How Will My Agent Know Where My Property Is – and How to Access It? The Maryland Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, Digital Storage Options, Safe Deposit Boxes, and Good Old Fashioned Record-Keeping

This past spring, Olivia R. Holcombe-Volke, Partner with Elville and Associates, co-founded the Community Advocacy Network (CAN), an initiative within the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service that inspires new attorneys and law students to give low-income Marylanders equal access to justice through pro bono work. The MVLS is a private, non-profit legal services provider established in 1981 to help meet the need for civil legal services in Maryland that provides quality civil legal assistance to Marylanders with limited income at low or no cost. Already a volunteer attorney with MVLS for the last 4 years, Ms. Holcombe-Volke, always an advocate for positive change in the communities in which she serves, worked for several months with the other founding members to make CAN a reality. “Having served as a volunteer attorney with various pro bono legal services organizations for the majority of my years in practice, it is tremendously exciting to be a founding member of MVLS CAN,” said Ms. Holcombe-Volke.  “This initiative is aimed at connecting new attorneys – and sometimes, attorneys who are simply “new” to pro bono – with the vast resources available to them through MVLS and its network of volunteer attorneys, all with the end goal of increasing available pro bono services for the many Marylanders in need.” For more information about the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service and the Community Advocacy Network, visit mvlslaw.org/mvls-can/.

Have you ever created intentional space in your work/life for grief? I never knew it was possible until earlier this month. I may be relatively young, but I’ve had my share of deaths to process in life. In all instances, I went through the motions and then seemed to just move on. As in, I went to a funeral, accepted condolences, and then got back to my routine – at work, at home, with loved ones and strangers. This included my father’s passing a couple of years ago. My grief consisted of a few days on the couch, eating junk food and watching movies. Then I picked myself up and moved forward. No self-care, no reflection. That is certainly one way to handle it, but what I did this month was so much kinder to myself. And, just maybe, the kindest thing I’ve ever done for myself. My grandfather died peacefully, a week short of his 93rd birthday. Knowing that he was only going to be with us for a short while longer, I made some very adult decisions. Decision #1: There was literally nothing more important in my life than saying goodbye to my Poppi in the way that felt like I was honoring him. Decision #2: I was going to allow my daily experience and grief to be the priority in my life by making space for it. Once those decisions were cemented in my mind as the only things with real significance, everything else fell into place as if I knew exactly what to do… I canceled all my non-essential meetings. There were FIFTEEN of them! To be kind to myself, I blind-copied everyone at once (opposed to personal emails for every person), told them why I needed to reschedule and counted that task as “done” in a matter of a few minutes. The immediate weight that came from reclaiming a minimum of 15 hours of my week was enormous. Everyone was so extremely kind and supportive of my need to reschedule. I kept 3 essential meetings (reviewing proposals and onboarding a new client) and used the rest of my time working on things that bring me joy and add great value to my business.  And it got me thinking…why did I have 15 non-essential meetings on my calendar, anyway? Made space for self-care every day. Things like, taking a bath, reading, writing, getting a massage. Every day there was one scheduled item of self-care on my agenda. In a week, I had given myself the gift of self-care in a way that seemed like a pure indulgence. Each act of self-care rejuvenated me in a way that felt like, “Yes. My body is important to care for. My spirit is important to nourish. Thank goodness I can move slowly and be kind to myself.” When I look back, none of those actions were longer than 90 minutes and took way less than the time I had given myself space for by removing the non-essential meetings. I reignited good habits. I meditated, did some form of physical activity and cooked the most delicious meals with my husband every night. These, again, seem like a luxury to me when I do all three in one day – let alone all three for weeks straight each day. These habits are direct reflections of my values and things that always make me feel centered and on a good path whenever I regularly activate them in my life. I just didn’t think I had space for them, all in one day, before. I was so very wrong. Having done these 3 things literally changed my life. It helped me to realize my values more deeply, appreciate the supportive people in my life and make space to cherish the memories of my grandfather.  In a time when we are all working so damn hard, it’s hard to push pause. But when you do, your soul thanks you. I spent nearly two weeks making room for grief, which felt like I was swimming in warm molasses – in the best possible way. In a matter of minutes of making these executive decisions in life, I gained immense clarity and gratitude for the gifts in simplicity. I am always saying, my goal is to “live a simple and purpose-filled life. The last gift my Poppi gave me was the realization that I can have that now. I am the one getting in my own way of making that a reality and that was an epiphany that I will take with me as I build the life I want to live. So while I offer these suggestions as a possible guide in grief, we must remember that at the end of the day, grief is a walk alone. Others can be there and listen but you will walk down your own path, at your own pace, with your own pain. You will come to your own peace, in your own time, in whatever way makes sense for you. My experience is not yours and it is not a suggestion that one size fits all. It’s far from that when it comes to loss. I was reminded that grief is the last act of love we give to those we loved. Where there is deep grief, there was great love. And that’s what my life has felt like lately. Fueled in love, reflection and gratitude. The grief isn’t gone, it’s just taken a new shape for me. One that I never knew was possible, one that I wish for everyone to experience if they’re able to make space for it in life. MaryBeth Hyland, founder of SparkVision, believes that when you connect people through purpose, there’s no limit to what they can do. Her organization helps multi-generational teams who need an unbiased partner to identify the gap between their current and ideal culture.  Grounded in her BA in Social Work and MS in Nonprofit Management, this millennial leader is sought after for her ability to create movements that resonate. MaryBeth has been honored in Maryland as ’Innovator of the Year,’ ’Women on the Move,’ ’Top 100 Women,’ ’Top 100 Millennial Blog,’ ’Civic Engagement Leader’ and ’Leading Women.’

