Brad Bedingfield testified on behalf of the Boston Bar Association in favor of Bill S. 872 at the Massachusetts Legislature Joint Committee on the Judiciary on Tuesday, July 23, 2019.
S. 872 seeks to make corrections to the adopted children’s act. The bill would make Massachusetts law regarding inclusion of adopted descendants as trust beneficiaries consistent with the ruling of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s in Bird v. BNY Mellon, 463 Mass. 299 (2012), eliminating the current uncertainty caused by the continued existence of a statute that the SJC has determined to be unconstitutional under the facts in the Bird case.
Brad Bedingfield is a former Co-Chair of the Public Policy Committee, Trusts & Estates Section of the Boston Bar Association. At Hemenway & Barnes, Brad advises private clients on securing their long-term goals related to preserving and protecting their wealth and executing their philanthropic endeavors. He counsels families on structured charitable giving, estate planning and lifetime gifting strategies. He is also Co-Chair of the firm’s Nonprofit Group.
