Getting divorced is life-changing, but many people neglect legal and financial issues that must be addressed. Although there are certainly enough practical matters requiring immediate attention (e.g. relocation, childcare, etc.), too many newly divorced individuals neglect to check in with their estate planning attorneys to update essential documents for too long. The...
Estate Planning When You’re Pregnant or Adopting
At Surprenant & Beneski, our estate planning attorneys are well aware of the excitement surrounding the birth or adoption of a child. Family expansion is one of the primary reasons adults, married or single, feel inclined to contact us and begin planning their future or updating their existing estate plans. After all,...
The Goals of High-Net-Worth Estate Planning and How to Reach Them
We all need estate plans to arrange for a secure future and a comfortable retirement and protect ourselves and our loved ones from unexpected challenges. Those with high-net-worth estates, however, may have to rely somewhat on ways of going about achieving these goals.
At Surprenant & Beneski, P.C.,...
Estate Planning For Widows and Widowers
The death of a spouse is devastating. Too often, in addition to grief and loss, the widow or widower is overwhelmed by the number of actions that must be taken within the period just after the spouse’s death for which there is little motivation and even less available energy. This is when...
Prioritizing Your Estate Planning Goals
While it might seem that estate planning goals are universal, some apply only to certain individuals and families. Also, even though the basic goals of those planning estates may be the same, the weight assigned to each goal may vary. To work collaboratively with your estate planning attorney, you must be able...
Why You Shouldn’t Keep Secrets From Your Estate Planning Attorney
Attorney-client privilege allows clients to have free and open conversations with their lawyers in order to receive proper, well-informed guidance. At Surprenant & Beneski, P.C., we are well aware of the conflicts and disputes that can arise when an estate plan is constructed on a foundation that is not fully truthful.
Decluttering Goes Hand in Hand With Estate Planning
At Surprenant & Beneski, we recognize that while estate planning is necessary at any age, it may seem more urgent as you age. Similarly, although decluttering is useful when you are young, there is more time to focus on it as you get older. While in the midst of a busy career...
Estate Planning Tips for Small Business Owners
Owning and managing a small business on a day-to-day basis is no easy matter. Too many small business owners feel so pressed for time that they delay when it comes to estate planning, not realizing that such planning helps to ensure the future of the business they worked so hard to build....
Asset Protection Strategies to Keep in Mind When Estate Planning
When you are involved in estate planning, a crucially important part of the process is protecting your assets. After all, unless your assets continue to be protected from the many risks that threaten your accumulation of wealth, you will have no estate to plan. At Surprenant & Beneski, P.C., our estate...
Updating Your Estate Plan After Your Spouse’s Passing
Whenever the death of your spouse occurs, it is a life-altering trauma. At Surprenant & Beneski, P.C., our capable, caring estate administration attorneys have spent decades assisting clients throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod in updating their estate plans after a spouse’s death. Contact us now so we can help you...