Trends

Our firm increasingly sees clients with large retirement account balances or large life insurance policies without a contingent or secondary beneficiary.  These assets will pass according to the beneficiary designation without being part of your probate estate as long as a beneficiary is named.  However, these assets are considered part of your total estate and could be subject to Maryland's 16% estate tax.

Another overlooked detail is the deed to your home.   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.