Estates & Trusts

Estates & Trusts

Securing Your Legacy, Protecting Your Loved Ones..

At Wright, Constable & Skeen, we specialize in estate, trust, and tax planning designed to ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes, while reflecting your values and ideals. Our services are particularly valuable for clients looking to protect their loved ones and create a legacy that lasts.

We start the estate planning process with a thorough evaluation of your assets, including holdings, business interests, life insurance, and employee benefits. Our primary focus is understanding your estate planning goals and implementing them in the most tax-efficient way possible. While tax considerations are important, we believe that personal values and goals should drive the planning process. We guide our clients toward solutions that align with their needs, incorporating effective tax-saving strategies when appropriate.

Whether you need a simple will or a more sophisticated estate plan, we offer tailored solutions using a variety of tools such as revocable (living) trusts, testamentary trusts, life insurance trusts, gift programs, and charitable gifts. We also recommend planning for potential future disability, including durable powers of attorney and advance medical directives for healthcare.

At Wright, Constable & Skeen, we are committed to providing personalized, efficient, and effective estate planning services that secure your future and protect your legacy.

Contact Michael A. Stanley today!

Estate Administration

For over a century, WCS has guided Maryland families through the estate administration process with precision and compassion. Our approach combines technical expertise with personal attention to ensure your family’s legacy is handled with the utmost care.

When We Serve as Personal Representatives

Our attorneys regularly serve as Personal Representatives, managing the entire probate process including:

  • Asset collection and appraisal
  • Corporate buy-sell agreement execution
  • State filings and estate claims management
  • Tax return preparation and strategic investment of funds
  • Comprehensive record-keeping and family communication

Supporting Family Representatives

When family members or financial institutions serve as Personal Representatives, we provide tailored legal support—from comprehensive guidance to assistance with specific administrative challenges.

Our flexibility allows us to adapt to your unique circumstances while maintaining the highest standards of professional service that Maryland families have trusted for generations.

Trust Administration

WCS attorneys craft sophisticated trust solutions that extend well beyond the typical estate timeframe—creating enduring financial protections for your family across generations.

Strategic Trust Design

We collaborate intimately with clients to integrate trusts into comprehensive estate plans that:

  • Protect vulnerable family members
  • Minimize tax exposure
  • Preserve assets for future generations

Trustee Services & Support

Our attorneys regularly serve as:

  • Primary Trustees managing all trust responsibilities
  • Co-Trustees working alongside family members or financial institutions
  • Advisors to appointed Trustees, providing guidance on fiduciary obligations

Beneficiary Representation

We advocate vigorously for beneficiaries to ensure their interests are protected and their rights under trust instruments are fully respected throughout the trust’s duration.

With decades of experience navigating the complexities of trust law, WCS delivers the sophisticated counsel and dependable administration your family deserves.

IRS Alert

WARNING TO IRA OWNERS
By: Michael I. Gordon

If you have an IRA upon which you have named someone other than your spouse as beneficiary or if you are a named beneficiary of someone else’s IRA, be aware that a recent letter ruling from the IRS should act as a warning that unless arrangements are made for a trustee-to-trustee transfer, the proceeds of that IRA will be immediately taxable. Thus, it is important to arrange for the trustee of the IRA being distributed goes directly to the trustee for a rollover IRA created by the transferee or serious tax consequences will attach. If a check is made out to the named beneficiary and that beneficiary then attempts to put the funds into a rollover IRA, based upon this ruling, that method of transfer will not avoid immediate taxation.

For more information, please call Estate Planning Group at 410-659-1300 or e-mail estateplanning@wcslaw.com.

Practice Area Attorneys

Educational Resources

Industry Resources