Families in Maryland may encounter a situation in which they have to provide for the care of a minor child or even for an adult who can no longer take care of herself. For example, a child may lose both of his parents in an accident or may be in a situation where...
Greenbelt IvyLaw Blog
Pay attention to details when it comes to estate planning
When it comes to estate planning for Maryland residents, some people probably think it will go one of two ways: it will be easy or it will be complex. Of course, no two estate plans are the same, so the ease or complexity of the process will be heavily dependent on...
How to Avoid the Need For a Prenuptial Agreement – Part 1
If you are engaged to be married, divorce is probably the last thing you and your fiancé want to be thinking about. Yet you might be rightfully concerned about what would happen to your assets should your marriage end in divorce or in the event of your death. One...
The process of securing a fiancé visa
We often do not have a choice with whom we fall in love with. For many individuals in Maryland, the desire to marry another one is driven by love rather than arrangement. Thus, when one’s love is not constrained by the boarders of the United States, this often means...
Court approves public charge rule restricting immigrants
In August, a federal appeals court in Maryland approved the federal governments’ rules making it harder for immigrants to seek permanent residency in this country if they relied on public assistance programs. This ruling allows the application of a public charge rule...
COVID-19 Highlights Critical Need for Advance Healthcare Directives—Part 1
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, doctors across the nation are joining lawyers in urging Americans to create the proper estate planning documents, so medical providers can better coordinate their care should they become hospitalized with the...
A Tragic Oversight: Kobe Bryant’s Youngest Daughter Mistakenly Left Out of Family Trust
In January, we reported how the deaths of NBA legend Kobe Bryant (Kobe) and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash demonstrated the vital need for estate planning for people of all ages. At the time, little was known about the planning strategies Kobe...
Understanding the difference between legacy and estate planning
It is safe to assume that most of us living in the Greenbelt, Maryland, area know at least a little about estate planning. It seems as if just when you begin to understand the terminology used in estate planning, another term (legacy planning) arises. Many of you have...
Who Would Care For Your Children If You Got Sick With COVID-19?
The pandemic is causing us to consider a lot of things that we may not have before, even if maybe we should have. It brings to mind something a colleague of mine shared recently. One unremarkable weekend, she left her small children with a babysitter and headed out to...
The SECURE Act’s Impact On Estate and Retirement Planning—Part 2
On January 1, 2020, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) went into effect, and it could have big implications for both your retirement and estate planning strategies-and not all of them are positive. Last week, we discussed three...
