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One of the biggest headaches of receiving an inheritance in Maryland is the taxes you will have to pay. Estate tax kicks in when you come into a high amount of wealth or other assets from a benefactor who is now deceased. If they didn't plan their estate carefully,...
Establishing a trust can be an ideal way to protect assets such as your car, bank account or Maryland home. However, if the trust is created in bad faith, it may be possible to have it dissolved. For instance, if it was created just days before filing for divorce, a...
In Maryland, individuals may want to include a trust as one component of their estate plan but do not understand precisely how a trust works or the benefits it can provide. Understanding basic trusts and their variations can help individuals make informed decisions...
Maryland residents include living trusts in their estate plans to ensure that their assets are distributed according to their wishes after they pass away. Trusts can be used to shield assets from creditors and prevent people who have not managed money well in the past...
If you are considering running for office in Maryland and have several assets, you may want to create a blind trust. This trust helps assure constituents that you are making the decisions you feel are in the best interest of the people you represent and not in your...
Trust funds have long been a popular way to ensure long-term financial security for generations in Maryland. But did you know that trust fund earnings can also be taxed? Trust fund earnings are taxable as income. To avoid any surprises when filing taxes, it's...
An intentionally defective grantor trust (IDGT) is a tax planning strategy for states which is used to transfer assets to beneficiaries while minimizing gift and estate taxes in Maryland. IDGTs are complex trusts that are often used in conjunction with other trusts,...
With intentionally defective grantor trusts or IDGTs, the name can be misleading if you just take it at face value. Despite the defect stated explicitly in this trust type's title, they do serve an important purpose quite effectively in Maryland. What makes them so...
In Maryland, you create a trust account by signing a notarized Declaration of Trust, funding the account and transferring ownership to a trustee. That trustee has a fiduciary responsibility to work on behalf of the beneficiaries, manage the account and distribute...
Trust funds offer more control in how your beneficiaries spend the assets than a will. You could place limits on how much they can withdraw each year and what they can spend the money on. It's easy to set up a trust fund in Texas, and you don't have to be rich to open...