BDBF News and Legal Updates

Maryland is one of the few states that charges “inheritance tax”. We’ll start with the good news before you read on—fortunately, most conveyances of property are exempt from inheritance tax. However, it is important to be aware of inheritance tax as you consider bequests from your will, trust, or transfers via beneficiary designation. What is...

Last month, my wife and I signed our own trust. Just like nearly all of my clients who create trusts, my wife and retitled our home into our trust. In retitling our home into our trust, we signed a deed conveying title to the property from our names to the trust’s name. This deed was...

Every day, the estate and trust team at Bulman Dunie assist clients who serve as “Personal Representatives” (a/k/a “Executors”) of an estate in navigating the probate process. Probate can be complicated, but there are some easy steps that can be taken from Day 1 to make probate easier (and less expensive). Here are five tips...

Deciding where the children will attend school can be a daunting process, even for intact families. This is particularly true in the greater Washington, D.C. metro area, where there are so many choices, from public school to private school to magnet programs and charters. However, for children who split their time between two households, school...

If we have learned one thing from the feedback we’ve received from our readers, it’s that you love nothing more than posts about music, movies, and food. Who are we to disappoint you? The Fourth of July has come and gone, and we’re fully in summer cookout season. With that, we asked BDBF attorneys to...

In a Nevada court, a drama is playing out over – of all things – an irrevocable trust. But this isn’t any irrevocable trust. It is the family trust established by Rupert Murdoch to control his media empire, including Fox News. The Background The proceedings have not been open to the public, so we don’t...

While it might not seem complicated at first glance, there are many important factors for an attorney to consider before deciding whether to represent a friend or family member – and for a client to consider before hiring a friend or family member as their attorney. The Potential Benefits of a Dual Relationship The benefits...