Trust Attorney Serving Danvers, MA

Most people who call us about a trust say the same thing: they’ve been meaning to do this for a while. Life got busy. It felt complicated. They weren’t sure where to start.

That’s completely normal—and it’s exactly what we’re here to help with.

Jordan & White, LLC is a trust attorney firm based in Danvers, MA, serving families across the North Shore and greater Essex County. We help people set up trusts that protect their home, their savings, and their family—without the court process, the delays, and the paperwork burden that comes with settling an estate through probate.

If you’ve been thinking about this, now is a good time to take the next step. Call us at (978) 744-2811 or reach out here—we’ll walk you through what makes sense for your situation, no pressure.

What a Trust Actually Does for Your Family

A trust is a legal arrangement that holds your assets—your home, your accounts, your property—and transfers them to your family according to your instructions when you’re gone. The key difference between a trust and a will is what your family has to go through after you die.

With a will alone, your estate goes through probate—a court-supervised process at the Essex County Probate and Family Court in Salem, MA, governed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B. It’s not a disaster, but it takes time, it costs money, and it’s a public proceeding. Your family has to wait while the court works through it.

With a properly funded trust, your assets transfer directly to your beneficiaries. No probate filing. No waiting on a court calendar. No public record of what you owned or who received it. Your successor trustee follows your instructions and gets things handled—often within weeks rather than months.

For homeowners in Danvers, Beverly, Marblehead, and across the North Shore, a trust is one of the most straightforward gifts you can give your family. It’s not about being wealthy. It’s about making things easier for the people you love.

Why North Shore Families Trust Us With This

When you sit down with Jordan & White, you get a straight answer about what you actually need—not a sales pitch for the most expensive plan we offer.

You get an attorney who has seen this from both sides. Jonathan White’s own grandparents planned carefully and left a trust that changed the trajectory of his family. That’s not a backstory he mentions to fill a bio—it’s the reason he takes this work seriously and the reason he’ll take your family’s situation seriously too.

You get a firm with real depth. Jonathan is a Suffolk University Law School graduate, a former Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General, a Boston Magazine Top Lawyer in 2023 and 2024, and a Best of Boston 2025 honoree. He’s a WealthCounsel and Atticus member—networks that hold attorneys to a high standard of practice in estate planning.

And you get someone who knows this community. Our firm has been rooted in Danvers since 1938. We’re not a regional chain. We’re your neighbors, and we treat your plan like it matters—because it does.

The Trusts We Help Our Clients Create

Every family’s situation is a little different, and the right trust structure depends on your assets, your family, and your goals. Here’s what we work with most:

Revocable Living Trusts

A revocable living trust is where most estate plans start. You create the trust, transfer your assets into it, and stay in complete control while you’re alive—you can change it, add to it, or revoke it anytime. When you pass away, your assets go directly to the people you named, without probate. For North Shore homeowners, this is typically the most important document in the plan. Learn more on our revocable trust page.

Irrevocable Trusts

An irrevocable trust is a different tool for different goals. Once it’s set up, you give up direct control of the assets inside it—but in exchange, those assets may be protected from creditors and removed from your taxable estate. These aren’t right for everyone, and we’ll tell you honestly whether one fits your situation. When it does make sense, we build it carefully and explain every step.

Pour-Over Wills

A trust works best alongside a pour-over will. The will acts as a safety net, capturing any assets that weren’t transferred into your trust during your lifetime and directing them into it at your death. Without one, gaps in your plan can inadvertently send assets to probate—which is exactly what the trust was designed to avoid.

Pet Trusts

Massachusetts law allows you to formally designate a caregiver and set aside funds for your pets through a pet trust. For families who want to make sure every member of their household is looked after, it’s a simple and meaningful addition to a complete estate plan.

