Married couples often own financial assets that automatically transfer to the other spouse when one of them dies. These commonly include: Life insurance policies naming the spouse as beneficiary Joint bank or investment accounts with a right of survivorship Retirement...
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for Dedham and the Greater Boston Area
Family Law, Real Estate and Probate Attorney
Estate planning and probate
What is a Conservatorship in Massachusetts?
When someone can no longer take care of their own money or property, families often wonder: Who will make sure the bills get paid and assets are protected? In Massachusetts, the legal answer may be a conservatorship. A conservatorship is a court process where a judge...
Planning for death is more than writing a will
Planning for your own death is more than writing a will and instructions on how you want doctors to treat you. You should take steps to provide information to your family and heirs to make administration of your estate easier. Anticipating potential problems can avoid...
Death and Facebook. The legacy feature
A friend of mine died and his wife posted his death and funeral arrangements on his Facebook page. In this era of social media, Facebook is a natural and expected forum to notify friends and relatives of such information. Unfortunately, use of his Facebook account was...
How do you probate an estate in Massachusetts when you can’t get a death certificate?
Sometimes people die under circumstances where their body can't be found or can't be reached. Years ago I probated the estate of a man who sailed his boat into a hurricane and was never found. A few years ago there was a story in the news of a man in Florida who fell...
