Free Britney (with Supported Decision Making)

Britney Spears’ conservatorship shined a spotlight on the problems of guardianship systems and their damaging impact on people’s lives. The world saw that Britney’s mental health challenges did not impede her ability to make decisions such as selecting attorneys and engaging health care professionals. What the California system lacked was an appreciation for the concept […]

Leonard Cohen’s Last Hallelujah

Another day, another celebrity estate battle. Hallelujah for the attorneys. This time it is the estate of beloved singer, songwriter, author, and poet Leonard Cohen. “Leonard Cohen’s lawyers and manager forged his trust so they could fleece the estate of millions of dollars and steal the Hall of Famer’s legacy from his own children,” attorney […]

Documents and Dementia

Bruce Willis’ family recently announced he has frontotemporal dementia. The actor just celebrated his 68th birthday. For most people, dementia is associated with advanced age. To many, Willis’ condition was surprising given his age, but not so much for me. My best friend in high school began to lose words and seem confused while only […]

Don’t Screw This Up

My client called me in a panic. After his spouse, Bobbi, died, my client checked with Bobbi’s employer. Bobbi had a life insurance policy through her work. The human resources director assured my client that the policy beneficiary was the spouse. Yet, my client was the second spouse. What if the beneficiary named in the […]

Lisa Marie and me

Another celebrity death and another lesson in estate planning mistakes. Lisa Marie Presley, the recently deceased daughter of Elvis Presley is the focus of a recent case before the Los Angeles Superior Court. The plaintiff is Lisa Marie’s mother, Priscilla Presley. The lawsuit focuses on estate planning basics. Did Lisa Marie properly sign and execute […]

Taking Dad’s Money

Children sometimes steal from their parents. I’m not talking about the petty theft of a minor sneaking into dad’s wallet.  The greater concern is with adult children caring for elderly parents. The Maryland Appellate Court has made it clear that the unauthorized taking of funds from a parent’s account is theft. The Appellate Court of […]

The Tax You Didn’t Know

What do Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania all have in common? These six states are the only states to collect an inheritance tax. In addition to an estate tax, these states tax the transfer of wealth to the beneficiary. And the results can be severe. Many Maryland estates will be affected by the […]

Anne Heche Estate Debacle

The late actress Anne Heche committed the cardinal sin of estate planning. She had not executed a will. Heche died after her car crashed into a private home leaving her estate in disarray. Shortly after Heche’s death, a legal dispute arose between her 20-year-old son Homer Laffoon and her ex-partner James Tupper (and father of […]

Tax Updates

Good Tax News! Positive news from the Internal Revenue Service is like the 1972 song by Climax, “precious and few.” Yet, we had such news recently. The Federal government taxes transfers of wealth but for intra-spousal transfers. These taxes are separate from and in addition to income taxes, unemployment taxes or Medicare taxes. The transfer […]

Backdoors and Alleyways in Trusts

Estate Planning frequently requires choices as to how and when wealth is distributed to family. Just as death and taxes are certain, so too issues will arise and plans will be challenged. The skill of an attorney who can both craft and draft a document may be the difference between discord and harmony, especially when […]

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