Brian E. Barreira

Specializing in Legal Issues Involving Death, Taxation and Disability, Including Estate Planning, Probate, Trusts, Estate and Gift Taxation, MassHealth Applications and Appeals, Guardianship, Conservatorship, Contested Trusts and Estates, Special Needs & Elder Law

Since 1996, the Law Offices of Brian E. Barreira have provided legal services to individuals, married couples, senior citizens, business owners, disabled persons and their families in the areas of estate planning (including wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, buy-sell agreements and prenuptial/postnuptial agreements), long-term care planning (including MassHealth), governmental benefits planning (including SSI), estate and gift tax matters and Probate Court issues (including estates, trusts, will contests, conservatorships and guardianships). An early leader in the development of elder law as a legal specialty, Brian served during 1990-1996 as the first Chair of the Elder Law Committee of the American Bar Association’s General Practice Section. He has also served as President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Attorneys, and as Chair of the Committee on Long-Term Health Care Issues of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section. After certification of elder law attorneys became available through the National Elder Law Foundation, Brian served on its Examination and Grading Committees. Among Brian’s diverse experiences, he has served as a background source on elder financial abuse reports for the Boston Globe Spotlight Team and 60 Minutes; as an undercover informant for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in shutting down an organization that was fraudulently selling trusts to senior citizens; and as an expert witness in a recent case opposing the fees of two lawyers who attempted to charge over $500,000 for an 83-day temporary guardianship. Brian is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers in the fields of “Elder Law” and “Trusts & Estates, Wills & Probate.” He has been selected as a Massachusetts SuperLawyer in 2009-2021. Brian has been published nationally and in Massachusetts numerous times, and has updated many of those articles and posted them at his main blog, ElderLaw.info. Prior to opening his own law office in 1996, Brian worked for 11+ years settling complex estates at State Street Bank and Trust Company in Boston, Massachusetts and practicing estate planning, probate and elder law for law firms in Boston and Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Attorney Barreira’s main blog, ElderLaw.info, and his secondary blog, MassHealth.info, are two of most accessed blogs on elder law in the United States, with over 570,000 pages visited since they began.

Although Massachusetts does not recognize legal specialties for certification, since 1996 Attorney Barreira has been a Certified Elder Law Attorney. The certification was conducted by the non-profit National Elder Law Foundation, the only national organization accredited by the American Bar Association to certify attorneys in elder law. Attorney Barreira has since that time participated in the National Elder Law Foundation through writing examination questions and grading examinations.

Professional Activities

CURRENT PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
Massachusetts Bar Association, Probate Law Section.

OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Member, Board of Directors, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 2019-present.
Chair, Program Committee, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 1999-2005.
Member, Program Committee, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 2000-2001.
President, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 1994.
Chair, Elder Law Committee, General Practice Section of American Bar Association, 1990-1995.
Chair, Long-Term Health Care Issues Committee, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of American Bar Association, 1992-1995.
Member, Probate Law Section Council, Massachusetts Bar Association, 1993-94, 1995-96.
Member, By-Laws Committee, General Practice Section of American Bar Association, 1994.
Tax Editor, NAELA Quarterly, 1991-94.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Moderator/Speaker, 20th Annual Elder & Disability Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Boston, MA, 2019.
Speaker, The Latest in Irrevocable Trust Cases, 16th Annual Elder & Disability Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Boston, MA, 2015.
Moderator/speaker, Irrevocable Trusts: The Empire Strikes Back, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Newton, MA, 2014.
Moderator/speaker, Analysis of the Tax Aspects of Various Types of Transfers of the Home by Unmarried persons, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Newton, MA, 2013.
Moderator/speaker, Using and Defending Irrevocable Trusts, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Newton, MA, 2012.
Speaker, Pearls and Gems from Past Presidents, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Newton, MA, 2007.
Author/Speaker/Moderator, An Analysis of Various Types of Transfers of the Home: Tax and Medicaid Issues, NAELA Institute, St. Louis, MO, 2001
Speaker, Estate, Tax and Health Care Planning for the Terminally Ill Client, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston, MA, 2000.
Author/Speaker, Gifting Powers and Other Drafting Concerns with Powers of Attorney, Elder Law Institute, Colorado Springs, CO, 2000.
Speaker, Tax, Trust and Health Care Planning for the Terminally Ill Client, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Newton, MA, 1999.
Author/Speaker, Tax Traps for the Unwary, Suffolk University Elder Law Institute, Boston, MA, 1998.
Moderator/Speaker, A Foundation for the Principal Residence: Tax, Long-Term Care, Marital and Creditor Protection Issues, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston, MA, 1997.
Moderator/Speaker, Estate Planning for Incapacitated Persons in the Probate Court, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston, MA, 1996.
Moderator/Speaker, Estate Planning for the Disabled Beneficiary, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Boston, MA, 1995, 1996.
Speaker, Estate Planning Basics, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Boston, MA, 1995.
Author/Speaker, Basic Tax Planning for the Principal Residence, Elder Law Symposium, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, New York City, NY, 1995.
Speaker, Using Testamentary Trusts in Medicaid and Tax Planning, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Newton, MA, 1995.
Author/Speaker, Long-Term Care Insurance: Asset Protection or Needless Product, Suffolk University Elder Law Institute, Boston, MA, 1995.
Moderator/Author/Speaker, Preserving and Transferring the Principal Residence, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Taunton/Peabody/Boston, MA, 1994.
Speaker, Last-Minute Medicaid and Tax Planning Options When One Spouse Is Entering a Nursing Home, Massachusetts Bar Association, Newton, MA, 1993.
Author/Speaker, Trust & Tax Issues in Transferring Principal Residence, Elder Law Symposium, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Atlanta, GA, 1993.
Speaker, An Introduction to Elder Law: A Practice Concentration Comes of Age, Annual Meeting of American Bar Association, San Francisco, CA, 1992.
Speaker, Elder Care Planning, Annual Advanced Estate Planning Conference, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, San Diego, CA, 1991.
Speaker, Love, Trust & Money in the Golden & Silver Years: Divorce, Taxation & Medicaid Issues, Annual Meeting of American Bar Association, Atlanta, GA, 1991.
Author/Speaker, Medicaid and Long-Term Health Care Planning: A Primer to Counseling Clients in Their Prime, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Worcester, MA, 1991.
Author/Speaker, Federal Taxation of Gifts and Trusts in the Elder Law Context, Elder Law Symposium, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Orlando, FL, 1991.
Speaker, The Use of the Irrevocable Trust in Medicaid Planning and the Tax Implications Thereof, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Waltham, MA, 1990.
Author/Speaker, The Use of Trusts in the Elder Law Practice, Elder Law Symposium, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, San Diego, CA, 1990.

