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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, May 30, 2025 Page 17 BHRC | FROM PAGE 16 ones, who have sacrificed so much themselves, are told that their sacrifice will no longer matters to the commonwealth if they decide to remarry.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.) Sen. Jason Lewis Yes $400,000 FOR PEDIATRIC PALLIATIVE CARE (S 3) Senate 39-0, approved an amendment increasing funding for a pediatric palliative care program by $400,000 (from $10.4 to $10.8 million). This program provides invaluable comprehensive care for children living with life-limiting or end-of-life illnesses, as well as support for their families. “I am proud to secure additional funding for this critical program which will help clear the waiting list for these services and support the staff who work with these children,” said amendment sponsor Sen. Sal DiDomenico(D-Everett). “Families who are seeking pediatric palliative care do not have time to wait on a waitlist. These children deserve quality care and support throughout the duration of their illness and at the end of their lives, and their families deserve the support they need as they face one of the most traumatic times of their lives. This program has been one of my top priorities during my 15 years in the Senate and I will continue to ensure that all families have access to these vital services.” (A Yes” vote is for the $400,000.) Sen. Jason Lewis Yes ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL HEALTHY PUBLIC COLLEGES (S 949) – The Higher Education Committee will hold a hearing on June 3rd to hear testimony and consider legislation that would establish a Green and Healthy Public College and University Building Planning Commission to evaluate and make recommendations on campus infrastructure -- focusing on energy efficiency, indoor air quality, accessibility, life safety and overall public health. The proposal creates a trust fund to alleviate campus debt and lower student fees currently used to finance aging infrastructure. It also ensures long-term investments so that all public higher education campuses meet Green and Healthy standards by 2037. The bill prioritizes renovations for buildings in greatest need and addresses longstanding environmental and health inequities across campuses. “I filed this bill because every student deserves to learn in an environment that is safe, healthy and sustainable,” said sponsor Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow). “By investing in our public college and university infrastructure now, we can reduce student debt, eliminate health disparities and build a more equitable, climate-resilient future for higher education in Massachusetts.” SENIOR SHELTERS (H 787) – The Committee on Elder Affairs will hold a hearing on June 24th to consider a bill that would establish a special commission to study the feasibility of dedicated senior shelters in Massachusetts. The commission would examine the unique needs of homeless seniors, evaluate existing resources and propose recommendations to address gaps in services and housing for this population. Supporters say that homeless seniors are a growing part of the homeless population in the Bay State. They note they face unique challenges and need specialized support because of limited retirement savings, rising housing costs and a lack of affordable housing options. Rep. Sean Reid (D-Lynn), the sponsor of the measure, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to comment on his bill. $500,000 FOR ENVIRONMENT - The Healey Administration announced nearly $500,000 in grants from the inaugural Environmental Justice Capacity Building Grant Program to help empower local organizations to build organizational capacity, strengthen local advocacy, advance community-driven solutions and improve the health and wellbeing of underserved communities. The Healey Administration said the grants represent an ongoing commitment to addressing environmental inequities and ensuring that all Massachusetts residents, particularly those in low-income and marginalized communities, have the tools and resources they need to tackle climate change and other environmental challenges. “We are committed to ensuring every community in Massachusetts has a seat at the table in shaping the decisions that impact our families and environment,” said Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “From growing culturally relevant produce in community gardens to creating youth environmental employment opportunities – these organizations serve as vital resources in neighborhoods across Massachusetts.” $22.2 MILLION TO MODERNIZE AFFORDABLE HOUSING INTERNET – The Healey Administration announced $22.2 million in grants to upgrade internet access for 15,793 affordable housing units across 54 communities in Massachusetts. The projects will install modern fiber-optic cables in public and affordable housing properties that will increase residents’ access to high-quality, reliable and affordable broadband service. “Massachusetts is leading the nation in its efforts to improve internet access and adoption statewide,” said Massachusetts Interim Economic Development Secretary Ashley Stolba. “The Residential Retrofit Program is a