Practice Areas: Elder Law, Estate Planning & Probate, Administrative Law; view more
Licensed in Massachusetts since: 1985
Education: Boston University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2009 - 2024 Details
Brian E. Barreira specializes in estate planning, probate, special needs and elder law. His office is located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and represents many residents of the South Shore and Cape Cod.
Brian is the Editor of Estate Planning for the Aging and Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts. Published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, this 3-volume treatise is over 2,000 pages and is co-written by over 50 Massachusetts lawyers. Brian’s own chapters are “Trusts in the MassHealth Context” and “Taxation of Trusts.”
Brian received his JD from Boston University School of Law in 1984 and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1985. He received a Master of Laws in Taxation from Boston University School of Law in 1990. Brian began his career at State Street Bank and Trust Company settling complex estates. After 8 years of private practice as an associate with a Plymouth law firm, he set out and founded his own law practice in 1996.
Brian E. Barreira has been recognized as an exceptional lawyer by a multitude of publications and organizations, including:
- Selection to Massachusetts Super Lawyers in 2009-2022.
- Listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in the fields of “Elder Law” and “Trusts and Estates, Wills and Probate.”
- Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation since 1996. (NELF is a private, non-profit organization whose standards for certification are established by the American Bar Association but not regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.)
- Recipient of the Outstanding Chapter Member Award from the Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys in 2000, 2002, 2012 and 2014.
Brian has been published nationally in several legal journals, including Estate Planning, Probate & Property, NAELA Quarterly and The Practical Lawyer. He continuously writes and updates articles on his Massachusetts Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law blog, www.elderlaw.info. Mr. Barreira remains active in the legal community by speaking at state and national programs on elder law topics.
Practice areas
Elder Law, Estate Planning & Probate, Administrative Law, Estate & Trust LitigationFocus areas
Estate Planning, Government Benefits, Guardianships & Conservatorships, Living Wills, Power of Attorney, Probate & Estate Administration, Trusts, Will Contests, Wills
- 40% Elder Law
- 40% Estate Planning & Probate
- 10% Administrative Law
- 10% Estate & Trust Litigation
First Admitted: 1985, Massachusetts
Professional Webpage: http://www.southshoreelderlaw.com/attorney-profile.html
- Recipient, Outstanding Chapter Member Award, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 2000, 2002, 2012 and 2014
- Author/Speaker, Basic Tax Planning for the Principal Residence, Elder Law Symposium, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, New York City, NY, 1995.
- Moderator/Speaker, Estate Planning for the Disabled Beneficiary, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Boston, MA, 1995, 1996.
- Moderator/Speaker, Estate Planning for Incapacitated Persons in the Probate Court, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston, MA, 1996.
- Speaker, Tax, Trust and Health Care Planning for the Terminally Ill Client, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Newton, Massachusetts, 1999.
- Author/Speaker, Gifting Powers and Other Drafting Concerns with Powers of Attorney, Elder Law Institute, Colorado Springs, CO, 2000.
- Speaker, Estate, Tax and Health Care Planning for the Terminally Ill Client, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston, Massachusetts, 2000.
- Author, Proper Medicaid Planning Can Keep the Home in the Family, Estate Planning, 2001.
- Author, Tax Considerations Regarding Trusts, Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts, MCLE Book Publications, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 1998, 2004.
- Author, Using a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust to Pay for Long-Term Care Insurance, Estate Planning, 1997.
- Author, An Overview of Estate Planning on Behalf of Incompetent Persons, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 1995.
- Author, Using Special Powers of Appointment in Medicaid Planning, NAELA Quarterly, 1992.
- Author, 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.
- Author, An Irrevocable Grantor Trust Can Assure Eligibility for Medicaid, Estate Planning, 1989.
- Author, Despite Medicaid Transfer Restrictions, Late Transfers Can Save the Home, The Briefcase, 1990.
- Author, Using Special Powers in Medicaid Trusts, Probate & Property, 1990.
- Author, Despite Medicaid Transfer Restrictions, the Home May Still Be Kept in the Family, Estate Planning, 1990.
- Author, Counseling the Client on the Community Spouse Resource Allowance, The Practical Lawyer, 1990.
- Author, Medicaid Trusts: Resolving the Income Tax Issues, Estate Planning, 1991.
- Author, Structuring Intrafamily Sales Requires Attention to Federal Tax Consequences, NAELA Quarterly, 1991.
- Author, Using Long-Term Care Insurance to Cover the Medicaid Disqualification Period, The Briefcase, 1992
- Author, Combining Long-Term Care Insurance with an Immediate Annuity," NAELA Quarterly, 1991
- Author/Speaker, Tax Traps for the Unwary, Suffolk University Elder Law Institute, 1998.
- Author/Speaker/Moderator, An Analysis of Various Types of Transfers of the Home: Tax and Medicaid Issues, NAELA Institute, St. Louis, MO, 2001
- Author/Speaker, The Use of Trusts in the Elder Law Practice, Elder Law Symposium, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, San Diego, CA, 1990.
- 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, Love, Trust & Money in the Golden & Silver Years: Divorce, Taxation & Medicaid Issues, Annual Meeting of American Bar Association, Atlanta, GA, 1991.
- Speaker, Elder Care Planning, Annual Advanced Estate Planning Conference, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, San Diego, CA, 1991.
- Speaker, An Introduction to Elder Law: A Practice Concentration Comes of Age, Annual Meeting of American Bar Association, San Francisco, CA, 1992.
- Author/Speaker, Trust & Tax Issues in Transferring Principal Residence, Elder Law Symposium, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Atlanta, GA, 1993.
- Moderator/Author/Speaker, Preserving and Transferring the Principal Residence, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Taunton/Peabody/Boston, MA, 1994.
- Speaker, Using Testamentary Trusts in Medicaid and Tax Planning, Masachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Newton, MA, 1995.
- J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1984
- LL.M., Taxation, Boston University School of Law, 1990
- B.S., Operations Management, Boston College, 1980
- SInce 2017, Brian has been the Editor of Estate Planning for the Aging and Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts. Published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, this 3-volume treatise is over 2,000 pages and is co-written by over 50 Massachusetts lawyers. Attorney Barreira’s own chapters are “Trusts in the MassHealth Context” and “Taxation of Trusts.”, 2017
- Chair, Long-Term Health Care Issues Committee, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of American Bar Association, 1992-1995.
- Chair, Elder Law Committee, General Practice Section of American Bar Association, 1990-1995.
- U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1998
- President, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 1994.
- Massachusetts, 1985
- In Daley v. Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Supreme Judicial Court struck down the MassHealth agency's illegal treatment of irrevocable trusts., 2017
- Certified Elder Law Attorney, National Elder Law Foundation (a private entity whose standards for certification are not regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). Originally certified in 1996. Re-certified through 2026., 2021
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2009 - 2024
