It may be the biggest cliché of all time, but Benjamin Franklin knew what he was talking about when he declared that the two certainties in life are death and taxes. There is no way to escape the former, but with proper planning you can reduce or avoid the latter.
1. Don’t Let the State Choose Who Gets Your Stuff. If you don’t have a will or trust, the state has one for you. Called the rules of “intestacy,” the state’s rules may be what you would want. They distribute the estates of people who die without a plan to their closest relatives by marriage or blood, more or less in this order: spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. While a spouse and children share the estate, the other categories inherit if the prior ones are empty. For instance, if the deceased individual was unmarried and had no children, then their estate would pass to their parents, if any, and if none to their brothers and sisters. If this is not what you would want, you need a trust or a will.
2. Is Massachusetts an Intended Beneficiary of Your Estate? With the threshold slated to increase to $15 million, $30 million for a married couple, in 2026, only the proverbially 1% (and not even all of them) needs to worry about federal estate taxes. If you are fortunate enough to have a federally taxable estate then don’t pass “Go” and contact an estate planner as soon as possible, assuming you have not done so already. In Massachusetts, however, you don’t have to be fabulously wealthy for your estate to be subject to tax. With the threshold at $2 million, having purchased a home in the right neighborhood might push your estate above that level. If you are married, standard “A and B” trust planning can protect up to $4 million from taxation.
3. A Child is Born. Parents ordinarily have strong feelings about whom to nominate as guardian to care for their children if they become unable to do so themselves. In Massachusetts, this nomination can be made in a will and also in an independent document. You will have peace of mind knowing your children will be cared for by the person of your choice.
4. Divorce. It is likely that you don’t want your ex-spouse to benefit when you die or to be the one to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. If you get a divorce, you will have to update your estate planning documents, including your will, power of attorney, and health care proxy. Don’t forget the beneficiary designations on your retirement plans and life insurance policies.
5. Second Marriages. The previous point is probably even more applicable if you have remarried. Upon a second marriage, additional considerations come into play. Perhaps you have children from your first marriage. Perhaps you now have stepchildren. Perhaps you plan to have a new child with your new spouse. You need to decide how you would like your children to benefit, whether it will be equally across the board or in a different way according to your values.
These are only five of the countless reasons you should not only plan your estate, but also consider tax planning, if applicable. We’ll leave you with one last gem from Ben Franklin, appropriately regarding planning: “Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today.”