Planning Process

Planning Process

An initial one  hour meeting is required to determine a plan that suits your needs. The meeting is complimentary; please send in a completed information form prior to the meeting. Married couples will both need to attend the meeting if a joint plan is requested. At the end of the meeting, we will give you a good faith estimate for the cost of your estate plan. The firm requires a signed retainer agreement and a deposit of half the estimate to start your personalized plan. Additional meetings may be required depending on the complexity of the estate plan. A final meeting will be required to witness and notarize the completed documents.

Trends

In increasing instances, our firm sees clients with significant home equity, large IRA and 401K balances, and substantial life insurance policies. Typically, these assets pass by survivorship or by beneficiary designation and are not controlled by your will. However, those assets are included in your estate for tax purposes and can easily push your estate over one million dollars. Beyond that amount the State of Maryland taxes the estate at 16%.

The deed to your home is often overlooked in the estate planning process.   Whether you hold title as husband and wife, joint tenants,  tenants in common, or through a trust is critical to your Estate Plan.  We can review your deed and ensure that there are no surprises with one of your largest assets.

Our firm can help you with beneficiary designations and advise you on the tax consequences and practical effects of the designations available to you.  We write wills for young parents to ensure that a guardian is named for their children; we include education trusts as part of the will for when those children approach college age; and we set up trusts for retiring employees who want to take care of their spouse, but ensure that their wealth eventually passed to their children.

Probate

The probate proceeding settles your final affairs, assures that your creditors can present their claims, and that your heirs receive what you have given them in your will. The Register of Wills’ office in Anne Arundel County is helpful and their website contains some very good information on estates. We can tailor your plan to minimize the amount of property that passes through the probate process. Our firm can handle the administrative and legal details associated with probate, ensuring that your wishes are carried out.

As an alternative, a revocable or “living trust” can minimize the assets that are overseen by the Probate process.  For many families creating a trust can save significant sums by avoiding a large Probate Estate.