Partnership and the Changing World We Live In

December 18, 2016 · 6 min read

By: Stephen R. Elville, J.D., LL.M., steve@elvilleassociates.com, 443-393-7696

At our September 17, 2016 Client Event, I gave a PowerPoint presentation outlining in very brief ten-minute fashion an overview of the major events affecting estate planning, elder law, and special needs planning over the past twenty-five (25) years since 1991. What was revealing about this condensed information was not only how much change had occurred, but how some of those change events had come full circle – some events seemed to have changed the landscape forever, while others indicated change that once appeared permanent but in reality was only cyclical, with later observation revealing that further change negated the original change event or series of events, reverting back 180 degrees to the original law or status. Then came the November 8 presidential election, and with it the specter of further change. In its aftermath, many Marylanders are concerned about the changes that may come, while others anticipate and desire change – be it social, political, or otherwise. From an estate planner’s and elder law attorney’s point of view, the challenge and the question is how to deal with change over time, and how to take care of clients, both during their lives and in anticipation of the end of their lives – all at some unknown date, time, and place many years from now, and under future circumstances none of us can predict or realistically anticipate? And yet, time and inevitable change do not give us a reprieve. We must answer this question.

The answer, it seems, can only reliably be derived from logic. If we are driven by anything else (the news, current trends, financial considerations, personal opinions, the opinions of “experts,” anxiety, fear, or other emotions, overconfidence), we may reach a faulty conclusion. Let us then restrict ourselves to logical reasoning as a means of testing for truth in our search. Our process need not be lengthy, perhaps three (3) steps, and we can begin with some familiar statistics. First, according to the American Bar Association (ABA), fifty-five percent (55%) of Americans have no estate planning. This naturally means that only forty-five percent (45%) of Americans have an estate plan. Of that minority of Americans who have planning in place, statistics from the National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys (NNEPA) show that those plans are only updated once every nineteen (19) years. That fact becomes even more startling when we look at the brief list of historical events since 1991 in the presentation below – they include, among many others, the following:

Since the early 90’s – continued changes in marital deduction planning, and in elder law and special needs planning;
Low federal and state estate tax exemption amounts;
OBRA-93 (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act);
HIPPA;
The Bush years – begin estate tax phase-out;
Maryland’s estate tax decoupling;
Deficit Reduction Act of 2006 – changes in Medicaid law;
Maryland’s long-term care division for Medicaid – $4,300;
Continued increases in estate tax exemptions through 2009;
Proliferation of traditional estate planning;
2010 temporary elimination of the federal estate tax;
2011 – end of EGTRRA (Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2011);
Portability – effective 1/11/2011 (made permanent – 2012);
Medicaid Manual Release MR-159
The Affordable Care Act;
Maryland’s estate tax recoupling;
Maryland’s long-term care divisor for Medicaid changes to $7,940, and now $8,684;
Maryland Trust Act;
Augmented estate;
Elder care explosion;
Special Needs – ABLE, Special Needs Fairness, and other laws;
Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets;
Just to name a few.

If we accept that these few events represent an enormous body of change in the estate planning and elder law world over the past 25 years, we can now examine how this change is dealt with, or needs to be dealt with, in practical terms – the second phase of our process. As a general rule, there is no proactive client education or maintenance/updating of clients’ estate and elder law plans across the country. Let’s place the blame for lack of client care squarely where it should be – with the estate planning and elder law planning community – the professionals responsible for helping clients maintain and update their plans, and educating them. According to the Client Maintenance Academy (CMA), Elville and Associates was only the forty-second (42^nd) law firm in the United States to complete training at the Academy for the purpose of designing and implementing a high-level Client Care Program. While the firms who have been trained by the CMA are not the only law firms in the U.S. utilizing a client maintenance and updating program for their clients, it is safe to conclude that of the thousands of law firms across the country actively engaging in estate planning and elder law planning, only a handful have such a program, or even attempt to implement one – conservatively speaking, likely at least ninety percent (90%) have no such program. So to realistically provide solutions and client care throughout the generations, the estate planning and elder law attorney must offer a client maintenance and updating program, and provide client education. If there is no such offering, clients (non-professionals) cannot be expected to maintain and update their plans over the years and decades to come, and thereby avoid plan failure.

