A financial advisor's role in estate planning is coordination. At MSA Financial, that may include reviewing beneficiary designations, organizing trust-funding follow-up, and preparing questions for your CPA. Your estate attorney provides legal advice and drafts documents, and your CPA advises on taxes. Michael Cammarata, CFP®, is neither an attorney nor a CPA.
Estate documents and financial accounts are handled by different professionals, and the details between them can be easy to miss. Michael Cammarata, CFP®, acts as a central point of contact for the financial side of that picture, helping connect your portfolio with the attorney and CPA you engage. The items below describe what that coordination may include.
Compare the beneficiaries named on retirement accounts, insurance, and other accounts with your signed estate documents, so differences can be raised with your attorney.
Organize account registrations and ownership details so that retitling steps your attorney identifies can be tracked and completed. A trust document alone may not address assets that were never retitled.
Keep decisions about taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts in context with estate planning questions that your CPA may want to evaluate.
Flag financial events, such as large distributions or property sales, that may affect tax questions, so your CPA can weigh in before decisions are made.
Coordination does not replace your other professionals. Some responsibilities remain with them, and you choose and engage each one directly.
Provides legal advice, decides which legal structures may fit your family, and drafts wills, trusts, and other legal documents.
Provides tax advice, determines how tax rules apply to your situation, and prepares tax returns.
MSA Financial is not a law firm or an accounting firm. Michael Cammarata is not an attorney or CPA. He does not provide legal or tax advice, draft legal documents, or prepare tax returns. If you do not yet have an attorney or CPA, he can share referrals to independent Massachusetts professionals, and you decide whom to engage.
Gather accounts, ownership, beneficiaries, and current estate documents in one place.
Provide financial information your attorney and CPA may use when evaluating options.
Follow up on retitling and beneficiary items identified by your attorney and CPA.
Update the picture as assets, family priorities, or Massachusetts rules change.
Two Massachusetts features often shape these conversations. First, the state's estate tax filing threshold is $2,000,000, which is lower than the federal threshold. According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Estate Tax Guide (updated April 23, 2026; reviewed October 7, 2026), a return is required for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2023 when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $2,000,000, and a credit of $99,600 applies. The guide also notes that the calculation steps changed for decedents dying on or after August 1, 2025, so the amount of tax for any estate is a question for your attorney and CPA.
Second, Massachusetts does not offer spousal portability for its estate tax exemption, so a surviving spouse generally cannot use a deceased spouse's unused Massachusetts exemption. Married couples sometimes discuss trust structures with their attorney for this reason. For general background, read the educational A/B trust planning guide. Any structure should be evaluated and drafted by a qualified estate planning attorney.
To organize a general estimate before you speak with your professionals, use the Massachusetts estate tax calculator. It is an educational tool, not legal or tax advice.
The practice is designed for households with complex estate and tax questions that span more than one professional.
Planning questions often involve the Massachusetts estate tax and state-specific rules, which are worth reviewing with Massachusetts professionals.
The decade before retirement is often when estate, tax, and retirement income decisions begin to overlap.
MSA Financial is a fee-based, fiduciary SEC-registered investment adviser serving households in Braintree, Sandwich, Framingham, and Barnstable County, Massachusetts. A conversation can help determine whether this scope fits your circumstances. To understand what a fiduciary standard means, read the guide on what a fiduciary financial advisor is and how it differs from other advisors. For the investment side of the relationship, see our tax-efficient wealth management service. For a broader view of planning across estate, tax, retirement, and business questions, see financial planning for high-net-worth individuals. For general estate-planning education, read the Massachusetts estate planning guide.
No. An estate attorney provides legal advice and prepares legal documents such as wills and trusts. A financial advisor does not draft legal documents or give legal advice. At MSA Financial, the role is to help organize financial information and questions so that the attorney and CPA you choose can work from a more complete picture.
Depending on your situation, an advisor may help organize an account and ownership inventory, review beneficiary designations against signed documents, flag trust-funding follow-up items, consider how account decisions may interact with tax questions for your CPA, and keep timing questions visible as circumstances change. Legal and tax conclusions stay with your attorney and CPA.
Massachusetts requires an estate tax return when a decedent's gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $2,000,000, and it does not offer spousal portability of an unused exemption. Because the rules are specific and may change, questions about how they apply to your family belong with your estate attorney and CPA. As of October 7, 2026, see the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Estate Tax Guide.
This page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized legal, tax, or investment advice. Investment advisory services are offered through MSA Financial, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser (CRD #107768). MSA Financial is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Michael Cammarata is not an attorney or CPA and does not provide legal or tax advice. He does not draft legal documents or prepare tax returns. He coordinates with clients' existing estate attorneys and CPAs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances, and legal and tax advice should be obtained from your own attorney and CPA.