Helping our neighbors plan for their family’s future and avoid painful issues.
My adult children were home for the Easter holiday and I took the time to have that important conversation with them about their estate plans. Wait? You are an estate planning attorney. Why haven’t you had that conversation with them before? Haven’t you said before that an adult child's estate plan is an important aspect of your overall estate planning function? Why, yes. Yes, I did. But we as parents had to do some Read More
One of the simplest things you can do to protect your hard-earned assets and manage your estate is to review your beneficiary designations statement. If you do not keep them up to date, a variety of disasters can occur. Three Women and a Man in a Coma Let me tell you a quick story. Years ago, long before I became an attorney, an acquaintance had a terrible car accident and was in a coma in the hospital. He was Read More
Every summer, I am reminded of the intense emotions I felt all those years ago when my kids first went away to college. Sure, I was proud of them for graduating from high school. I was excited to watch them embark on the next step in their journeys. I was nostalgic about how quickly time passes, thinking of them as little toddlers running on the beach. But, most of all, I was scared. It wasn’t an active fear like I Read More
Some Great Articles to Read -- Harvard Health, “When a Loved One is Terminally Ill” Mayo Clinic, “Supporting a Terminally Ill Loved One” MD Anderson Cancer Center, “Making Memories Last: The Art of Legacy Work” Maryland Healthcare Commission’s Consumer Guide to Longterm Care Hospice and Palliative Care Network of Maryland University of Maryland Medical Center’s Palliative Care Services Maryland Department of Read More
Spring is a time of renewal, new growth, and possibility. Although many of us experience a burst of energy as the days grow longer and the weather gets warmer, it often doesn’t last long. In just a few weeks, our lives will begin to bustle with summertime preparations and an ever-growing To Do list. So, how can we make the most of the calm before the storm? Clear out those lingering tasks that have been sitting on Read More
In the United States, the majority of individuals don’t have any estate planning documents in place. Why is that? For some, it is difficult and uncomfortable to confront their own mortality. For others, there is a perception that the estate planning process is expensive or only meant for people who are already “successful.” To address this phenomenon, there have been a wave of “budget” and “DIY” estate planning Read More
A blended family is one with children from more than one partnership. For many families, this may be a second marriage in which one or both partners have children from a previous relationship. In some blended families, the second marriage also results in children. Blended families are very common, but the default laws in Maryland likely do not reflect how you want to provide for your loved ones after you pass. This Read More
As a parent and an estate planning attorney, I spend quite a lot of time thinking about how to protect my children and provide for their futures using estate planning tools. But, my children are grown. For new parents, I know that estate planning may be the furthest thing from your mind. As a parent (or grandparent!), there are a thousand things to worry about. Having children in your life creates responsibility, Read More
Many people have the mistaken belief that if they should become unable to make decisions on their own, that their loved ones will be able to step in and take care of things. Whether the incapacitation is a permanent condition or just temporary, however, there are many things that loved ones can’t do unless they are granted specific legal authorities. This can be done by obtaining legal guardianship, which is Read More
How do you know if you need to do estate planning? The easy answer is just about everyone needs to do some form of planning. Fellow ElderCounsel member Nicole Wipp recently developed a brilliant checklist for determining if you need estate planning. With her permission, here are eighteen estate planning checklist questions to help you learn whether you need estate planning. (These cover the most common Read More
