The ABCs of Estate Planning

Imagine that someone you love suddenly has a stroke and can’t pay her bills or access her funds. Jill A. Snyder, an estate planning attorney with the Law Offices of Jill A. Snyder LLC in Lutherville and Baltimore, says that scenario is unfortunately all too common. At that point, it’s too late to prepare documents that would designate another person as the acting authority if someone is incapacitated, also known as a financial power of attorney. Their only option is to seek court-appointed guardianship, a time-consuming process that costs thousands of dollars.

A power of attorney is just one piece of a comprehensive estate plan, a collection of legal documents that determines what will happen to your bank and retirement accounts, homes, and other assets after you die, who will make decisions on your behalf if you become ill or injured, and what happens to your dependents. The other components of that plan include a will, a trust, and an advanced medical directive. While not everyone needs each of these documents, everyone needs at least some of them, attorneys say.

“Most people want the estate plan because they’re an organized person who wants to take care of their heirs and want things to be easy after death,” says Cristin C. Lambros, a Towson estate planning attorney. You don’t have to be rich to have an estate plan: Attorneys say that every adult needs a power of attorney, while everyone who has kids should have a will.

What makes up an estate plan?

Regardless of the size of their assets, it’s essential for parents of minors to draw up a will so they—and not the courts—can appoint a guardian in the event of their untimely death, attorneys say. You could also bequeath specific items in your will— your heirloom silverware, for example—and leave detailed funeral or cremation instructions. You can even dictate who will take care of your pets.

A health care power of attorney lets another individual make medical decisions if you’re unable to if you, for instance, have to undergo emergency surgery and can’t make decisions because you’re unconscious.

A financial power attorney lets another person manage a bank account and pay bills in the event that you don’t have the capacity to do so. And the documents are not just for older individuals. Snyder says she handles power of attorneys for children once they become legal adults when the parents suddenly don’t have the authority to make decisions on behalf of their children since they’re no longer minors. Due to HIPAA privacy rules, they are also not entitled to health information.

An advanced directive is a document in which you, while in good health, decide what would happen if you couldn’t communicate with doctors to make decisions for yourself because, for instance, you’re in a coma after an accident. “It makes it easier for your loved ones not to have to make those decisions,” says Sandra M. Holt, an attorney at Columbia’s Mulinazzi Law Office specializing in estate planning.

What is a trust, and does everyone need one?

Some individuals need a trust, a legal arrangement to manage your assets during your lifetime and distribute them after death, which offers more privacy than a will. Setting up a trust will avoid having to go to probate, a court-supervised process that distributes stocks, real estate, and retirement funds that don’t have a designated beneficiary and or living co-owners. If you have kids with special needs or properties in multiple states and other factors that complicate your estate, you need a trust, lawyers say.

With a trust, you can set aside money for your children or other beneficiaries to receive in phases. For instance, they can receive 10 percent before they turn 18, 20 percent after graduation, and so forth. “There are different milestones that you can set within the trust to allow your children to receive that money in installments,” Holt says.

How do you find an attorney, and what should you ask?

When it comes to estate planning, you probably don’t want to go it alone unless you have a law degree. Turn to friends and family and trusted professionals, including accountants, financial advisors, and attorneys in other fields, for an estate attorney referral. You can also search for lawyers through the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, an organization of peer-selected experienced trust and estate lawyers whose website lets you search for pros by state and with specific expertise in, for example, international real estate.

Ask an estate attorney how long they’ve been practicing, their rates, and whether they bill hourly or a flat rate. And just as you’re thinking about what happens to you after death, you want to ask what happens if something happens to the attorney, especially if they practice solo.

Attorneys advise against using a general practitioner for estate planning. “I think there are too many nuances in the tax laws and other laws that a general practitioner would not be up to date with,” Snyder says. “I would make sure they’re very good at one thing.”

Safeguarding the documents should be a priority as well. Holt tells her clients to keep a copy of their documents in a safe place, like a home office, and let friends and family know where to find them. They should also give a copy to the executor of their will. Some opt to put their docs in a safe deposit box, but if you do so, make sure your trusted people have access to it.

While talking about what will happen after death is not an easy conversation, attorneys advise being proactive. The time to discuss a parent’s power of attorney, for example, is not when that parent is in an emergency room, incapacitated, but rather when you can do so over coffee in a measured way.

Home Sweet Home

Now that you have your estate matters in hand, don’t forget to consider your next home move. If you’re looking to downsize, need access to more care, or just want a change of scene, here’s our annual listing of Continuing Care Retirement Communities in the Baltimore-Annapolis region:*

BayWoods of Annapolis
7101 Bay Front Drive
Annapolis, MD 21403
Baywoodsofannapolis.com

Blakehurst
1055 W. Joppa Road
Towson, MD 21204
Blakehurstlcs.com

Broadmead
13801 York Road
Cockeysville, MD 21030
Broadmead.org

Carroll Lutheran Village
300 St. Luke Circle
Westminster, MD 21158
Clvillage.org

Charlestown Retirement Community
715 Maiden Choice Lane
Catonsville, MD 21228
Ericksonseniorliving.com/charlestown

Edenwald
800 Southerly Road
Towson, MD 21286
Edenwald.org

Fairhaven
7200 Third Avenue
Sykesville, MD 21784
Actsretirement.org

Ginger Cove
4000 River Crescent Drive
Annapolis, MD 21401
Gingercove.com

Lutheran Village at Miller’s Grant
9000 Fathers Legacy
Ellicott City, MD 21042
Millersgrant.org

Maryland Masonic Homes
300 International Circle
Cockeysville, MD 21030
Mdmasonichomes.com

Mercy Ridge
2525 Pot Spring Road
Timonium, MD 21093
Mercyridge.com

North Oaks
725 Mount Wilson Lane
Pikesville, MD 21208
Northoaksseniorliving.com

Oak Crest Village
8800 Walther Boulevard
Parkville, MD 21234
Ericksonseniorliving.com/oak-crest

The Residences at Vantage Point
5400 Vantage Point Road
Columbia, MD 21044
Vantagepointresidences.org

Resorts of Augsburg
6811 Campfield Road
Baltimore, MD 21207
augsburgseniorliving.org

Roland Park Place
830 W. 40th Street
Baltimore, MD 21211
Rolandparkplace.org

*Courtesy of the Maryland Department of Aging, as of February 2025.