Maryland Family Law Maryland family law opinions and commentary

Estates and trusts — Trustee — Motion to remove This appeal arises out of two consolidated cases filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. On July 11, 2017, Kevin L. McIntyre filed a petition, and later a supplemental petition, ...

Estates and trusts — Will — Validity A valid will may be revoked during the testator’s lifetime in several ways under Md. Code, Estates & Trusts (“ET”) § 4-105(1) & (2) (1974, 2017 Repl. Vol.)1 , including by “provision in ...

Inter vivos gift — Confidential relationship — Undue influence After the 2016 death of her beloved husband of 56 years, Luigi Traettino, Appellant Angela Traettino’s life has consisted of being pulled in different directions by those closest to her, her ...

Estates and trusts — Trust consolidation and distribution –Trustee’s authority This appeal is the latest, and hopefully the final, chapter in the saga of the Fink Family Trusts. Both parents have died, and the trustees filed a petition asking the ...

Probate — Sanctions — Attorney’s fees Debbie K. Souder, the appellant, asks this Court to reverse an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses entered by the Circuit Court for Montgomery County against her and in favor of Daphne E. Souder, ...

Trusts and estates — Discovery violation — Sanction Appellant, Frank Bucolo (Frank) sued his sister, appellee, Diana Bucolo-Van Dyke (Diana), as trustee of a trust that their father, Salvatore Bucolo (Salvatore), created in 2001. The trust provided that when Salvatore ...

Wills, trusts and estates — Litigation — Genuine dispute of material fact Pamela Mayer and Joseph Steinberg are estranged siblings who are fighting over the assets of their aunt. In her will, the aunt, Bernice Weck, bequeaths the proceeds of ...

Estates and trusts — Personal representative — Motion to remove In the Orphans’ Court for Montgomery County, Edgar Bradford, the appellant, filed a motion to remove Helen Smith, Esquire, the appellee, as successor personal representative of the Estate of Christine ...

Estates and trusts — Court jurisdiction — Trust After the death of Marion Pisner in 2009, her children, appellant Gary Pisner and Marla Pisner Rubinstein, succeeded her as co-trustees of a revocable trust she had created in 2008. When “continuing ...

Estates and trusts — Special administrator — Attorneys’ fees Joseph Kaczorowski (hereinafter “Appellee”)1 was appointed as special administrator for the Estate of Bernard Kaczorowski. Subsequently, Appellee filed a Petition to Approve Attorneys’ Fees on January 4, 2018, with the Register ...