The Maryland Legislature recently made it more difficult (but not impossible) to disinherit a spouse. When one spouse dies, the survivor has rights to the marital estate. However, the deceased spouse could have owned assets in a way that shielded them from the surviving spouse’s marital rights. The key change made by the new law […]
Hopefully, each of us has at least one person we trust to aid us in a time of distress or illness. When it comes to financial matters, we hope that those people are savvy in asset management, record keeping, and tax compliance. Most often when selecting fiduciaries, such as agents under a power of attorney, […]
The appointment of an agent under a Power of Attorney is a minefield of potential abuses. Even a trusted person can become untrustworthy. Agents often have a great deal of discretion and the potential for conflicts of interest abound. If a power of attorney is effective when executed, the agent can act on the principal’s […]
“Whom do you trust?” is the most challenging question for people planning their estates. This question arises because we each need to rely upon others for support in times of crisis or illness. We wonder who we trust to be honest, fair, reliable, and diligent. Designating an agent involves careful consideration of when, how, and […]
Congress just changed the law governing IRA distributions. The result is not good for your children. The law change affects when a person passes away how their IRA transfers to a named beneficiary of a younger generation. Under the old law, the beneficiary could stretch the payments from the IRA over their lifetime. The non-spousal […]
The role of the trustee is laden with distinct and demanding duties. Even more, exacting and demanding than the typical role of the trustee is serving as the trustee of a special needs trust (“SNT”). Estate planners draft with increasing regularity SNTs for clients who may have a family member with a disability. Insurance agents […]
Persons with special needs sometimes are better served by pooling their assets into a pooled special needs trust than by having separate trusts. This pooled approach can make many financial and quality-of-life benefits possible for at-risk persons and their families. Unfortunately, many attorneys familiar with guardianships and special needs trusts are not familiar with this […]
All parents have a never-ending list of concerns for their children. When a child has a physical or mental challenge, the concerns are multiplied. My role, as an estate-planning attorney, is to help my clients figure out how to continue to protect their child should they themselves become incapacitated or pass away. I can offer […]
Rarely do we experience bold steps by our government to address the needs of persons with disabilities. Toward that goal, Congress passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 to provide IRA style savings accounts for persons with disabilities. President Obama’s signature completes the process. What is great about this Act is the […]
Many of our clients are motivated to visit us for planning as their children with disabilities become adults and the parents face their mortality. This has been the topic of some recent articles such as this one in the New York Times. Click here to read more: http://nyti.ms/1VNowAn
