Kendra O’Toole & Michelle Reed
Co-founders of Legacy Legal Planning 781-971-5900; legacylegalplanning.com
While nobody can predict what the future holds, proper planning can help protect the interests of you and your loved ones and provide peace of mind. When attorneys Michelle M. Reed and Kendra O’Toole established Legacy Legal Planning in 2015, they made it their mission to offer their South Shore clients a highly personalized experience. Specializing in estate planning and elder law, they take the time to get to know each individual’s story and gently guide them through the process of making important life decisions.
Reed and O’Toole assist with everything from estate plans and health care proxies to wills and other essential legal documents needed in the event of an illness or emergency. Their services go far beyond signing papers, however.
“We create lasting relationships with our clients,” says O’Toole. “We empower them to make their own decisions rather than leave everything up to the state and we make sure they’re protected for their life and legacy.”
Close friends as well as colleagues, Reed and O’Toole both grew up on the South Shore and studied at New England School of Law, though their paths never crossed due to differences in class schedules. It wasn’t until they each attended Western New England School of Law that they finally met and became friends.
Reed and O’Toole are both family-oriented and have approachable personalities that translate well to their profession. They offer both virtual and in-person appointments and possess a unique ability to empathize with their clients, informed by their own life experiences. O’Toole, for example, lost her father to pancreatic cancer when she was in law school. Witnessing firsthand how beneficial it was to have an established life plan in place only solidified her desire to pursue estate planning and elder law.
While it may seem like something that can be put off until later in life, Reed and O’Toole recommend that people act proactively and begin planning for their future as early as possible. “Anyone 18 or older should have some life planning documents in place,” says Reed. “We like to think of it as planning for the storm while the weather is calm.”