I’ve run into a couple of situations recently where clients received mail that looked “official” but turned out to be a company trying to make my client pay for something that they could get for free. The first was an unsolicited mailing from a company offering to help my client transfer some stocks after her… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Leanna
Where is your will?
In the “old days” lawyers used to keep their clients’ Last Wills in their offices. Lawyers tended to stay in their practices for decades, and people didn’t move as often as they do now. It also made it so that the client’s heirs had to go back to that attorney when the client passed away,… Continue Reading
The Top 5 Mistakes Clients Like Mine Make
There are many mistakes people can make when planning for their future. Usually the biggest one is not planning. Most of the time, by the time they get to me, we can make sure to remedy these mistakes. 1. Not talking to their families. Leaving a house to multiple children and hoping they will “work… Continue Reading
What I’ve Been Up To
When I tell people what I do in my law practice, it is usually something like “I help people with wills and dealing with the process of transferring property after someone passes away.” Despite all the instruction to have an elevator speech, I do not have a snappy one liner that sums up all I… Continue Reading
Action Item: Share Some Information This Week
What is a quick action you can take this week to make your and your family’s life easier in the event of an emergency? Share some information! This can be as little as telling someone who your attorney, accountant and financial advisor are so they can contact them if they need to help you. Or… Continue Reading
Book Review: “Moving Out A Family Guide to Residential Planning…”
Moving Out – A Family Guide to Residential Planning for Adults with Disabilities is a wonderful resource for families exploring living options for their loved ones. Written by Dafna Krouk-Gordon, the founder and president of TILL, Inc., and special needs attorney Barbara Jackins, the book is a wealth of information in an easily understandable format.… Continue Reading
Food, Feelings and End of Life Wishes
The New York Times has a recent article about Food and the Dying Patient. It talks about a patient with dementia who could no longer swallow. When they tried to feed her she aspirated the food into her lungs which was causing pneumonia. The doctors turned to the family to decide whether they wanted a… Continue Reading
Do You Need To Update Your Living Will?
A living will, also called an advance health care directive, is a place to lay out your wishes for medical care and treatment at the end of your life. The hope is that your appointed agents will make sure these wishes are carried out. You can specify things such as whether or not you want… Continue Reading
Limitations to Guardianships & Conservatorships
As part of the changes to the guardianship and conservatorship process in Massachusetts a few years ago, the courts have been moving away from full guardianship and conservatorship and towards limited ones. The idea is to protect the person in need, while still allowing them to retain rights as appropriate. On the forms that are… Continue Reading
“Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?”
My favorite New Yorker cartoonist wrote/drew a memoir of caring her for aging parents called “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” It outlines their decline as their minds and bodies start to go. She talks about how no one wanted to talk about “the future” but still they had to keep walking towards it… Continue Reading