Category Archives: Estate Planning
Earth to Medicare: Seniors Need Dental Cleanings, Too
There are some people in this world who seem determined to look on the bright side of everything. No matter what you complain about, they will always turn it into an opportunity for gratitude, even when it is a legitimate grievance. If you complain about paying taxes, be thankful that you have a job. … Read More »
Do Revocable Trusts Help You Save Money on Taxes?
In many ways, a revocable trust is the best of both worlds. The revocable trust is a non-probate asset, much like an irrevocable trust. Unlike an irrevocable trust, though, a revocable trust does not require you to make a forever decision about your money and then live to regret it. The thing that makes… Read More »
It’s Time to Make Will Attestation Parties a Thing
When you were young, friendship was beautiful and pure. The highlight of your day was riding the school bus after school, sitting next to a friend who wasn’t in any of your classes and didn’t get off the bus at the same stop as you, singing, “We Will Rock You” and laughing until you… Read More »
Don’t Forget to Write Formerly Estranged Relatives Back Into Your Will
You know you are old if, when you were a teenager, you had a poster of David Cassidy on the wall of your bedroom. Like so many child stars, Cassidy grew up to be an adult whose life has the same ups and downs as any other adult’s life does, including several marriages and… Read More »
In Praise of Trust Fund Kitties
If you want your beloved pets to benefit from your generosity after you are gone, that is your prerogative. What you do with your estate is your business. Since animals cannot be beneficiaries of a will in their own right, you will have to word your will in such a way that your pets… Read More »
Is Delaying Retirement a Good Estate Planning Strategy?
Everyone’s bucket list is unique, but it is unlikely that anyone’s bucket list contains an item that says “outlive my savings.” Monthly Social Security checks are getting smaller for subsequent classes of retirees, and many middle-aged adults have little or no retirement savings, despite having been in the workforce consistently since they were in… Read More »
Yikes! Maryland Is Among the Top 5 Most Expensive States to Retire
Unless your goal is to create generational wealth or to use it as an income-generating asset, then selling your empty nest and moving somewhere more affordable makes the most financial sense. There is no reason to live inside the Beltway, where the housing prices are astronomical, once you have retired from your inside the… Read More »
Skilled Nursing Facilities and Your Maryland Estate Plan
If you have never had to think about the differences among a nursing home, an assisted living facility, a memory care facility, a skilled nursing facility, and hospice care, consider yourself lucky. It means that you are young enough and healthy enough not to have suffered a medical issue where the best-case scenario is… Read More »
The Estate Plan Backup Plan
Wishes are an effective way to start a long-term project. Watch any episode of Shark Tank or any documentary about a successful artist or innovator, and you will hear stories of how someone wished to follow the example of a particular extraordinary person or wished to invent something that did not yet exist but… Read More »
How Much Does It Cost to Retire in Maryland?
A lot of things lose their mystique as you age. When you were a child, and you saw a pint of ice cream in the supermarket, having enough money to buy the pint of ice cream and no one to stop you from eating it in one sitting seemed like the coolest thing in… Read More »
