On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act, which is effective January 1, 2020. The Act is the most impactful legislation affecting retirement accounts in decades. The SECURE...
Estate Planning Blog – Surprenant, Beneski & Nunes
How Does Buying a House Affect Estate Planning?
Buying a house is often the largest purchase a person will make in his or her lifetime. The median cost of a single-family home in Massachusetts was just over $400,000. Most Americans take out a 15 or 30-year mortgage when they purchase...
How Does an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis Affect Estate Planning?
If you or a loved one have recently received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, you are likely feeling many emotions. You may be feeling some fear of the future. Taking the time to engage in legal planning at the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s...
Three Reasons Young Families Need an Estate Plan
Young families today are busier than ever. Between work, school, after after-school activities, it can be hard to sit down and find the time to think about the future. Thinking about what would happen to your kids if you die is difficult but necessary. Young parents should consider whether or not...
5 New Year Estate Planning Tips
The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to plan for the future. In addition to thinking about resolutions for the New Year, why not take some time to think about your estate planning goals? No matter your age, having an estate plan is essential. Whether you already have...
Make Sure Your Charitable Contributions Count
Charitable giving can give you a warm glow. In addition to leaving bequests, often in the form of trusts, to carefully chosen organizations, agencies, and/or educational, religious, or cultural institutions, most people give smaller amounts throughout their lifetimes. When you are working with a well-respected charitable planning attorney, you can...
Dangerous Secrets: The Importance of Coming Clean During Estate Planning
Estate planning is a personal process. Though people may speak of it as tedious and time-consuming, with the right estate planning attorney it is an intriguing self-exploration of your past and a satisfying master plan for your future. While the documents your lawyer drafts may sound dry, the material they contain...
How Family Dysfunction Can Impact Executing a Will?
If your family is dysfunctional, you are by no means alone. Even in the happiest of families, there is likely to be someone dealing with alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse, criminal behavior, severe mental illness or behavioral problems. Almost all families contain members who do not get along with, or are estranged from,...
How Estate Planning Can Be the Ultimate Gift You Give Your Family
While just about everyone loves to tear into wrapping paper for tokens of love, most of us come to realize that some of the very best gifts are actions taken on our behalf. One of the most meaningful of these is estate planning by someone we hold dear. Because many people procrastinate...
Leave the Snow Behind but Keep Estate Plan Up to Date
State laws oversee estates and those laws are rarely the same.
Many people retire in the snowy north and head to the warm south for a few months each year. If that is your scenario, it would be wise...