THE MALDEN ADVOCATE - Friday, August 4, 2017
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VOTERS | SEE PAGE 1 Gray and Jerry Leone, who currently represents Ward 6 on the School Committee, all hope to fill the seat left vacant by former Councillor Neil Kinnon, who abruptly resigned at the end of June. The three candidates were drawn into the race by different concerns and circumstances. For Camell, it was the growing gap he sees between residents and local government. “I want to be a voice for the community on the council,� he said. “I want to make sure that people have the ability to access their government and that everyone is heard.� Gray said several issues and City Hall decisions made over
the past decade convinced him to run for the Ward 6 seat, “I felt a change was needed,� he said. “Something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. So, I stepped in.� Leone originally intended to run for a third term on the School Committee, but he shifted course when Kinnon resigned. “I had always planned on running for City Council whenever Councillor Kinnon was finished serving,� he said. Leone hopes to parlay the knowledge and experience he has gained on the School Committee into a broader role that will offer more opportunities to serve the Maplewood community. “It was the right time to run,� he said.
The candidates share similar views on some of the big issues in Ward 6 and on some of the major challenges affecting the entire city. The decision to close the Maplewood Fire Station back in 2011 hit Ward 6 hard. Although city officials said the building had deteriorated beyond repair, Maplewood residents saw the shutdown as a huge loss that compromised public safety. “We have a shared fire station with Revere but a lot of people are uncomfortable with that,� said Camell. Gray said the decision to close the station is still a sore point for a lot of residents, and opening a new satellite station in Ward 6 would bolster the neighborhood. Camell and Le-
Joseph D. Cataldo “YOUR FINANCIAL FOCUS�
TRUST PLANNING irtually no one wants to bequeath and devise assets to their children only to subsequently find out that those hard-earned assets are later to be lost in a divorce. One way to deal with this possibility is to leave these assets to your children via a trust. A properly drafted trust is more about providing children flexibility and protection with the hope of not creating unmanageable limitations. Most people look to set up a trust that ends at some particular point in time, typically when a parent feels the child will be mature enough to handle money. In many cases, one third of the trust estate is distributed at age 25, another third at age 30 and a final third at age 35. Others prefer one half at age 30 and the remaining trust assets at age 35. Typically, upon the death of both parents, a child who is old enough and mature enough will be named a successor trustee to carry out the terms of the trust. If the child has not reached a certain age and a certain level of maturity, the parents will often appoint a third party trustee to administer the terms of the trust and to make distributions on behalf of the child such as for health expenses, educational expenses, housing expenses, etc. Parents are often concerned that if assets are distributed directly to children upon death, any one of the children could subsequently get divorced only to see those inherited assets become part of a divorce proceeding. Leaving assets to children via a trust does have the benefit of “spendthrift� provisions designed to provide better protection to the children in the event of an ongoing divorce proceeding or pri-
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or to such a proceeding when things aren’t going so well in the marriage. Consequently, depending on the particular family and all of its dynamics, a family trust could be drafted to last longer, long after a child reaches the age of say 35. This is another reason why in some situations, naming a third party trustee might be better than naming a child as trustee. If the child has discretion to make distributions to himself or herself upon the death of both parents, then a probate judge in a divorce proceeding might order the child to make such a distribution representing that child’s share of the parent’s estate, thereby bringing those assets into the divorce proceeding. Trusts can often be classified based upon their distribution provisions as being either support trusts or discretionary trusts. Each state varies in its interpretation of the trust terms. Discretionary trusts will tend to protect children in the event of a future divorce and the potential alimony and child support issues inherent in such a proceeding. A support trust may very well cause a problem for a child because the court may require the trustee to make a distribution from the trust in order to satisfy what the court believes to be a “support� obligation of the child, whether it be in the form of alimony or child support. Consequently, a pure “discretionary� trust would seem to offer the most protection in these situations with a third party trustee serving as opposed to a child (particularly the child that would most likely be the one to be involved in such a proceeding based upon facts and circumstances known
