Blog
Revocable Living Trusts: What Are They?
A revocable living trust is a legal document that allows you to transfer ownership of your assets to a trust during your lifetime. As the grantor or creator of the trust, you can serve as the trustee and retain control over the assets, while also designating a...
What You Need to Know About Beneficiary-Controlled Trust
Would you like to provide your children or loved ones with an inheritance but protect them from the risks that may accompany a large windfall? If so, you can create a beneficiary-controlled trust in which the person you name as the trust’s primary beneficiary has...
All Good Things Must Come to an End: Reasons a Trust Might Terminate
Nothing lasts forever. While trusts can stretch across generations and keep valuable money and property within a family, no trust has unlimited funds or an interminable time horizon. Every trust, at some point, will end. Maryland law, however, has a unique feature...
Untangling Tangled Titles: Homeownership, Property Deeds, and Estate Planning
Do you really own the home you live in? If you are currently living in a property that you inherited but the deed has not been transferred into your name, you may be surprised to learn that, under the law, you are technically not the owner. This legal situation is...
Estate Planning Considerations for Couples with an Age Gap
With couples of similar ages, planning for the future is naturally a joint effort. However, if you are married to someone who is significantly older or younger than you, the future can look different and mean different things to each of you. To protect yourself, your...
Trust Funding: Is Everything Titled Correctly?
Working with an attorney to draft a trust agreement for estate planning purposes is an important step. But just getting the document drafted and signed is not enough. For any trust to be effective, you must complete the process of funding your trust as soon as you...
Statements of Intent or Purpose in Estate Planning Documents
The reasons you, as a settlor, create a trust are certainly special and important to you, but stating your intent or purpose for creating a trust can have significant legal ramifications. For this reason, it is often critical that a settlor express in writing their...
Provide You and Your Family Peace of Mind
Many people think they are “too young” or do not have enough resources to plan their estate. These are common misconceptions that can effect a family for generations. Estate Planning is more than a set of instructions that tells the government who your property...
Three Reasons Why You Should Engage in Legacy Planning: Wisdom, Family Heritage, and Unity
Legacy planning transfers wisdom, family heritage, and unity. When an estate plan only focuses on the assets to be inherited it often leaves a family in disarray. Every family has traditions and values that bring them together and guide them through tough times and...
Do Your Parents Have an Estate Plan?
Are you in the “sandwich generation” (someone who is caring for both your children as well as your parents simultaneously)?, If so, you need to know whether or not your parents have an estate plan. While it is still your parent’s choice to make estate planning...