Trust and Estates Paralegal

Overview

This role provides support to attorneys within the trusts and estates practice. The successful candidate will bring a minimum of five (5) years of recent experience in a comparable position. The paralegal must demonstrate strong organizational and case-management skills, the ability to support multiple attorneys at once, and the capacity to manage varied and competing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Managing trust and estate administration matters for complex and taxable estates, including preparation and filing of Massachusetts probate forms.
• Assisting attorneys with the preparation of Massachusetts and federal estate tax returns and gift tax returns (familiarity with MassTaxConnect and GEMS software is a plus).
• Communicating directly with clients, fiduciaries, financial advisors, accountants, and other third parties (including requests for date-of-death valuations and appraisals, and correspondence with probate courts).
• Supporting attorneys with estate planning matters, including client intake, preparation of engagement letters, explanatory correspondence, and funding instructions.
• Drafting and proofreading related estate planning documents such as durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, living wills, HIPAA authorizations, and basic funding documents.
• Retrieving deeds from online registries and preparing deeds, trustee certificates, and homestead declarations in connection with estate planning.
• Maintaining calendars and tracking key deadlines, including probate filings, tax filing and payment deadlines for estates and trusts, and estate plan execution dates.

Qualifications

• At least five (5) years of experience as a paralegal in a law firm, with a focus on estate planning and/or probate and trust administration.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, excellent proofreading abilities, and close attention to detail.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel), document management systems such as NetDocs, and working with PDF documents.
• Outstanding organizational skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Professional and courteous demeanor when interacting with clients, families, and advisors.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive information.
• Willingness to learn new skills and adapt to changing processes and workflows.

Competitive benefits package, including comprehensive health insurance coverage and a 401(k) retirement plan.