MBTA | FROM PAGE 14 at 8:30 PM with the last departure from Long Wharf on Fridays at 7:45 PM and on Saturdays is at 8:45 PM. • On Fridays and Saturdays: Charlestown Ferry: Additional Charlestown Ferry trips will be added to the schedule with service extended to 10 PM. The last trip from Charleston to Long Wharf will depart at 9:30 PM; the last trip from Long Wharf to Charlestown will depart at 9:45 PM. • The current last departure from Charlestown on Fridays is at 8:15 PM and on Saturdays is at 6:15 PM with the last departure from Long Wharf on Fridays at 8:00 PM and on Saturdays at 6:00 PM. • Lynn, Winthrop, and Quincy Ferries: The last trip for these routes will remain as they are on Fridays and Saturdays. • Updated Ferry schedules will be available soon at mbta.com/ Ferry. Daily Extended Service • Bus: Service on Bus Routes 23, 28, 57, 111, and 116 will be extended by about one hour every day of the week. Frequency during the one-hour of extended service will be approximately every 30 minutes. The current cost of the extended service on subway lines and bus routes for additional operations personnel hours is approximately $2 million. Schedules for all lines and routes vary. Riders are strongly encouraged to check schedules in advance and use the MBTA’s Trip Planner as well as the MBTA Go app to plan their travels. Regular fares will be charged for all extended services. The MBTA previously announced additional Fall 2025 service adjustments. More information and detailed service schedules are available here. The MBTA continues to serve a critical role in supporting the economic vitality of Massachusetts. Over the past two years, the agency has focused on providing dependable, frequent, and accessible service that riders can rely on. Through initiatives such as extending evening service and the Better Bus Project, the MBTA continues to optimize routes, improve connectivity, and enhance the rider experience. Statements of Support: “Extending MBTA service on THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 5, 2025 SAFETY | FROM PAGE 13 evenings and weekdays will have a meaningful impact on the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, one of the region’s most significant employment and economic hubs,” said Karen Winger, Director of Transportation Planning for the Longwood Collective, a nonprofit organization that provides critical transportation and operating services, planning, placemaking, and stewardship for the workers, patients, students, and visitors of the LMA. “Thousands of employees and visitors rely on public transit to get to and from the LMA every day, and these added hours—paired with the fare-free weekends in September—will give our community greater flexibility and help support the safety and well-being of those traveling late at night. We applaud the MBTA for listening to riders’ needs and investing in service improvements that make a real difference for our region.” “Extended T service is a great for restaurant guests, and even more so for restaurant employees,” said Stephen Clark, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. “We applaud the T for continuing to work collaboratively to expand service where and when it is needed.” “Extending MBTA hours isn’t just about convenience — it’s about building the kind of reliable, affordable transit system our region needs,” said Caitlin Allen-Connelly, Executive Director of TransitMatters. “These changes make it easier to enjoy and get around on Friday and Saturday nights on the subway, keep frequent bus routes running later, and give late-night and early-morning workers a dependable ride. They also improve access to hospitals and connect more people to jobs, services, and opportunities. With free weekend service in September, it’s a great way to attract and welcome more people back to transit. This is a clear win for riders, workers, the community, and our local economy!” For more information, visit mbta.com/ServiceChanges or connect with the T on X @MBTA and @MBTA_CR, Facebook / TheMBTA, Instagram @theMBTA, Threads @thembta, or TikTok @thembta. dles burning unattended. Extinguish them before leaving the room. Even better, switch to battery-powered candles. • Lithium-Ion Batteries: Use the charging equipment provided by the manufacPage 17 turer and disconnect it when the device is charged. Charge phones, laptops, e-cigarettes, e-bike batteries, and other devices on a hard and stable surface – never a bed, couch, or pillow. If you notice an unusual odor, change in color, change in shape, leaking, or odd noises, stop using the device right away. If you are able to do so safely, move it away from anything that can burn and call your local fire department. For more fire safety tips for both on and off campus, visit www.mass.gov/dfs. THE FOURNIER MASS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT CASE law and statutory law. Its arguments had seemed to be more based upon its own ideology as to desired outcomes as opposed to them being based upon the actual law. In the Fournier case, the apT his July 23, 2021, decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) upheld well settled Trust law and has provided the elder bar with more certainty in drafting irrevocable trusts in the context of Medicaid planning. MassHealth’s legal department could not persuade the SJC that a special or limited power of appointment contained in the applicant’s irrevocable trust caused the trust principal to be countable thereby resulting in ineligibility for MassHealth benefits for the applicant. The SJC cited the Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers, Section 17.2 (2011) and many Superior Court and Appellate Court cases as grounds for its decision against MassHealth. The benefits of this SJC case for the elderly in Massachusetts are profound. MassHealth had, for a period of about 10 years or so, been attacking almost any provision contained in an irrevocable trust in order to deny MassHealth benefits, even though so many of its legal arguments had been in complete contradiction with well settled case plicant and her husband were the Settlors of an irrevocable trust. There was a provision in the trust granting the applicant, during her lifetime, a limited power of appointment to appoint all or any portion of the trust principal to a nonprofit or charitable organization over which she has no controlling interest. MassHealth argued that the applicant could appoint the trust principal to a nonprofit nursing home in order to pay for her nursing home care, and as a result, the entire principal of the trust was countable thereby making the applicant ineligible for MassHealth benefits. The SJC went on to state that since the applicant possessed a special or limited power of appointment, she could not appoint an otherwise permissible beneficiary in any way that could benefit herself. As a matter of trust common law, statutory law and case law, a special or limited power of appointment, by definition, can never be utilized by the Donee of the power to benefit himself or herself in any way. After MassHealth appealed the Superior Court decision, the SJC took the case directly from the Superior Court thereby bypassing the Appeals Court altogether. The SJC also made it clear that a use and occupancy provision contained in an irrevocable trust likewise did not make the trust principal countable. The decision also made it clear that a trust instrument must be read as a whole in order to determine the Settlor’s intent when he or she executed the document. Trust provisions should not be read in isolation. Rather, they should be read in the context of reading the Trust instrument as a whole. Only then can you determine the Settlor’s intent when creating the Trust. This was an impactful opinion rendered by the SJC based upon excellent legal reasoning. A provision in an irrevocable Trust providing for the Settlor to use, occupy and possess the underlying real estate is key to being able to claim a residential real estate tax exemption in a City or Town that provides for one, without the necessity of reserving a life estate in the deed going into the irrevocable Trust. A provision in an irrevocable Trust allowing for the Trustee to distribute principal to a class of beneficiaries consisting of the descendants of the Settlor likewise would be upheld based upon the Fournier case reasoning, as the Settlor would not be able to benefit from such a provision and would not, under any circumstances, have a right to receive any principal distributions. 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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