Trust Administration

If a loved one has already passed and left a trust, the trustee has real legal responsibilities—and real liability if things aren’t handled correctly. Our trust administration services guide trustees through the process from start to finish. We also work alongside our estate administration in Massachusetts services when a trust and a probate estate need to be handled together.

One Thing That Trips Up a Lot of Families

A trust that isn’t funded doesn’t protect anything.

We see it more often than you’d expect: someone had a trust drafted years ago, but the assets were never actually transferred into it. The house is still in their personal name. The bank accounts never got retitled. When they pass away, the trust exists on paper—but the assets go through probate anyway, because they were never legally inside the trust.

We make sure that doesn’t happen. After we draft your trust documents, we walk you through exactly what needs to be transferred, how to do it, and what to watch for as your assets change over time. The document is only part of the job. Making sure it actually works is the other part.

If you have an existing trust and aren’t sure whether it’s properly funded, that’s worth a quick conversation. Call us at (978) 744-2811) and we’ll take a look.

What About a Will—Is That Enough?

For some people, yes. For many North Shore families, particularly homeowners and those with meaningful savings, a will alone leaves more for your family to manage after you’re gone than it needs to.

A will is a crucial document—but it still goes through probate. A trust paired with a pour-over will gives your family a much cleaner path forward. We’ll help you understand which combination makes sense for your specific situation, and we won’t recommend more than you actually need.

Not sure where to start? Our Estate Planning Launch Pad is a simple, low-pressure way to get your bearings. And if probate is already part of your picture, our probate attorney services handle that process too.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a trust attorney do?

A trust attorney helps you design, draft, and properly fund a trust that protects your assets and transfers them to your family the way you intend—without court involvement. At Jordan & White, that means understanding your family’s full picture before recommending anything, drafting documents that are clear and legally sound, and walking you through the funding process so your trust actually works the way it’s supposed to. We also stay available as your life changes and your plan needs to evolve.

What’s the difference between a revocable and irrevocable trust?

A revocable trust keeps you fully in control during your lifetime—you can change it anytime—and avoids probate when you die. An irrevocable trust trades that flexibility for stronger protections: assets inside it may be shielded from creditors and excluded from your taxable estate. Most families we work with on the North Shore start with a revocable living trust. Irrevocable trusts serve specific planning goals, and we’ll be straightforward with you about whether one fits your situation.

Do I need a trust if I already have a will?

It depends on your assets and your goals. A will directs the court on how to distribute your estate—but it still goes through probate. A trust transfers assets directly to your beneficiaries without court involvement. For many Essex County homeowners and families, a revocable living trust paired with a pour-over will is the stronger combination. We’ll give you an honest assessment of what makes sense for your specific situation.

How does a trust avoid probate in Massachusetts?

Assets held inside a funded trust are legally owned by the trust—not by you personally. When you die, your successor trustee steps in and distributes those assets according to your instructions, without any court filing or probate process. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B, probate applies to assets titled in your individual name at death. A properly funded trust simply means those assets aren’t in your name when that moment comes.

How much does it cost to set up a trust in Massachusetts?

The cost depends on what your plan includes—whether you need a revocable trust, irrevocable planning, a pour-over will, and any supporting documents like a health care proxy or durable power of attorney. At Jordan & White, we’re upfront about fees from the first conversation. Call us at (978) 744-2811 or start with our Estate Planning Launch Pad to get a clear sense of what your plan would involve.

Let’s Talk About What Makes Sense for Your Family

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer in trust planning, and there’s no pressure to figure it all out before you call us. Most of our clients come in with a general sense that they should probably do something—and leave with a clear plan and a real sense of relief.

That’s what we’re here for. Jordan & White, LLC has been serving North Shore families from our home in Danvers since 1938, and we’d genuinely love to help yours.

For help creating a trust as part of your estate planning in Northeast Massachusetts, turn to our experienced trust lawyer team at Jordan & White, LLC. Call us at 978-744-2811 or contact us online for your initial consultation on the North Shore of Massachusetts.