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...
Greenbelt IvyLaw Blog
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...
The SECURE Act’s Impact On Estate and Retirement Planning—Part 1
Personal Note: Today in the United States, we celebrate the Memory of a national Icon, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he did when he led the Civil right movement of the 1950's and 1960'S. We in America today enjoy the benefits of one man who stood with his...
The Real Cost To Your Family: Having No Estate Plan At All
Personal Note Hello There, Summer is winding down and we are unofficially moving into fall. Students are back in school also. This is to wish all students, teachers and administrators a successful school year. Parents also have an important role to play in supporting...
The Most Important Legal and Financial Actions To Take Right Now!
As you already know, the COVID-19 pandemic means nothing is business as usual. Many states have implemented a "shelter-in-place" order to limit the spread of the disease; however, if you are not in a place with such an order, or if your parents are not following it,...
Protecting Your Parents From Undue Influence During Covid-19 and Beyond
Today, we want to focus on one of the major risks of not being "in the know" when it comes to your parents' estate planning matters: the undue influence of bad actors. It is an unfortunate fact that predators emerge during times of upheaval to take advantage of...
Protect Your Family From Wealth’s Dark Side With a Lifetime Asset Protection Trust
When you create your estate plan, the idea that one of your adult children would ever use their inheritance to bankroll a cult is probably something you’d never dream of, much less anticipate. Yet that’s exactly what 40-year-old Clare Bronfman, heiress to the...
How to Fix Errors in Your Credit Report
While some of those TV commercials for free credit-score report companies are pretty funny, having errors on your credit report is no laughing matter. Indeed, your credit score is one of the main factors determining your access to loans, credit cards, housing, and...
How Do Trusts Help You Save on Taxes?
Many people come to us curious (or confused) about trusts and taxes. So today's article is going to sort it out and clarify things for you. There are two types of trusts, and each have different tax consequences. Revocable trusts, which are the far more commonly used...