one agreed a substation in Maplewood an idea worth exploring. “I think we can look at safety statistics and reports and at least get the conversation going,� said Camell. Leone said he read recently that Mayor Gary Christenson is open to the possibility of a fire station on the east side of the city. “I’m all for that,� he said. “That’s something that really interests me.� The three candidates also have similar outlooks on residential development and open space. “We have over 1,000 new apartments coming in, and people are already complaining about crowding at the T Station,� said Gray, adding that the city doesn’t seem to have a plan to handle the growth. “I have a plan,� said Gray. “Slow this down. Stop building until we can figure out a way to absorb all these people.� Leone said residents in Ward 6 and throughout Malden have
made it clear that they want the city to rein in residential development. If elected, he plans to propose new ordinances that will strengthen efforts to control residential growth. “We are at 63,000 people and we don’t want to see Malden grow to more than 75,000,� he said. “Growth is choking the city.� Camell said the city should shift its focus from residential to commercial growth. “Commercial development generates tax revenue without burdening city services and schools,� he said, adding that more businesses could and should be encouraged to set up shop in Maplewood Square. “We could have a thriving and sustainable commercial center and create new jobs,� he said. The candidates are also on the same page when it comes to High Rock, Maplewood’s eight-acre parcel of rugged open space. They agree High
VOTERS | SEE PAGE 15
- LEGAL NOTICE -
to the parents at the time of the trust creation). A traditional “support� trust might not always be the way to go, as including language in such a trust that states that the child’s “standard of living� is to be maintained, might somehow lead a court to interpret that language as equating to an obligation on the part of a trustee to make a distribution to a child in order to satisfy an alimony or child support obligation. This is in contrast to simply providing income or principal to the child in order that the child have sufficient assets in order to be able to pay for his or her own food, shelter, medical expenses, etc. In our litigious society, we all have to be very concerned with lawsuits originating from any source and the more protection contained in a trust (some may argue) the better, even at the expense of limiting children’s access to the trust assets for which the parents funded into trust for their benefit. In any event, it is important to make informed decisions. What’s right for one family is not necessarily right for another family. Different circumstances, beliefs and ideologies will surely result in different choices for each family. And in the end there are never any guarantees.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS THE TRIAL COURT PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT Middlesex Probate and Family Court 208 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02141 (617) 768-5800 Docket No. MI167P3824EA Estate of: LEONARD J. MEDEIROS Date of Death: 04/15/2017 CITATION ON PETITION FOR FORMAL ADJUDICATION To all interested persons: A petition for Formal Adjudication of Intestacy and Appointment of Personal Representative has EHHQ ÂżOHG E\ Joseph L. Medeiros of Saugus, MA and Michael D. Medeiros of Lynn, MA requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order and for such other relief as requested in the Petition. The Petitioner requests that: Joseph L. Medeiros of Saugus, MA and Michael D. Medeiros of Lynn, MA be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve Without Surety on the bond in an unsupervised administration. IMPORTANT NOTICE You have the right to obtain a copy of the Petition from the Petitioner or at the Court. You have a right to object WR WKLV SURFHHGLQJ 7R GR VR \RX RU \RXU DWWRUQH\ PXVW ÂżOH a written appearance and objection at this Court before: 10:00 a.m. on the return day of 08/25/2017. This is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline by which you PXVW ÂżOH D ZULWWHQ DSSHDUDQFH DQG REMHFWLRQ LI \RX REMHFW WR WKLV SURFHHGLQJ ,I \RX IDLO WR ÂżOH D WLPHO\ ZULWWHQ DSSHDUDQFH DQG REMHFWLRQ IROORZHG E\ DQ $ŕľśGDYLW RI 2EMHFWLRQV ZLWKLQ thirty (30) days of the return day, action may be taken without further notice to you. UNSUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE MASSACHUSETTS UNIFORM PROBATE CODE (MUPC) A Personal Representative appointed under the MUPC in an XQVXSHUYLVHG DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ LV QRW UHTXLUHG WR ÂżOH DQ LQYHQtory or annual accounts with the Court. Persons interested in the estate are entitled to notice regarding the administration directly from the Personal Representative and may petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including the distribution of assets and expenses of administration. WITNESS, Hon. Edward F. Donnelly, Jr., First Justice of this Court. Date: July 28, 2017
TARA E. DeCRISTOFARO REGISTER OF PROBATE August 4, 2017