Category Archives: Estate Planning
Be Careful How You Word Your Declaration of Trust
Even if you are very early in the research and brainstorming phase of your estate planning process, you have probably given more than a passing thought to setting up a trust. Living trusts, which are set up during your lifetime, and testamentary trusts, the establishment of which is provided for in your will, make… Read More »
What Happens If a Maryland Resident Dies Without a Will?
As another decade begins, your New Year’s resolutions become less and less like the ones you used to set in your youth. Remember your resolution in 1999, when you resolved to brush your teeth every day, or your 2005 resolution to always get up before noon? If you are old enough to read a… Read More »
Vaguely Worded Wills and Vaguely Defined Relationships Make for a Bad Estate Planning Strategy
If you are back on the dating scene in your golden years, you might be pleasantly surprised to find that late-in-life romance is refreshingly free of much of the drama that plagues young couples’ relationships. If you and your new sweetie are both retired and have grandchildren, you are automatically immune to the disputes… Read More »
The Castruccio Case: A Dispute Over a Codicil to a Will
As long as you are alive, the terms of your will are not set in stone. Revising one’s will at least once is the rule rather than the exception. For this reason, disputes sometimes arise when family members or other people listed as personal representatives bring differing versions of the will to court for… Read More »
What the Coronavirus Economic Panic Means for Your Estate Plan
Even if you are an expert at avoiding media hype, you can’t avoid noticing that the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 has almost everyone worried, even though only a few cases have been reported in the United States. In crowded places like malls and Metro stations, you probably see more people wearing surgical masks than you… 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 »
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 »
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 »
Widow of Maryland Novelist Sues Executor of Husband’s Will Over Estate Taxes
The type of dispute over the estate of a deceased person that attracts the most media attention is the disputes between a wealthy man’s widow and his children from a previous marriage. The tabloid press and its successor, clickbait journalism, often play up the drama of the acrimonious relationship between a stepmother and stepchildren… Read More »
