Estate Planning Articles
Wills and trusts, powers of attorney and advance directives, Medicaid and long-term care. What each document does, when you need it, and what happens without it.
Creating a Trust in Maryland
What a Maryland trust can do that a will cannot, the difference between revocable and irrevocable, and what it takes to fund one so probate is really avoided.
Supplemental Security Income: COLA 2023 Update
The 2023 cost-of-living adjustment raised SSI payments by 8.7%. What the new figures are, who qualifies, and how the resource limits interact with them.
Maryland Probate FAQs
Answers to what Maryland families ask about probate: how long it takes, what it costs, what the Register of Wills needs, and when it can be skipped.
What is the Procedure for Making Advance Directives in Maryland?
If you want a say in what happens to your health if you can't speak for yourself, learn about advance directives and how to make them in Maryland.
12 Headaches Your Loved Ones May Face with Improper Estate Planning
Twelve things that go wrong for the family when an estate plan is missing or out of date, from frozen accounts to a guardianship nobody wanted.
Disadvantages of a Revocable Living Trust in Maryland
Learn about the disadvantages and benefits of creating a revocable living trust to avoid probate if you are planning your estate.
12 End-of-Life Documents You Need Now
The twelve documents a complete end-of-life plan contains, what each one does, and which of them your family cannot act without.
Should My Aging Parents Add Me to Their Bank Accounts?
Adding an adult child to a parent's account creates a joint owner, not a helper. The creditor, Medicaid, and tax consequences, and the safer alternative.
What Happens if My Spouse and I Die at the Same Time? [Updated 4/5/24]
Simultaneous-death rules decide who inherits when spouses die together. What Maryland's 120-hour rule does, and the survivorship clause that overrides it.
What is the Difference Between a Living Trust and a Will?
A will directs probate; a living trust avoids it. How the two documents differ on privacy, cost, and control, and why most estate plans use both.
[Updated 2024] How Do I Get a Power of Attorney in Maryland?
Secure your future with confidence: Learn how to obtain a Power of Attorney in Maryland with support from a Maryland estate planning attorney.
How to Disinherit Someone — and Why You Shouldn't
People in Maryland can write practically whatever terms they want in their wills, but that does not mean the probate courts will honor those terms.
Why do I Need an Advance Care Directive for a Sudden Illness?
Some individuals execute a Health Care Power of Attorney or a Living Will. However, Thienel Law advises clients to execute both documents.
[UPDATED 2023] Why Do I Need a Residuary Estate Clause?
Discover the importance of a Residuary Estate Clause in safeguarding your assets and ensuring your legacy is managed as you intended.
Do You Know How to Use a Durable Power of Attorney?
Named as an agent under a durable power of attorney? What the role lets you do, what it does not, and when the authority starts and ends.
How to Avoid Conservatorship and Guardianship in Virginia
A power of attorney, an advance directive, and a trust can keep a Virginia court out of your affairs. What to sign, and when it is too late to sign it.
11 Things You Didn't Know About Guardianship in Virginia
What a Virginia guardianship petition involves, what the guardian ad litem does, what the annual reports require, and the less restrictive alternatives.
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Estate Planning: Top 50 Questions Answered
Estate planning can feel overwhelming, and it does not have to. The most common questions, answered in plain English by an experienced DMV estate-planning attorney.
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