Our approach​ in a nutshell​

​Meet 1:  A personalized, objective, clear discussion about your estate planning options.

And, if y0u decide to move ahead, a second meeting in which we sign the documents. Our process includes:
​

• Standardized, reasonable fees, always working from a written fee agreement outlining work and deadline.
• Completion of your estate planning within generally 3-4 weeks.
• Done with respect, professionalism, and attention to detail. Focused, nuanced and rational.
• Documents are matched with strong knowledge of the field.

Joel's note about this approach
​
"Most mornings, around 6 a.m. I brew a pot of coffee at home and read for a predetermined 45 minutes. In the winter, I read next to the living room fire. In the summer, I read outside.

My reading focuses on the law involving wills, trusts, or post death administration of these estate planning approaches. Or, how to write more clearly using a 'plain English' approach.​
​

• I read each morning because all my professional work is dedicated to this one legal area. So, often, my reading is relevant several times, for different clients, in a single week.
• I've experimented and find my concentration is best at this time of day - and 45 minutes optimum for me.
• For about 20 years I've been doing and still thoroughly enjoy it. (But gardening is a close second.)

When I finish reading, I bookmark and go to the office. It's a rare day that I do not learn something I did not know before, and that can be useful. 

​Like a farmer, I get up early - so others don't have to.

But I love the morning and the quiet. And learning on a daily basis. So, come talk about your own estate planning. You will not be disappointed."
     
Joel Bernstein
​Lexington, MA
Updated: October 17, 2019

About Joel Bernstein

​​Joel Bernstein is a Massachusetts attorney ;who heads the firm. By 1979 he'd completed college and law school and - escaping NYC - moved to VT to practice law, then moved to MA by 1985.

​Since 1992, after earning a tax law degree, he entirely focuses on wills and mostly trusts to accomplish estate planning for clients in the greater Boston area.

In house counsel for real estate corporation 
​
His first law job was attorney for the then well-known VT company, Hawk Mountain Corporation. 

• This company built environmentally sensitive homes in Vermont's Green Mountains.
• By 1984 he'd computerized the way the builder created deeds, to achieve greater accuracy and speed. PCs were still new and his work was innovative.


While living in Woodstock, Vermont, he wrote his first article, describing the process he'd  created at Hawk Mountain.

By 1985, the American Bar Association (ABA) read the description and on that account appointed him as technology chief for their Real Estate User Group and columnist for their national journal, Probate and Property.

Two advanced law degrees

Seeing Vermont's beauty led him to a life-long study of all aspects of Property law. 

• Soon after arriving in VT, he earned a second law degree in Environmental Law at VT Law School.
  
• Meeting his wife in VT by 1981, they moved to her native MA in 1985.
• In MA he studied taxation law and earned, by 1989, another law degree from Boston University.


American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

Starting about 1992 he learned about revocable living trusts (the modern approach to estate planning) from the San Diego based American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. He was appointed to its board of governors.

Public talks innovator

Starting in 1993, he was among the first MA attorneys to  give public talks about the revocable living trust as a better alternative for some people to having a will. 

​He enjoyed speaking on the topic and still continues to do it, although less frequently.
​
Lectures for attorneys and accountants and featured speaker

After seeing his public talks, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of MA, Charles Schwab, and the Foundation for Continuing Education engaged him to give  continuing education to attorneys and accountants.

• Because of his automation and efficiency skills, he found the time to do this despite a busy law practice. 
• By  year 2000, he had given over 300 public and private talks. The audiences included the American Bar Association, MA Society of CPAs, MA Society of Enrolled Agents, and Surgent McCoy on a national CPA level.

Professor Charles Rounds, Jr.

​In 2008, he'd met and studied under Professor Charles Rounds , Jr. of Suffolk University, the editor to the (1898) Loring and Rounds: A Trustee's Handbook, a leading authority in the trust field.

​He suggested and edited a section in the treatise on the topic of the Administrative Trust. Professor Rounds refers to him in the book for Joel's work in the area of automating the post death administration of trusts.

 ---  The lighter side ---

Homer and Marge's successful adventure in estate planning
Created by Homer 'Joel' Simpson (a break from legal documents)

Would you like a quick overview?
​​Click on the video below and  see Joel on public TV.

Public TV Interview of Joel Bernstein

From the TV interview on Lexington cable, August 2016. Discussing:

• the basics of wills and trusts
• how he works with clients
• the importance of keeping your estate planning up-to-date