For over 200 years, Fletcher Tilton has been helping generations of families across Massachusetts and the Cape Cod area plan their estates and secure their financial futures. Our firm’s deep-rooted history and commitment to excellence have made us a trusted partner for clients seeking to protect their assets and loved ones.

With a forward-thinking approach and personalized counsel, we will guide you through every aspect of estate planning. Whether you’re creating a will, establishing a trust, or exploring advanced strategies, our experienced attorneys are here to ensure your legacy is preserved for future generations. Let us help you take the first step in planning for tomorrow.

Essential Estate Planning Documents

Estate planning involves creating key legal documents that ensure your wishes are carried out, and your loved ones are protected. Below, we explore the essential documents every estate plan should include.

Wills

A will is the cornerstone of any estate plan. It outlines how your assets will be distributed after your passing, ensuring that your property and possessions go to the people and causes you care about most. State law will determine how your estate is divided without a will, which may not align with your wishes. Regularly updating your will is crucial to reflect changes in your life and relationships.

Trusts

Trusts are powerful tools that allow you to manage and protect your assets throughout your lifetime. They can help avoid the lengthy and costly probate process, provide for minor children, and offer significant tax benefits. There are various types of trusts, including revocable and irrevocable, each serving different purposes. Our attorneys will help you choose the right trust to meet your needs and preserve your assets for your beneficiaries.

Durable Powers of Attorney (DPOAs)

Powers of Attorney are legal documents that allow you to appoint someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. There are different types of DPOAs, such as financial and healthcare, each granting specific powers to your chosen agent. A DPOA prevents potential legal complications and ensures that your financial and medical decisions are handled according to your preferences.

Healthcare Decision-Making

Healthcare decision-making is a highly personal and critical issue for all of us. When you are unable to communicate or make healthcare decisions, a health care proxy authorizes the named health care agent to make those decisions on your behalf. This authority remains in effect so long as you are unable to make or communicate health care decisions. A critical piece of your planning in this regard is also preparing a directive that expresses what your end-of-life treatment preferences would be in the event your healthcare provider has advised that there is no reasonable hope of recovery and that extraordinary medical treatment would merely prolong the dying process. This expression of your treatment preferences for end-of-life health care decision-making enables your healthcare agent to make a decision on your behalf with the peace of mind that the decision that is being made is consistent with what you would want.

Advanced Estate Planning

Advanced estate planning goes beyond the basics, offering strategies to protect substantial assets, minimize tax liabilities, and preserve wealth for future generations. These strategies are essential for individuals with high-value estates or complex financial situations.

  • Estate Tax Planning: We help you implement strategies to reduce or eliminate estate taxes, ensuring more wealth is passed on to your beneficiaries. This might include setting up irrevocable trusts or making lifetime gifts.
  • Charitable Giving: Incorporating charitable giving into your estate plan can provide tax benefits while supporting causes you care about. Tools like charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) allow you to donate assets while still receiving income during your lifetime.
  • Asset Protection: There are a number of planning tools to protect your assets from, for example, claims of creditors, long term care costs, and unforeseen legal liability. Such tools can ensure that an individualized asset protection plan is in place that maximizes your ability to pass on wealth to the next generation. 

Why Choose Fletcher Tilton

Estate planning is a multi-disciplinary effort involving a number of professionals. Our attorneys work closely with our clients, their accountants, insurance agents and financial advisors to ensure the full coordination and successful implementation of their estate plans. The estate planning group prepares wills and various forms of trusts to reduce or eliminate federal estate taxes. Instruments that may be established include Revocable Trusts, QTIP Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Qualify Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTS), Charitable Lead Trusts, Unitrusts, Generation Skipping Trusts, Supplemental Needs Trusts and private foundations. We also counsel clients on gift and estate tax valuation strategies such as Family Limited Liability Companies (FLLCs) and corporate recapitalizations.

When you partner with us, you gain a team with a history of guiding generations of families through the complexities of estate planning. Our deep understanding of Massachusetts law, combined with a commitment to personalized service, ensures that your unique needs are met with precision and care. We take the time to listen, understand your goals, and craft an estate plan that reflects your wishes and protects your legacy for generations to come.

At Fletcher Tilton, we pride ourselves on our integrity and dedication to client success. Our proactive approach and attention to detail mean that we address your current estate planning needs and anticipate future challenges and opportunities. With a team of seasoned attorneys who bring a wealth of experience to every case, you can trust us to provide the informed, reliable counsel you need to secure your financial future.

Fletcher Tilton PC serves clients throughout Central Massachusetts and beyond with offices in Worcester, Framingham, Boston, Cape Cod, and Providence.

