Nancy Catalini Chew, Esq. admitted to practice in MA and NH
270 Ayer Road, Post Office Box 0667
Harvard, Massachusetts 01451
(978) 772-2442 telephone
Deborah McHale Bushnell, Esq. admitted to practice in MA
Alternative meeting location:
10 Common Road
Ashby, Massachusetts 01431
Dear Clients, Friends, and Colleagues:
December 2024
This annual calendar/newsletter mailing goes out to our new clients of 2024, any client who has specifically asked to receive this annual mailing on an ongoing basis, and to our professional colleagues. If you are a new 2024 client who enjoys this mailing and wishes to be included for subsequent physical mailings, please call or email us (admin@attychew.com) to stay on the distribution list. Otherwise, we post the annual letter to our website each December so you can stay up-to-date on the legal news, even if you do not receive a calendar in the mail.
Our staff looks forward to another year assisting you with your estate planning, elder law, probate, real estate, and mediation needs! Please don’t hesitate to contact us, and our wish is for a peaceful and healthy 2025 for all of you!
Nancy, Deb, Gina, Angela, Erica, Jen, and Abby
HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSURE and CONTACT INFORMATION UPDATES
PLEASE BE ADVISED that the office will be fully closed Tuesday and Wednesday, December 24- 25, 2024, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday, December 31, 2024-January 1, 2025. We will have minimal staffing Monday, December 23, 2024, Thursday and Friday, December 26-27, 2024, as well as Monday, December 30, 2024. We will reopen fully staffed on Thursday, January 2, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. From December 23, 2024 (Monday) through January 1, 2025 (Wednesday), mail, voice mails, and emails will be monitored daily, but ONLY EMERGENCY messages will be returned. All non-emergency messages will be returned on January 2 and 3, 2024, in order of priority. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation over the holidays, and please be reminded that we have a drop box by our front door if you wish to drop anything off during days we are fully closed, so that we can respond when we fully reopen.
Please be reminded to call or email us (admin@attychew.com) with any address, telephone or email changes, and to notify us of any marriages, divorces, births, and deaths we should note in our files. It does not necessarily mean that any of your documents need to be amended solely to update this information, but we do want current information in your file, of course.
2025 ESTATE AND GIFT TAX NUMBERS
The federal estate tax threshold is slated to increase from $13.61m per person in 2024 to $13.99m per person in 2025. As you may recall/note, the exemption amounts rise annually BUT are slated to decrease one-half in 2026 unless Congress acts in the interim. Based on their historic actions when this has occurred previously, we do expect them to act to ensure thresholds remain reasonable for the average taxpayer, but we will keep you apprised as we know more, of course. This could make 2025 a critical year with those of significant wealth, so be sure to continue dialogue with our office, your financial planner,
and your CPA if you are near the current thresholds.
Our Massachusetts estate tax increased significantly in late 2023, so we are now enjoying and exemption threshold of $2m. Only estates in excess of that amount are taxed, at roughly 8% on the amount that exceeds $2m only. That being said, do not abandon your tax-minimizing trusts and strategies simply because the federal threshold is so high and because the State threshold was increased—you still gain from using your trusts to avoid probate and keep things simple for your families, so stick with the plan unless we discuss together and advise otherwise.
Another thing to note if you are a Massachusetts resident with a second property in another State—that second out-of-state home is NOT part of your Massachusetts taxable estate and is not subject to our roughly 8% estate tax calculation. This can be an important factor for many clients. Unfortunately, every other asset is part of that calculation, however— including the gross value of retirement assets and life insurance proceeds—which many people do not realize.
In addition, the annual gift exclusion will increase from $18,000/person/year (the amount in 2024 only) to $19,000/person/year as of 1/1/2025. This is the amount each person may gift to any other person annually without gift or estate tax consequences, BUT there are still long-term care consequences for any such gifts—even though they are tax-exempt— so be reminded to consult us prior to making any gifts at all if long-term care costs are a concern and/or on your horizon. Please keep in mind that this amount has increased by $1,000/year for the last few years, but it was a flat amount for several years and there’s no guarantee of an annual increase.
HOMESTEAD PROTECTION INCREASE AND WHEN A REFILING IS APPROPRIATE
If you’ve refinanced or renewed a line-of-credit since your Declaration of Homestead was last updated, the most conservative approach is to re-file. It’s a quick and inexpensive process, but the benefits of protecting the equity in your home from creditors are well worth the effort. In addition, if one of the homeowners has attained the age of 62, an “elderly” homestead filing should be made to take advantage of the additional protection. Specifically, the protection a Homestead filing affords has increased to $1m this year, and that doubles to $2m if at least one owner is 62 or older.
A reminder that we do provide certain niche services within our expertise areas of “estate planning and elder law” that many firms do not provide, should you be in need of such services. Specifically, both Massachusetts and federal estate tax return preparation and filing, mediation to assist families to find peaceful and informal resolution to seemingly unresolvable issues, and planning for loved ones with special needs to protect their inheritances.
