ECKERT BYRNE NEWSLETTERS

Today, we celebrate #NationalLegacyDay, a day where we encourage you to review your estate plan and ensure your legacy documents are in order and up to date.

We recently had a friend of the firm reach out detailing an unfortunate phishing scam they fell prey to. While it didn’t affect our firm or any of our clients, it was nonetheless unsettling news. The target was tech savvy, knowledgeable in their field of finance, and always cautious. Sadly, it seems that as the technology around us becomes more advanced, so do the scammers that aim to deceive honest people.

Joyously, it seems New England has turned the page on winter and spring is beckoning! Our Eckert Byrne family hopes you had a pleasant Easter, Passover, or Ramadan for those who celebrate. The spring season seems to bring ruminations on change, rebirth, and growth. We’ve been through a lot of changes of late as a firm and thanks to our team’s dedication and determination, that change has sprung growth and newfound purpose.

April 1st is a special day here at Eckert Byrne LLC! On this day, in 2009, I took a leap of faith by creating this law firm. Eckert Byrne was founded with a vision to create a law firm that would serve clients holistically by focusing on creating plans that account for people’s loved ones/legacy and provide a pathway for an on-going relationship.

With our office in Cambridge, we are constantly reminded of the soaring real estate market. As I look in every direction from our Third Street office, I can see a handful of tower cranes being used in the construction of new or renovated buildings. In addition to the commercial boom, we are all very aware of the surge in residential real estate values. Many residents in and around the Boston area have owned their homes for a number of years and are witnessing value increases at unprecedented rates. For many of these homeowners, their home is one of their largest assets and they often expect to age in place. A homeowner may ask, how can I plan for passing on my legacy?

In one of our past newsletters, we talked about the importance of keeping our digital assets safe and secure. As a firm, we’ve counseled our clients over the years to have a plan for their digital assets if incapacitated and indicate who and what their successor should have access to. I was recently reminded of our digital asset planning when I came across an article about Apple’s new Digital Legacy setting. 

Death can be devastating, sad, and unexpected. Even if it is anticipated, the thought of knowing one will never share the same experiences with a loved one can pain the heart. A common thread found in beloved public figures when they pass, whether it be expected or unexpected, is their legacy established during life time carries on well after.

Congratulations, Anna Byrne, on being chosen as one of the Massachusetts Go To Trusts and Estates Lawyers for 2021!! This program recognizes top lawyers across the state.

2021 is finally approaching its end and while life hasn’t necessarily returned to a state of normalcy (and it seems abnormal may be the new normal), there remains plenty to be grateful for. At our firm, 2021 has been a year of transitions for us.

As Thanksgiving approaches, this is the time I begin to reflect on the year and remember the bad and the good (I try to focus on the good!). As I think about my life, I know I have been enormously blessed. I am healthy, lucky to live in a beautiful city, and grateful to have had the opportunity to use my talents that allow me to help others and provide for my family.   

2021 Massachusetts SuperLawyer and Rising Star! Thank you [...]

As we approach the end of Daylight Saving Time, I am reminded how precious time is. It’s typically during this season that I tend to look back over my year and wonder if I made the most of the extra daylight hours. Daylight Savings can be such a ritualistic event: we are reminded to change our smoke detector’s batteries, update our passwords, or use this event as a trigger for other annual check-ups. One important exercise is to...

The changing seasons are also bringing exciting transformations to Eckert Byrne. We are thrilled to announce the addition of Attorney Timothy R. Weeks, J.D., LL.M (Taxation) to our estate planning team on October 1st! Tim has experience with high-net-worth families in crafting estate plans that meet each family’s goals, including drafting planning documents, gifting trusts, business succession, and special needs planning.

Natural disasters seem to occur more frequently now more than ever, so I thought it might be a good time for us to secure the things we hold precious and in physical form. Photos, passports, family stories and mementos, social security cards, tax records, estate planning binders, and so on. But, how do we store them? One idea is to digitize these items and scan them so they can be stored as digital assets.

Incredibly, we are more than halfway through the year 2021. As the summer boils on and Cambridge continues to reopen, we hope you are all staying cool and refreshed, while still enjoying the bounties a New England summer has to offer. We are eager to continue cautiously returning to the office and, with the return to our home away from home, we are also thrilled to announce another new addition to our Estate Planning/Administrative team.

As we emerge from the pandemic, we are slowly welcoming back clients into our office. This is allowing us to conduct more in-person meetings and schedule what may be one of our most important services: the Family Legacy Meeting. Never has it felt so satisfying to connect with other members of our community and we hope to take full advantage of this newly regained privilege.

I am delighted to announce the release of my second book, The Inheritor’s Guide: A Legal, Financial, and Emotional Guide for Adult Children Managing Their Parents' Legacy. The Inheritor’s Guide is a manual for anyone who has lost a parent and wants to gain an understanding of the step-by-step process of transitioning wealth from one generation to the next.

Today, we celebrate #NationalLegacyDay, a day where we encourage you to review your estate plan and ensure your legacy documents are in order and up to date. Each year on May 24th, we recommend a comprehensive review of wills, trusts, health care directives, funding, passwords, and all the documents needed to secure one’s legacy, gain peace of mind, and make things easy for loved ones.

Navigating the probate process for an estate plan after losing a loved one can be a similar experience to Dorothy traveling on the yellow brick road - confusing and filled with unexpected surprises. Read our latest newsletter, authored by Kristin Dzialo, to learn more about the probate process and hopefully minimize any ‘flying monkeys’ or ‘wicked witches’ for you and your loved ones on this journey.

Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Estate Planning By: [...]