A power of attorney is among the most common estate planning documents. As such, the odds are favorable that you will execute at least one power of attorney during your lifetime. You may, or may not, want the authority you grant in your Power of Attorney to work if you are incapacitated. To ensure that you make the right choice for your situation, the Annapolis powers of attorney lawyers at … [Read more...] about Do I Need to Make My Power of Attorney Durable?
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What is the Difference Between an Estate Planning Attorney and a Financial Advisor?
As an estate planning attorney, it is my job to counsel and advise clients. I am tasked with understanding how assets are structured and the tax implications on certain accounts or financial products. Understanding how these things work both practically and legally allows me to counsel clients on how best to structure an estate plan for a particular family. For example, a traditional Brokerage … [Read more...] about What is the Difference Between an Estate Planning Attorney and a Financial Advisor?
How to Fund Your Revocable Living Trust
A Living Trust is a way to hold title to assets, just like sole ownership or joint tenancy. The main reasons most individuals choose an estate plan that includes a Revocable Living Trust is to avoid probate. The only way to accomplish this is to set up the trust properly and fund your trust. Funding a trust is the process of transferring your assets to the ownership of your trust. Once ownership … [Read more...] about How to Fund Your Revocable Living Trust
Is Formal Probate Required?
If you recently experienced the loss of your mother, you are undoubtedly still mourning her loss. Probating her estate is the last thing you probably want to focus on; however, someone needs to do so. If that person is you, one of the first decisions you need to make is to decide if formal probate is necessary or if an alternative is an option. It is always best to consult with an experienced … [Read more...] about Is Formal Probate Required?
Lessons Learned from Larry King
Larry King was a mainstay on American television and an iconic radio host whose accolades included an Emmy, two Peabodys, and numerous cable awards. His notoriety will likely remain for years to come due to his celebrity status, his various marriages, and broadcasting firsts, including the talk show that bore his name. However, the legacy of Larry King may shift as the conversations regarding his … [Read more...] about Lessons Learned from Larry King
Why Legacy Planning Is Important
You probably know why it is important to have an estate plan in place; however, do you know what legacy planning is? The idea behind the concept of legacy planning is to take estate planning to the next level. Legacy planning allows you to incorporate your ideals, beliefs, values, and faith into your estate planning endeavors. Instead of simply leaving behind assets, legacy planning lets you … [Read more...] about Why Legacy Planning Is Important
Can My Estate Avoid Probate?
A comprehensive estate plan can accomplish a wide range of inter-related goals. Making sure that loved ones are protected and financially secure after you are gone may be one of your estate planning goals. If so, you may also want to include probate avoidance as a goal to ensure that your loved ones actually receive the assets you left the in a timely manner. To help get you started, an Annapolis … [Read more...] about Can My Estate Avoid Probate?
Have You Updated Your Beneficiaries Lately?
Hopefully, you understand how important it is to have a comprehensive estate plan in place as well as what that plan can do for you when it is working properly. Taking the time to create a well-thought-out estate plan, however, is only the first step toward protecting everyone and everything that matter to you. You must also keep that plan up to date for it to work as intended. For example, the … [Read more...] about Have You Updated Your Beneficiaries Lately?
Asset Protection Planning for Seniors
When you think about the priorities in your estate plan, you likely think about the need to ensure that your loved ones are provided for in your absence. That causes you to focus on creating a plan to distribute your estate assets according to your wishes. While it is always important to focus on how your estate assets will be passed down to loved ones, it is equally important to incorporate tools … [Read more...] about Asset Protection Planning for Seniors
Trust Administration Explained
If you are contemplating the addition of a living trust to your estate plan, one of the most important decisions you will need to make when creating your trust is who to appoint as your Trustee. One of the most common reasons for a trust to fail is appointing the wrong Trustee. Typically, that happens because the Settlor does not really understand what the duties and responsibilities of a Trustee … [Read more...] about Trust Administration Explained
How Do I Know If My Parent Is the Victim of Elder Abuse?
If you have a parent who is a resident of a nursing home, you undoubtedly worry about the level of care and compassion they are receiving at the facility. Unfortunately, there is no way to know with 100 percent certainty that the facility in which your parent is a resident is free from elder abuse and neglect. You are not powerless though. What you can do is be aware of the issue and learn how to … [Read more...] about How Do I Know If My Parent Is the Victim of Elder Abuse?
Does a Child Born Out of Wedlock Inherit from My Estate?
In the absence of even a simple Last Will and Testament, your estate will be distributed according to the intestate succession laws of your state of residency at the time of your death. In most cases, that means that a spouse and/or children will inherit your estate. What happens if you have a child born out of wedlock? Will that child inherit from your estate? The Annapolis estate planning … [Read more...] about Does a Child Born Out of Wedlock Inherit from My Estate?
Can Medicaid Still Take My Home after I Die?
For 2019, the average cost of a year in a Maryland long-term care facility was over $125,000. Unless you can afford to cover that kind of expense out of pocket, you will likely need to depend on Medicaid to help you if you need long-term care (LTC) in the future. One of your biggest fears, however, may be the commonly held belief that to qualify for Medicaid you will have to give up your home or … [Read more...] about Can Medicaid Still Take My Home after I Die?
Special Planning for Children with Special Needs
If you wish to gift assets to someone with special needs, care must be taken when making that gift because you could do more harm than good. To ensure that you do not interfere with the beneficiary’s eligibility for much-needed state and federal assistance programs, you may choose to make your gift using a Special Needs Trust. A Special Needs Trust is a specialized type of trust that is intended … [Read more...] about Special Planning for Children with Special Needs
Why Do I Need a Will?
If you have yet to create even a basic estate plan, you have likely had to listen to well-meaning friends and family encouraging you to get started. It helps to understand why it is so important to have that plan in place. Toward that end, a Bowie estate planning attorney at Sinclair Prosser Gasior explains why you don’t want to die intestate. Intestate vs. Intestate Estates When a … [Read more...] about Why Do I Need a Will?
Top 10 Reasons to Review Your Estate Plan
Marriage can automatically give each spouse some rights in each other’s property. However, marriage does not automatically change your will or trust to provide for the new spouse. It is important to examine your estate plan in light of the new situation and your mutual and separate goals. Divorce is particularly disruptive to an estate plan. Goals which you had before, such as providing for … [Read more...] about Top 10 Reasons to Review Your Estate Plan
Does Loaning Money to Children Affect Your Estate Plan?
The wealth gap between parents and their adult children has never been greater and there is a common narrative that many adult children are still receiving financial support from their parents. The numbers tell us that the majority of young adults who could be considered “financially independent” from their parents by their early twenties has continuously gone down in recent decades. What does … [Read more...] about Does Loaning Money to Children Affect Your Estate Plan?
