Here For You & Your Family

Every Step of the Way

Welcome to DGVE law

Massachusetts Wills, Trusts, and Estates Attorney Danielle G. Van Ess founded DGVE law in Hingham in 2008.

We provide top notch, holistic legal services with empathy in a relaxed, friendly, comfortable, & environmentally conscientious way.

Health Care Proxy & Living Will

Everyone 18 years old and older needs the right health care directives to make sure that if they are ever in an accident, under anesthesia, or otherwise unable to speak for themselves, the people they trust, and only those people they trust, are able to access all their protected medical information, and make their medical decisions and health care arrangements for them. That generic form booklet in the doctor’s office or hospital is not enough and if it’s an emergency, you want to be able to call the lawyer who prepared the legal documents to help enforce them, fast.

Probate

Whether your loved one died with or without a Will, Probate is a formal process that involves petitioning the Court, obtaining a Judge’s permission to serve as Personal Representative (formerly called Executor or Executrix) and waiting for Letters of Authority aka Letters of Administration to be able to access and receive statements and information about bank accounts, credit cards, investment and retirement accounts, and even to access social media accounts after death. The process in Massachusetts is notoriously slow, expensive, public, and unpredictable. We will do everything we can as professionals to help make it easier for you to navigate from start to finish. 

Trust Administration

The last thing you want to deal with after a loved one dies is sorting through all the financial paperwork and trying to figure everything out on your own. You don’t have to know what’s what or where to start. We will help you organize and explain each of the steps you need to take to properly administer the trust your loved one made so that it works as intended, and so you stay out of trouble in the process of doing your job as a fiduciary serving as the Trustee.