Blog

Many older people add an adult child to the title of their assets (especially their home), often to avoid probate. But this can create all kinds of problems. When you add a co-owner, you lose control. Jointly-owned assets are now exposed to the co-owner’s creditors,...

Maryland has laws for distributing the property of someone who dies without an estate plan—but not very many people would be pleased with the results. State laws vary, but generally they leave the deceased’s assets to family members. (Non-family members, like an...

Have you been following the proposed tax law changes on the Hill? Our President wants to eliminate "step-up basis" at death, which means he opts for "carry-over basis". When you sell an asset, your capital gain is the difference between your basis and the sales...

Contrary to popular belief, your Will does not supersede the beneficiary designations on your insurance, bank accounts, and retirement assets. If you put a child’s name on your bank account for convenience, that child may well be a co-owner of the account and receive...

Lincoln said “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.”  Unfortunately, this wisdom still applies to the law, legal documents, and writing your own Will, absent specific training in the law. Even attorneys, who don’t focus on estate planning, are hesitant to...

Life insurance can be an affordable way to provide for our children, spouse, a sibling, aging parents and others if we should die while they are depending on us. Life insurance proceeds can provide extra income to help pay ongoing household bills and child care; pay...

It’s that time of year – the time for beautiful weddings, fun receptions, delicious cakes, special gifts, and romantic honeymoons.  While this is a joyous time for everyone, it’s also time for you and your new spouse to plan for your future – for richer or for poorer,...

Paying insurance premiums to protect against potential losses frees us mentally to enjoy driving a car, leave our house empty while on vacation and receive medical treatment for an injury or illness. In the same way, the use of trusts acts like insurance and can shift...

Personal risk management is being aware of the risks in your home and in your life, and then planning how to handle those risks. Insurance plays a big part in managing risk. Most people don’t like paying insurance premiums, but when something happens and the insurance...

Thanks to the Supreme Court we now know that the religious convictions of the owners of closely held companies (which are not publicly traded) retain a protected status under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. While paying for abortifacients may not be a driving...