For Professional Advisors
We work closely with financial advisors, CPAs, elder care managers, social workers, and other professionals whose clients need estate planning and elder law counsel. We welcome referrals and treat every referred client the way we would want our own clients treated.
Who We Work With
Our clients come to us through many channels, but some of our most valuable relationships are with professionals in adjacent fields who encounter estate planning and elder law needs every day.
Financial Advisors & Wealth Managers
Beneficiary designations, trust coordination, estate tax exposure, and business succession planning all intersect directly with portfolio management. We work alongside financial advisors to make sure the legal and investment sides of a client's plan are aligned.
CPAs & Accountants
Estate tax planning, charitable giving strategies, business succession, and the tax implications of trust structures all require close coordination between legal and tax counsel. We work regularly with CPAs and welcome the collaboration.
Elder Care Managers & Geriatric Care Managers
Families navigating care decisions often discover, too late, that legal and financial planning has not kept pace. We work with elder care managers who identify clients in need of MassHealth planning, durable powers of attorney, or guardianship proceedings.
Hospital & Facility Social Workers
A discharge to a nursing facility often triggers an urgent need for MassHealth planning. We are experienced in crisis planning and responsive to time-sensitive situations. Social workers who identify families without a plan in place are among our most important referral partners.
Therapists & Mental Health Professionals
Clients managing a family member's cognitive decline, disability, or mental health condition often need special needs trusts, guardianship, or elder law counsel. We approach these situations with the sensitivity they require.
Home Care & Assisted Living Professionals
Families who are beginning to plan for long-term care, or are already in the middle of it, frequently need legal guidance on MassHealth, VA benefits, and asset protection. We work well with care agencies and senior living communities who identify these needs early.
How We Work Together
Our goal is to be the kind of referral partner you are glad to have: responsive, professional, and consistent in the care we give to every client you send us.
You Identify the Need
You are often the first professional to notice that a client's estate plan is missing, outdated, or inadequate for their situation. That observation, shared in a conversation or a referral, is the most important step. We make the rest easy.
We Take It from There
Call us directly, have your client call us, or send a brief note through our contact page. We follow up promptly, handle scheduling, and ensure the client has a clear sense of what to expect before the first meeting. Initial consultation: $250.
We Keep You in the Loop
With the client's permission, we are happy to coordinate with you throughout the planning process, particularly when the legal work touches on the financial or care decisions you are managing alongside us. We do not work in a silo.
Your Client Comes Back to You Better Served
We handle the legal work; your relationship with the client is yours. We do not cross into financial planning, investment advice, or the services your practice provides. A client with a completed estate plan is a better client for every advisor they work with.
Common Referral Situations
These are the circumstances where advisors most often identify a client who needs us.
- Client has no will, power of attorney, or health care proxy
- Client's documents are more than seven years old
- Client recently married, divorced, widowed, or had children
- Estate may be subject to Massachusetts estate tax
- Beneficiary designations are out of date or inconsistent with the plan
- Client owns real estate in more than one state
- Client has a child or dependent with a disability
- Client is a business owner without a buy-sell agreement
- Parent or spouse entering assisted living or a nursing facility
- Family is concerned about MassHealth eligibility and spend-down
- Client or spouse is a veteran who may qualify for Aid & Attendance
- Family member has been diagnosed with dementia or early cognitive decline
- Client needs a guardian or conservator appointed
- Executor or administrator needs help with probate after a death
- Client wants to include charitable giving in their estate plan
- Surviving spouse needs to review and update a plan after a loss
About Our Practice
DaltonMurray is a Massachusetts family law and estate planning firm. Topsfield is our main office, and appointments can be made in Gloucester and North Andover. We serve clients throughout the North Shore, the Merrimack Valley, and Greater Cape Ann.
Bridget Murray has practiced estate planning for twenty-five years, with a focus on trusts, trust administration, special needs trusts, and estate tax planning. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Essex County and Merrimack Valley Estate Planning Councils.
Heather Dennehy focuses on probate and estate administration, plan reviews and updates, and ongoing client relationships. She brings significant prior experience from her own estate planning practice and from Dalton & Finegold in Andover.
We take the time to explain the planning process clearly, involve clients in decisions about their own plan, and deliver work that is complete, accurate, and on time. That consistency is what makes a referral relationship worth maintaining.
Reach Out Directly
The fastest way to make a referral is to call or email us directly. If you would like to introduce a client who needs immediate attention, particularly in a MassHealth or elder law situation, please call. We respond to urgent situations promptly.
You can also use our contact form. Just mention that you are a professional making a referral and we will follow up with you directly.
Send a Message