A new Maryland law increases the maximum value of a decedent’s assets that qualifies for probate administration as a small estate. According its fiscal policy note, Maryland Chapter 62 “increases the eligibility thresholds for small estate administration from $30,000 to $50,000, for estates in general, and from $50,000 to $100,000 for an estate for which the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir of the decedent.”  Chapter 62 took effect on October 1, 2012. Estates qual

Today we conclude our discussion of the universal importance of estate planning whether you think yourself a prince or a pauper. In postings past we have reacquainted you with an old friend, the will, and introduced a new one, the revocable living trust. Now we’ll offer a caution of what else you need to do to ensure that these friends are able to fully carry out your wishes. Wills and Living Trusts Are Not Cure-Alls The benefits of a will or a revocable living trust are obvi

Pictured: Probate. Last week, we began a simple explanation of why it’s so important for you to establish an estate plan even if the total value of your assets is small enough to pass untaxed by the federal ($5 million exemption) and the state (Maryland: $1 million exemption) governments. We discussed the most commonly employed means of protecting your estate: the will. Today, we will introduce you to a second that you should really give some thought regardless of whether you

Lonesome George basks in the halcyon bliss of the chronically unemployed and staggeringly irresponsible. By Evan Roe – Senior Reporter, Junior Clerk – Exclusively for Fisher Law Office Lonesome George, a Pinta Island Galapagos giant tortoise, died this morning at an estimated age of 100 years and is survived by no fellow members of his species. For years, scientists had attempted to help him produce offspring to preserve his rare tortoise heritage but met with failure. This i

Now is the time to update your existing estate plan, or proceed with implementing a comprehensive estate plan. Why? First, we now know with certainty that the federal estate tax is not going away, and thus we should establish a plan that avoids or at least minimize this voluntary tax. More importantly, if you don’t you just might end up like the host of celebrities who have made the headlines recently because they either had no estate planning or because the planning they did

If you own a car, then you know it requires regular servicing in order to perform well and be reliable. More than likely, your car came with a recommended schedule for service, based on how many miles it has been driven. After a certain number of miles, you need to change the oil, replace the brake pads, rotate the tires, and so on. If you have a newer car, you probably have an irritating dash light that comes on when it’s time for service and stays on until the mechanic rese