About Joel Bernstein
 
Massachusetts estate planning, using wills and particularly trusts, has been the sole focus of my practice for 27 years. I am highly experienced, having handling more than 2,700 wills and trusts over my career.
 
I began my law practice in 1980 in Vermont, where I became involved in real estate conveyancing as in-house lawyer for the famed Hawk Mountain Corporation. I computerized their deed system and became nationally known for my automation approach in 1985.
 
Seeing the beauty of the Green Mountain state led me to a lifelong study of all aspects of property law. So after earning an Environmental Law degree in Vermont, I moved to the Boston area in 1985 to marry a woman from Wellesley and earn a Masters of Tax Law.
 
In 1992, I learned about revocable living trusts (the modern approach to estate planning) from the San Diego-based American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. I studied with its founder Robert Armstrong, was appointed a director of the organization—and enjoyed visiting San Diego for its weather!
 
1992 is also the year that I opened my law firm in Lexington and began giving public talks about Massachusetts revocable living trusts. Also in the 1990s, I served on the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. 
 
To this day, I start each morning with a cup of coffee and 45 minutes of reading about the law, focusing on wills, trusts, and the post-death administration of these estate-planning approaches. Through this regular, early-morning study, I’ve avoided trying to master too many areas of the law. I still love to read the law every morning.
 
And I still love my wife.
 
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Law Office of Joel A. Bernstein – Lexington, MA  (1992-present) Principal
• Applied Legal Systems – Weston, MA  (1989-1992) Principal
• Kopelman and Paige – Boston, MA (1986-1989) Associate Attorney
• Scheier, Scheier and Graham – Acton, MA (1984-1986)  Associate Attorney
• Hawk Mountain Corporation – Pittsfield, VT (1982-1984) Attorney
• Practice of Law – Burlington, VT  (1980-1982)
  
  

PUBLICATIONS & Public speaking engagements

• Addressed American Bar Association meetings on both the East and West Coasts including Chicago, Baltimore, Dallas, and Massachusetts Conveyancers’ Association on Use of Technology in Document Creation
• Taught courses to both attorneys and accountants on Trust Basics, Post-Death Administration, and Retirement Distribution Strategies for the nonprofit MA Foundation for Continuing Education and for Blue Cross/Blue Shield
• Former technology columnist for the American Bar Association’s Probate and Property Journal
• In the national treatise, A Trustees Handbook, editor Professor Charles Rounds, Jr. of Suffolk University refers to my work in the automation of post-death administration of trusts
• 300 public and private talks, given for  Charles Schwab and other financial institutions

 
MA Wills and Trusts: The only law we practice, in plain English
​781/863-8606 • email: joel@JBernsteinlaw.com