When you create a trust, you’re not just thinking about the property you’ll place inside of it, but who will be responsible for managing it. This person is known as the trustee and they hold an important fiduciary duty to act on behalf of the beneficiary’s best interests. A fiduciary is a person who has
Do you have an adult child you’d like to transfer assets to, but you’re concerned about their ability to handle it properly? You’re not alone. This problem is often referred to as “the spendthrift issue” and thankfully, there are estate planning tools available to help you protect a loved one from themselves. Unfortunately, your best
It’s a nice thing to do to pass on assets to your grandchildren and it can be used to help reduce the size of your estate. In 2020, you can give each of your grandchildren up to $15000 under the gift tax without having to report those gifts. While you might choose to otherwise pay
You might not want to think about what your own estate plan entails, which means you could put off having a good conversation with your loved ones about it. It’s very nerve-wracking when no one your family, including your elderly parents, will discuss their estate plan. All too often, this ends up creating uncertainty and
It's hard enough to come to your own conclusions about what you want your estate plan to look like, which means that you've probably put off having a conversation about it with your family members too. But talking about estate planning is important for your sake and for your heirs. Some of the benefits of
Giving back to the community is important to everyone at Chesapeake Wills and Trusts. That’s why we’re donating 10% of the fee we receive from every new estate planning client who retains us through June 3 to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center (BWMC) Foundation. The BWMC Foundation is currently overseeing and coordinating all COVID-19 related
We wanted to bring you some important updates about your retirement accounts and how you might be able to utilize these new developments in your long-term financial and estate planning. Required Minimum Distributions in 2020: If you were expecting to have to take a required minimum distribution in 2020 because of your age or because
Relying on joint ownership or a will alone might not be enough in your estate plan. This is why people are increasingly turning to the power of a revocable living trust. In addition to the time and cost savings, the added control over assets is a major benefit for most people who establish a living
Do you have minor children? Do you have specific plans for pieces of your property that you want to pass to certain people in your family? Do you want to exclude other people from your estate? If any of these apply to you, you could benefit from a will. The most recent Caring.com study incorporates
The governing documents established at the creation of the trust determine what happens if the role of trustee is vacated for any reason. This includes the trustee’s decision to step out of the role, a legal conflict in which the court determines the trustee needs to step down, or the death of the trustee. If
