Category: Estates and Trusts
Many clients come to an estate planning consultation with a belief that a Last Will and Testament is the tool that disposes of their assets after they have passed away. Assets that transfer to your heirs via a Will must go through the court-supervised process…
In legislation that we will be keeping a close eye on, Maryland officials have proposed significantly reducing the state estate tax exemption from $5 Million to $2 Million. This would expose thousands more Marylanders – and many Bulman Dunie clients – to estate tax. What…
“Can My Kids Be Co-Agents?” This is one of the more common questions we get asked when we work with families to complete their Advance Medical Directive and Financial Power of Attorney. When clients designate their initial Health Care Surrogate or Financial Agent, the instinctive…
A common tool used by many of our estate planning clients is the use of a trust to protect a loved one’s inheritance. Where a trust is established, the inheritance is retained in trust for the benefit of a designated beneficiary, rather than distributed to…
When most people in their 20s or 30s think about estate planning, they assume that is something that their parents or grandparents should be worrying about. “I don’t yet have significant savings, let alone an ‘estate’ to plan for” is the common refrain. However, estate…
With a new year comes updated exemptions for estate tax exclusion and gift tax for 2024. What is the “estate tax exemption” and where is it going in 2024? The estate tax exemption refers to the value (or sum) of non-charitable bequests that can pass…
Thanksgiving. A time for food, football, and family. When families gather – particularly when multiple generations gather – it is not unusual for younger generations to broach the subject (sometimes after a glass of wine or two) about estate planning. We know this because, at Bulman…
There is a significant piece of new law on the books effective January 1, 2024 that will impact all business owners, including many Bulman Dunie estate planning clients. Anecdotally, from talking to our clients who will be impacted by this change, most are not aware…
Ch-ch-ChangesPretty soon you’re gonna get a little olderTime may change meBut I can’t trace timeI said that time may change meBut I can’t trace time “Changes” by David Bowie When clients sign their estate planning documents, whether it is a power of attorney, a will,…
When The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, passed away in August 2018, few could imagine how messy she had left her legal affairs. Nearly five years later, in July 2023, following years of nasty intra-family litigation, a Michigan jury concluded that a 2014 document found…
