October Business of the Month: Atty Brian F. Mahoney

Sponsored by the Canton Economic Development Committee and the Canton Association of Business and Industry (CABI)

Sitting in his Canton law office inside Galvin Insurance, estate planning and elder law attorney Brian Mahoney reflects back on his 30 years in the law.

“It took a long time to get here,” he said, “and I still cannot believe 30 years have passed.”

Mahoney, a 1974 graduate of Canton High School, is a member of the Economic Development Committee and the Canton Association of Business and Industry, as well as a past coach of Canton Youth Soccer and Canton Youth Hockey. As a student at CHS, Mahoney decided to become a lawyer.

“I was quiet, but wanted to learn how to stand up for people and help them,” he said. “I went to Northeastern, then onto Suffolk Law. I remember just trying to get to college at Northeastern every day from Canton. I took the town bus to Mattapan, the trolley to Ashmont, the red line to Park Street, and finally a green line trolley to Northeastern. An hour and 20 minutes each way.”

While at Suffolk, Mahoney became the advocate he always wanted to be by becoming a quasi public defender.

“I’ll never forget my first case,” he said. “This particular client would stop taking his meds, go out drinking and start barroom brawls. It took half the Brockton Police force to subdue him. During my very first interview, he became enraged and threw the table over. There I was, sitting in a chair as he stood over me yelling and screaming when a couple of police officers barged into the interview room to se if I was OK. Baptism by fire they call that.”

It was also at Suffolk Law School when Mahoney became a law clerk for a local lawyer who practiced estate planning and elder law.

“I learned how important our seniors are to our country,” he said. “Take the World War II generation. They built this country and saved it literally from tyranny. Where would we be without their efforts? And now they are old and frail and need someone to fight for them like they fought for us. My parents are in their 90s and live in Canton. During World War II, my dad was away for over three years and my mom worked in the shipyard. Back then everyone helped out.”

“I am a proud member of NAELA, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a nationwide organization of over 4,500 elder law attorneys,” Mahoney added. “NAELA advances the rights of the disabled and seniors. That includes representing everyone in the spectrum of life, from the very young to the very old, those who need someone to stand up for them.”

Mahoney regularly drafts special needs trusts for disabled children. He recently published an article, “Representing Learning Disabled Children.”

Another article he wrote, “Nursing Home Problems Facing Residents and their Families,” was published in the NAELA News in June.

“I do not recommend hiring an elder law attorney who is not a member of NAELA,” Mahoney warns, “because you need a lawyer who is current and up to date and a specialist.”

Most of Mahoney’s practice involves preparing wills, trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies for clients of all ages. Families with young children are a big part of his practice because they need trusts and guardianships in place.

“Bad things happen to good people, and they always occur unexpectedly, so we plan,” he said.

Mahoney also help folks save on estate taxes. “It actually can cost you money to die, believe it or not, but there are ways to legally avoid some taxes through the use of complex trusts,” he said.

Thirty years later, estate planning and elder law are a more genteel practice than criminal law. “My clients are nice people trying to protect their families,” said Mahoney.

Visit Canton attorney Brian Mahoney on the web at www.attybrianmahoney.com, send him an email at brian@attybrianmahoney.com, or call his Canton office at 781-828-0083.

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