Practices
- Administrative Law
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- Bankruptcy / Creditors' Rights
- Business
- Construction Contracts and Disputes
- Criminal Defense
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- Estate Planning & Administration
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Estate Planning & Administration
For all your future plans.
Careful consideration and planning for the disposition of assets after death is essential to a client’s emotional and financial well-being. A well-conceived plan provides peace of mind and can avoid after-death disputes among heirs and others, while often utilizing various methods of planning to minimize the impact of federal and state taxes that can follow death. We understand the importance to our clients of sensitive, competent and trustworthy representation in matters that affect not only the client but his or her loved ones for years to come.
Estate Planning
Our estates and trusts attorneys’ first priority is getting to know our clients and their specific values and goals. We have significant experience providing our clients with comprehensive estate planning and counsel, as well as preparing the wills, trust instruments, and other devices best suited to the client’s particular needs and finances. We also offer assistance to clients regarding the orderly management of their personal and health care needs in the event they become unable to make decisions for themselves due to age or infirmity.
Estate Administration
We have represented countless personal representatives in the administration of estates, and assisted and guided them in carrying out their legal duties, from drafting the forms necessary to open the estate to the preparation of fiduciary and estate tax returns to the closing out process.
Trust Administration
Our attorneys provide comprehensive trust administration services by representing trustees and beneficiaries. We seek to guide the client through the applicable trust, as needed, considering the terms of the trust and the applicable laws.
Trust and Estate Litigation
Our attorneys also counsel clients with regard to fiduciary litigation matters and dispute resolution. We have successfully represented clients in state court in various estate and/or trust litigation matters, including contesting wills and challenging trustees' decisions regarding use of trust funds, among other similar cases.
Estate Planning Blog
View our blog to view helpful articles on different estate planning topics.
Please send us an email and one of our attorneys will be in contact with you in a timely manner.
- Nicole T. Livingston Joins Anne Arundel Estate Planning Council Executive Committee
- Council Baradel Welcomes New Partner Garrett E. Brierley
- In Memoriam: Council Baradel Co-Founder Wayne T. Kosmerl
- James P. Nolan Recognized by Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County
- Michael N. Russo, Jr. and Rebecca K. Schisler-Adams Win 3-Day Jury Trial on Contentious Real Property Dispute
- Nicole T. Livingston Featured in Maryland Bar Journal: "A Career with Two Fulfilling Professions"
- Four Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers 2025
- Rebecca K. Schisler-Adams Selected as 2024 Pro Bono Award Honoree
- Rebecca K. Schisler Adams Named Editor of Anne Arundel Bar Association Newsletter
- Thirteen Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized in What's Up? Magazine's "Leading Lawyers" 2024
- Wayne T. Kosmerl and N. Tucker Meneely Secure Victory for Clients in Supreme Court of Maryland
- James P. Nolan named to 2024 Business Law Power List by The Daily Record
- Council Baradel Elects Sally V. Baldwin and Brian S. Burkett as Partners
- Fifteen Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized by Maryland Super Lawyers 2024
- Six Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers
- Maria Worthington McKenna Joins Anne Arundel Community College Foundation Board
- Nicole T. Livingston Attends Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
- Thirteen Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized by Maryland Super Lawyers 2023
- Kelly A. Burgy Joins Council Baradel's Estates & Trusts Group
- Fifteen Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized by Maryland Super Lawyers 2022
- Nicole T. Livingston Joins Council Baradel's Estates & Trusts Practice
- Twelve Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized in What's Up? Magazine's "Leading Lawyers" 2021
- Council Baradel Elects Lee Ann Adams and Elizabeth A. Pfenson as Partners
- N. Tucker Meneely Inducted as Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation
- Estate Planning: Questions and Concerns Surrounding COVID-19
- Council Baradel and Bay Title Company Operations Amid COVID-19
- Seventeen Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized by Maryland Super Lawyers 2020
- Council Baradel Named Top Workplace for Third Consecutive Year
- Ronald E. Council Marks 50 Years as an Annapolis Attorney
- Sixteen Council Baradel Attorneys Recognized in What's Up? Magazine's "Leading Lawyers" 2019
- Bay Title Company Launches New Website
- N. Tucker Meneely Elected President of the Woodwise Board of Directors
- Mollie Walsh Beigel Joins Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts Board of Directors
- Lee Ann Adams and Aubrey E. Mirkin Speak to St. Mary's Parish on Planning for the Future
- Maryland Super Lawyers 2018 Recognizes Nine Council Baradel Attorneys
- Maria Worthington McKenna to Speak at Anne Arundel Community College Paralegal Forum
- Council Baradel Elects Four New Directors
- John Naumann Strange to Speak at Estate Planning Seminar in Severna Park on June 20th, 2016
- The Estate Planning and Administration practice group of Council, Baradel, Kosmerl & Nolan, P.A. renews 2016 Corporate Member status with Anne Arundel Estate Planning Council .
