Trust and Estate Attorney

What we do:

We help individuals and families navigate some of the most difficult phases in their lives by helping them plan their legacy which may involve avoiding probate, minimizing estate taxes, planning for long-term care, and mitigating the associated, devasting financial effects, plan for family members with special needs, and guardianships/conservatorships.

How we work:

We value our clients and our team. We cultivate an inclusive, open, and supportive work environment with an understanding that we are accountable in our roles. We reliably show up, are fully present with each other (no excuses), and are ready to serve our clients. Through collaboration, high attention to detail, and a drive for exceptional service, we deliver quality legal services to consistently exceed our clients’ expectations. We pride ourselves on high client satisfaction and our staff does what it takes to ensure that happens.

The firm closes one week per year, either the 4th of July week or the week between Christmas and New Year's as additional PTO.

This is a work/life balance firm.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of trusts and estates experience. Experience or interest in elder law desirable.
• You have experience preparing and filing Massachusetts estate tax returns on M-706, coordinating with clients and service providers (CPAs, Financial Advisors, and Insurance Providers) to receive supporting documentation, and preparing and filing extensions where necessary.
• You produce trust/fiduciary accountings for trust administration and probate/estate administration purposes, including managing incoming bank statements, identifying and recording income and disbursements in accounting software, and delivering accountings to trust beneficiaries.
• You have in-depth knowledge of the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code and are experienced in probate matters including Voluntary Administrations, Informal Probates, and Formal Probates, from the initial filings, any motions, and closing of the matter.
• You are experienced and comfortable in representing clients in the appropriate Probate court on matters involving guardianship and conservatorship.
• Experience in WealthDocx, ElderDocx, GEMS, and Clio is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

What you will be doing:

Core position description includes:

• Handling case management from the inception of the file to close of matter for all firm estate administration and probate matters;
• Managing Probate and Trust administration projects (settling probate estates and trust administrations), including gathering information from the client and preparing and filing probate forms and notices, completing estate tax returns, trust and probate accountings, closing estates with the probate court, preparing trustee acceptance and appointment documents, preparing letters of instruction to retitle estate assets, draft estate planning documents, Deeds, Trustee Certificates and Declarations of Homestead;
• Managing the entire engagement process for probate and trust administration process, including follow-up with new and existing clients;
• Communicating, via phone and e-mail, with clients and their trusted advisors;
• Working within deadlines and completing tasks and keeping clients informed of case status proactively.

Other responsibilities may include:

• Conducting client meetings (initial, design, signing, and funding), drafting estate planning documents, managing MassHealth applications, counseling clients on eligibility for MassHealth, and preparing eligibility opinion letters, guardianships, and conservatorships (including attending court hearings).

Compensation:

• Starting amount is USD90K, could go higher depending on experience