Maryland Estate Planning Lawyers
Get a clear plan to protect your home and life savings
Clear Plan
Peace of Mind
Thankful Family
We know estate planning can feel scary.
Our Maryland estate planning attorneys take the fear out of the process.
We’ve worked with many people just like you to give them peace of mind knowing their home and life savings are protected.
Client-Focused
Locally Rooted
For over 20 years, we have been committed to serving Anne Arundel, Maryland and surrounding communities.
A Step Beyond
What our clients are saying
Greg Jimeno and his staff were delightful to work with and extremely competent and thorough. [We}heartily recommend Chesapeake Wills and Trust for anyone hoping to make their future secure.
G.C. – Client
We had a revocable trust drawn up. Greg Jimeno did an excellent job. Answered all of our questions thoroughly. Highly recommend Chesapeake Wills and Trusts.
C.C. – Client
C.A.K. – Client
Client names redacted for their privacy. Testimonials were submitted by clients to our online location and legal listings.
Our estate planning lawyers help you protect your assets and make sure your wishes are honored.
Here’s how it works:
1. Watch a Free Webinar
2. Hire Our Team
3. Exhale
We execute your plan so you can relax knowing everything is protected.
Maryland Estate Planning Attorneys
What happens to your home and life savings when you are gone or unable to care for them anymore? Do you have a plan for your estate? Will your passing make a difficult time harder on your loved ones, or will they know your wishes and how to execute them?
At Chesapeake Wills and Trusts, we know you want to protect your home and life savings and make things easier for your loved ones. To do so, you need a clear plan in place for what happens to all of it at the end of your life, or in the event you are no longer able to care for it all. The problem is, considering your own end of life can feel scary.
We believe estate planning doesn’t have to be scary. Our team has worked with many people just like you to give them peace of mind in knowing their home and life savings are protected and their loved ones won’t be overburdened. We want to do the same for you.
Here’s how it works.
- First, watch our free webinar. In under an hour, we will catch you up on the basics of estate planning. It will make the estate planning process much more simple and efficient for you.
- Second, hire our team. We take the time to understand your needs and wishes and customize a plan to meet them.
- Finally, exhale. You can rest assured knowing your home and life savings are protected and your loved ones will know your wishes.
Click below to watch our free webinar today and take the first step toward a clear estate plan and the piece of mind knowing your home and life savings are protected.
How we serve our clients in Anne Arundel County and all across Maryland
Estate Planning
Planning for your own end of life, or a situation where due to disability you are unable to manage your assets, isn’t exactly comfortable. However, putting off planning can lead to more stress for your loved ones and unnecessary uncertainty around what happens to your estate.
Trusts
Trusts are an estate planning tool we often use for asset protection, for providing a plan for the management of your assets upon your disability, and to help our clients’ families avoid the Maryland probate process.
Living Wills
A living will is a legal document that lays out what medical decisions you would like to be made in the event you are unable to communicate your wishes. This could include life-saving measures, pain management, organ donation, and more.
Probate
Whether your loved one has a clear estate plan, or no plan at all, the probate process adds unneeded stress to your life during a difficult time. Not knowing how the courts will distribute your family member’s assets can feel scary.
We believe everyone deserves the time they need to grieve the loss of a loved one and probate shouldn’t get in the way.
Learn more from our Maryland Probate Lawyers today.
Adult Guardianship
A guardianship is the legal process used by the courts to appoint someone to make legal and financial decisions for people who cannot do it for themselves due to a physical or mental disability. If a guardian is appointed, the person subject to the guardianship loses the ability to make decisions for themselves for as long as they remain disabled.
Asset Protection
Creditors may come after your home if you file for bankruptcy or if they win a lawsuit against you. If you believe this may be a possibility, we can help you put an asset protection plan in place that protects your family home. We can explain to you how an irrevocable asset protection trust works, and what this means for making future decisions about your property.
Last Will and Testament
A will, sometimes called a last will and testament, is a legal document that tells your family and the state your intentions for your assets after your death. We recommend all our clients draft a will. This is true no matter how small your estate or whether or not you use other estate planning tools to distribute your assets.