PUBLISHED WORK

Tax Considerations Regarding Trusts, Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts, MCLE Book Publications, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 2015.
A Rebuttal to the Reckless Misrepresentation of Federal Medicaid Trust Law by the Office of Medicaid, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 2015.
Proper Medicaid Planning Can Keep the Home in the Family, Estate Planning, 2001.
Tax Traps for the Unwary, Suffolk University Elder Law Institute, 1998.
Using a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust to Pay for Long-Term Care Insurance, Estate Planning, 1997.
An Overview of Estate Planning on Behalf of Incompetent Persons, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 1995.
Long-Term Care Insurance – A Necessary Option to Consider, NAELA News, 1995.
Estate Planning on Behalf of Incompetent Persons, Massachusetts Bar Association Probate Law Section News, 1995.
Charitable Remainder Trust Allows Sale of Appreciated Assets Without Capital Gains Tax, NAELA Quarterly, 1993.
Using Special Powers of Appointment in Medicaid Planning, NAELA Quarterly, 1992.
Your Client’s Right to Say No: A Nursing Home Is Not Inevitable, Especially If the Goal Is Home Health Care, The Compleat Lawyer, 1992.
Checklist: Medicaid Planning for Married Couples, The Compleat Lawyer, 1992.
Using Long-Term Care Insurance to Cover the Medicaid Disqualification Period, The Briefcase, 1992.
Using Annuities in Conjunction with Long-Term Care Insurance, Elder Law Committee Update, 1991.
Combining Long-Term Care Insurance with an Immediate Lifetime Annuity,” NAELA Quarterly, 1991.
Structuring Intrafamily Sales Requires Attention to Federal Tax Consequences, NAELA Quarterly, 1991.
Medicaid Trusts: Resolving the Income Tax Issues, Estate Planning, 1991.
A Medicaid Trust Checklist, The Practical Lawyer, 1991.
Counseling the Client on the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (with Forms), The Practical Lawyer, 1990.
Despite Medicaid Transfer Restrictions, the Home May Still Be Kept in the Family, Estate Planning, 1990.
Using Special Powers in Medicaid Trusts, Probate & Property, 1990.
Using Reserved Special Powers of Appointment in Medicaid Planning, The ElderLaw Report, 1990.
Despite Medicaid Transfer Restrictions, Late Transfers Can Save the Home, The Briefcase, 1990.
An Irrevocable Grantor Trust Can Assure Eligibility for Medicaid, Estate Planning, 1989.

Articles

Below are some older articles from Attorney Brian E. Barreira. More recent articles of his are published at his blogs, including ElderLaw.info and MassHealth.info.

Brian E. Barreira

Professional Activities

Articles

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