Archive: 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 called “probate”. Probate takes – in its most streamlined form...

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 Is Estate Tax? Put simply, estate tax is a tax...

“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 choice is to designate a spouse. But what about a...

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 that beneficiary outright (under the beneficiary’s control). By taking this...

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 planning is about so much more than the post-death disposition...

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 tax-free to someone other than your spouse upon your death,...

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 Dunie, our phones seem to ring a little bit...