Maryland Family Law Maryland family law opinions and commentary

Estate law — Accurate appraisal — Date-of-death valuation This case arises from a dispute over the procedure for establishing the value of a one-third ownership interest (145 shares) in a family-owned corporation known as Cutts and Case, Inc., which operates ...

Estates  & Trusts — Baseball card collection — Hearsay On September 27, 2022, a Baltimore County jury found appellant Theresa Mock liable for conversion of personal property owned by Theodore Patterson (“Mr. Patterson” or “decedent”). Ms. Mock noted this timely ...

Estates and trusts — Postnuptial agreement — Confidential relationship Appellant, Ritva Espenkotter (“R.E.”), appeals an order of the Orphans’ Court of Worcester County, which found in favor of her deceased husband, Bernhard A. Espenkotter’s Estate (“B.E.” or the “Estate”). Following ...

Estates and trusts — Prenuptial agreement — Marital home This appeal concerns three consolidated cases from the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. In the first case, appellee Charlotte Walker filed a claim against appellants, which consist of the estate of ...

Estates and trusts — Inheritance provisions — Statute of limitations Following the death of his father, M. Abraham Ahmad (“Abraham”) brought suit against his mother and siblings, seeking to have his father’s revocable trust declared invalid and his father’s estate ...

Estates and trusts — Straw purchaser — Sufficiency of evidence The Circuit Court for Prince George’s County entered a judgment granting relief to the Estate of Waltraut Ciccone (“the Estate”), appellee and cross appellant, in a case in which the ...

Estates and trusts — Release of claims — Petition to caveat In litigation arising from an unauthorized transfer of her elderly father’s assets, a daughter executed a broad, general release of all “claims, actions, causes of action, demands, rights,” etc. ...

Estates and trusts — Petition for supplemental inventory — Abuse of discretion In these consolidated appeals, we consider three judgments rendered by the Orphans’ Court of Baltimore County in the Estate of Fred Fereidoun Mirmiran. The appellant and cross-appellee is ...

Estates and trusts — Attorney’s fees — Interim fees In these consolidated appeals, we consider three judgments rendered by the Orphans’ Court of Baltimore County in the Estate of Fred Fereidoun Mirmiran. The appellant and cross-appellee is Sheilah F. Brous, ...

Estates and trusts — Fraudulent codicil — Motion to dismiss Charlene R. Stafford, appellant, and Philip Al-Mateen, appellee, are both children of Sylvia Stafford, who passed away in 1997. In March 2020, appellant filed a complaint in the Circuit Court ...