Estate Attorneys St. Mary's County

Quick Links:
Business Succession Planning
Durable Power of Attorney and Statutory Power of Attorney
Will Drafting
Living Wills & Advance Healthcare Directive
Medicare Planning
Nursing Home Planning
Do Not Resuscitate/DNR Orders
Estate Administration
Probate Litigation
Caveats/Will Contests
Elder Law
Tax Planning
Marital Trusts
Bypass Trusts

Planning an estate is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family, yet estate planning is generally not included at the top of a person's priority list. Creating the proper estate plan can make the difference between having a say in the swift and proper handling of your affairs when you pass or having a court administer your estate over a long period of time. Whether you are a young person with growing assets in need of estate planning advice, or just a person wishing to create or update your will, this section provides basic information to help you effectively plan your estate.

Estate planning starts with an analysis of your assets, your liabilities, the present and future needs and desires of yourself or your loved ones, and considerations in the events of your or your loved ones’ incapacity.

The Law Offices of Baldwin and Briscoe, P.C. can assist you with the many forms of estate planning.

Business Succession Planning
Make sure your business continues to thrive even after you are gone. Forming a business succession plan can help effect an orderly and affordable transfer of the business to the next generation or key employee. Failure to plan for orderly business succession can result in both monetary losses and even the loss of the business itself. We can assist you in designing a comprehensive and fail safe business succession plan.

Durable Power of Attorney and Statutory Power of Attorney
Make sure the decisions made for you are the right ones even if you can’t make them yourself. Creating a durable power of attorney gives an agent the right to act on your behalf if you become mentally incapacitated or otherwise rendered unable to make your decisions and handle your affairs. If you want to give someone such authority the best way to do it is through a statutory durable power of attorney. We can help ensure that you and your family are taken care of if something happens to you. 

  To read more about powers of attorney in Maryland, see:
   Powers of Attorney

 
Will Drafting
Make sure your assets and children are taken care of. A Last Will and Testament is the proper way to ensure that your funds, property and personal effects will be distributed after your death according to your wishes. Wills are important for younger and older people alike. Having a Will is especially important if you have young children because it gives you the opportunity to designate a guardian for them in the event of your death. Without a completed last Will and Testament, the court will appoint a guardian for your children. We can help make sure your assets go where you want and your children are taken care of.

Living Wills & Advance Healthcare Directives
Make sure you have a say in your own health care decisions. A health care directive, also known as a living will, gives your family direction on the medical care you want if you are unable to communicate your health care decisions yourself. We can help you appoint another person to make health care decisions, leave written instructions so that other people make decisions based or your wishes, or do both.

Medicare Planning
Make sure you take advantage of the best health care options for you. Medicare planning includes discussing your options for long term health care, figuring out how to pay and finance your care, planning ahead for long term care you or your family may need, and finding someone to talk to about your questions for long term care. We can help assist you in getting the best long term health care plan for you.

Nursing Home Planning
Make sure you are taken care of later on in your life. It is important to think about advanced planning should you or your loved ones ever be in a position in which a nursing home or live in nurse is necessary.  We can help you provide every supplemental need for the senior including such things as new clothing, special duty nurses, and private rooms. 

Do Not Resuscitate/DNR Orders
Make sure you receive the medical treatment you want to receive. A Do Not Resuscitate order addresses the various methods used to revive people whose hearts have stopped functioning or who have stopped breathing. This could include chest compressions, electric heat shock, artificial breathing tubes, and special drugs. We can help you create a Do Not Resuscitate Order so that you can make your own health care decisions. 

Estate Administration
Make sure the estate of a loved one is collected and managed properly. Estate administration involves gathering the assets of the estate, paying any debts the decedent may have incurred, and distributing the remaining assets. We can assist you in making sure the will of your loved one is carried out properly.

To read more, see the following article:
 Personal Representatives and Special Administrators

Probate Litigation
Make sure you get you fair share of what is left to you. Probate litigation is a result of a contested will. A will can be contested if beneficiaries are not given an inventory of property, if details about the creditors are not disclosed, or if claims of undue influence are made.  We can help you avoid disputes among family members, make sure all heirs receive what is rightfully theirs, and get the maximum benefit from the property.

Caveats/Will Contests
Make sure your loved one’s estate is managed the right way. A will caveat and will contest is brought to challenge the validity of a will and can be filed at two points during the probate process. A will can be contested either before or after the will is admitted to probate. We can assist you with the process and make sure everything is legal and proper.

Elder Law
Make sure the elderly in your life are taken care of. Elder law covers all aspects of issues facing the elderly. It counsels and represents older persons, their representatives, and their families. Elder law deals with the legal aspects of estate planning, health and long term care planning,  and pubic benefits. We can meet all the needs of you or your loved ones.

Tax Planning
Make sure your taxes are done the right way. Tax planning is an important part of your overall financial plan. If planned careful throughout the year, the amount of taxes you pay can be reduced. Tax laws are complex and frequently change.  We can help you achieve your financial goals by managing your taxes.

Marital Trusts
Make sure your spouse is protected should something happen to either of you. A marital trust is an arrangement whereby a married individual has some or all property put into trust upon her or his death with the spouse as the beneficiary. The income from the trusts are paid to the surviving spouse for life.  We can help you reduce the impact of estate taxes after a spouse’s death.

Bypass Trusts
Make sure you use your trust opportunities to the best advantage. A Bypass trust shelters property from federal estate taxation. Leaving property to someone in the form of a bypass trust ensures that the property will not be subject to estate taxes when that person dies. Bypass trusts are especially useful for spouses who plan their estates together. If drafted incorrectly, your bypass trust can cost over a million dollars in taxes. We have the knowledge and experience to do your bypass trust right.

The Law Offices of Baldwin & Briscoe, P.C. also offers these services:

Bankruptcy and Foreclosure, Business Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal Defense, Employment, Disability, and Consumer Rights, Family Law, Government Contracts Law, Intellectual Property, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Social Security Disability & Workers’ Compensation and Wills, Trusts, & Estates