THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 19, 2025 Page 17 OBITUARIES Amy Elizabeth Sideri W ith profound sadness, we announce the sudden passing of Amy Elizabeth Sideri, who tragically lost her life in a motor vehicle accident in Salem, NH on September 5, 2025, at the age of 31. Born on January 7, 1994, and a lifelong resident of Saugus, Amy—our “Ames”—was a blessing beyond measure to her family, fiance, friends, fellow nurses, and patients. Amy was a caregiver by nature, with a rare gift for making others feel deeply loved and special. A true perfectionist, she poured her heart into everything she did, always with intention and love. After graduating from Salem State University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, she devoted her career to caring for others as an ICU nurse. Amy worked tirelessly, providing critical care in the most challenging of circumstances throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She dedicated her life to saving others, while offering comfort and trust to families during their worst moments, and treating every person with dignity, love, and respect—no matter their condition or life circumstance. Amy also had a remarkable gift for making everyone she met feel included, seen, and valued. She embodied compassion and empathy in all that she did. As her mother would say, she was a “true blue”—endlessly loyal, reliable, and trustworthy. Amy had a special talent for giving the perfect gift, making those she loved feel celebrated and cherished. Yet her very life was the greatest gift of all. She also brought energy and joy wherever she went, with her radiant smile, playful peace signs, and her insistence on capturing every moment with a photo. Those photos, and those memories they hold, will be treasures we carry with us forever. We love you, Ames. Amy will be lovingly remembered by her parents, Claudia and John Sideri; her siblings, Amanda and David Sideri, along with their partners, Eric Grandmaison and Casey Glynn; her fiance whom she adored for 12 years of her life, Dimas Bardales, and his family; her cousin and second “sister,” Vanessa Fazzolari; her best friend since preschool, Gia Bordonaro; and her many aunts, uncles, other cousins, and friends. She is predeceased by her grandparents, Marjorie Sordillo, and Genevieve and John Sideri, as well as her uncle, Ralph “Bill” Traynham. A public visitation was held at the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home, Saugus on Friday September 12. Donations may be made in Amy’s memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at http://events.stjude. org/Amy-Sideri Rose A. (Maillet) Phipps late Joseph and Mary A. (Deveau) Maillet. Rose moved to Saugus at the age of 15 and lived in various places throughout her life including California and Vermont before returning to Saugus. She had worked for Avnet as an assembler. Mrs. Phipps is survived by one son, Steven Streeter and his wife Joyce of Swampscott; two daughters, Linda Sexton and her late husband Ronald of FL and Carol Aguilar and her late husband Rudy of NV; seven grandchildren; many great grandchildren; and one sister, Yvonne Maillet of Saugus. She was predeceased by her son Robert Streeter; three brothers, J. Martin Maillet, Richard Maillet, and Roger Maillet; and two sisters, M. Gertrude Nordike and Rita Hashem. Relatives and friends were invited to attend a funeral service in the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home, Saugus on Wednesday, September 17. Donations in Rose’s memory may be made to St. Margaret’s Parish, 431 Lincoln Ave., Saugus, MA 01906. Tenants by the Entirety A tenancy by the entirety is a special form of joint ownership of real estate available only to a married couple. In a tenancy by the entirety, neither spouse owns a separate interest in the real estate. Rather, each spouse (and both spouses as the marital unit) own the entire interest. Effective February 11, 1980, tenancies by the entirety in Massachusetts underwent radical change by virtue of a statutory amendment. The revision at last brought the statute in line with the concepts of gender equality as they had evolved, at least insofar as marital ownership of property is concerned, as of the final quarter of the 20th century. With the amendment, both spouses are equally entitled to the income from, and to the possession and control of property owned by them as tenants by the entirety, and each has a right to the whole on survivorship. Furthermore, so long as the property in question is the principal residence of the nondebtor spouse, a debtor spouse’s interest in the property held as tenants by the entirety is not subject to seizure or execution by creditors of the debtor spouse. The protection does not exO f Saugus. Age 96, died on Saturday, September 6th at the Abbott House in Lynn. She was the wife of the late Edward Phipps. Born and raised in Lynn, Mrs. Phipps was the daughter of the tend to collection efforts relating to debts for necessaries furnished to either spouse or to a family member. As to those debts, the statute imposes joint and several liability on both spouses. For any other type of debt, however, a debtor’s property held as tenants by the entirety is not subject to a creditor’s seizure or execution if (a) the property is the principal residence of the non-debtor spouse and (b) the nondebtor spouse has no liability for the debt. Although not subject to seizure and execution, a nondebtor spouse’s interest in the principal residence may be attached by a creditor. The resulting cloud on title creates a practical problem in the face of an upcoming sale or refinance of the property, in effect forcing the nondebtor spouse to negotiate with the creditor prior to the closing of the transaction in order to obtain a release of the attachment. It is important to review the deed to your home in order to determine how title is held. Often, two individuals take title as joint tenants with rights of survivorship or as tenants in common as the home was purchased prior to having been married. In that case, the two individuals can transfer the home to themselves for one dollar after they get married and would then take title as “husband and wife, as tenants by the entirety”. A declaration of homestead could also be recorded at the same time in order to protect up to $1,000,000 in equity in the home in the event of a lawsuit. If both spouses are age 62 or older, each spouse would receive a homestead exemption of $1,000,000 for a total of $2,000,000 of protection. Currently, when the home is transferred into a revocable trust or an irrevocable trust, you are able to receive the benefits of the homestead exemption. The revised homestead law was passed on March 16, 2011. Without the declaration of homestead, there is no asset protection benefit when you simply hold real estate in a revocable trust. There would be asset protection if you place real estate into an irrevocable trust and reserve no rights to receive principal. However, if there is rental property in an irrevocable Trust, for example, a creditor could place a lien on the right to receive the net rental income. At some point in time, the benefits of placing your home in trust along with a declaration of homestead will most likely outweigh the asset protection benefits of tenants by the entirety coupled with a declaration of homestead. Avoidance of probate, estate tax planning and nursing home protection planning are just some of the reasons why you might decide to place your home into a trust. 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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