Cedulie Renee Laumann

Attorney Cedulie Laumann is the managing attorney and founding member of small law firm in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The firm handles real estate, small business, and estate/trust matters.

She enjoys helping clients reach positive solutions to their legal needs. Her firm employs innovative "flat fee" billing arrangements and fee options outside the traditional hourly based approach.

"Legal Answers & Representation Relevant to YOUR needs!"

• General Civil

• Free Consultation
  10 minute no-cost free phone consult. Call 410-216-7000. We can answer many quick questions for free, or browse our website for common answers to deed, trust and other questions. Or schedule a private, in-depth consultation (1hr - 1.5 hrs) with Managing Attorney (10-20 years experience) for a flat $300 consult fee for most matters. 100% of the paid consult fee is applied towards estate planning
• Credit Cards Accepted
  Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express Credit cards are only accepted for attorney fees, not for any government fees, third party fees or taxes.
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  10 min no cost initial consult by phone or email. Flat fee consultations for up to 1.5 hour attorney meeting. Flat fee billing option for most matters we handle, including Estate Planning (Trusts, Wills, etc.), Business Formation (LLCs, etc.) and Real Estate (Deeds, contracts, etc.) See our pricing guide on our website for representative fees or call us. While all the firm's clients are given clear understanding of fees up-front, this list is not a promise to represent, some situations may require additional work and no attorney/client relationship is formed unless we meet and both agree.

Maryland

Since 2003

managing attorney

Arden Law Firm, LLC

Current

Adjunct Faculty

St. Joseph's University

Current

University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Honors: Order of the Coif Top 10% of Graduating Class

Maryland State Bar

Member

2003 - Current

Q. Am I liable for clearing my deceased ex's MD apartment and any damages?

August 12, 2025

A: No, Maryland law does not obligate family members (much less former family members such as an ex-spouse) to personally pay the debts of someone who died. Of course, anyone who agreed to be personally responsible as a co-signer might be obligated but the post states neither of you were co-signers. Generally, the only responsibility to pay debts rests with the Personal Representative who is obligated to liquidate assets and pay viable claims out of the Decedent’s assets. It isn’t clear why a landlord would send such unusual letters (nor is it clear how or why the landlord would hire an attorney to track down a tenant’s former spouse or out-of-state child - both are far outside of customary debt collection practices.

Debt collectors are not allowed to lie or falsely threaten legal process against third parties when they know there is no basis for any kind of liability. Both federal and state laws prohibit certain unreasonable debt collection practices — while an online post cannot analyze a debt collection letter, such a letter as you described might potentially violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) or other laws.

If you think that a debt collector violated the law, you might contact the Maryland Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/CPD/default.aspx or call their hotline at (410) 528-8662.

While not legal advice, I hope this helps answer the question. ... Read More

Q. What are the tax implications of selling a parent's home in Maryland while they are alive vs after their passing?

June 18, 2025

A: In a word, "yes". There are definitely tax implications and very often differences between selling real property during the original owner's lifetime vs. after their death. An online post cannot analyze what your specific tax consequences would be in either case (it is more of a question to pose to a tax professional familiar with your situation) but a very general outline follows.

Generally, anytime property has gone up in value (especially when property has been held for 50+ years!) capital gains taxes should be a consideration. The "gain" or increase in value is generally taxed at capital gains tax rates. To use a very simple example, if someone has $100,000 in gain and a 20% capital gains tax rate, they would pay $20,000 in capital gains tax.

When children (or others) inherit property, under current law they get a new, "stepped up" basis. That means that the new starting point for figuring out gain (or loss) is the value at the original owner's death, not the original owner's original basis.

In many situations this makes a huge difference for actual capital gains taxes owed, in others not so much. Whether the owner is living is only part of the equation. Under tax law at the time I'm writing this people can exclude $250,000 in gain for their home IF they sell it AND have lived in it as their principal residence 2 of the 5 years before selling. For example, if Mr. Jones lived in his home 20 years and moves in with his daughter 6 months before selling, he likely can exclude $250,000 worth of gain. However, if Mr. Jones moved out of his house 6 years before he sells, that exclusion no longer applies and Mr. Jones pays capital gains on the whole thing.

While it is appropriate to be thinking of these issues and asking questions, to get an answer relevant to your particular situation it is best to contact a professional who can sit down with all the relevant facts. Obviously only the owner themselves or someone with legal authority to act on their behalf can ultimately decide what to do with their own assets after considering all relevant factors. Usually any decent estate planning will at least mention capital gains as well as other considerations (for example the pros/cons of leaving property through probate vs. a revocable trust vs. other planning tools like life estate deeds). Or one could research the IRS treatment of capital gains as it relates to the sale of a residence as well as the rules surrounding getting a stepped up basis. While not legal advice I hope this general information helps. ... Read More

Q. Is a simple living trust enough for our house to avoid issues for our children in Maryland?

June 2, 2025

A: A typical Revocable Living Trust will avoid probate and give the management of property to a designated “Trustee” (the Trustee can be anyone the planner choses, often this is person is selected from among the beneficiaries if there is no need for outside management). A Trust can only control assets in the name of the Trust so it is essential to pair a Living Trust with a Deed conveying the interest to the Trust. (this is something an estate planning attorney would do together)

Your post doesn’t mention the age(s) of the children, but another option to avoid probate and transfer Maryland property seamlessly to adult children is a life estate deed although that tends to work best with a single (or perhaps 2) responsible adult beneficiaries who would co-own the property after the original owners’ passing and make all decisions together.

Discussing these options and figuring out what makes sense in your situation usually occurs in a meeting with your Estate Planning attorney. If you live in one state and have property in another typically you’d do the planning with an attorney in your state of domicile (and then engage other counsel in states where you have property to assist with the transfer of those properties to trust). While I hope the above gives helpful information it is not intended as a substitute for personalized legal advice. ... Read More