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Robert J. Morrill has a broad based trust and estate practice including estate planning, trust and estate administration, trust and estate dispute resolution and appellate advocacy. Robert's clients have come to rely on his ability to explain complicated legal issues in plain English and act as a true counselor. Whether it involves establishing or modifying an estate plan, administering an estate or trust, or resolving disputes, Robert is expert at provideing practical legal advice to ensure his clients' objectives are clearly defined and achieved.
Representative Experiences
Estate Planning for Individuals and Families
Robert has vast experience working with individuals and families to address important tax and family issues. Whether it involves reducing exposure to estate taxes, finding efficient ways to transfer wealth during life or addressing a client's concerns about a child or other relative, Robert understands it is critical to listen first, indentify the concerns and then advise on otpions to address those concerns.
Estate Planning for Owners of Closely Held Family Businesses
Robert represents many owners of closely held family businesses and helps them plan for both lifetime and testamentary transtion of the business. Robert is experienced in advising owners of closely held businesses on the wide reange of issues involved with such a transition including estate and gift tax ramifications, methods to keep control in the family and avoid disputes among the next generation and finding ways to provide for family members not involved in the business.
Estate Administration
Robert works closely with his clients to help them through the estate administration process. While many complicated legal issues must be addressed to properly administer estates, Robert understands that an equally important part of his role is acting as a guide to help families through a foreign and emotional process.
Probate Dispute Resolution
It is an unfortunate reality that disputes often arise during the administration of an estate or trust. While zealously advocating for the interests of his clients, Robert believes that, in most cases, clients are much better served if disputes can be resolved without resort to costly litigation. Robert has successfully represented beneficiaries, trustees and executors in a wide range of disputes. This has involved challenging, and defending challenges to, the validity of wills and the appointment of certain individuals as executors, challenging and defending the accounts of executors and trustees, and resolving a variety of disputes centered on the proper administration of estates and trusts.
Many trust related disputes flow from defective or ambiguous trust documents. Robert has resolved such disputes by obtaining judicial reformation of defective trusts and declaratory judgments confirming his clients' interpretation of ambiguous language in trusts.
Appellate Advocacy
In a case where he obtained dismissal of a claim against an out of state business owner in the Superior Court, Robert persuaded the Supreme Judicial Court to review the Appeals Court’s subsequent reversal of that Superior Court dismissal. The Supreme Judicial Court subsequently ruled that the Superior Court Judge had correctly granted the Motion to Dismiss presented by Robert, allowing Robert’s out of state client to avoid litigation in Massachusetts.
Robert successfully represented in the Appeals Court a homeowner against a creditor seeking to take ownership of her home. Arguring a novel issue of law, Robert persuaded the Appeals Court that his client a widow should not lose her home due to debts accrued by her late husband.
Recognition
Robert has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Boston Magazine's list of Massachusetts "Super Lawyers." Robert lectures frequently for MCLE and various bar associations on a wide range of trust and estate related topics, and has been quoted in various bar associations on a wide range of topics and has been quoted in various publications including The Wall Street Journal and the Boston Business Journal. He is a member of the American and Massachusetts Bar Assocaitons and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
 rmorrill@grcpc.com
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