I was going to write a piece about pianists in the first part of the 19th century, and while doing my research, realized that one can’t really discuss this era of pianists without looking at a famous violinist. To begin, keyboard players in the baroque and classical eras were generally taught to sit straight, not move around very much, and keep the hands right over the keyboard.  Quite frankly, that was the best way to play the instruments of that time.  The organ, the harpsichord, and the clavichord were the primary keyboard instruments, and a soft touch was really all that was required.  The harpsichord and clavichord didn’t have a dynamic range (changing volume), and achieving that on the organ required the use of additional stops and opening the swell pedal to get more into the pipes.  The keyboard itself had nothing to do with it.  In fact, we know from CPE Bach that his father (Johann Sebastian), the greatest keyboard player of his time, didn’t press on the keys so much as he “stroked” them. Carl said that his father kept his fingers curved, and would basically draw back on a finger to play a note.  An interesting technique that would work for an organ or harpsichord, but not very well for a piano.  That is perhaps why, when J.S. Bach visited the court of King Frederick the Great of Prussia, where his son Carl was the court harpsichordist, that when introduced to a pianoforte built by Silberman (one of the most respected organ and harpsichord builders of the time) that he was dissatisfied with the instrument.  That did not sit well with Silberman. The piano was invented around 1700 by Bartolomeo Christophori.  The original name of the instrument was “Gravicembalo col piano e forte.”  That means, “large harpsichord with soft and loud.”  This became shortened to “pianoforte.”  The first ones probably didn’t sound that great, and there was a lot of developing that had to happen over the next couple of decades.  During the first part of Mozart’s life, the harpsichord was still the primary keyboard instrument.  The pianoforte was considered still somewhat experimental.  Designs improved over the years, and before too long, the pianoforte (or fortepiano as it was called in England) eclipsed the harpsichord, which became an anachronism.  Muzio Clementi is considered the father of the pianoforte because it is felt that he was the first composer to really approach the instrument as a new instrument, and not as a modified harpsichord.  A new style of writing was needed for this instrument, and it was Clementi that set the standard. By the 1830’s, the pianoforte was pretty much the instrument that we know today.  Makers such as Steinway, Erard and Playel improved the sound, the range, and the reliability of the instruments.  This paved the way for the great surge of piano virtuosos in the 19th century. This is where we stop looking at pianists and discuss a violinist.  Nicolo Paganini was the greatest violinist of his time, perhaps the greatest who ever lived.  He was not only a musical genius, but he was also the first musical PR genius.  He ws able to do things on the violin that nobody had ever seen before, and back in those dark days it was thought that the only way someone could do that would be if he were in league with the devil.  When Paganini heard that story, he hit upon the most brilliant musical marketing campaign ever.  He was tall and gaunt, which gave him a somewhat fiendish appearance.  Couple that with wearing a long black cloak, and arranging stage lighting so that he was lit from below only, and then gesticulating wildly while playing unbelievable music on the violin, and he would fill the concert hall every time.  It is hard to imagine how one musician could capture the world’s attention like that, but he did, and one of the first people to really take note of it was Franz Liszt. Liszt was fascinated with Paganini, and realized that if that sort of thing could work for him, why should it not work for a pianist?  Thus was born the “pianist performer.”  Gone were the days of sitting still at the keyboard with fingers curved and never lifting more than an inch above the keys. The modern pianoforte allowed one to play loudly, and that was achieved by hitting the keys harder, and that meant raising your hands way above the keyboard to come crashing down in an explosion of sound.  Additionally, the innovation of dampening and sustain pedals gave the pianist the opportunity to pull off some of the same stunts on their instrument that Paganini did on his.  Before you knew it, there were touring virtuosos all over the place, and each one had his own trademark.  Sigismond Thalberg  developed a technique that created the impression of a third hand at the keyboard.  Alexander Dreyshock astounded listeners with his freakish technique playing thirds, sixths, and octaves.  It was said that he could play Chopin’s “revolutionary “etude at tempo in octaves. Of course, there was Chopin.  Perhaps the most refined of them all.  He could do anything the others did, but just couldn’t do it very loudly.  It was said that his dynamic range was amazing but never got very loud.  This served him well when playing for small groups, which was his preference.  He once said of Liszt, “he plays my music the way I wish I could.”  Chopin was plagued with ill health much of his life, and was too weak to play with great force. He compensated for it with great sensitivity, and a rubato that, by all accounts, could not be matched. Of course, there was Liszt. He was the standard by which every touring virtuoso measured himself, and most came up short.  He was a rock star in his day.  Women would swoon and actually throw their underwear at him! How ’bout that, Tom Jones!  Liszt was important not only in developing piano technique, but in fostering interest in musicians that might otherwise be forgotten.  Let’s not forget that Franz Schubert was relatively unknown outside of Vienna.  Liszt was a great advocate of his music and really brought it to the attention of the rest of Europe.  He was also generous with young composers and helped them when he could.  There is the story of young Edvard Grieg approaching Liszt with his recently completed piano concerto, and asking the maestro if he might be willing to look it over and tell him what he thought.  Liszt took the music from the young Norwegian, went the piano, and sightread it, doing a reduction from the orchestral score as he played!  They don’t make ’em like that anymore. Well, I suppose I could go on and one, but we’ll save something for the next time we are together.