The third phase of our search for the answer comes back to the client – whether there is a real partnership relationship? Once the estate planning or elder law attorney has recognized the importance of client care and has implemented a client legal education and maintenance/updating process, clients must reach out in partnership with the attorney/law firm. It is when this union takes place that true power is achieved. When real partnership exists between a client and their planning attorney, usually beginning at the time of the initial engagement, wonderful things can happen in the accomplishment of the client’s goals and objectives. And the fulfillment of those goals and objectives can only be truly measured at a time of need or crisis, usually in the form of the following questions: is the plan current and reflective of the client’s wishes and changes in the laws, with ample built-in flexibility?; and how are the client’s assets titled at the time of need or crisis (illness, incapacity, or death)?

So the answer to the question and challenge we are presented with is threefold: (1) we must recognize the problem that most Americans have no estate plan or do not maintain their estate plans for extended periods of time during which enormous changes occur in the world; (2) we must accept that the vast majority of estate and elder law attorneys/law firms offer no maintenance and updating plan, and no process-specific legal education for their clients, leaving most estate plans poorly maintained or updated, and generations of family members without optimal knowledge of how to execute the plan, thereby creating plans that have a high probability of failure – attorneys/law firms must change from transaction-based models of planning to client care models, in order to offer clients the updating and maintenance programs that are essential to ensuring plan success; and (3) clients must embrace the client care and power in partnership concepts.

The point is this – changes of great import have already occurred over the past twenty-five (25) years, and will continue. Changes in tax, health care, and other policy that will likely occur under the new administration are nothing more than a continuation of the past. There is nothing to fear – rather, we are called upon to prepare for change. And since we cannot stop or control change, preparedness in estate and elder law planning equals client education and continuous maintenance and updating through client care, by and through which we answer the challenge and the question.

Sep 23, 2026

How Do Small Estate Procedures Work in Maryland?

When someone dies in Baltimore, MD, the money and property in that person's name must usually go through the Register of Wills. A probate attorney can tell your family whether Maryland's small estate process can apply. If so, things will be faster, cheaper, and easier. Small Estate Procedures in Baltimore, MD After a death, the person holding the original will must take it to the Register of Wills in the county or city where the deceased person lived, even if the family is not ready to open an estate. That office keeps the will as a public record, and anything titled only in the deceased person's name is a probate asset. Probate assets can't be collected by the family until the office appoints a personal representative to handle it. The personal representative of an estate is usually named in the will, or, if there is no will, the next person Maryland law allows to serve. Going through the normal probate process can be expensive, difficult, and time-consuming, which is why Maryland has an option for small estates. Small Estate Qualification When the probate assets are worth $50,000 or less on the date of death, the estate counts as small. If a surviving spouse is the only person who can inherit, that limit rises to $100,000. The count includes only property in the deceased person's name and property held as tenants in common. A small estate process is meant to be simpler than the process with a regular estate. Most of these files are handled at the Register of Wills desk and don't go to court at all. The office charges no probate fee, which also makes the process cheaper (though the family may still need to pay a newspaper to run a notice, and some files still need a bond). Discovering the Estate Value The process starts when the family has their lawyer put through a Petition for Administration, which lists what the person owned and what the person owed, using values as of the date of death. A List of Interested Persons is also required, and this must name everyone who inherits under the will and everyone who would inherit if there were no will. The people in the second group must be named even if there is a will. Those forms need to be accompanied by the original will, a death certificate, and proof of value for all property, including: Bank, retirement, and stock accounts Land and real estate Furniture, jewelry, and other valuable personal items Vehicles Guns and collectables Inheritance Tax Maryland does have an inheritance tax, but it does not apply to property paid out of a qualifying small estate. That rule is separate from the usual exemptions for a spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, grandchild, sibling, or charity. Other relatives who would normally pay a 10% tax on a regular estate do not pay that tax if their inheritance comes from a small estate. Protect Your Estate With a Probate Attorney Whether you're planning your estate and want to ensure everything can be done through the small estate process or you're currently dealing with a loved one's estate, a probate attorney can help you with the process. Visit Elville and Associates today to set up an appointment. We serve the Baltimore area, Columbia, Rockville, Annapolis, and beyond.

Aug 27, 2026

When Do Maryland Estate and Inheritance Taxes Affect Your Plan?

