Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, November 7, 2025 OBITUARIES Barbara G. (Sullivan) McHugh 1936, Barbara was the beloved daughter of Leo and Georgia Sullivan and the devoted elder sister of the late Francis Sullivan and the late Michael Sullivan. She was raised and educated in Malden, graduating from Malden High School with the Class of 1954. In 1956, Barbara married her husband of 64 years, the late Peter J. McHugh. Together they built a home filled with love, friends, and family in Malden, where they raised their three daughters. Although devoted first and A lifelong resident of Malden, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 31, 2025, after a brief illness. Born in Malden in foremost to her role as wife and mother, Barbara also worked for A&A Windows and later with Mystic Valley Elder Services. A voracious reader—often finishing a book a day—she also enjoyed her favorite shows, General Hospital and Outlander. Above all, her greatest joy came from time spent with her family. Barbara is survived by her loving daughters Nancy Sherman and her husband Michael of Watertown, Judith McHughClark and her husband Trevor of Fleming Island, FL, and Karen McHugh-Mattuchio of Peabody. She will be dearly missed by her cherished grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Thomas, Elizabeth, Ryan, Shane, Scott, Dahlia, Wyatt, and Tripp. Family and friends were invited to gather at the Weir-MacCuish Golden Rule Funeral Home on Tuesday, November 4th, followed by a Funeral Mass at St. Joseph’s Church, Malden. Interment followed at Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden. In lieu of flowers, donations in Barbaras memory may be made to Bread of Life, 54 Eastern Ave, Malden MA 02148 Ruth Eleanor Gilligan Smith Died on October 26, 2025, surrounded by her eight remaining children and many other family members. She was born in Malden, in 1926 to ter raising her large family, she went back to work in her middle 50s, working in the Maternity Ward at the Malden Hospital. She served as a volunteer for many years at St. Francis of Assisi Church and at the Glen Ridge Nursing Care Center in Malden, continuing to drive herself to these jobs through rain, wind, and snow, until Covid shut everything down and forced her home when she was 94 years old. LIMITED POWERS OF APPOINTMENTS n the context of an irrevocable trust, a provision can be included to provide for much more flexibility insofar as ultimate distribution of trust assets is concerned. A limited or special power of appointment provision can be incorporated into the document to allow the Settlor (sometimes referred to as Donor or Grantor) of the trust to effectively change which beneficiaries will ultimately receive the principal of the trust and can also decide upon the timing of those distributions. It should be noted that MassHealth hearing officers, Superior Court judges and Appellate Court judges are of the opinion that reserving such a power in an irrevocable trust does not taint the trust and result in I the assets being “countable” for MassHealth eligibility purposes. The Trustee of an irrevocable income only Trust may also have the power to “appoint” the trust principal to a class of individuals consisting of the Settlors children or other issue, such as grandchildren or great grandchildren. Appointing assets is equivalent to distributing assets. Therefore, the Trustee of such a Trust could appoint any portion of the trust principal to a descendant of the Settlor of the Trust. For MassHealth purposes, if at all possible, it would certainly make sense for the Trustee to not exercise such power of appointment until five years have elapsed since the assets were first transferred to the irrevocable trust. It should also be noted that once the assets of the trust are appointed to a son or daughter, for example, that son or daughter is legally free to do whatever he or she wants to do with those assets. A limited power of appointment provision in an irrevocable Trust can also be exercised via the Settlor’s Last Will and Testament by including the necessary provision in the Last Will and Testament itself and then submitting it to the probate court and having it allowed upon the Settlor’s death. If the Settlor of the irrevocable trust decides down the road that he or she would rather distribute assets of the Trust to some or all of the grandchildren, the limited power of appointment provision will allow for that flexibility. If the Settlor had a falling out with a son or daughter, the Settlor could effectively disinherit that son or daughter by appointing the trust principal to the Settlor’s other children via his or her Last Will and Testament. Such a provision provides a substantial amount of control over the ultimate distribution of the Settlor’s estate. The limited power of appointment is “limited” because the Settlor cannot appoint any of the trust principal to the Settlor’s estate, the Settlor’s creditors, or the creditors of the Settlor’s estate. 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. Thomas and Anna Coombs Gilligan. She attended Girls Catholic High School in Malden and was the first person in her family to graduate from college, earning a BA in Practical Arts at Boston University. She loved music, books, laughter, her community, and, most of all, her large family. She was married for 52 years to C. Howard Smith (d. 2001), and they lived in Medford from 1956 on. AfShe had nine children: Paul Smith and Lauren Gill of CA; Philip Smith (d. 2020) and Nan of Weymouth,; Christine Smyth and Alan (d. 2023) of Waterboro, ME; Richard Smith and Marti-Jo of Falmouth, ME; Mark Smith and Lael of Medford, MA; Marie Enright and Stephen of York Beach, ME; Annette Smith and Paul Doyle of York ME, Ellen Stanton and James of Melrose, MA, Andrew Smith and Karen of Medford, MA. Ruth is also survived by 27 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. Between her work and her family, she spent her entire 99-year life serving and loving people. Relatives & friends were invited to attend visiting hours at the Breslin Funeral Home, Malden on Friday October 31st followed by her Funeral Mass celebrated at St. Francis of Assisi Church, in Medford. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you consider a donation to Tufts Medicine Care at Home, Development Office, 847 Rogers St., Suite 201, Lowell, MA 01852. 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