I recently spoke to a group of parents at the Friendship Home in Norwell about planning for their children who have developmental disabilities. Friendship Home opened in 2010 and provides respite care, day programs, job training, travel opportunities and family support. They also provide companion services and peer support groups. As their website says: Friendship… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Leanna Hamill
The Importance of End of Life Planning
I thought about titling this post “We Are All Going To Die”… We can’t change whether or not we are going to die. We all are. Putting off talking about it or planning for it won’t make it not happen, but it could make it more confusing and painful for your loved ones. Seth Godin… Continue Reading
Being Prepared Has Its Benefits
I talk a lot about being prepared here – having the legal documents in place so that your family and advisors can step in in the event of an emergency and make sure that your finances, health care and children are taken care of. It’s not that the chances of an emergency happening on any… Continue Reading
Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) v. Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
Massachusetts has a few forms that people need to be aware of that affect their health care and the treatment that they want. When to use the forms can be confusing. Below is a summary of each one and when you would want to consider filling it out. A health care proxy is a form… Continue Reading
How Long Does Probate Take In Massachusetts?
As a Hingham elder law attorney, I am often asked by clients “how long will this take” when they begin probating a family member’s estate. (Probate is essentially the process by which certain property passes from a deceased person to their heirs and beneficiaries.) Like many things in life, it depends. Some of the time… Continue Reading
What I Meant Was….
In my line of work, I spend a lot of time with my clients talking about their wishes for the future. Who they want helping them, what kind of help they want, where they want their things to go when they pass away. I spend a lot of time making sure I understand completely what… Continue Reading
Planning for Storms – the Actual and the Metaphorical.
I’ve talked before about how much of my work is helping people be prepared for things that might not happen, that they hope won’t happen or that they realize probably will happen but don’t want to think about. In my law practice I use legal strategies to help people prepare for the future. With a… Continue Reading
“My friends asked me to be named guardian of their child.”
There are sensitive issues to deal with here, but since it involves the possibility of raising someone else’s children it’s important to be open and honest when talking to your friends or siblings. Continue Reading
Myths About Choosing Guardians for Your Children
The Huffington Post had a recent article on 4 dangerous myths about choose guardians for your children. The myths in the article are: 1. That there is a perfect match for your children, you just have to figure out who that is and then you’ll get the Will in order . The truth is, there… Continue Reading
How The Estate Plan Process Works
One of the biggest obstacles that people seem to come up against when thinking about drawing up a Will or making some plans for retirement is uncertainty about the process. It’s common to avoid things that make us nervous, and many people put off calling an attorney about their estate plan because they don’t even… Continue Reading