
Overview
Ann Hetherwick "Hether" represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in fiduciary, probate and trust disputes. Her practice focuses on probate, trust, equity, guardianships, and conservatorship litigation. Hether also serves as trustee of private trusts and personal representative of estates. Hether advises clients at every stage of litigation, sometimes avoiding litigation entirely or resolving issues through mediation. As a former law clerk of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, she brings her strong writing skills and knowledge of the appellate process to contested matters, trials, and appeals. Above all, Hether appreciates that clients are often going through a difficult time of their lives and their legal and emotional needs are unique. Hether handles wide-ranging probate and trust disputes, including:
- trustee removal actions, defense and prosecution;
- will contests and trust invalidity actions involving undue influence, lack of capacity, and/or formation issues;
- trust modification, termination, reformation, cy pres, and/or interpretation actions;
- accounting actions;
- omitted spouse or child actions, including DNA and exhumation issues;
- equity actions involving real estate;
- complaints for instructions and/or declaratory judgment actions;
- divorce, including issues whether a trust is divisible as a marital asset;
- conservatorships, including expanded authority to perform estate planning; and
- guardianships and financial exploitation.
Education and Credentials
Education
- Suffolk University Law School, J.D.
- Skidmore College, B.A.
Admissions
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Affiliations
- Massachusetts Bar Association
- Massachusetts Law Review, Editor-in-Chief, 2023–Present; Articles Editor, 2020–2023; Case Comment Editor, 2017-2020; Book Review Editor, 2015–2017; Associate Editor, 2014–2015
- Boston Bar Association, Fiduciary Litigation Section, Co-Chair, 2018-2020
- Boston Bar Association Steering Committee for the Beacon Award for Diversity and Inclusion, 2019
- Boston Chamber of Commerce Women's Leadership Program, 2016-2017
- Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum
- Boston Estate Planning Council
- Trusts and Estates Consortium, Technology Co-Chair, 2016-2018
Recognition and Community
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the highest court of any state. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See Awards Methodology.
Recognitions
Selected to The Best Lawyers in America list of Ones to Watch (Woodward/White, Inc.) for Family Law, 2024-2025; Litigation – Trusts and Estates, 2024-2025
Selected to the list of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's "Top Women of Law," 2020
Selected to the list of Massachusetts Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), Estate and Trust Litigation, 2020-2024
Selected to the list of Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars (Thomson Reuters), Estate and Trust Litigation, 2009, 2011-2012, 2017-2018
Participated in the Boston Chamber of Commerce Women's Leadership Program, 2016-2017
Community Involvement
The Mount, Boston Committee
Certified Bar Association of Norfolk County Pro Bono Conciliator
Ran Boston Marathon with Team Brookline, 2019
News & Insights
Thought Leadership
- 5 Things You Should Know About Trustee Fees , July 29, 2024
- Fiduciary Litigation in the Probate Court, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) , June 7, 2024
- UPDATED: Massachusetts Legislature Passes Wide- Ranging Tax Bill Impacting Estate and Income Taxes , September 29, 2023
Events
- Day Pitney Boston Office Hosts Client Holiday Event at Wang Theatre, November 29, 2023
News
In The Media
Publications
- Cy Pres and Deviation, MCLE Fiduciary Litigation in the Probate Court; 3rd Edition, 2016; 4th Edition, 2019 & 5th Edition, 2021 , 2024
- Updates in the Law, November 17, 2023
- Limits on Attorney's Fees, Massachusetts Bar Association Fifth Annual Probate Law Conference, November 2017
- Using Guardianship of Minors as Leverage to Change Addiction Issues of Parents, Massachusetts Bar Association Fifth Annual Probate Law Conference, November 2017
- Guardianship, MCLE Using Estate Planning to Leverage Treatment of Addiction and Mental Illness, April 2017
- Equity Actions to Determine Ownership, Recover Assets, Massachusetts Bar Association Fourth Annual Probate Law Conference, November 2016
- It's STILL Not Too Late to Act!, Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor, June 2016
- It's Not Too Late to Act!, Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor, June 2016
- Civil Law – When to Appeal from a final Decision: After a Decision on the Merits, or After a Subsequent Decision Concerning Attorney's Fees? Roy Haluch Gravel Co. v. Central Pension Fund, U.D., 134 S. Ct. 773 (2014), Massachusetts Law Review Volume 96, No. 4, August 2015
Media Mentions
- On the Move - Florida | December 2024, Florida Bar News, December 23, 2024
- Day Pitney Names Mark Romance and Ann Hetherwick Cahill Chairs of Fiduciary and Probate Litigation Practice Group, November 21, 2024
- The Boston Marathon: Philanthropy, a Dare, and a Fellini, Super Lawyers Magazine , April 18, 2024
- New Associations, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, July 7, 2023
- Day Pitney Adds 4 Ex-Burns & Levinson Attys in Boston, Law360, June 5, 2023
- Pumphrey, Daughter, Named to Super Lawyers List, The Berkshire Eagle, November 2020
- Victim's Son Can't Access Murderer's Spendthrift Trust, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, October 2020
Speaking Engagements
- "Updates in Probate Law" and "Capacity Issues and Burden Shifting," 12th Annual Probate Law Conference, Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA), November 22, 2024
- "Masterfully Defusing Aggressive, Obstructionist and Hostile Opposing Counsel and Clients" MCLE Live Webcast, October 21, 2024
- “Taking Deposition Interactive Workshop 2024,” MCLE, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), October 18, 2024
- Pursuing & Defending Against Torts Associated with Estate Planning, February 5, 2024
- Trusts and Estates Course, October 4, 2023, March 6, 2023 & October 5, 2022
- How do Tort Law and Jurisdiction Questions Affect Trust and Estate Litigation?, January 27, 2023
- Representing Clients in Cases Involving Rogers/Medical Treatment, November 4, 2022
- Depositions, October 2015-2017, 2019, & 2022
- Pretrial Litigation Primer, October 2019 & November 2021
- What We Can Learn from Britney Spears: When Guardianships and Conservatorships Go Wrong, September 2021
- Conflicts of Interest in Estate Planning and Administration, and Best Practices to Avoid Them, from the Perspective of a Probate and Trust Litigator, June 2021
- Why Trusts/Estates Lawyers need to Know Divorce Law Basics of Trusts, Inheritances, Gifts, and Other Interests, November 12, 2020
- Protecting the Interests of Incapacitated Persons: Issues and Considerations for Fiduciaries and Agents, June 2, 2020
- From a Litigation Perspective, Conflicts of Interest Arising in Estate Planning and Trust and Estate Administration, February 5, 2020
- Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling, January 21, 2020
- Understanding and Utilizing the Fiduciary Litigation Session, October 15, 2019
- Evidentiary Issues in Guardianship Cases, November 2018
- Wills, Trusts, Probate and Estate Litigation," Newton Community Education Seminar, June and September 2016, and May and October 2017
- Estate Planning Strategies to Help Avoid Family Strife, March 2017
- Guardianship, Conservatorship and Special Needs Planning, May 2016