- Six Council Baradel Attorneys Named 2016 Maryland Super Lawyers.
- Ten Council Baradel attorneys named 2015 Maryland Super Lawyers.
- Five Council Baradel Attorneys Named as"Leading Lawyers" by What's Up? Annapolis Magazine
- Collecting Debts on Behalf of Your Loved One
- Beware of Unequal Contributions When Purchasing a House
- Don't Become a Statistic
- Estate Planning Roll Call: Important Legal Tools You Should Have
- Top 3 Reasons You Need an Up-To-Date Estate Plan
- Bills and Services to Cancel - and Keep - When a Loved One Dies
- Hunger Action Month
- Four Things Your Spouse Should Know Before You Die
- Estate Planning Lessons Learned from Aretha Franklin's Will Battle
- Three Things to Consider Before You Make a Gift to Grandchildren
- Use National Self-Care Month to Care for Your Future
- Four Things to Consider When Using a Continuing Trust
- Three Types of Trusts to Plan for Minor Children and Grandchildren
- Planning Strategies for Your Boat That Are Not Sunk
- Personal Guidance From Beyond the Grave
- What Not to Include in Your Estate Planning Documents
- What Happens to Your Venmo, PayPal, and Apple Pay Accounts at Your Death?
- Three Important Concerns Self-Employed Individuals Should Address
- Three Things You Must Do to Protect Your Family if You Are Recently Unemployed
- Nine Ways Your Estate Plan Could Breed Conflict
- Was Your Loved One a Book Lover? Think Twice Before You Throw Them Out
- What Is a "Devise" in My Estate Plan?
- What to Know about Maryland's New Power of Attorney
- What the Administration's 2024 Revenue Proposals Mean for You and Your Estate Plan
- Ways the Administration Wants to Modify the Tax Rules for Certain Trusts
- Three Improvements the Administration Wants to Make Regarding Administration for Trusts and Decedent
- Are You Single with a Minor Child? If So, You Need a Plan
- Important Probate Rules You Should Know
- Why Can't We Have a Joint Trust If We're Not Married?
- The Death of Raquel Welch and What Her Estate Plan Is (or Might Be)
- Mental Health Awareness Month: How an Estate Plan Can Help Improve Anxiety
- Five Things to Know Before Including a Limited Liability Company in Your Estate Plan
- Have You Thought Through Your Retirement Plans?
- Planning a Barbecue Is Like Planning Your Estate
- What You Need to Know About Beneficiary-Controlled Trust
- Why the Knives May Come Out at Death
- Goodness Gracious! What Jerry Lee Lewis's Estate Plan Could Look Like
- What Happens to Elvis' Legacy Now?
- Garn-St Germain Act: What You Need to Know
- Surviving Tax Season: Taxes That Can Impact Your Estate Plan
- Have You Chosen the Right Trustee?
- Ways Your Will Can Be Revoked
- Nonjudicial Settlement Agreements: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- Want to Leave Your Retirement Account to Your Minor Child? Consider These Things First
- Do Not Leave Your Minor Children's Future to Luck
- Slicing Your Estate Planning Pi(e)
- Ladies, You Need a Plan
- Why Deathbed Planning Might Give You Additional Grief
- Retirement Planning Update
- The Deceased Spouse's Unused Exemption (DSUE) Amount: a Spouse's Final Gift
- Spring Break Checklist
- Digital Estate Planning
- Protecting your Fluffy Family Members: Why Every Pet Parent Needs to Consider a Pet Trust Today
- Tax Season Is Just around the Corner
- New Business Succession Strategy: The Purpose Trust
- Three Creative Ways to Use the Estate Planning Process to Be a Mentor
- Why You May Still Have to Open a Legal Probate Proceeding
- Estate Planning FAQ's
- Medicaid Compliant Annuities
- Retirement Benefits Planning Post-SECURE Act
- Importance of Maryland Power of Attorney (POA) Documents
- Top 10 Reasons you need to Review your Estate Plan
- What is a Revocable Trust?
- What to Expect at Your First Estate Planning Appointment
- Do I have an Estate?
- How to Title a Burial Plot
- Are there Different Types of Special Needs Trusts?
- Estate Planning Protects You and Your Family