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Ken W. Shulman – Partner

Professional Experience

Ken Shulman's general estate planning practice includes estate planning and related issues for elders and for families who have disabled children. He is a former board member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Ken regularly speaks to consumer groups, professionals in the field, and others interested in issues related to aging, disability, advocacy, financial planning, and the preservation of government entitlements. He previously served as a board member for several human service agencies, including the Greater Boston ARC. He has also served as a consultant to the Massachusetts Office of Handicapped Affairs, the Massachusetts Disability Law Center, and the Massachusetts Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee. Currently he is cochairman of the Elder and Disability Planning Committee of the Boston Bar Association, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Asperger's Association of New England and he serves on the Combined Jewish Philanthropies Committee on Disabilities and on its Committee on Caring and Social Justice. Ken frequently represents clients in guardianship matters and often serves as a Trustee for families.

Ken is a frequent participant in lawyer training sessions sponsored by the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education organization and a regular contributor to their publications, having cochaired conferences on estate planning and preserving eligibility for government benefits for elderly and disabled clients. He has been a featured speaker on Medicare and Medicaid Liens in Personal Injury Cases at several MCLE Elder & Disability Law Conferences and he is the author of the chapter entitled "Planning for the Disabled Child" in Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts, MCLE (revised 2007). He is a regular speaker on various legal issues affecting the elderly and disabled at seminars sponsored by the Suffolk University Law School, Center for Advanced Legal Studies, the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and PESI. Recent presentations have included seminars on preserving public benefits when settling personal injury lawsuits. Ken recently co-authored Managing a Special Needs Trust: A Guide for Trustees, DisABILITIESBOOKS, Inc. (2012).

Ken also has extensive experience in real estate and business matters in addition to his estate planning practice. He is an approved attorney for First American Title Insurance Company and several other title insurance companies and has represented real estate developers, purchasers and sellers, as well as other financial institutions in real estate financing transactions.

Practice Areas

• Disabilities and Special Needs Planning
• LGBT Planning
• Probate Litigation / Probate Controversies
• Trust Services and Fiduciary Compliance
• Trusts and Estates

News, Publications & Presentations

• Speaker, "How to Draft a Trust That Works," Massachusetts Bar Association, November 2012
• Featured, "Ninety-eight Day Pitney Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers," Day Pitney Press Release, October 22, 2012
• Speaker, "Trust Administration for Disabled Minors and Adults," Massachusetts Bar Association, September 19, 2012
• Speaker, "Taxation of Special Needs Trusts," ABA Section of Taxation and Section of Real Property Joint Fall CLE Meeting, September 14, 2012
• Featured, "Seventy-Five Day Pitney Lawyers Named to Best Lawyers List for 2013," Day Pitney Press Release, August 23, 2012
• Panelist, "Planning for a Lifetime: An Integrated Approach to Special Needs Planning," Boston Estate Planning Council, January 26, 2012
• Speaker, "The Dark Side of SNTs," National Aging & Law Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, November 2011
• Featured, "Fifty Day Pitney Attorneys Recognized as Super Lawyers," Day Pitney Press Release, October 24, 2011
• Speaker, "Financial and Legal Planning," Aspergers Association of New England, Annual Conference, October 2011
• Speaker, "Special Needs Planning," Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorney, September 2011
• Speaker, "Special Needs Trust Administration," Suffolk Law Institute, March 2011
• Chairperson, MCLE all day conference on elder and disability issues, March 2011
• Speaker, "Public Benefits and Special Needs Trusts," Boston Bar Association, March 2011
• Speaker, "Special Needs Planning," MCLE Conference on Special Needs Planning, February 2011
• Speaker, "Special Needs Planning," Aspergers Conference, Wellesley, Massachusetts, January 2011
• Featured, "Fifty-seven Day Pitney Attorneys Recognized as Super Lawyers; Six Additional Lawyers Recognized as 'Rising Stars'," Day Pitney Press Release, November 12, 2010
• "Planning Options with Retirement Benefits," The Voice, Special Needs Alliance, September 2010
• Co-author, "Managing a Special Needs Trust: A Guide for Trustees," DisABILITIESBOOKS, Inc., 2010
• "The Aging Parent and the Child with Disabilities," Exceptional Parent Magazine, November 2009
• Featured, "Fifty-six Day Pitney Partners Recognized as New England Super Lawyers," Day Pitney Press Release, October 30, 2009
• Speaker, "Special Needs Trusts: What estate planners, elder lawyers, and personal injury lawyers need to know," Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, June 25 & July 16, 2009
• Speaker, "Lien Claimants & the Preservation of Benefits in Personal Injury Settlements: Structuring the settlement and drafting trusts to preserve benefits," Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, May 13, 2009
• Featured, "Day Pitney Elevates Nine Attorneys to Partner," Day Pitney Press Release, February 12, 2009
• "Estate Planning Update," Day Pitney Newsletter, December 2008
• Author, "The aging parent and disabled child: estate-planning issues," Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, September 27, 2008
• Speaker, Special Needs Alliance Conference, New Orleans, 2008
• Speaker, "Health Care at End of Life: Navigating Legal Challenges in Planning, Payment and Treatment," Boston Bar Association CLE Seminar, November 6, 2007
• Speaker, "Administration of Self-Settled Special Needs Trusts," Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, April 30, 2007
• Panelist, "Integrating Real Estate and Estate Planning Practice," CLE Seminar, Boston Bar Association, April 26, 2007
• Faculty, "Special Needs Planning Seminar," Newton, Massachusetts, April 25, 2007
• Speaker, "Drafting and Administering Special Needs Trusts," Estate Planning Council of Berkshire County, Pittsfield, MA, November 30, 2006
• Speaker, "Special Needs Planning - The Basics," Boston Bar Association, Boston, MA, October 25, 2006
• Speaker, "Will the Proposed [and Actual] Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid Changes Affect Your Estate Plan?" Newton-Wellesley Hospital, MA, October 21, 2006

Education

• Boston University School of Law, J.D., 1974
• Northwestern University, B.A., with Distinction, 1971

Admissions

• Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Awards and Achievements

• Recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer, 2005-2013


• Chosen for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Elder Law, 2013


• Special Needs Alliance, member