax planning is an important part of estate planning—especially for high net worth individuals. As explained by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the federal estate tax is “a tax on your right to transfer property at your death.” That being said, most people do not have a federal estate tax liability because the tax… Read More »