Estate Planning

For over 200 years, Fletcher Tilton has been helping generations of families across Massachusetts and the Cape Cod area plan their estates and secure their financial futures. Our firm’s deep-rooted history and commitment to excellence have made us a trusted partner for clients seeking to protect their assets and loved ones.

With a forward-thinking approach and personalized counsel, we will guide you through every aspect of estate planning. Whether you’re creating a will, establishing a trust, or exploring advanced strategies, our experienced attorneys are here to ensure your legacy is preserved for future generations. Let us help you take the first step in planning for tomorrow.

Essential Estate Planning Documents

Estate planning involves creating key legal documents that ensure your wishes are carried out, and your loved ones are protected. Below, we explore the essential documents every estate plan should include.

Wills

A will is the cornerstone of any estate plan. It outlines how your assets will be distributed after your passing, ensuring that your property and possessions go to the people and causes you care about most. State law will determine how your estate is divided without a will, which may not align with your wishes. Regularly updating your will is crucial to reflect changes in your life and relationships.

Trusts

Trusts are powerful tools that allow you to manage and protect your assets throughout your lifetime. They can help avoid the lengthy and costly probate process, provide for minor children, and offer significant tax benefits. There are various types of trusts, including revocable and irrevocable, each serving different purposes. Our attorneys will help you choose the right trust to meet your needs and preserve your assets for your beneficiaries.

Durable Powers of Attorney (DPOAs)

Powers of Attorney are legal documents that allow you to appoint someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. There are different types of DPOAs, such as financial and healthcare, each granting specific powers to your chosen agent. A DPOA prevents potential legal complications and ensures that your financial and medical decisions are handled according to your preferences.

Healthcare Decision-Making

Healthcare decision-making is a highly personal and critical issue for all of us. When you are unable to communicate or make healthcare decisions, a health care proxy authorizes the named health care agent to make those decisions on your behalf. This authority remains in effect so long as you are unable to make or communicate health care decisions. A critical piece of your planning in this regard is also preparing a directive that expresses what your end-of-life treatment preferences would be in the event your healthcare provider has advised that there is no reasonable hope of recovery and that extraordinary medical treatment would merely prolong the dying process. This expression of your treatment preferences for end-of-life health care decision-making enables your healthcare agent to make a decision on your behalf with the peace of mind that the decision that is being made is consistent with what you would want.

Advanced Estate Planning

Advanced estate planning goes beyond the basics, offering strategies to protect substantial assets, minimize tax liabilities, and preserve wealth for future generations. These strategies are essential for individuals with high-value estates or complex financial situations.

  • Estate Tax Planning: We help you implement strategies to reduce or eliminate estate taxes, ensuring more wealth is passed on to your beneficiaries. This might include setting up irrevocable trusts or making lifetime gifts.
  • Charitable Giving: Incorporating charitable giving into your estate plan can provide tax benefits while supporting causes you care about. Tools like charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) allow you to donate assets while still receiving income during your lifetime.
  • Asset Protection: There are a number of planning tools to protect your assets from, for example, claims of creditors, long term care costs, and unforeseen legal liability. Such tools can ensure that an individualized asset protection plan is in place that maximizes your ability to pass on wealth to the next generation. 

Why Choose Fletcher Tilton

Estate planning is a multi-disciplinary effort involving a number of professionals. Our attorneys work closely with our clients, their accountants, insurance agents and financial advisors to ensure the full coordination and successful implementation of their estate plans. The estate planning group prepares wills and various forms of trusts to reduce or eliminate federal estate taxes. Instruments that may be established include Revocable Trusts, QTIP Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Qualify Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTS), Charitable Lead Trusts, Unitrusts, Generation Skipping Trusts, Supplemental Needs Trusts and private foundations. We also counsel clients on gift and estate tax valuation strategies such as Family Limited Liability Companies (FLLCs) and corporate recapitalizations.

When you partner with us, you gain a team with a history of guiding generations of families through the complexities of estate planning. Our deep understanding of Massachusetts law, combined with a commitment to personalized service, ensures that your unique needs are met with precision and care. We take the time to listen, understand your goals, and craft an estate plan that reflects your wishes and protects your legacy for generations to come.

At Fletcher Tilton, we pride ourselves on our integrity and dedication to client success. Our proactive approach and attention to detail mean that we address your current estate planning needs and anticipate future challenges and opportunities. With a team of seasoned attorneys who bring a wealth of experience to every case, you can trust us to provide the informed, reliable counsel you need to secure your financial future.

Fletcher Tilton PC serves clients throughout Central Massachusetts and beyond with offices in Worcester, Framingham, Boston, Cape Cod, and Providence.