Medicaid Crisis
A common misconception after a loved one enters a nursing home is it’s too late to protect their assets and they’ll have to spend their life savings before they can apply for Medicaid assistance.
It's not too late! Our Medicaid Crisis Lawyers can help you protect your loved one’s assets and work to make them Medicaid eligible even after they enter a nursing home.
Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney grants another person the authority to make medical or financial decisions and act on your behalf. We create and use these legal documents for various purposes during the estate planning process, but the two most common are financial power of attorneys and health care power of attorneys.
Chesapeake Care Plan
Even the best-laid plans change. Laws are always being updated and changed. People move, get married, get divorced, have kids, and any number of other changes.
We created The Chesapeake Care Plan to keep your plan up-to-date so it will work as intended when you need it most. Better yet, by enrolling in the program, you’ll get a wide range of services at a fraction of the cost of what you would pay for them separately.
Elder Law
3 in 4 senior adults over the age of 65 will require long-term nursing care at some point in their life. Our Elder Law Lawyers offer estate planning, Medicaid crisis response, and other services to help senior adults plan ahead or respond to a crisis in health requiring nursing care.
The Chesapeake Promise
When working with our team, you can expect us to:
Treat you like our own family
Always explain the next steps
Keep you in the loop
Work for your best interests
Learn how to protect your home and life savings
Download our free E-Book today and take the first step to peace of mind knowing everything is taken care of.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to a few common questions we hear from our clients.
What happens if I die and don't have a will or trust?
If you die without a will or a trust, you are allowing the Government to determine who inherits your life savings after your death. The laws of intestacy, which is the Government’s plan for your assets after your death, may provide money to people you don’t want to inherit a portion of your estate. If you don’t have a will or a trust you lose control of where your assets go after your death.
What does an personal representative of my will do?
Do beneficiaries of my estate pay tax in Maryland?
Do I need a will and a living will?
How do I make sure my assets go where I want them to go?
What happens to my debt after I die?
What is an Advanced Directive?
Does a will help me avoid the probate process?
What makes up my "estate?"
What is an Estate Plan and why do you need one?
An estate plan is basically a legal mechanism that outlines what you want to happen to your stuff when you are unable to care for it anymore. This can be due to death or being unable to make your own decisions while living.
Your estate plan may include:
- Trusts
- Last Will and Testament
- A Power of Attorney
- A Living Will or Advanced Directive
The goal is to make sure all of your assets are handled in accordance with your wishes whether you have passed or are unable to care for them permanently, or even temporarily.
Without a clear estate plan, your assets will enter probate in Maryland and be at the mercy of a government plan for distribution. That can cause incredible amounts of stress and hardship for your loved ones after you’re gone.
Take advantage of our Chesapeake Care Plan
Over time, things change. The best-laid plans need to be adapted with time. The laws governing taxes, inheritances, Medicaid eligibility, and more are constantly changing, as do the needs of your family. Here is how the Chesapeake Care Plan helps.
Ongoing Access
Our team will be available to provide you reasonable access via telephone, email, or by appointment(s) free of charge. We will strive to respond to all inquiries within a 24-hour period.
Document Review
Plan Changes
Asset Review
Worldwide Document Access
Client Educational Services
Communication with Trusted Professionals
Update Powers of Attorney
Family Care Meeting
Settlement Fee Guarantee
Learn more about Estate Planning in Maryland
Want to learn more? Here are our latest articles written by our Anne Arundel-based estate planning attorneys to help you better understand how to protect your home and life savings.
What Happens When a Will and a Revocable Trust Conflict?
Having all of your estate planning documents on the same page is one important step towards ensuring a smooth transfer of your assets during your life if needed and after you pass away. A trust and a will are distinct legal documents that might share a common goal of...
What Happens If There Is a Conflict Over My Trust?
When you plan to create a trust in Maryland, your main concerns are that the trust serves a bigger estate planning purpose and that it protects your loved ones from unnecessary conflict or issues. The creation of a trust means that you have taken an important step in...
The Importance of Trusting Your Fiduciary
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...
Should You Give Gifts to Grandchildren in A Trust?
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...
Talk to Your Family Members About Your Estate Planning Intentions
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...
You Need to Be Prepared to Discuss Estate Planning with Your Family Members
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...
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