Trusts Attorney Serving the DMV
Thienel Law sets up revocable and irrevocable trusts for families across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, with tax counsel built in. Schedule a free consultation.
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Thienel Law sets up revocable and irrevocable trusts for individuals and families in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, with the tax side handled by the same attorney.
A trust lets you decide who controls your property, who benefits from it, and when, both during your life and after you are gone. Used well, it keeps assets out of probate, protects a beneficiary who cannot manage money alone, and keeps your affairs private. Thienel Law builds trusts that fit your family and your goals, whether you want a simple revocable living trust to avoid probate or an irrevocable trust for tax or protection reasons, and coordinates each one with your broader estate plan. Because Stephen Thienel holds an LL.M. in Taxation and prepares returns in-house, the tax consequences of funding and running your trust are answered by the same attorney who drafts it.
What is a trust, and who needs one?
A trust is a legal arrangement in which one person, the trustee, holds and manages property for the benefit of others under the terms you set. A revocable living trust stays under your control while you are alive and passes what it holds to your beneficiaries under its own terms, without probate. An irrevocable trust gives up that control in exchange for benefits a revocable trust cannot offer, such as removing assets from your taxable estate or shielding them from certain claims.
Not everyone needs a trust, but many people benefit from one: parents of young children, families with a member who has special needs, owners of property in more than one state, blended families, and anyone who wants to keep an estate private or spare their family the delay of probate.
What goes wrong when a trust is missing or poorly drafted?
Without a trust, property that could have passed privately and quickly often lands in probate, the public court process that settles an estate. Probate takes time, becomes part of the public record, and can tie up assets your family needs.
A trust that is drafted but never funded causes its own problem. A trust controls only the assets actually retitled into it, so a document signed and then forgotten leaves your property to pass the way it would have without any trust at all. Vague terms, the wrong trustee, or a missed tax consequence can turn a plan meant to help your family into the dispute it was supposed to prevent.
What does Thienel Law prepare when you set up a trust?
Thienel Law builds a trust around your assets, your beneficiaries, and your reasons for wanting one, not a form pulled off a shelf.
- The trust agreement itself, drafted to say who benefits, who serves as trustee, and how and when distributions are made.
- The choice between a revocable trust, which you can change and revoke during your life, and an irrevocable trust, which trades that control for tax or asset-protection benefits.
- Funding guidance and the deeds, assignments, and beneficiary changes that actually move your assets into the trust.
- A pour-over will that catches anything left outside the trust and directs it in.
- Trustee and successor-trustee selection, with instructions clear enough that whoever steps in knows what to do.
- Coordination of the trust with your will, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations so nothing contradicts.
- A review of the tax consequences before you sign, handled in-house by an attorney with a tax LL.M.
What is it like to set up a trust with Steve?
Every engagement begins with a free 30-minute consultation. It is a fit conversation for people who are ready to hire an estate planning attorney: you describe your family, your assets, and what you want the trust to accomplish, and you and Steve decide together whether working with him makes sense. From there you work directly with Stephen Thienel, not a rotating cast of staff.
The practice runs online. Secure video meetings, shared document folders, and electronic signatures let you build and sign a trust from home, and Steve walks you through the funding steps so the trust actually holds the assets you intend.
How do trust laws differ in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia?
All three jurisdictions govern trusts by a modern, comprehensive statute, so a properly drafted trust is administered under clear rules in each. Maryland uses the Maryland Trust Act, while Washington, D.C., and Virginia have each adopted a version of the Uniform Trust Code. Virginia’s code applies to living and testamentary trusts but not to business or commercial trusts, a line the other jurisdictions draw in similar terms.
The practical differences show up in how trusts are created, modified, and administered, and in how each jurisdiction taxes an estate. Because Stephen Thienel is licensed in all three, one attorney can set up your trust where you live now, coordinate it if you own property across the DMV, and update it if you move.
Where does a trust fit in your estate plan?
A trust is one part of a plan that usually has several moving pieces, from the will that backstops it to the documents that speak for you while you are alive.
What clients say about working with Steve
I have worked with Steve Thienel for more than 20 years now and the experience has been amazing. Steve and his team are very thorough, they review all sides of a situation, and are very measured in how they approach a solution. They are 100% client focused and a pleasure to work with!
Throughout years, Steve has been my go to guy for business, real estate, and legal work. Steve works fast and is highly reliable. I would recommend Steve to anyone.
Received expert advice including options when applicable. Filings were timely and I was kept informed each step of the way. First class service!!!
I have been receiving services from Mr. Thienel for over 15 years. I have found his legal services to be of exceptionally high value and quality. His services are always timely, professional and thorough!
Reviews are published as given. Thienel Law does not offer compensation for reviews.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a revocable and an irrevocable trust?
A revocable trust stays under your control during your life, so you can change or cancel it at any time, and it passes assets to your beneficiaries without probate. An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed once it is set up, and in exchange it can remove assets from your taxable estate or protect them from certain claims.
Does a trust avoid probate in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia?
Assets you retitle into a revocable living trust pass under the trust's terms rather than through probate in all three jurisdictions. The key is funding: a trust controls only the property actually transferred into it, so assets left in your own name can still end up in probate. Thienel Law handles the funding step, not just the drafting.
Do I still need a will if I have a trust?
Yes. A pour-over will works alongside your trust to catch any asset you did not move into it and direct that asset into the trust. A will also names guardians for minor children, which a trust cannot do. Thienel Law drafts the [will](/wills-attorney) and the trust together so they do not conflict.
Do I have to give up control of my property to set up a trust?
Not with a revocable living trust. You can serve as your own trustee, manage the assets as you always have, and change or revoke the trust whenever you like. You give up control only if you choose an irrevocable trust, and only because that trade is what makes its tax and protection benefits possible.
Will one trust work if I own property in more than one DMV jurisdiction?
A trust can hold property in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, but real estate in each place has to be deeded into the trust correctly, and the tax treatment can differ. Because Stephen Thienel is licensed in all three, he can set up a single trust that works across the DMV and handle the transfers in each jurisdiction.
Ready to set up a trust across the DMV?
Stephen Thienel builds revocable and irrevocable trusts for families in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, with the tax side handled by the same attorney who drafts the trust. If you are ready to hire an estate planning attorney, schedule a free 30-minute consultation and see whether the fit is right.
- Tell Steve about your matter
- Pick a time that works