January 5, 2023
An estate plan is a set of papers that usually includes a will, durable power of attorney, and advance medical directive. These essential documents can help you manage financial and health-related matters if you ever become incapacitated, and they should provide for the efficient transfer of your assets upon your death.
October 10, 2022
Preparing an estate plan means having a say in what happens to your wealth after you are gone. Through a Last Will and Testament, you can name the important people in your life who will inherit your assets.
July 18, 2022
Since the adoption of “portability,” which allows a surviving spouse to apply a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount (DSUE) to the surviving spouse’s gift and estate transfers, the IRS has been flooded with requests to extend the portability filing deadline in estates where an estate tax return was not required, i.e. where the value of the gross estate, adjusted for taxable gifts, fell below the federal exclusion amount for the decedent’s year of death.
June 27, 2022
The Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade has sent abortion-rights advocates reeling. In a 6–3 opinion, the Court ended a constitutional right that was the law of the land for nearly half a century. The ruling could put other constitutional rights in jeopardy as well. Many in the LGBTQ community are asking, “Is same-sex marriage next?”
January 14, 2022
Estoppel Certificates and Lease Amendments: Comparing Apples and Oranges – Applying Maryland contract law, the 4th Circuit determines that an estoppel certificate does not modify a commercial lease.…
December 28, 2021
In the next three decades, trillions of dollars are expected to transfer from Baby Boomers to their children in what’s being called the Great Wealth Transfer. For those of us whose parents are still…
November 19, 2021
This morning the House passed the latest version of President Biden’s $2 trillion social spending and climate package today, also known as the Build Back Better Act, but the threat of massive tax…
June 1, 2021
A misconception has developed that arbitration is no quicker than litigation. However, arbitration can be an effective and efficient alternative to the time consuming and costly process of litigation. The following tips can shed some light on to why arbitration should be a consideration before litigation, and how to effectively use arbitration to a successful resolution of legal issues.
January 7, 2021
The U. S. House of Representatives has retained its Democratic majority, the Senate now tilts blue in large part to a historic assist from Georgia, and Joe Biden’s presidential victory has been certified. Get ready for higher taxes.
June 16, 2020
On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court, by a 6-3 margin, published a historic decision that greatly expands the definition of “sex” discrimination under the federal Civil Rights Act, also known as Title VII. In Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, Justice Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, penned the Court’s majority opinion holding that an employer who terminates an employee due to the employee’s sexual orientation or sexual identity violates Title VII’s prohibition on workplace discrimination because it discriminates on the basis of sex.
February 27, 2020
On June 5, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved a new regulation that requires stock brokers to base their recommendations to investors on what is in an investor’s best interest. This new higher standard, referred to as “Regulation Best Interest”, is intended to narrow the gap that currently exists between the different standards of care that a broker and an investment advisor must abide by when making recommendations to an investor. The SEC will begin enforcing Regulation Best Interest on June 30, 2020.
November 14, 2019
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals provides helpful guidelines to homeowners and HOAs in addressing the boundaries of reasonableness when reviewing solar panel installations in Blood v. Stoneridge at Fountain Green Homeowners Association, 2019 Md. App. LEXIS 736.