Authored by: Matthew F. Penater, Partner – Elville and Associates
443-393-7696, matt@elvilleassociates.com

Why do we need an estate plan? Really, why do we need to put our energy into reviewing our assets, hiring an estate planning attorney, making potentially difficult decisions about life-changing events, and talking about our ultimate demise? Because, as my college Ethics professor said, it is the right thing to do. It’s not the right thing to do because it will give us peace of mind that our estates are in order (although that is both a valid and practical reason); it is the right thing to do because we have a responsibility to ensure that our houses are in order when the time comes for someone else to step in. We all know that a good estate plan put together by a qualified estate planning lawyer will ensure your loved-ones receive the benefits of your lifetime of hard work. But it’s more than that. Let’s look at from a different angle – the perspective of not just ensuring our loved ones are cared for, but that they don’t have a mess to clean up after we have passed on. So many people pass away with their finances in a state of mass confusion, important documents scattered to the wind, and their affairs generally a mess. Leaving that kind of situation for your loved ones can cause months of worry, confusion and stress. The last thing most people would want to be remembered for is how much stress and anxiety their death brought to their family. Give it the time and attention your estate plan deserves, if for no other reason than to protect your family from additional stress piled on top of the heartache of losing you.

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By David A. (Andy) Hall, Esq. – Elville and Associates
443-393-7696, andy@elvilleassociates.com

Here is the scenario: You are a legatee under a will, which means that you are entitled to receive any property disposed of by will, including property disposed of in a residuary clause and assets passing by the exercise by the decedent of a testamentary power of appointment. See Maryland Code, Estates and Trusts Art., § 1-101(l)-(m). The personal representative (the “PR”) (or what’s known as an executor in other states) is behaving in a way that you do not agree with. Your question is whether or not you can have that PR removed.

The Maryland Code in Estates and Trusts Article, §6-306 states that there are six causes for the removal of a PR:

1. Misrepresenting facts leading to her appointment
2. Willfully disregarding the order of the court
3. Incapable or unable to discharge her duties
4. Mismanagement of property
5. Failing to maintain an effective designation of a local agent (this is when the PR is not a resident of the State of Maryland)
6. Failing to perform a material duty of the office

Whether or not a PR’s conduct rises to the level of a court removing that person requires an intensive factual analysis to be performed by your estate litigation lawyer. Some examples of conduct that could lead to the removal of the PR include: attempting to admit the wrong (or a prior) will to probate, which could arise in a situation where one sibling is in one will and then subsequently left out of the estate in a subsequent will. They would have a strong desire to gloss over the existence of the subsequent will.

The willful disregard of an order of the court is easier than some people may assume. If the PR has failed to file an accounting within the proper time, then the court will likely issue a show cause order requiring the PR to either file the accounting or to demonstrate why the accounting has not been filed. Perhaps the PR did not enlist the help of an estate administration attorney, then they could easily misunderstand these deadlines and what they mean. Thus, innocently missing a deadline could lead to disregarding an order of the court and be grounds for removal.

If you believe that the PR of the estate is mishandling her duties, then you should contact an estate litigation attorney to have them evaluate the facts of your case. The last thing that you want is to have a bad acting PR wasting away assets that your family member worked hard to accumulate, spent time and money to effectively plan for the disposition of those assets after their passing, and then not be distributed in accordance with their estate plan.

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Steve Elville gave a presentation today during the Waxter Wisdom Day series at the Waxter Senior Center in Baltimore City. Many Seniors were in attendance and presented many questions that Mr. Elville answered in a Q&A session. Many seniors planning for the future of their legacy may not realize their position until posed with the useful information Mr. Elville and his associates strive to provide the to community. This event gave Mr. Elville an opportunity to reach out and educate those in need of this vital information today.” Please see our schedule to participate in our next event and have your inquiries addressed as well. We are here to assist and protect your future… your legacy.

For more information, please call 443-393-7696 or complete the form below.

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By Stephen R. Elville, J.D., LL.M.

Many clients have expressed to me that they consider their Advance Medical Directive to be the most important of all their legal documents. Whether or not this is the case for you, it is clear that Advance Medical Directives are of tremendous importance to the individuals who take the time to thoughtfully consider the choices available to them under Maryland law and to their loved ones who will ultimately depend upon those choices as a guideline for carrying out important, if not critical, health care decisions. With the recent introduction of MOLST, individual health care decision making can now be even more personalized and definitive. In the following paragraphs, I will outline the highlights of what has recently been disseminated to the elder law and estate planning bar about MOLST by the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality and Maryland Attorney General’s office.

For more information, please call 443-393-7696 or complete the form below.

