Presentations

Our Law Firm has a long tradition of presenting continuing education courses for fellow lawyers and, on occasion, for various judicial institutes. It is a great honor to be asked to make these presentations on estates/trusts topics. Aside from giving back to the profession, these activities deepen and extend the firm’s understanding of the law of estates and trusts thereby improving the quality of our advice and client services.

This was part of a day-long course presented to an audience of sitting Circuit Court and Orphans Court Judges as part of the ongoing educational programs presented by the Judicial College of Maryland. This course covered contested Wills, testamentary and Inter vivos trusts,  and contested guardianships. These materials describe the leeway courts have in admitting “extrinsic” evidence of the intent of the maker of the document at a trial. Extrinsic evidence is evidence beyond the mere language of the instrument.

How solo practitioners and small firm lawyers need to plan to protect their clients in case of a disability or death.

This was a summary of the 2019 Heckerling Institute and covered the issue of the taxation of trust income that’s pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and also the Maryland Court of Special Appeals case. The Maryland Appellate Court on whether the State of Maryland could include the value of a QTIP trust in the Maryland estate tax where the QTIP trust was formed out of state. It also covered trust construction, modification and reformation issues.

Discussion of Court of Appeals case on Will formalities and a discussion of a Court of Special Appeals case on the use of extrinsic evidence in conjunction with the plain meaning rule. Also discussed the impact of the Maryland Trust Act on planning, litigation, administration and did a survey of common estate and trust litigation topics.

Topics covered: jurisdiction of the Orphans’ Court, appointment of the personal representative, administrative probate vs. judicial probate, duties of a personal representative, scope of duties of the special administrator and other fundamentals.

Topics included a survey of common types of fiduciary litigation including the structural shortcomings of private litigation to expand the elective share in light of the narrow Maryland statute.

Discussion of common techniques and essential documents that should be used for estate planning for federal employees.

Discussion of contested guardianships, actions brought under the Maryland Power of Attorney Act, actions under the Maryland Trust Act and the use of declaratory judgment actions.

Discussed the various approaches taken to mediation in general and specifically how estates and trust mediation varies from the common template.

Discussion of the usefulness of the state of mind exception to the hearsay rule and other evidentiary rules particular to estates and trust litigation.

A discussion of the common evidentiary rules appearing in estate litigation that need to be dealt with by the Orphans’ Court judges.

How solo practitioners and small firm lawyers need to plan to protect their clients in case of a disability or death.

Discussion of the various special needs trust and when and how they should be employed to protect children with various developmental challenges.

Discussion of how an estate planning lawyer should approach estate planning when there is a high likelihood of litigation over the plan.

Basic estate planning course: probate vs. non-probate assets; Maryland death taxes; trust overview; disability planning and health care directives.

A discussion of the private causes of action to curb elder financial abuse.

The historical origin of the concept of the transmittal of issues and the modern practice regarding same in the Orphans’ Court.

The basic premise of Will and trust interpretation is to implement the intent of the decedent. Various evidentiary rules, however, must be navigated in order to let the intent become fully manifest.

A description of jurisdictional limits on Orphans’ Court power to act; the role of a special administrator and a personal representative and other basic concepts.

This course covers the Will drafting basics for elder law attorneys.

A comprehensive analysis of the Maryland power of attorney statute.

Coverage of how special needs trusts are treated under the Maryland Trust Act and how the classic definition of “terms of the trust” interact with trust interpretation under the Act.

A review of the codification of the slayer’s rule; review and lapse rule and family settlement agreements.

An overview of the intersection between asset protection and estate planning for estates and trusts lawyers in Maryland.

A description of the tax and estate planning ramifications of the legality of same sex marriage in Maryland and including it in the interpretation of various Supreme Court cases.

A basic principle of trust interpretation is that the terms of the trust not only include the written document but also any admissible evidence that reflects the settlor’s intent in preparing a trust. This has great implications both for planning and litigation.

This includes a beneficiary’s basic rights to know about the trust provisions and to find out information that is necessary to enforce her/his rights as a trust beneficiary.

This describes the enforcement rights of a beneficiary to a trust in a trust and also the emerging tort of tortious interference with an expectancy.

This is a comprehensive overview of asset protection aspects to estate planning.

The Schoukroun case reestablished the traditional equity relief to expand the elective share for a spouse beyond simply the probate estate under some circumstances. It also permitted planning in those circumstances where such an expansion of the spousal rights would not be appropriate.

This is a description of so-called boilerplate provisions that are often thrown into a Will without serious consideration or discussion with a client. These provisions are important and cannot be just an automatic selection.

This discussion encompasses the 75% basis step up that can be accomplished by using a disclaimer in a decedent’s estate.