As we go to press, a new law clarifying the rights of Massachusetts homeowners to declare an estate of homestead has just gone into effect. The changes in this law, which have been long sought by attorneys throughout the Commonwealth, not only provide an important “automatic” homestead benefit for many Massachusetts residents, but affect long-established rules regarding estate planning, asset protection, real estate conveyance and elder law. While the many aspects of this law are too extensive to cover in full because of limited space in this issue, our clients and contacts alike should watch for a Client Update which will be e-mailed to our contacts and made available soon on the Publications page of our website, at www.burnslev.com/publications.