Biography

Ruth provides estate planning and business planning services for individuals and families, particularly families with international assets and multinational family members.

Ruth is a frequent speaker and author on international estate planning topics for the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, and other professional organizations around the world.

Ruth received their J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and their LL.M. from Boston University School of Law’s Graduate Tax Program. They are a lecturer at Boston University School of Law, a Fellow of ACTEC, a former co-chair of STEP New England, and a recipient of the President’s Award from the Boston Estate Planning Council.

Services/Industries

Education

  • Boston University School of Law  (LL.M. in Taxation)
  • Temple University Beasley School of Law  (J.D.)
  • DePauw University  (B.A.)

Public Service

  • Past Board Member, Boston Estate Planning Council

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • Pennsylvania

Memberships

  • Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)

  • Former Co-Chair, Boston Branch, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)

  • Boston Estate Planning Council (BEPC)

  • Chair: Taxation Law Section, Massachusetts Bar Association

  • The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law

Honors

  • 2023 MassNAELA Arthur Stavisky Award
  • Boston Estate Planning Council President’s Award (2021)
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© under Trusts and Estates in Boston, Massachusetts (2020-2021, 2023-2024)
  • Named to the 2021 New England Super Lawyers© list under Estate Planning and Probate
  • Named to the 2013-2016 New England Super Lawyers© Rising Stars lists under Estate Planning and Probate
  • Selected by peers for inclusion Massachusetts Super Lawyers®, under Estate and Probate

To learn more about third-party ratings and rankings, and the selection processes used for inclusion, click here.

Events

  • "New Developments", Speaker (Annual International Estate Planning Institute, 2024)
  • "Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust from Start to Finish", Co-Presenter (NAELA Conference, 2024)
  • “Introduction to Massachusetts Estate Tax Returns,” Panelist (Massachusetts Bar Association Ninth Annual Probate Law Conference, 2021)
  • “Planning at the Intersection of Estate Planning and Closely Held Business Planning,” Panelist (MCLE 22nd Annual Estate Planning Conference 2021)
  • “Inbound Planning,” Panelist (ALI-CLE International Trust and Estate Planning, 2020)
  • “Foreign Trusts, Trusts for S Corporation Stock & Special Trusts” (MCLE, 2016-2020)
  • “Informational Reporting in the U.S. and Worldwide; Willfulness in U.S. Tax Cases” (Presentation to Thailand Office of Judiciary; hosted by Boston University, 2018)
  • “Trusts Serving as Grantors to Other Trusts: Drafting Multi-Trust Structures for Optimal Tax Results” (Strafford Webinars, 2017)
  • “MUPC Guardianship & Conservatorship Update” (MCLE, 2014-2017)
  • “Gift Tax Returns” (Boston Bar Association, 2016)
  • “Will and Trust Drafting: IRA Beneficiary Trusts, Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, and Directed Trusts” (Pennsylvania Elder Law Association, 2016)
  • “Trust Administration Issues for the Trustee of a Non-Resident Non-Citizen Oklahoma Preservation Trust Settlor with Multi-National Family Beneficiaries” (Oklahoma Bar Association, 2015)
  • “Basic Marital Deduction Planning” (Massachusetts Bar Association Probate Law Conference, 2015)
  • “Estate Planning with Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts” (Massachusetts Bar Association Probate Law Conference, 2014)

Publications