key component of our strategy to upgrade broadband infrastructure statewide and will expand economic opportunity to residents by enabling them to access essential online tools.” “The Residential Retrofit Program is an ambitious effort to revamp decades-old wiring affecting low-income families and we’re already seeing how much of an impact this work has had,” said Massachusetts Broadband Institute Director Michael Baldino. “This round of Residential Retrofit Program grantees demonstrated a dedication to serving affordable housing residents and providing them with access needed to thrive in the digital age.” HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible latenight sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of May 19-23, the House met for a total of seven hours and 15 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 33 hours and two minutes. Mon. May 19 House11:04 a.m. to11:08 a.m. Senate 11:08 a.m. to 3:53 p.m. Tues.May 20 No House session. Senate 11:05 a.m. to7:54 p.m. Wed. May 21 House11:01 a.m. to6:09 p.m. Senate 10:38 a.m. to7:48 p.m. Thurs. May 22 House11:01 a.m. to 11:04 a.m. Senate 10:06 a.m. to8:24 p.m. Fri. May 23 No House session. No Senate session. Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019. 5 OR 5 POWER A 5 or 5 power provides a beneficiary of a Trust the power in any calendar year to withdraw the greater of $5,000 or 5% of the Trust principal. Therefore, for any Trust that has assets less than $100,000, the beneficiary can withdraw up to $5,000. For any Trust that has more than $100,000 in assets, the beneficiary can withdraw up to 5% of the Trust assets. The situation usually occurs when the Settlor of a revocable Trust dies, which in turn results in the Trust becoming irrevocable and the Trust then provides for the benefit of a surviving spouse. Per the Internal Revenue Code, there has to be a limit on what the beneficiary can withdraw each year in order to avoid any negative tax consequences. If a Trust provision allowed the beneficiary to withdraw more than $5,000 or 5% of the Trust principal each year, then the IRS would consider this to be a “general” power of appointment and some or all of the Trust assets could be included in the beneficiary’s estate for estate tax purposes. What is one advantage of including such a provision in a trust document? Such a provision might be suitable in a situation of a second marriage wherein one spouse does not want the surviving spouse to have unfettered control over the Trust assets. Such a power would provide a minimum of a $5,000 withdrawal on the part of the surviving spouse each year. This could be important if the Trust itself generated very little income for the year that was required to be distributed to the surviving spouse pursuant to the terms of the Trust. Alternatively, if the Trust principal ended up being $1,000,000 at the time of the first spouse’s death, the surviving spouse could take up to $50,000 each year (5% of $1,000,000). Furthermore, such a right might put some of the Trust’s assets at risk if the surviving spouse was involved in litigation. Generally speaking, creditors can reach what you can reach as a beneficiary of a Trust. The 5 or 5 power also allows the beneficiary to withdraw up to 5% of the Trust’s assets, even if the withdrawal is not for an ascertainable standard such as for the health, education and support of the surviving spouse. This allows the surviving spouse to simply take a withdrawal without meeting any such standard. The surviving spouse would not have to answer to a Trustee that might not be so cooperative when it comes to Trust distributions. The other benefit of the 5 or 5 power is that so long as the surviving spouse does not exceed its parameters, upon the surviving spouse’s death, the assets in the Trust not subject to the 5 or 5 power will not be included in her taxable estate for estate tax purposes. In this situation, the first spouse to die has the ability to exempt $13.9 million in assets from his or her taxable estate by funding the so-called “family trust” portion of a marital deduction trust wherein the surviving spouse still would enjoy rights to income, discretionary Trustee distributions of principal to the surviving spouse based upon a health, education and support standard and the 5 or 5 power. Upon the surviving spouse’s death, the remaining Trust assets not subject to the 5 or 5 power will be distributed free of estate tax to the children of the first spouse to die. However, the Trust assets subject to the 5 or 5 power in the hands of the surviving spouse would be taxable in her estate upon her death. If her federal taxable estate ends up being $13.9 million or less, there would be no federal estate tax anyway. If there were $5,000,000 of Trust assets, at most, only $250,000 would be taxable in the surviving spouse’s estate. It also looks as though Congress may extend most of the key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act meaning the federal estate tax exemption may not be dropping down to approximately $6million as of January 1, 2026. A huge difference from an estate planning standpoint. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a master’s degree in taxation.

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