By Tim Barkley. September 2025. It’s sad when folks trying to do the right thing mess up and hurt the ones they love the most. Take, for example, the will that left everything “to my children, or their heirs, per stirpes.” (Per stirpes is the term for distributing a...
By Tim Barkley. August 2025. Q: What happens if I don’t write a will? A: Your “estate” – everything you own that has no living joint owner or beneficiary – will be administered through “probate” and distributed under state “intestacy” statutes. Sometimes that’s OK,...
By Tim Barkley. May 2025. Probate. The word has achieved a Dickensian notoriety conjuring up greedy lawyers, helpless widows and children, and unscrupulous creditors. The avoidance of probate is now a cottage industry, carried on in the back offices of lawyers and...
January 2024. Q: I need a trust so my kids don’t have to pay a boatload of taxes. A: Actually, a trust doesn’t avoid taxes. In fact, a trust might actually increase the taxes due if your estate plan is not correctly set up. For example, if your IRA or 401(k) pays to...
December 2023. Revised August 2024 Q: What happens if everyone named in my will is deceased? A: Under Maryland law, if you are not survived by the beneficiaries named in your will, your estate (everything you own that does not have a living joint owner or beneficiary)...
