Estate Planning
Wallace Law understands that many people find the estate planning process to be time consuming and emotionally difficult. Wallace Law can work with you to make it as understandable and comfortable as possible. We try to make estate planning a rewarding and educational experience that provides peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
We will thoroughly explain each document that you may need for a comprehensive plan. Depending on your needs, these may include:
- Revocable Trusts
- Last Will and Testaments
- Testamentary Trusts for Minors (Family Pot Trust or Separate Share Trust)
- Testamentary Marital Trust, Bypass Trust, Credit Shelter Trust, or Disclaimer Trust
- Planning for Retirement Assets
- Advance Medical Directive, Durable Health Care Power of Attorney or Living Will
- HIPAA Release and Authorization
- Durable General Financial Power of Attorney
- Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILIT)
- Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRT, CRUT, CRAT)
- Lifetime Gifting Strategies
- Business Succession Planning
- Premarital and Postmarital Agreements, Domestic Partnership Agreements and Property Agreements
Wallace Law’s clients include single individuals, married couples, families, and unmarried domestic partners and their children in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. With a background in business law and an L.L.M. in taxation, attorney Megan Wallace is well-equipped to handle even the most complex estate planning scenarios.
Why Estate Planning is Important
Even if you don’t think you have an “estate” to plan, you still need a will to provide for the orderly distribution of your assets to those you love. In your will, you can name your personal representative (or executor) who will manage your affairs after your death. You will also be able to name guardians for your children and trustees for their assets.
Without a will, the courts and the state legislature determine who will act for you, to whom your assets will be distributed, and who will serve as the guardian for your minor children. In fact, without a trust for assets being passed to your minor children, they may have significant assets in their own name as early as age eighteen. A trust allows you to decide at what age your children will receive asset distributions, and under what conditions.
Estate planning is also about more than what happens after your death. It is critical to plan in advance for the possibility that you will become legally incapacitated due to an accident or disease, including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Using an advance medical directive or durable health care power of attorney, you choose someone to act as your health care agent and give them guidance regarding your medical care.
Similarly, a durable general financial power of attorney gives you the ability to grant another person the authority to make financial decisions on your behalf. A financial power of attorney may be as broad or as narrow in scope as you choose to make it.
Agreements between couples can also be an important component of an estate plan. Wallace Law works with clients to memorialize and negotiate premarital (prenuptial) or postnuptial agreements. Wallace Law is well-versed in assisting its gay and lesbian clients, as well as opposite-sex couples, with domestic partnership agreements and property agreements.
Experienced Estate Planning Help for Residents of Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.
At Wallace Law, estate planning, assisting with probate (estate administration) and trust administration are all we do. The firm is committed to providing clear, responsive guidance to our clients and to developing comprehensive estate plans specifically designed for each client’s needs. Attorney Megan Wallace offers personalized attention to each client, taking the time to understand their estate planning goals and answer all of their questions.
We invite you to contact Wallace Law to schedule a consultation regarding your estate planning needs. We look forward to working with you.