Being an Executor of an Estate is a Lot of Work—Can You be Paid for Your Time?

Yes, you can. And yes, being an executor—now called a personal representative—is definitely a lot of work. If you’ve hired an attorney, she will handle all the court documents, but there is still plenty of non-legal work for the personal representative to do. Various tasks that a personal representative...

Help! I Need to Probate Someone’s Estate, but It’s Such a Small Amount. Is There an Easy Way to Do This?

Yes! In Massachusetts, we have three types of probates: voluntary, informal, and formal. If someone dies with probate assets of $25,000 or less, plus a car, then you only need to bring a “voluntary” probate. A voluntary is very easy—you can do this yourself, with no lawyer involvement. You...

First Steps to Take After a Loved One Passes Away

There are so many tasks to handle when someone dies: closing bank accounts, sorting personal belongings, selling a home… just to name a few. While it helps to know that your funeral director will notify Social Security and Medicare about the death (one less thing to worry about), what else needs to...

Hull Times – How to Stay at Home Longer or Forever

One of the most common long-term care planning objectives I hear from clients is they would like to remain in their own homes as long as possible, but are worried about the cost of bringing in help. This is understandable. Your home is familiar and comfortable – yet bringing help into your...

HullTimes – Take Charge – Holiday Week Visit

Next week the holiday season officially gets under way. Many of us will be spending time with family that we haven’t seen in a while, or at least haven’t spent this much time with lately. It’s a good time to take notes and start some conversations. How is Grandma’s...

HullTimes – Take Charge – Naming a POA

In my last column, I explained the importance of having a health care proxy. You will recall that the proxy allows someone you’ve named to make health care decisions for you when you are unable to make or communicate those yourself. This week, we’ll discuss the durable power of...

HullTimes – Take Charge – Before Writing a Will

When I give presentations, I always ask the audience what they think is the most important estate planning document to have, and almost everyone replies with a “will.” It’s a trick question. More important than making sure that family, friends, and charities inherit your possessions is making sure that...