Usually when the first parent passes away, that parent will not have a say in who will be in charge of raising the child. In most cases, the surviving parent will take custody. Exceptions to this would be if the parent has a history of abuse, if the parent doesn’t want custody of the child,…
Yes, M.G.L. ch. 210 §7 says that a person that has been adopted under M.G.L ch. 210 has the same rights to inheritance and to intestate as he/she would have if they were born to such parent in lawful wedlock. Therefore, no specific reference that the child is adopted in the will is needed.
This will not revoke the will but it may need to be modified. The general rule is that if you omit one of your children from your will, a child born before or after the execution of a your will may still claim their intestate share from the estate. However, if it appears that the…
Yes, you can keep your ex-spouse from inheriting your estate and still take care of your children through the use of a will and trust. If you have no will, your kids will inherit your estate, however, if they are under eighteen years of age, your ex-spouse will likely have control of your money if…
Different attorneys use different language to make it extremely clear that the testator wishes to exclude one or more specific people from his or her will. For example, it will be something similar to “ My failure to provide in this Will for XXXX is intentional and not the result of any accident or mistake.” However,…
For people with minor children, having an estate plan can be extremely important. This is because the court will have no idea who you wanted to take care of your minor children. Although you can only really nominate a guardian, the court will give your choice top priority when making its decision. You do not…
If you have a disabled child who’s receiving any federal or Massachusetts state government benefits, chances are, if you or anyone else leaves them an inheritance, they will become disqualified for those benefits. Any needs-based benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), MassHealth, or subsidized housing which imposes an income or asset limit on the…
Recently the New York Times had an article about adult adoptions which piqued my interest. Many people don’t even know that adult adoptions exists or can happen. It is one of those rarely seen areas of law that you only come upon once, in passing, in a law school family law course. Adult adoption is…