There's been a lot of buzz lately about the estate tax limits being raised by this Congress to lofty new levels. Once they raise estate tax exemption limits (estate taxes are taxes paid as part of the probate and non-probate administration processes to both Federal and Massachusetts tax authorities, currently estate taxes kick in at $2,000,000 for Federal purposes, Massachusetts law lowers this limit to collect Massachusetts a few more dollars), estate planning will become less of an exercise in tax avoidance and more targeted to special needs planning, trusts for various special purposes (like dynasty trusts, spendthrift trusts, asset protection, elder law and Medicaid planning, charitable trusts, really whatever estate planning lawyers can think up), and just simple will planning.
So what's going to be fun about that? Our legal clients will no longer be the near affluent seeking to minimize their estate taxes, but either we will have more of the super rich seeking lawyers who can minimize their estate taxes and help them avoid probate or we will have families with unique estate planning opportunities. An article that caught my eye talks about a unique way to dispose of your corpse by helping your alma mater raise a few new dollars. Colleges are now pushing for niches for cremains or full blown cemeteries on their properties. I wonder if the school's cheer leading squad, marching band and mascot can be hired to come to your funeral? Is your final resting place determined by your grade point average? If so, some students may find themselves near the campus laundry instead of on a nice bluff overlooking the quad.
Note to Middlebury College (my alma mater): you are already included in my estate planning; I send you a check or two every year and I volunteer a 100 or so hours a year interviewing new prospects between trying to be a lawyer in Massachusetts - so, you can't have my body too. Once my probate administration is over down at the Middlesex Probate Court, I want my family to rest comfortably knowing that all my debts have been paid and they can file my final probate account in peace. Thanks, but no thanks, I'm not paying any more tuition bills. **************LOS ANGELES -- The rooms in this college dorm have no electricity, no running water, and ceilings that are just 11 inches high. But the residents don't mind. They're dead. Draped in sky-blue marble, the honeycombed structure -- which is tucked behind a set of spooky glowing stones at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. -- is designed to house the cremated ashes of alumni, faculty, and pets.
The mini-cemetery is part of a small but growing trend on college campuses. This summer, Notre Dame will unveil a pair of limestone and brick mausoleums laced with full-body crypts selling for as much as $11,000. And the Citadel military college in South Carolina is adding 400 urn niches to a carillon tower that holds one of the Western Hemisphere's biggest collections of Dutch bells. The University of Southern California is also studying the idea of campus tombs for a proposed multifaith chapel.
Think of it as continuing ed for the dead -- or the ultimate college reunion. In today's mobile society, some people feel more connected to their alma mater than to their hometown, said cemetery consultant Mel Malkoff, who oversees Chapman's columbarium and is working on similar projects with other schools. "People look back on their college years and say, `Those were the best days of my life,' " Malkoff said. "Why not spend eternity there?" Hoping to cash in on such sentiments, some universities don't stop with enrollment space. They also offer custom urns -- or coffins blessed by monks. As odd as such practices might sound, they're rooted in the past. College graveyards were once fairly common, said historian David Sloane of USC, author of "The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History." In the early 1800s, before embalming became widespread, it was often impractical to ship home the body of a deceased student or professor. Iowa State University's 131-year-old dead zone holds about 800 corpses, mostly faculty but also two students, a night watchman, and his dog. Notre Dame's sprawling burial ground debuted in 1843, one year after the school was founded, along with a mortuary that helped subsidize tuition costs.
By the late 20th century, many longtime college cemeteries were languishing. The University of Virginia's 1828 graveyard ran out of room in the early 1960s, said Dr. Dearing Johns, a cardiology professor who heads the school's cemetery committee. School officials decided against expanding it -- until an alum who wanted to be buried on campus suggested a columbarium wall and paid for the construction with three friends. It's a great way to generate money," said columbarium chief Andrea Patenaude of the University of Richmond, which recently transformed a sliver of campus into a million-dollar serpentine wall carved with 2,900 niches priced at $3,000 each. A spider logo, depicting the school's mascot, climbs the bamboo gate leading to the wall. Duke University is charging $25,000 a pop to bury ashes in its new 2-acre memorial garden. Part of the motivation for Duke's program was that people had begun scattering ashes there on the sly. The profits will help finance the school's vast public gardens.
Chapman's dorm for the dead, with prices ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 per two-urn chamber, was built to help fund the school's new chapel. A meditative garden leads to the memorial, which sits behind a wall of white onyx that is illuminated from within to symbolize "the elusive separation between the living and the dead, a separation of a single breath," according to designer Susan Narduli. Colleges aren't the only institutions offering alternative burial space. A German soccer team recently announced plans to open a public cemetery next to its stadium, according to news reports. A similar idea was floated in San Diego a decade ago, when a businessman urged the Padres baseball team to install 70,000 cremation niches in the outfield wall of its new park. Despite a potential windfall of $175 million, Padres management balked at the proposal.**************** If Red Sox nation could put little cremains niches in the Green Monster with glass walls so you have an unobstructed view of Manny Ramirez running down fly balls... I might want to get half a dozen of those now just to stretch out and watch the game without getting beer spilled on me.
Since this is supposed to be a legal blog, there are a few things that you should know about the disposition of a corpse in Massachusetts. Under Massachusetts law your corpse is not the property of your executor or your probate estate. Your corpse belongs to your next of kin. Effectively there is an order of degrees or relations that Massachusetts law requires you to follow. Your spouse has first claim to your corpse (even that 24 hour romance in Vegas counts). We have had many a case of the new spouse (often known as the StepMonster, not to be confused with the Green Monster) burying or cremating their spouse completely contrary to the wishes of the family (and even the deceased spouse). After the spouse, the children have collective priority, an issue when they do not agree as to the disposition of the corpse. The most famous case happened in Red Sox Nation, when Ted Williams' family needed to go to probate court to decide whether the splendid splinter would be frozen or cremated. My advice as a lawyer is to pre-pay for your funeral. I have only had a couple of cases where the family would rather pay from their inheritance to arrange burial instead of taking the freebie.
NOTE - The response to the blog has been overwhelming, from best we can tell there are hundreds of regular readers already. I apologize again for using some words a little too much (you know the words: probate; Massachusetts law; Boston lawyer; real estate; estate planning; elder law; Medicaid), we expect that this will no longer be so necessary as the blog is added to its own server and web site soon. I also promise to bring you entries that relate to your interests and concerns. To do this, I need your input and ideas. Feel free to email me at Gosselin@GosselinLaw.com or add comments.
PS - The new building is near getting its permits, we expect the construction trailer to be on site next week and the fun to get started. To those that do not know, Gosselin & Associates, P.C. (from now forward to be known publicly as "Gosselin Law") is creating the largest and most modern law office ever in Winchester, Massachusetts (hey, can't fault me for bragging a little!). Seriously, we will have about 8,000sf of space, a conference facility seating about 60, several conference rooms, a full service kitchen, a gym with a personal trainer on staff, a children's room, all on site storage and a great parking lot - even a dog yard for my Australian Shepherd. My big headache at the moment is trying to figure out the difference between "Whisper Sage" and "Dusty Hemlock", those who know what this means, know what I mean. More construction updates as I get them. We hope to move in October or November.
