Serves Massachusetts clients from Waltham and offices in Braintree, Hyannis, Westborough, Woburn and Longmeadow. Represents executors, trustees, conservators and beneficiaries in probate and estate administration, trust administration, estate tax returns, will contests and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Leo J. Cushing, Esq., CPA, founded the firm in Boston in 1984.
Brookline is in Norfolk County.
More Trust Administration Firms in Norfolk County
Serves Worcester, Norfolk and Barnstable counties from Worcester, Leominster, Braintree and Hyannis. Counsels executors, administrators and trustees from probate of the will through inventories, fiduciary accounts, estate tax returns and distributions, and handles contested guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. The firm also serves as executor or trustee when clients ask.
Serves Norfolk and Middlesex county communities such as Wellesley, Newton, Needham and Westwood from Wellesley. Administers and settles testate and intestate estates, litigates will contests and handles the removal of fiduciaries, plus guardianships and Medicaid qualification for nursing-home residents. Founding partner Sheryl Dennis pairs estate work with family law and special needs planning.
Serves Norwood and nearby Norfolk County towns including Westwood, Dedham, Walpole and Canton from Norwood. Guides personal representatives and trustees through probate and trust administration, from the inventory and accounts to paying debts and distribution, and handles guardianships, conservatorships, MassHealth qualification and estate tax returns. Makes home visits for housebound clients.
Serves Norfolk, Suffolk, Middlesex, Plymouth, Barnstable and Essex counties from Braintree. Advises personal representatives through probate and successor trustees through trust administration, and litigates will contests, undue influence claims and fiduciary disputes, including in the Probate Fiduciary Litigation Session. Anthony H. Gemma tried over 35 jury trials as a prosecutor.
Serves Nantucket, Barnstable, Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester counties from five Massachusetts offices, including Main Street in Nantucket. Guides personal representatives through probate, from gathering and appraising assets to paying creditors, estate tax returns and distribution, and handles trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships. Also practices family law.
Probate in Norfolk County
Probate Court Record
Norfolk County Probate and Family Court
Norfolk County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
35 Shawmut Road, Canton, MA 02021
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Norfolk County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Norfolk County? →Settling an estate in Norfolk County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Massachusetts
Free Massachusetts forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Massachusetts.
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Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Free
Pour-Over Will
In Massachusetts, a pour-over will is signed before 2M.G.L. c. 190B § 2-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Massachusetts
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Massachusetts: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool.
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in Massachusetts happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeM.G.L. c. 203E § 101 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 30 daysMGL c. 203E §§ 813, 1005Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
In Massachusetts, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 203E, § 708Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.
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How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Massachusetts: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysMGL c. 190B §§ 3-706, 3-707, 3-708Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 12 monthsMGL c. 190B §§ 3-306, 3-801, 3-803, 3-804, 3-805, 3-806Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
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Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
Massachusetts requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040M.G.L. c. 62, § 4(b), (d); Mass. Const. Amend. Art. XLIV, as amended by Amend. Art. CXXI (Fair Share Amendment)Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in Massachusetts take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular ratesM.G.L. c. 62 § 2(b)(3) (Part C gross income = gain from capital assets held > 1 year); § 4(c) (Part C taxed at the Part B rate; 3% on qualifying MA small-business stock held ≥ 3 years); § 4(a)(1) (Part A: 12% on capital gains, 8.5% on assets held ≤ 1 year); § 4(b) (Part B rate, floor 5%); § 4(d) (4% surtax above the indexed $1M threshold)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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