As a skilled and well-respected Trusts and Estates attorney, Janet has been entrusted by our clients at every stage of life with their estate planning and estate and trust administration.
Janet has extensive experience with all kinds of estate planning and trust and estate administration, including:
- determining the best plan for the particular client(s)
- drafting all sorts of wills, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable living trusts, and other documents needed to implement the plan
- planning for life insurance needs and drafting irrevocable insurance trusts
- planning for the elderly or incapacitated client, including elder law planning, special needs planning, Medicaid planning, guardianships and conservatorships
- probate law
- charitable giving techniques, including charitable trusts
- business succession planning
- preparation of estate tax returns and fiduciary income tax returns for estates and trusts.
Janet works with individuals in all areas of estate planning, ranging from:
- estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning
- wills
- trusts
- durable powers of attorney
- health care proxies
- living wills
- homestead declarations
- deeds
- trustee certificates
- life estates in deeds
- irrevocable life insurance trusts
- lifetime QTIP trusts
- charitable trusts
- grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)
- intentionally defective grantor trusts
- family limited liability companies
- qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs)
- spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs)
- cottage trusts
Education
- Boston College Law School (1980)
- University of Massachusetts at Amherst BA, magna cum laude (1974), Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
- Massachusetts
Affiliations
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- Massachusetts Bar Association (State Chair, 2017-2022)
- American College of Trust & Estate Counsel
- NAELA (National Association of Elder Law Attorneys)
- National Association of Estate Planners and Councils (NAEPC)
Awards & Recognitions
- AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, the highest rating available for legal ability and professional ethics
- Included in The Best Lawyers in America® for Trusts and Estates (2025); recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® since 1995
- Named one of Massachusetts “Super Lawyers” by Boston magazine and Law & Politics (2006 -2018)
- Named as one of the “Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts” by Boston magazine (2013)
- Named Best Lawyers® Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year” in Worcester (2013 and 2016)
- Selected for inaugural edition of Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers (2011)
Articles & Speaking Engagements
- “Publishing Clause” and “Ultimate Disposition,” in Best Practices Series: Drafting Wills and Trusts-A Clause Primer, MCLE (co-author)
- “Pour-Over Wills” and “Gifts to Children: Outright and in Trust,” in A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Massachusetts, MCLE (co-author)
- “Drafting Simple Wills and Trust Clauses,” Massachusetts Basic Practice Manual, MCLE (co-author)
- “Publishing Clause” and “Ultimate Disposition,” in Drafting Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts, MCLE (co-author)
- Prepared testamentary estate plans consisting of wills, revocable trusts, durable powers of attorneys, and health care proxies
- Prepared and managed irrevocable life insurance trusts
- Prepared and implemented sophisticated gifting strategies, including GRATs, installment sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, and spousal lifetime access trusts
- Administered complex estates, including the preparation of state and federal estate tax returns and fiduciary income tax returns
- Assisted clients with elder law and asset protection planning
- Served as trustee of various revocable and irrevocable trusts
- Represented Trustee Plaintiff in landmark case, Pond v. Pond 678 NE2d1321 (1997)
David Surprenant Named the Best Lawyers® 2025 Business Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Worcester; 18 Mirick Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in 2025 Edition of Best Lawyers® and 6 Selected for Ones to Watch in America®
August 15, 2024 | In The News
24 Mirick O’Connell Attorneys Named to 2025 Best Lawyers® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch List
August 15, 2024 | In The News
Massachusetts Estate Tax Changes
October 2, 2023 | Articles
25 Mirick Attorneys Recognized as 2023 Best Lawyers® and Ones to Watch™
August 18, 2023 | In The News
