Here's the scenrio:  you've just written you will and now you want to execute it, what's required?  In New Hampshire, you will need two witnesses and a notary.  However, each witness must be an uninterested party.  Do not ask a family member, like a daughter or son, to be a witness.  You should ask an impartial third party to witness your signature in front of a notary. 

Step one is setting up a conservatorship in Massachusetts (I'll go over New Hampshire in the next blog) is to access Massachusetts Probate website:

http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/probateandfamilycourt/

This site has all the information and forms that you will need to file with the court.  Click the guardianship and conservatorship link. You will be taken to a page dedicated to these petitions.   Here, you can click the forms and instructions link or you can explore the guidelines that Massachusetts has provided you to help with the process.  Once you click forms and instructions, you will be taken down on the page to the fillable and non-fillable pdf files. Form MPC 130 is the conservatorship petition. The petition will require you to detail a number of things including, but not limited to, your address, the respondent's address, the respondent's family, the respondent's assets etc.  Once you have this form completed, you will also need either a medical certificate or a clinical team report, which form you needs depends on the mental disability.  If the person you want the conservatorship for has Alzheimers, for example, then you will need a medically team report, but if the person is intellectually disabled you will need a clinical team report.

Once you have the petition completed and have the correct medical report attached, you will need a surety bond.  There are a number of surety bond companies in Massachusetts with experience in this arena.  You will have to apply for the bond and pay an annual premium.  Now, once you have your petition, report, bond and filing fee you can file your petition with the appropriate probate court. 

This can be a difficult and timely process.  My best advice is to consult a Massachusetts attorney for help in this area. 

First, what is a conservatorship?  In both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, a conservatorship grants the petition the authority to make financial decision on the behalf of the respondent.  This includes, but is not limited to, paying bills, investing assets, and selling assets.

In the next post, I'll detail the step-by-step process required to file conservatorship paperwork. 

You absolutely need a will.  The truth is that a will is more for your family than for yourself.  After you pass, there is always confusion.  What do we do with the house?  Where does dad want to be buried?  Who gets the China?  These questions and more arise when a loved one passes away.  A will can offer guidance on who is to become the executor, what to do with the house, how to care for your remains.  It is important to answer these questions while you still can.

If you are interested in estate planning, call a local attorney for guidance. 

A Health Care Proxy or a Medical Power of Attorney is an important part of your estate planning portfolio.  In the event of your disability or incapacity, which renders you unable to make medical decision, a Health Care Proxy will allow a loved one to make medical decision on your behalf.  A prudent decision is to couple your Health Care Proxy with a living will that details your health wishes. 

This is a deviation from my normal blog but I wanted to touch on this because a client had this very question.  The answer is yes you can.  The fact is that most Americans have a mortgage on their house.  The issue that concerns clients is the acceleration of the loan when you transfer title.  Worry not, Federal law prohibits lenders from accelerating the loan when it is transferred into a living trust.  The only time lenders get a little antsy is when/if you refinance.  In that situation, the lender may require you, the settlor of the trust, to remove it from the trust, refinance, and then you can transfer it back in. 

A trust is a separate taxable entity which calculates income the same way an individual does.  A trust is not a pass-thru entity in the way that partnerships and S corporations operate.  Subchapter J of the Internal revenue code governs the manner in which trust income is determined.  Also, the general rule of Subchapter J is that income is only taxed once either to the trust or the beneficiaries. 

A simple trust must distribute all income currently, and a complex trust is any trust that is not a simple trust.  The take home point here is that a simple trust's taxation occurs at the beneficiary level while a complex trust's taxation occurs at both the trust level and the beneficiary level. 

What is a Pet Trust?  And why do I need one?  A Pet Trust is exactly what it sounds like.  It's a trust that names your pet as the beneficiary, and the set up is similar.  There's principle to the trust, income, a trustee and a caretaker.  This list is no means exhaustive, but those are some of the things contained within a Pet Trust.  A Pet Trust is important to those that wish to provide for their pets after death or disability because pets cannot legally inherit your estate under state law. So if you leave $10k for Fluffy, that gift is void.

A Pet Trust is a way to provide for you pets.  Typically, you set up the trust during your lifetime.  This will require an initial transfer of assets to the trust and the appointment of the executor and typically the caretaker.  That way when you pass or become disability your pet can immediately be cared for by the assets that you previously transfered.

A Pet Trust is a new tool in the estate planning field and if you are serious about caring for you pet after death it would be in your interest to consult an experienced estate planning lawyer that works in the animal care field. 

What is a grantor trust?  First, the grantor refers to the creator of the trust. Second, a "grantor" trust simply refers to the tax consequences of this type of instrument.  In a typically setting, the grantor transfers assets to a trust.  The grantor is the trustee and has control over the trust assets and income.  The IRS has determined that this type of structure means that assets and income are still property of the grantor and thus he is taxed on those assets.  The trust, for taxation purpose, is an extension of the grantor and is not a separate taxable entity. 

What exactly is a self proving will?  It's a fairly basic concept in estate planning.  A self proving will is a will that is notarized with certain language contained such that a witness is not required to testify in front of a judge to the veracity of the will.

Self proving wills are the standard in the industry.