Clients often come to an initial consultation with preconceived notions of whether they would like to include a “living trust” as part of their estate plan. For those unfamiliar, a living trust is a trust instrument created by an individual (the “Settlor”). The Settlor then…
With 2026 upon us, individuals and business owners should be aware of some of the more important (and commonly referenced) thresholds and limits for the new year: Retirement Plans: Annual Contribution Limit (401k, 403b, TSP): …
Bulman Dunie is thrilled to share that four of our firm’s attorneys were included for peer recognition in the 2026 edition of Maryland Super Lawyers Magazine! Estate and trust practice group chair Jeremy Rachlin was named as a “Super Lawyer” in the field of Estate…
As we close the book on 2025 and look ahead to 2026, we are on substantially firmer territory than we were at this same time last year when it comes to the federal estate tax. In our local jurisdictions (MD and DC), in December 2024,…
This time of year brings to mind the famous 1986 Steve Martin “A Holiday Wish” sketch from Saturday Night Live: While none of us may have received $30 million tax-free each month like Steve Martin wished, many of us were fortunate enough to have warm…
This time of year, families with shared-custody arrangements and family law practitioners face the difficult task of managing time-sharing during the holidays. Parents are particularly busy and overwhelmed – often it is the busiest time of year at work, but parents are also managing travel…
Congratulations! You’ve made it to an estate planning attorney and crossed off that item that has been lagging on your to-do list forever. Your estate planning documents are in order. But now that you have this envelope full of freshly signed documents, which you mostly…
“Hot Take” – a piece of commentary, typically produced quickly in response to a recent event, whose primary purpose is to attract attention (Oxford’s English Dictionary) Thanksgiving is a season for “hot takes”. Whether relating to the food that is served or politics (and we…
In a prior article, we outlined some of the more common corporate documentation and record-keeping items that prospective business owners should review and address prior to marketing a business for sale. This article tackles another important pre-sale due diligence exercise: ensuring the business is current…
A common misperception of estate planning clients is that estate planning is a “once-and-done” proposition. The reality is, once you overcome the initial inertia and create an estate plan, every estate planning attorney will recommend you review your estate plan every few years to consider…
