THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 8, 2023 Page 11 Welcome Back, Rev. Nelson A half century later, St. John’s celebrates the anniversary of the arrival of pastor who served the church for 30 years By Mark E. Vogler S t. John’s Episcopal Church invites parishioners and others in the community to its worship service and a special reception on Sunday, Sept. 17, as it welcomes back The Rev. Roger Nelson to mark the 50th anniversary of his arrival at the church. The Rev. Nelson, 83, now retired and living in New York with family, was called to St. John’s in 1973 and served as priest and pastor for 30 years until his retirement in 2003. The worship service is set for 10 a.m., followed by a reception in Ashworth Hall at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 8 Prospect Street, Saugus. During his three decades at St. John’s, Rev. Nelson focused on the youth of the parish, led the Episcopal Youth Community (EYC) for many years and was very active in ecumenical and outreach ministries that extended beyond the church. He maintained the parish’s ecumenical engagement with other clergy in the community as a member of the former Saugus Council of Churches (which evolved into the Saugus Clergy Association). For several years, Rev. Nelson sponsored a young man from South Sudan who later graduated from Tufts University and became a U.S. citizen. After leaving St. John’s in April of 2003, Rev. Roger was called to a youth ministry role as a part-time priest at The Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester, Mass. In 2017, he retired and moved Summer concert series at Iron Works concludes, but there is one more concert scheduled for later this month to New York City to be closer to his family. To honor his long-term commitment to St. John’s, the church continues a scholarship fund named for the reverend and his late wife (Dotsie), to benefit parishioners who are graduating students. She died in 2012. Priest-in-charge Rev. John Beach issued an announcement this week, advising members of the church and community that they are “warmly invited to join us in welcoming The Rev. Roger Nelson on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his arrival as priest and pastor of St. John’s Episcopal Church.” For more information call 781-233-1242 or email StJohnsSaugus@ gmail.com Rev. Roger Nelson, as he appeared during his younger days, after arriving at St. John’s Episcopal Church as a 33-year-old pastor and priest. This photo is posted on the St. John’s Episcopal Church website. (Courtesy Photo to The Saugus Advocate) SPECIAL POWERS OF APPOINTMENTS IN DEEDS E state planning attorneys use special powers of apHeadlands performed at the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site on August 23. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Lara Eisener) By Laura Eisener T he last two concerts finished out the summer at the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. Headlands, a band from Rockport, Mass., which formed in 2017, performed at the Iron Works on August 23. The final concert – rescheduled to Thursday, August 31, because of weather – was the Memorylaners, who are favorites among the concertgoers and played here last summer as well. The collaboration between the Saugus Public Library, the Saugus Iron Works and the Saugus Cultural Council was greatly appreciated by almost 200 people each Wednesday. But wait, there’s more! Later this month there will be a concert at the Iron Works as part of Trails and Sails. Not connected with the library’s summer concert series, this one will be held on Saturday, September 23, from 4-5:30, and features traditional sea shanties (sometimes spelled chanties) by the Fo’c’sle Four. This band performed recently at Salem’s Merry-Time Festival in August. Trails and Sails is a series of free special events held between Friday, September 15 and Sunday, September 24, sponsored by the Essex National Heritage Area in collaboration with four local banks to highlight the natural and cultural heritage of Essex County, Massachusetts. Saugus has six events, all at Saugus Iron Works. A printed booklet of events all over Essex County is now available at the Iron Works Visitors’ Center, which is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. pointments in order to reserve in the Grantor the limited power to change who will ultimately receive the real estate and under what conditions. A Massachusetts Appeals court in 2017 approved such a reserved special power of appointment in the case of Skye v. Hession, 91 Mass. App. Ct. 423. This case has not been appealed to the Mass SJC. The court held that the reserved power in the deed itself (and the later exercise of that power) were valid. The grantor (owner of the real estate) wanted to protect the real estate in the event nursing home care was needed. However, she also wanted to preserve the right to change who would ultimately receive the real estate upon her death. She exercised the special power of appointment contained in the deed via her Last Will and Testament. Once her Will was submitted to the Probate Court for allowance, one of the individuals whose interest was reduced filed an objection to the Will attempting to declare it null and void. The court stated that since the grantor had reserved a life estate in the deed, the individuals receiving an interest in the real estate at that point in time did not have a “present possessory interest”, but rather had a “remainder interest”. The interest of those individuals at that point in time was circumscribed by the grantor’s reserved special power of appointment. In effect, those individuals had originally received a “fee simple defeasible” interest. In a nutshell, the Appeals Court stated that the grantor could actually deed the property to one or more people, reserve a life estate in the deed itself, and still reserve the right to change who would ultimately receive the real estate, and, in what percentages. Once the five-year look back period has been met, the grantor will not have to include the real estate as a countable asset for MassHealth eligibility purposes. Why is this so? The reason is that the grantor did not reserve a general power of appointment. The grantor herself cannot receive the real estate back. The grantor cannot “appoint” the property to herself, her creditors, or the creditors of her estate. The reserved special power of appointment, even without a reserved life estate in the deed itself, also allows for a “step-up in cost basis” upon the grantor’s death. This means that the fair market value of the real estate on the date of the grantor’s death becomes the new cost basis going forward. Therefore, future capital gains may be greatly reduced or eliminated altogether. A reserved life estate by itself, under the current tax law, will accomplish the same step-up. As it stands now, the case is important to elder law attorneys as such a reserved special power of appointment in a deed will not jeopardize MassHealth eligibility. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation.
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