Recent Blog Posts
If You Sell an Inherited Real Estate Property While the Estate Is Still in Probate, You Must Notify the Court
Your family member may have named you as the personal representative of their estate because of a professional qualification of yours. Perhaps you have worked as a tax preparer, insurance agent, financial adviser, or some other occupation where you are used to dealing with financial and legal paperwork. You might have a natural gift… Read More »
When Your Children Don’t Want to Inherit Your Personal Items: An Estate Planning Guide to Decluttering
In the field of estate planning law, there is much talk of reducing the value of your probate assets, and therefore reducing the estate taxes, by giving your heirs part of their inheritance while you are alive. Ways to do this include transferring assets to a trust, transferring the title of a house to… Read More »
Court Sides with DC Waterfront Developer in Dispute with Insurance Company
The waterfront area of Southwest DC is just one of the areas in the district that has recently transformed into a trendy, upscale place for DC residents and visitors to the area to socialize. The project to develop the waterfront required great investments of time and money, as commuters who witnessed the long-standing presence… Read More »
Communicate Openly with Your Spouse About Your Estate Plan, Even If You Keep Your Finances Separate
In some ways, a second marriage later in life can be refreshingly drama-free. You have gained enough wisdom not to fall victim to the insecurities that can lead you to have major battles with your spouse about minor slights. You can be each other’s confidante and emotional support when co-parenting your children with your… Read More »
The Best Tax Credits Maryland Businesses Can Claim in 2020
One of your business goals in 2020 should be to claim the tax credits available to you. All of these tax credits have fairly detailed requirements you must meet before the IRS will grant them to you. For example, the tax credits are only available to businesses that file their tax returns electronically, unless… Read More »
Ecology Services v. Clym: Feud Between Radioactive Waste Cleanup Companies Is a Big Mess
The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area arguably has more secrets than anywhere else in the United States. If you ride the Metro to work, chances are that the person next to you has a security clearance that prevents them from going into much detail about their workday. The District of Columbia also has more lawyers… Read More »
Difficult Decisions: Estate Planning to Provide for Troubled Relatives
You know you are officially an adult when you look at your pay stub and, instead of daydreaming about using what is left after your bills to splurge on purchases for yourself, you imagine saving it for your children, even if you do not have children yet. One of the happiest moments in a… Read More »
Paterakis Estate Dispute Highlights the Difference Between Probate and Non-Probate Assets
When a person dies, their estate goes through a judicial review process called probate, but the estate may not include everything the deceased person owned when they are alive. The main purpose of probate is to carry out the instructions in the deceased person’s will; if the person did not leave a will, then… Read More »
Reopening an Estate in the District of Columbia
Many people named as personal representatives of an estate feel some anxiety about the probate process, just because it is a legal process with which they do not have any experience. Once the estate settles and closes, they often feel a great sense of relief; later on, they might even enjoy comparing stories with… Read More »
Courts Can Pierce the Corporate Veil to Make LLC Members Pay, but Only in Extreme Cases
Most successful entrepreneurs have a series of failed business ventures in their past; trial and error are an essential part of the entrepreneurship process, and sometimes the process requires you to close an existing business entity and start over with a new one. If you are new to entrepreneurship, you might be surprised that… Read More »
