Ruth Mattson

/My focus

I help international families preserve their legacies and solve complex tax problems. This includes estate planning for clients who live in one country and have assets in another country, planning for gifts across borders, and administering multinational estates. I also help large family businesses plan for succession to future generations.

Since 2015, I have served as a lecturer in Boston University School of Law’s Graduate Tax Program, teaching estate planning and international information reporting and withholding.

/Looking ahead

Global mobility will continue to accelerate as families increasingly live, work, and invest across multiple jurisdictions. As cross‑border footprints expand, so does the demand for sophisticated international estate planning and multinational estate administration that can anticipate complex tax, residency, and reporting implications. These dynamics will remain central to advising globally connected clients in the years ahead.

/Insights

Select Publications

• Pending: “Foreign Trusts Simply,” ABA, 2026 
• Pending: A Guide to International Estate Planning, Third Edition, “Trusts,” ABA, 2026, Co-Author
• Trust Laws in the United States, “Massachusetts,” Globe Publishing, Dec. 2025, Co-Author
• Understanding and Using Trusts, “Trust Principal and Income,” MCLE, 6th Ed. 2024
• Massachusetts Probate Manual, “Guardians and Conservators,” MCLE, 6th Ed. 2025, Co-Author
• Guardianship and Conservatorship Practice Under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, MCLE, 8th Ed. 2026, Co-Editor
• “A Year of Growth, Significant Developments for International Estate Planners,” Trusts & Estates, 2019
• “The Purpose Trust: Drafting Becomes a Work of Art,” Estate Planning, 2016, Co-Author
• “Separation and Divorce: A Unique Window of Opportunity for Income Tax Planning and Estate Planning,” 38th Annual Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute, 2012
• Massachusetts Basic Practice Manual, “Drafting Simple Will and Trust Clauses,” MCLE, 4th Ed. 2012, Co-Author

Select Presentations

• Pending: Navigating International Estate Planning Issues; New Hampshire Estate Planning Council; 2026; Lecturer
• Pending: No Duties, No Problems? Non-Fiduciary Powers in International Trust Arrangements; International Academy of Trust and Estate Lawyers, 2026, Moderator 
• A Treasure Trove of Planning Tips for Foreign Assets, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, 2026, Panelist
• Impact of Gender Fluidity on Estate Planning, MCLE, 2025, Panelist
• Developments Related to Transparency Initiatives and Economic Substance Legislation for Trust and Estate Practitioners, International Academy of Trust and Estate Lawyers, 2025, Panelist
• Income Tax Oddballs: QSSTs, QDOTs and More, ACTEC New England Fellows Institute, 2024, 2022, Lecturer
• New Developments, New York State Bar Association and STEP NY International Estate Planning Institute, 2024, Panelist
• Estate and Gift Taxation for Non-US Citizens and Residents: Tips and Traps, ALI-CLE, 2022, Panelist
• LGBTQ+ Wealth Planning and Tax, AIJA conference on Gender and Inclusivity in International Families, 2022, Panelist
• Inbound Wealth Transfers, International Trust and Estate Planning, ALI-CLE, 2020, Panelist
• Finding and Fixing Inadvertent Foreign Trusts, Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum, 2019, Lecturer
• Foreign Trusts and Treaties, Boston Bar Association, 2019, Panelist
• Will and Trust Drafting Master Class, MCLE; 2013–2018, Moderator
• Trusts Serving as Grantors to Other Trusts: Drafting Multi-Trust Structures for Optimal Tax Results, Strafford Webinars, 2017, Panelist