Archive: Client Alert

In a case involving somewhat unusual facts, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals revived a recovery for victims who suffered emotional distress without physical harm. A Harford County family was home at night, fast asleep.  A drunk driver lost control of his truck and smashed into the family home, crashing through the garage and below...

Regular readers of our e-newsletter know that, following a tempestuous fall, the federal estate tax seems to be settled for the time being. The IRS recently announced updates to the annual “exclusions” for estate tax and gifting for 2022. The estate tax exclusion is the amount that can pass tax-free to a non-spouse upon your...

For readers of the monthly Bulman Dunie e-newsletter over the last several months, you may have experienced whiplash. In the spring, we offered our first prediction as to possible changes to estate tax laws.  We predicted no change to the federal estate tax exemption, but perhaps a change to cost basis rules. Last month, we...

There is some good news on the horizon for those who have been injured in auto accidents.  The Maryland General Assembly approved an amendment to the State’s Constitution to make court faster and cheaper for those hurt in auto accidents.  Now, Maryland voters will need to vote to approve the change as well. If the...

Anyone who has spent time in the District of Columbia in recent years knows firsthand how prevalent electronic scooters have become. Zipping through parks, on sidewalks, and even on streets—they are everywhere.  The D.C. City Council has noticed too. In December 2020, the D.C. City Council passed new laws, which provide D.C. e-scooter users additional...

In his late April address to a joint session of Congress, and in various speeches thereafter, President Biden laid out many of his proposals for tax changes. Of chief concern to our estate planning clients are potential changes to the federal estate tax, as well as other tax changes which could bear upon planning. Many...

Unfortunately, it is not unusual for BDBF attorneys to work with injured clients who cannot obtain a full and fair recovery against an at-fault driver. Often this is because the driver who hit them had no insurance or was underinsured. It adds insult to (often literal) injury to an innocent driver who is badly hurt...