Smarter Will Blog
Want to understand the world of estate planning better? We’re here to help. Here is some of the latest news in the industry that we think you should pay attention to.
Welcome to the GranatWills.com Blog on Maryland Estate Planning Issues July 27th, 2011
Richard S. Granat, Esq., Managing Partner, Granat Legal Services, P.C.
This blog will report on developments in estate planning law in the State of Maryland and nationally. We will also report on Federal tax issues that have an impact on estate planning in the State of Maryland.
We hope you will find it interesting and informative. Check back often for updates or subscribe to our blog using our RSS feed.
I started GranatWills.com to offer estate planning documents online at a fee that people can afford with legal advice included. Everyone should have a basic set of estate planning documents, particularly couples with children. We all lead busy lives, so I wanted to make our service convenient and easy to use. Thus we deliver our legal services online over the Internet.
Our objective is to make the process as painless as possible, while making sure your wishes are protected through an attorney-review process. Every Smarter Will document is carefully attorney-reviewed by Richard Granat.
LegalZoom claims they have delivered hundreds of thousands of wills over the Internet. But LegalZoom is not a law firm, and you get no legal advice when you buy from LegalZoom and other Internet-based legal form providers. I want to provide that consumers can get a better deal from an online law firm like ours, than they can get from LegalZoom, by offering forms bundled with legal advice for a price which is only slightly more than what LegalZoom charges. I believe that this is the kind of legal service that every person deserves.
Organ Donation Process in Maryland May 9th, 2011
Did you know that Maryland has a fairly new organ donation process, and that even if you’ve registered before to be an organ donor, you may need to re-register under the new system?
A new Maryland organ donation registry was created, making a person’s wishes to be a donor legally binding without requiring additional witnesses or family consent.
Whether you’re completely new to the organ donation process or you signed up to be a donor more than five years ago, you can visit Donate Life Maryland to add yourself to the current First-Person Consent Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
Why donate?
More than 110,000 people nationwide are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant – nearly 5,000 in Maryland alone. One tragic loss can turn into a gift of life for several others, which is exactly what happened when Francisco “Paco” Rodriguez, a Chicago boxer collapsed during a fight in 2010 and died a few days later.
“Paco’s heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and pancreas were donated to five individuals, with one kidney going to Paco’s own uncle,” reported the Chicago Sun-Times. You can watch his family’s story in the clip here.
For more information about the organ donation process in Maryland, visit these additional resources:
- The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland: This organization is the federally designated agency that coordinates the organ donation process throughout most of Maryland. Hospitals in these areas (including Maryland-area hospitals) are required to notify the Living Legacy Foundation to evaluate potential organ donation candidates.
- National Kidney Foundation: About two-third of Maryland residents awaiting organ donation are in need of a kidney.
Pulling the Plug: Maryland Law That Make it Possible April 25th, 2011
Everyone has the right to live. But does everyone have the right to die? Dying on your own terms (or “pulling the plug”) is a privilege granted at the state level. But it requires advance planning. Every state has different rules on how such decisions can be made and who can make them. Here are some important insights on pulling the plug on life support in Maryland:
The Maryland’s Health Care Decisions Act makes it possible for residents to declare their end-of-life wishes in an official living will declaration (which is included in both our Smarter Will Pack™ and Medical Directives Pack™).
Choosing a Legal Guardian for Your Children April 19th, 2011
Several months ago, we wrote a primer on choosing a legal guardian for your children called Child Guardianship: 4 Simple Steps to the Toughest Decision Ever. This issue was recently covered in a first-person account by Trent Hamm, author of the blog The Simple Dollar in the post Should We Become Named Guardians for Several Children? (This is a great read, if you have a couple extra minutes today).
Since this tough issue remains one of the main reasons parents avoid creating a will in the first place, we’re going to dive deeper. Take a deep breath…and let’s jump in.
Cremation vs Burial: Maryland Resources That Can Help April 11th, 2011
Topics don’t get more morbid that this one. But the cremation vs burial decision is an important one to make now because it’s one that has torn families apart, for various religious, cultural and emotional reasons.
Cremation has become more popular lately for several reasons including cost and environmental concerns. However, cremation vs burial is an emotionally charged issue on which spouses, parents, grandparents and other family members often don’t see eye to eye.
Personal Guardian Rules and Avoidance March 30th, 2011
You’ve heard us say it before: advance directives are for all adults, young and old. While the older we get, the more likely we are to become incapacitated, it can happen at any point in our lives. And it isn’t necessarily caused by illness or an accident. Drugs or behavior problems, for instance, can contribute to a person’s inability to take care of his or herself, whether temporarily or not.
What is a Life Estate? March 16th, 2011
A life estate is property that is owned by an individual only through the duration of his or her lifetime. When the individual dies, the ‘estate’ (or real property) is returned to the original owner or the other people named in the life estate agreement (called ‘remaindermen’). Think of a life estate as a temporary ownership agreement.
Family Trust: Does Your Family Need One? February 16th, 2011
A family trust is a general term, usually referring to a living trust or, much more specifically, a revocable living trust. Not everyone needs a family trust, but that doesn't mean the estate planning tool is only for wealthy families. You can read a basic overview of an Maryland living trust here. For additional clarity, let's dissect “revocable living trust” one word at a time.
Why Don’t You Have a Will? A Note From Richard Granat February 15th, 2011
Why don’t you have a will yet?
We’ve heard every excuse and have used some of those excuses ourselves. Here’s what I think: We just don’t believe we’re going to die. Not today, not tomorrow. So there is no immediacy. I put off writing my own will longer than I should have. I was already married and working as an estate planning attorney before it occurred to me—the night before a trip overseas—that I really needed to get it done. I’ve been called to the bedside of all too many individuals who literally waited until the last minute to draw up a will and other estate planning documents. Some were elderly, some were not. Most other clients I have are proactive by putting estate plans in place now. But statistics show that more than 60 percent of you still do not have even a basic last will. Is that truly acceptable? And at what cost?
Division of Estate: What Happens in Maryland? February 2nd, 2011
When somebody dies without a will in Maryland, that person is said to have died “intestate,” and the individual's division of estate is subject to Maryland intestacy laws. Maryland is an equitable distribution state, which means that the court will handle the division of estate in the fairest way possible. After legitimate claims against the estate of the deceased are fully paid, the remaining estate is divided in this way:
