Trust Preparation - The most common way of protecting your assets is the Irrevocable Income Only Trust. This trust allows the Grantor to continue to receive the income from the assets placed in the trust and after five years (the current look back period) protects the assets from nursing home care as well as creditor protection. You still maintain some control over the trust in that you can remove and replace the trustee and you may change who the beneficiaries of the trust are. Skipping probate and giving your heirs a step-up in basis so that they can sell the property tax free are also advantages. Please note that we are waiting for a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision to see if this type of trust may be used for a residence. Vacation property, rental property or stocks or bonds are good choices to fund your trust with. For more about trusts, CLICK HERE

 

An alternative to a trust is a Life Estate. A Life Estate is a deed from you to your children where you retain all ownership rights until your death, at that point the children own the house. It avoids probate, allows a step-up in basis, meaning that they can sell the property tax free after your death and after the five year look period, protects the house from nursing home claims.  In cases where the owners say "I am never going to leave this house", the Life Estate is a good option. If you think you may sell the house the Trust is much more flexible. To read more about Life Estates  CLICK HERE

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MassHealth Applications  - When someone enters a nursing home an application for MassHealth must be filed in order to receive benefits. It can get tricky spending down assets to qualify. A single person must have less than $2,000 to qualify for MassHealth benefits. Married couples are allowed to keep about $120,000. When we prepare the MassHealth application we guide you with detailed instructions of what and when to spend money on. For a list of documents needed for a Masshealth Application  CLICK HERE

Tax Return Preparation - We prepare income taxes for individuals, trusts and estates at very reasonable prices. Both federal and state, regardless of what state and include electronic filing. Why go to H&R Block when you can have a CPA prepare your taxes?

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Probate, Wills and Trusts​  - Need a new will? Need a new Trust? Need a probate filed? All done at reasonable prices.

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Real Estate Closings - Selling a house? We have years of experience in assisting you with everything from the offer to the purchase and sale agreement to going to the closing and making sure the deal gets done!