Estate planning for parents is a crucial step in providing for the future care of a special needs child, especially if parents want to avoid risking their child’s benefits. A child receiving public assistance or disability benefits could lose those benefits if they inherit large sums of money or property. With careful estate planning, parents can provide for the financial needs of their child while keeping their benefits intact.

According to the 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon, no business is too small or too large to be a victim of hackers and data breaches. Information of all types has a value. Your business need not have access to millions of dollars to be an attractive target for hackers. That you store personal information gathered from your customers can make you attractive to a hacker who wants to sell that data to identity thieves. Therefore, all business should assume they are attractive to a hacker.

An important element of estate planning is planning for the future of a person with special needs. There are several tools a family can use to protect a loved one. One of the newest special needs estate-planning tools that many families are discussing with their Maryland estate-planning attorney is the ABLE account. If you have never considered an ABLE account, you may want to discuss one with your lawyer.

Businesses and companies use NDAs or Non-Disclosure Agreements to protect confidential information. However, if an NDA does not contain certain elements, it may not be legally enforceable. A Maryland business attorney can help you ensure that you include all key elements in your company’s NDA to make the agreement effective and enforceable. Below are five key elements that a business should include in its NDAs.

You have several options if you want to protect your assets and your loved ones in Maryland. A Maryland estate-planning attorney can help you sort through your options and develop strategies for optimizing the types of documents we can use in our state.

Starting a new business is exciting. You have an idea for a service or a product you are convinced consumers want. Before offering your product or service to consumers, certain practical and legal considerations must be addressed to protect your business interests and your personal interests. The decisions you make while setting up your new business venture have a significant impact on many short-term and long-term matters and issues.

Maryland law provides many options to create a trust as part of your estate plan. Depending on your situation, one or more trusts may be in your best interests. Trusts are complex documents that can have life-long effects for you and your beneficiaries, so care must be taken in choosing and drafting your trusts. A Maryland estate-planning attorney can work with you to help you decide which type of trust or trusts best meet your needs.

People in Maryland can write practically whatever terms they want in their wills, but that does not mean the probate courts will honor those terms. Let's say that you want to leave nothing to the person who would ordinarily inherit a portion of your estate. You might be angry at the person, or you might have agreed, for example, with your spouse, that they will take nothing under your will. Take it from a Maryland estate-planning attorney—this may not be entirely legal.

You worked hard for many decades and saved money for retirement. You would think that since you earned that money, you can do with it what you want. Many people are surprised to learn that the government will force them to start taking money out of their retirement savings when they reach the age of 70 ½ years. Why is that? Maryland tax attorneys have been advising their clients on this rule for years. Here’s what you need to know.

For taxpayers who do not pay taxes throughout the year or underpay, they may face a large tax penalty when they file their tax returns. If you are going broke paying estimated tax penalties, working with a Maryland tax attorney to identify problems with your estimated tax payments could help eliminate those penalties.

At work, you may deal with leases, employment contracts, vendor agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and partnership agreements. If you need to review a contract, these seven pro tips from our experienced Maryland business attorney can help you cut through some of the legalese to identify the key terms contained in the contract.

The Fractional General Counsel Model utilizes an up-front fee structure customized to meet the needs of your particular business. This model is particularly beneficial for start-ups, who may not have the budget to hire a full-time counsel, but want to ensure their investment is protected. Check out our latest video on why more start-ups are using fractional general counsel.

Estate-planning can be an overwhelming process to consider. However, with a little knowledge, you can have your estate-plan prepared in no time, leaving you with one less thing hanging over your head. In this video, Steve Thienel answers the top 5 estate-planning questions people ask every day.

The deductions you may take for interest on your boat loan has changed somewhat since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), but the deductions have not been eliminated. Below is a brief discussion from Maryland tax attorney, Steve Thienel, of some changes in the tax reform bill that impacts interest deductions for a boat. If you follow the current rules in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, you may still benefit from certain deductions.

As a musician, you have expenses that are unique to your industry. Utilizing the tax deductions available for musicians is essential to reducing your tax liability. This is especially true since some of the deductions musicians may have used in past tax years were eliminated with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

In this article, we discuss several of the unique income tax planning issues for musicians and how musicians can take advantage of tax laws to reduce income tax liability.

Business owners who use a portion of their home for business may benefit from using the home office deduction when preparing their income taxes. Claiming a deduction for a home office often reduces tax liability. However, the IRS has strict guidelines for claiming a home office deduction on your tax return. A Maryland tax attorney can help you determine if you can claim a home office deduction and the best way to maximize tax benefits for this deduction.

Updated 2020 - The rules have changed on how you can deduct your business-related auto expenses on your S-Corp taxes under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA). A Maryland tax attorney can help.

If you are a new startup, you may realize a small profit at the end of the year, buton paperyou report a loss. Reporting a loss on paper is common for some new startups during the first two or three years. Thisis especially true when someone is turning a hobby into a profitable business venture. Depending on the type of business entity you choose after speaking with a Maryland business attorney, you could benefit from those losses while you are building and growing your business.

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are used by many people to save for retirement because of the benefits of contributing to IRAs while you are working. However, if you want to access the money in your IRA before age 59 ½, you may owe taxes on the withdrawal, in addition to the hefty 10 percent penalty for early withdrawals.