Trust and Estates Legal Assistant

Job Description:

Legal Assistant – Trusts & Estates

This role provides administrative and legal 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 legal assistant or administrative support role within a law firm. The legal assistant must demonstrate strong organizational and case-management skills, the ability to support multiple attorneys simultaneously, and the capacity to manage varied and competing priorities.

• Managing trust and estate administration matters, including preparation and filing of Massachusetts probate court forms.
• Communicating directly with clients, fiduciaries, financial advisors, and other third parties, including requests for date-of-death valuations, appraisals, and correspondence with probate courts.
• Supporting attorneys with estate planning matters, including client intake, preparation of engagement letters, explanatory correspondence, and estate planning funding instructions.
• Drafting, revising, and proofreading 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, court deadlines, and estate plan execution dates.
• Organizing and maintaining client files and records in document management systems.
• Assisting with general administrative tasks related to the trusts and estates practice, including scheduling, correspondence, and document preparation.

• At least five (5) years of experience as a legal assistant or similar role 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 Net Documents, 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 professional advisors.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive and personal 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.