Maryland collects both an estate tax and an inheritance tax, and a Columbia, MD estate planning attorney can show you when each tax is likely to affect you and your loved ones and how best to minimize the effects. Maryland Estate and Inheritance Taxes The estate tax measures the value of what you leave as a whole; the inheritance tax is applied against individuals who inherit a particular asset. Maryland is the only state that still imposes both, though some assets are exempt from probate. Estate Tax Details The estate tax applies if your federal gross estate, plus adjusted taxable gifts, plus certain previously elected marital-trust property, equals or exceeds five million dollars. It only applies if you're a Maryland resident when you die, or if you're a nonresident owning real or tangible personal property with a taxable situs in Maryland. The return is due nine months after death, and the tax is due on that same date even if the Comptroller grants more time to file. Property passing to a surviving spouse who is a United States citizen can qualify for a marital deduction, which defers the estate tax until they pass away. Maryland also lets a surviving spouse use the unused portion of the first spouse's five-million-dollar exclusion. Inheritance Tax Details The inheritance tax is a tax on the "privilege" of receiving property from a decedent. Since 2000, neither a spouse, child, grandchild, great-grandchild, stepchild, parent, grandparent, sibling, nor the spouse of a child has to pay any inheritance tax, and a surviving registered domestic partner is exempt now, as well. Any organizations described in Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) are also exempt. Nieces and nephews, uncles and aunts, cousins, friends, or unmarried partners who are not registered domestic partners have to pay 10% of the value of their inheritance to the state. This is true mostly without regard to the size of the estate, though gifts under $1,000 and anything that is dealt with as a small-estate filing are exempt. How They Work Together When both taxes overlap, the inheritance tax gets paid to the Register of Wills and is subtracted from the gross Maryland estate tax. If the inheritance tax equals or exceeds Maryland's computation of the credit for state death taxes, no Maryland estate tax remains. Get Help From an Estate Planning Attorney in Columbia, MD There are various strategies you can use to deal with both these taxes. Living trusts are a great way to take assets out of your estate and designate them for a beneficiary. Charitable giving can reduce the size of your estate, while strategic personal gifts under certain limits can give assets to your loved ones tax-free while reducing the size of the estate. There are more options available. Contact us today at Elville and Associates in Columbia or Rockville today to schedule a free consultation on your estate. We can look through your inventory, every beneficiary form, and the current draft of your will or trust and help you design an estate plan that protects you and your loved ones for the future.

Jul 17, 2026

What Should Caregivers Know About Creating a Care Agreement?

If you are providing regular help to an aging parent or relative and considering getting formal payment for that work, be sure to talk to an elder law attorney in Columbia, MD. An experienced lawyer will know how to create a care agreement that protects both of you and satisfies Maryland law. What Caregivers Should Know About Creating a Care Agreement What is a care agreement? A care agreement is sometimes called a personal care agreement or a personal services contract, but it's basically a written document that sets out the specific help you will be giving, when you will give it, and how much you will be paid for that work. Families create these agreements most often when an adult child or other relative has to step in to handle daily tasks that otherwise a professional home-care worker would have to be hired to perform. Can't my relative just give me money? Without a written agreement, money that moves from the care recipient to you is considered a gift. The reason this is such a problem is that, if your relative ends up later needing long-term care and depends on Medicaid, Medicaid will review all financial transfers that took place for five years prior to approving any long-term care benefits. Any transfer of funds that was less than fair market value during that window can trigger a penalty period of ineligibility, and your loved one may not be able to get funds for the care they require. Medicaid has this look-back period to stop people from hiding assets to become eligible for care they're not actually eligible for. A properly drafted care agreement shows that the payments were made in exchange for documented services, not as gifts. Can we do a retroactive agreement? No, the agreement must look forward, never back. The agreement should have a start date, a list of duties, the schedule, and the pay rate. Can my loved one pay me extra because they have it? No, your compensation rate for this work has to be reasonable. Once again, Medicaid will compare the rate you received with what local home health and personal care aides earn, and if your rate was far above the local market, the payments - or at least the excess - will be treated as gifts. Do I need an elder law attorney for drafting an agreement here in Columbia, MD? The problem with drafting the document yourself is how easy it is to miss something that will later either cause problems with Medicaid or with other family members. When you have a professional review the language (or write it entirely for you), compare it to current state and federal rules, confirm that the pay rate is defensible, and make sure the contract fits any existing estate plan, power of attorney, or trust documents that might be in place, you'll have peace of mind that the agreement is doing what it's designed for. For help getting your care agreement in place, contact Elville and Associates in Columbia, Rockland, or Annapolis today to set up a free consultation. We proudly serve families across Central Maryland, the Washington Metro Area, and the Eastern Shore.