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To qualify for the VA Improved Pension benefits:

• The veteran must have served at least 1 day during a qualified war period.
• The veteran must have served at least 90 days of active duty.
• The veteran must have received a better than dishonorable discharge.
• The claimant must be over the age of 65 or permanently or totally disabled.
• The claimant must be a surviving spouse of a qualified veteran who did not remarry.
• The claimant or spouse must require assistance with daily living requirements.
• The claimant’s monthly medical expenses must equal or exceed their monthly income.

For more information, please call 443-393-7696 or complete the form below.

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Estate Planning is the process of giving your assets to who to want, the way you want, in the most efficient way possible. Estate Planning is not just for the disposing of assets, it is also a way to pass on your values and ideas – your intellectual capital, as well as lifetime beliefs, possibly multi-generational in nature, the things that you (and your ancestors) hold dear. Estate Planning is also for those persons who are interested in protecting their loved ones. Through the mechanism of Estate Planning, it is possible to protect against creditors, bad marriages, unwise behaviors, and predators.

We all need estate planning, and it is best practiced in a long-term, lifetime process. As laws and needs change, continuous education, planning and funding are essential. And, the decisions made regarding estate planning are among the most important decisions we make in our lifetime.

For more information, please call 443-393-7696 or complete the form below.

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Accredited VA planning attorneys are uniquely qualified to help clients with Veteran’s Benefits; they take a comprehensive approach, ensuring the client is protected. They manage the complexities associated with qualifying for the VA Improved Pension, while protecting clients from other financial hardships. The local law firm, Elville & Associates, led by Principal, Stephen R. Elville, J.D., LL.M., is a member of the Academy of VA Pension Planners. Therefore, as an accredited VA Planning Attorney, the firm:

• is legally obligated to act in the best interest of the client.

• must be knowledgeable of:

• current IRS rules and regulations and knows how IRAs can be problem assets
• how to draft the appropriate trust to allow an applicant to meet the asset requirement and preserve assets
• estate and gift tax implications for transferring assets

• can prepare:

• real estate documents to allow an applicant to meet the asset qualifications
• a Medicaid compliant caregiver agreement

• seeks long-term clients they can assist throughout their lives, rather than seeking commission sales
• cannot give a finder’s fee to a referral, but does give clients confidence and peace of mind

For more information, please call 443-393-7696 or complete the form below.

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For those who qualify, The VA pension can significantly improve the quality of life. The current maximum VA Pension amounts, based on claimant needs and marital/dependent status, range from $648-$2019 per month. To receive more detailed information on qualifying amounts, contact Elville and Associates Principal, Stephen R. Elville, J.D., LL.M. at 443-393-7696.

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1)  Provides a warm, empathetic approach and caring environment.
2)  Planning attorney is a counselor and not just a technician.
3)  Clients are provided with a unique estate planning or elder care experience and not just a transaction.
4)  Provides an interactive planning process in partnership with the client and with emphasis on client goals (not a paternalistic approach).
5)  Ensures financial advisor/CPA friendly approach with goal of inclusive total team effort; works in good faith with financial advisor and/or CPA to implement all appropriate solutions in best interests of the client.
6)  Timely and structured process – encourages clients to complete the planning process and discourages procrastination.
7)  Trust funding — planning attorney and firm’s funding coordinator oversee and ensure proper funding of all estate and elder law plans (client not abandoned with unfunded plan).
8)  Client education and understanding – to the extent possible, attorney ensures that client understands their estate planning documents and choices.
9)  Follow-up – maintains on-going contact with clients via annual continuing education and maintenance programs to encourage clients to meet with attorney at least once every other year, and facilitates client-planning attorney contact throughout the years via quarterly newsletter and other notifications.
10)  Value-added services – provides client access to latest in on-line document storage, and all available contemporary recommendations for “complete” planning.

For more information, please call 443-393-7696 or complete the form below.

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Tags: attorney, elder care, elder law, estate planning, planning attorney
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For decades, powers of attorney in Maryland were unregulated. However, that is no longer the case with Maryland’s new statutory power of attorney. Simply put, it is a form that is codified in the laws of Maryland which:

(1) clearly sets forth the responsibilities that your agent (your chosen trusted fiduciary) has to you, the principal (the person giving the power or authority to your agent);

(2) provides authority for a list of “interested persons” to petition the Circuit Court concerning the power of attorney document or the conduct of an agent;

(3) enforces the power of attorney’s acceptance by third parties; and

(4) provides for third party liability in the event of nonacceptance, including attorney’s fees and court costs.

As estate planning attorneys, we recommend two documents: the statutory ‘short’ form as a baseline power of attorney and the ‘supplemental’ power of attorney for optimal estate and elder law planning. If you have not yet updated your power of attorney documents, please do. The new law provides sweeping protections.

For more information, please call 443-393-7696 or complete the form below.

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