Tag Archives: Attorney David Galinis
Think Twice About Designating A Disabled Person as a Beneficiary
Despite your good intentions, naming your disabled niece as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy may not do her any good whatsoever. In this final installment in this series, I explain why disabled beneficiaries should be handled with extreme caution. This advice actually applies to all manner of property given to a disabled… Read More »
Avoid Naming Your Minor Children as Beneficiaries
Beneficiary designations can be an effective tool to avoid probate, if used appropriately. (See Beneficiaries Instead of Probate: Use Caution). Assets can go quickly and directly to loved ones after your death. However, there are certain types of beneficiaries that should be avoided. First and foremost – no minor beneficiaries! I recently represented a… Read More »
Beneficiaries Instead of Probate: Use Caution
The term “probate” refers to the court process whereby a decedent’s assets are gathered together and, after the payment of the decedent’s debts, distributed to the decedent’s heirs. One way to avoid probate is through the use of beneficiary designations. The only assets that pass through probate are assets the decedent owned in his… Read More »
Domestic Partnerships: How to Avoid Costly Inheritance Taxes on the Family Home
In this modern era, families come in all shapes in sizes. It has become fairly common for same sex couples to buy a home and raise children. Then there are opposite sex couples who share their lives, including buying a house together, but forego the formalities of marriage. In 2009 the Maryland legislature enacted… Read More »
Estate as Beneficiary of Life Insurance, IRA or 401k: Bad Idea
The last place you want your life insurance, retirement account, or pay-on-death (POD) account to go upon your death is to your Estate. Thus, do not name your “Estate” as the beneficiary on the designation form provided by your insurer, broker, or financial institution. However, even if you don’t make this mistake on the… Read More »
Get Your Advance Directive: Don’t Be A Headline
In giving estate planning seminars, I am always trying to impress upon my audience the importance of planning while young and healthy. One of many reasons to plan sooner rather than later is to avoid being the subject of a news story like the one ran by the Associated Press on October 31, 2011:… Read More »
Power of Attorney: Why Should I Give My Agent the Power to Make Gifts?
The idea behind a Durable General Power of Attorney (POA) is to appoint someone (your agent) who can manage your financial affairs if you (the principal) are unable to do so. The overwhelming majority of the language in the document describes the various things that your agent can do. Most POAs (including mine) contain… Read More »
Safekeeping Your Last Will & Testament: 5 Recommendations
The result in most circumstances is that if your loved ones can only find a copy of your Will, you will likely die intestate. The laws of Maryland will decide what happens to your property, not you. (See The 5 Most Important Reasons to Have a Will). The time, effort and money spent with… Read More »
3 Issues to Consider When Drafting your Power of Attorney
So you are now convinced that you need a Power of Attorney (POA) in place to help your family and loved ones take care of you in your time of need. Or maybe you and your aging parent have decided that a POA needs to be executed in anticipation of deteriorating health. Below are… Read More »
5 Important Facts About the New Estate Tax
In December 2010 Congress enacted the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. This law created an entirely new estate tax regime. To understand the extent of the change, it is important to remember where we were prior to the new law. In 2009, the maximum federal estate tax was… Read More »