Three Key Estate Planning Strategies You Can’t Overlook

A great estate plan requires periodic updating, extensive analysis, and following these three important strategies. “Stress Test” Your Estate Plan Through Various Scenarios One of the best ways to determine your plan is thorough and ready for virtually any scenario is to actually test it out in a variety of hypotheticals. What will happen if you suddenly become incapacitated? What will happen if your child, or children, pre-decease you? What rights, if any, will your child’s ex-spouse have to your estate’s assets? Putting your estate plan through these “stress” variables should not stress you out! Our view is going through these scenarios...

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Attack of the Ex-Spouse: Maryland Court Allows Former Wife to Receive 50 Percent of Deceased Ex-Spouse’s Pension Benefits

The Maryland case Robinette v. Hunsecker, 66 A. 3d 1093 (Md. Ct. App. 2013) is a prime example of why it is so important to review your estate plan, and all related documents, on a regular basis. An estate plan that is locked away in a safe deposit box may actually wind up creating frustration and turmoil for your loved ones. In Robinette, Luan Hunsecker (“Ms. Hunsecker”) married a man named Roger Robinette (“Mr. Robinette”). During their marriage, Mr. Robinette participated in a pension plan with his employer. After nearly seventeen years of marriage, Ms. Hunsecker and Mr. Robinette decided...

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DOMA Decision and the Impact on Estate Planning

In a groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court decision, United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court decided that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (i.e. DOMA) was unconstitutional. To read a summary of the decision, check out this page. Section 3 defined “marriage” to be between a man and a woman for Federal benefits. The result of Windsor is that same-sex married couples will now be treated as spouses for purposes of numerous Federal statutes. With regards to estate planning benefits, the following benefits will now be afforded to same-sex couples. (i.) Deferring income taxes where a spouse inherits a deceased...

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