Joel Bernstein, Estate Planning Attorney

​I have decades of experience putting clients' minds at ease.

You'll understand your estate plan because I'll explain it all in plain English.

You don't talk with an estate attorney every day. So here's how we work.

Own over $1 million of assets and live in MA? Read ​Guide to Lower MA Estate Tax for Family.

Unsure about your current will or trust? How about 7 Questions to Test the Strength of Your Estate Plan​.

​GUIDE TO LOWER ESTATE TAX ON FAMILY

I have the education to help you, including a Tax Law degree

Masters in Tax Law
Boston University, Boston, MA

Masters in Environmental Law
Vermont Law School, S. Royalton, VT

JD Law degree
Western New England University School of Law, Springfield, MA  

Bachelor of Arts in English
​Hobart College, Geneva, NY

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"You achieve plain English when you use the simplest, most straightforward way of expressing an idea. You can still choose interesting words. But you'll avoid fancy ones that have everyday replacements meaning precisely the same thing."

- Bryan A. Garner, "Legal Writing in Plain English"

A law office that is focused, streamlined, and clear. Really?

​​For almost 35 years I've been fascinated with the often-neglected intersection of three areas of legal work.

Expertise in one area of law
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Websites of other lawyers generally list many areas of practice (divorce, personal injury, etc.), leading to dispersed knowledge. These all-purpose firms aren't optimized for wills and trusts and they have weak post-death administration systems.​ I feel that more in-depth understanding, more nuanced thinking, and better results tend to come from a single focus. I've continued to learn from other leaders in the field, including world-class Trust attorney, Charles Rounds of Boston, MA, and leading Living Trust attorneys on the West Coast.


Legal automation process

Legal automation is an approach to simplifying the management of the many documents, reviews, tasks, and deadlines needed to complete a legal project. Automation improves efficiency and accuracy of the legal work. I was a published columnist for legal automation from 1986–89 for the American Bar Association's Probate and Property journal.


Plain English approach

I've been fascinated with the plain English approach to legal communications, first advanced by author/attorney Bryan A. Garner. I have studied Bryan Garner's publications for many years and have worked hard to eliminate much of the legalese in documents, letters, discussions with clients, my published writing, and my public appearances. The way I see it, the more people understand how their estates are protected, the better able they are to make decisions that are aligned with their values, their true wishes, and their heirs' needs.

The intersection of these three areas leads to an optimized experience for my clients and my team.

Publications

I began writing for publications early in my career and have enjoyed writing about legal topics that interest me. I've been published in over 15 national publications and was even mentioned in a 120-year-old treatise on the topic of the Administrative Trust. 

A Trustee's Handbook (1898), Edited by Professor Charles Rounds, Jr.
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In 2008, I 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. I suggested and edited a section in the treatise on the topic of the Administrative Trust. Professor Rounds refers to me in the book for my work in the area of automating the post-death administration of trusts.

Columnist and writer for national law publications
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• I was the technology columnist for a national publication, the American Bar Association's Probate and Property (1986–89).
• I wrote three articles for the national journal Law Office Economics and Management (1989–1994).

Public appearances

I've enjoyed speaking about estate planning and providing continuing education to attorneys and accountants. Thanks to my automation practices and efficiency skills, I found the time to do this despite a busy law practice! 

Early proponent of the revocable living trust

​Starting in 1993, I was among the first attorneys in Massachusetts to give public talks about the revocable living trust as a better alternative for some people to having a will. I enjoyed speaking on the topic and still do it, although less frequently.
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Continuing education for attorneys and accountants
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After seeing me speak, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of MA, Charles Schwab, and the Foundation for Continuing Education engaged me to give continuing education to attorneys and accountants. By 2000, I 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.

Wills & Trusts—in plain English

​Face, don't avoid, death, disability, and taxes. It’s easier than you think.

DOWNLOAD FREE GUIDE

Earlier work

I began my practice as a real-estate attorney. Within a few years, I explored the specialty of estate planning and decided to make that my life's work.​
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Board of Governors: American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, 1992

​In 1992, I learned about revocable living trusts (the modern approach to estate planning) from the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, based in San Diego, CA. The Academy appointed me to its board of governors.
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In-house counsel for Hawk Mountain Corporation, 1980s
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​My first legal job was the attorney for the then well-known Vermont company, Hawk Mountain Corporation. The company built environmentally sensitive homes in Vermont's Green Mountains. By 1984 I'd computerized the way the builder created deeds to achieve higher accuracy and speed. PCs were still new, so my work was innovative, an early example of legal automation. 

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

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

Have questions about where to start?

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