Author Archives: Jay Butchko
What the Foster House Settlement Means for D.C. Landlords
Comfortable, affordable housing is hard to find in almost all urban areas in the United States, but Washington, D.C. is one of the country’s most notoriously expensive housing markets, both for buyers and for tenants. Most of the rental units in the District are neither comfortable nor affordable. The desirable units are out of… Read More »
The Solitary Personal Representative’s Probate Dilemma
If your main motivation for getting started on your estate plan is to reduce stress on your family members, then you feel a great sense of relief once you write your will, print it on paper, and sign it in the presence of two witnesses. By designating someone as personal representative of your estate,… Read More »
Asset Protection and Your Retirement Account
Asset protection is a factor in most people’s estate planning strategy. Some people establish trusts and transfer assets to their heirs while they are still alive in order to protect their heirs’ inheritance from being vulnerable to creditor claims during probate. A simpler asset protection tool is probably already doing its job silently in… Read More »
The Changing Face of Platonic Co-Ownership of Real Estate
Anyone with a successful marriage will tell you that one of the key ingredients is to treat each other as business partners with regard to financial matters, even if you agree that each spouse also has a separate bank account for fun splurges or for financially supporting his or her own blood relatives and… Read More »
B Corporations and Maryland Law
Some people, especially when they are in Internet troll mode, seem to think that businesses are the only way to accomplish anything, while others seem to take the attitude that businesses are the root of all evil. When you ask enough thoughtful questions to members of the latter group, though, they are usually willing… Read More »
Are Revocable Trusts Overrated?
Financial planners advertise revocable trusts as though they are an aspirational product, and they are beneficial to people who establish them for the right reasons. If you are setting up a revocable trust because someone told you that all the financially savvy people are doing it, or because a financial planner offered it to… Read More »
Auto Repair Shop Sues Insurance Companies for Scaring Away Customers
The purpose of carrying insurance is to avoid financial catastrophe in the event of an unforeseen hardship, but insurance companies manage to make their claimants go through plenty of hassles before they get any financial relief. Consider that “don’t get sick” is the best financial advice both for people with health insurance and for… Read More »
Earnest Money in Real Estate Transactions
Earnest means serious or sincere; earnestness is a desirable but rare quality in the parties to discussions about financial transactions. How many entrepreneurs strike up a conversation at happy hour in which they plan to join forces to buy the moon and stars and turn them into luxury condos or a mixed-use district but… Read More »
If You Placed a Child for Adoption, Can He or She Inherit From You?
Estate planning lawyers often say that you should never write a will when you are angry, but writing a will when you are angry is better than not writing one at all. Even if you wrote your will just to make sure that your cheating spouse or your ungrateful youngest daughter didn’t get a… Read More »
New Maryland Law Restricts Noncompetes in Medical and Veterinary Professions
It only makes sense that big businesses hire lawyers to review contracts that could enable them to gain millions of dollars or, if things go wrong, to lose millions of dollars; some have lawyers on staff whose duties consist mainly of drafting, reviewing, and modifying contracts. Even if yours is a small business with… Read More »
