Cynthia A. Brown is an associate at the law firm of Starr Traiger LLP. Ms. Brown concentrates on estate planning and administration, and practices in the firm's Fitchburg office.

Ms. Brown brings to Starr Traiger LLP her thirty years of experience in the Trusts and Estates departments of Sherburne, Powers and Needham (now Holland & Knight) and Peabody and Brown (now Nixon Peabody), both in Boston. She has designed, drafted and implemented sophisticated estate planning techniques to aid middle-class families and high net worth clients, including Revocable Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, and beneficiary designations for retirement assets to maximize tax deferral. She has counseled clients regarding charitable gift planning with charitable trusts, charitable gift funds, and community foundations. Ms. Brown is especially interested in designing plans to fit a family's particular circumstances and wishes, and in planning for the care of pets.

Ms. Brown has supervised and worked on the administration of estates of varying sizes, including preparing the necessary tax returns and reviewing returns prepared by other professionals. She has counselled fiduciaries and beneficiaries in contested probate cases.

Ms. Brown has served as a Trustee for trusts established by her clients, including a Special Needs Trust and a Charitable Remainder Unitrust.

Ms. Brown has represented charitable organizations in various matters, including petitions to alter the terms of a charitable bequest, to organize and obtain tax-exempt status for new organizations, and one to dissolve an alumni organization where the school had merged into another organization. On a pro bono basis, she served as the Treasurer of the Dedham Choral Society for eight years, preparing all tax returns and state filings for this charitable organization.

 Now that she has returned to North Central Massachusetts, Ms. Brown continues her life-long music-making as a member of the Merrimack Valley A Cappella, a chapter of Sweet Adelines International which is based in Wilmington. She also remains active in dog showing and training clubs, including the Pioneer Valley Kennel Club and the Poodle Club of Massachusetts. She hopes to return to competitive golf in the not-too-distant future.

 Ms. Brown received her law degree from Harvard Law School and her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.