Columbia Estate Planning Lawyers

Attorney in a boutique law firm focusing on estate planning, trust administration and probate matters, including foreign or ancillary estates, in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia.

"I develop custom planning solutions that underscore my clients’ personal family profile while achieving their wealth transfer objectives in a tax-favored manner."

Experienced Trusts & Estates attorney practicing wealth transfer planning, estate & trust tax law, fiduciary litigation, and business formation & succession planning. Practice Trusts & Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer, Asset Protection, Tax, & Business Planning. Work with individual clients and small business owners. Advise clients on a full spectrum of tax and estate planning services, including wealth transfer, business, and tax planning. Develop customized solutions that emphasized clients’ personal family profile and priorities; and their wealth transfer objectives.

Currently...

In practice since 1987, Attorney Evan Farr is widely recognized as one of the leading Elder Law, Estate Planning, and Specials Needs attorneys in Virginia, DC, and Maryland, and one of foremost experts in the Country in the field of Medicaid Asset Protection and related Trusts. Evan Farr has been quoted or cited as an expert by numerous sources, including the Washington Post, Newsweek Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Trusts & Estates Magazine, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Bar Association, and has been featured as a guest speaker on television and numerous radio shows, including Fairfax...

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!"

When you need your estate plan to work, it’s already too late. That is not a position you want to find yourself in – as Greg Jimeno knows all too well. Greg’s grandparents crafted their estate plan with two main concerns: protecting the assets they had spent their lives accumulating, and the high cost of nursing home care. They thought they had a plan that helped them to balance these two competing concerns but, when the time came, Greg watched as they realized that the estate planning tools they had relied upon did not protect them as well as they could...

Sheereen E. Middleton, Esq. is from Silver Spring, MD, and moved to Florida to attend the University of Miami in Coral Gables in 2002. While attending UM, Sheereen was a member of the cheerleading squad and cheered for the football team, volleyball team, and basketball team. After graduating from UM, she attended law school at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens. Sheereen is a licensed Attorney and Realtor® in both Maryland and Florida. Today, she practices Bankruptcy, Real Estate, and Estate Planning. When Sheereen is not in the office, she enjoys spending time at the beach, and being amongst friends...

Jeffrey Kolender chairs the firm’s Estate Planning and Estate & Trust Administration practice groups. He concentrates primarily in those areas and also advises small businesses in tax business planning. Jeffrey recognizes that each client is different and enjoys the challenge of creating a plan that accomplishes the client’s unique goals. He advises clients about adequately providing for their family, including saving taxes, creating trusts for children, planning for disability, and the special planning issues involved in second marriages and same-sex marriages.
He understands that estate planning can be a complex and emotional process for clients. Jeffrey always takes the time to...

As the founder and managing partner at Francois Legal Group, LLC, E. Regine Francois applies diverse legal and life experience to effectively represent individuals and businesses across a range of practice areas that include: estate planning, civil litigation, personal injury law, protective orders, and consumer matters.
With over a decade of legal experience, Regine understands the value of meticulous preparation to anticipate and avoid potential problems, while asserting her clients’ rights to the fullest extent. She truly cares about each client and views her role as effectively representing and counseling her clients about their options and the potential realities they face...

Nicole devotes her law practice exclusively to building and protecting families. When working with her clients, she takes an educational approach so her clients fully understand their options and the steps they should take to achieve their goals. She takes the time to listen to your concerns and answer any questions you may have. As a result, she has a better understanding of your situation and can respond effectively with practical and sensible solutions. Nicole's unique assisted reproduction/surrogacy program is designed to give both Intended Parents and Surrogate Mothers support and peace of mind from the moment they contact her office...

Debbie Cohn’s keys to professional success are as diverse as her eclectic client base that consists of professionals, business owners, retirees, and non-U.S. citizens. Yet perhaps her most critical—and comforting—characteristic is an ability to explain complex concepts in a way her clients can understand. Debbie’s approach to estate planning is equal parts pragmatic and creative, which helps put her clients at ease with the knowledge that their families will be cared for and protected, and their asset protection and wealth management goals will be met. And her wealth of experience and vast knowledge of the law allow her to blend...

Nakia Gray is a multi-faceted businesswoman and lawyer. She leverages her expertise in intellectual property law and brand strategy to give Black women business owners the legal strategies they need to package, protect and profit from their intellectual property. Having launched her law firm in 2014, Nakia has provided brand strategy and legal solutions to thousands of small business owners, and believes that with the right legal strategy a business can expand, grow and create a lasting legacy. For four years in a row Nakia has been named a Top Attorney by Washington, D.C.’s SuperLawyers magazine and has been featured on the...

Meredith Hill Law is a women run law firm that serves as legal concierge and general counsel for small businesses, as well as, assists individual clients with their estate plans. From the start of her legal career, Meredith knew that she wanted to start her own law firm. She wanted to create a business and brand of her own that would be a positive impact to others in her community. When she first began her firm, Meredith fell in love with running her businesses and it sparked a desire for her to help other business owners with their legal needs.

As...

Benjamin Marcoux joined Houlon, Berman, Bergman, Finci, Levenstein & Skok, LLC in June of 2010. Prior to joining the firm, he worked with the Collaborative Law Group in Ellicott City, Maryland. He served clients in a variety of practice areas including: family, civil litigation, collaborative law, wills and probate, and personal injury. Ben has appeared before judges and masters in Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Calvert and Worcester counties. While in law school, Ben served as Dean's Fellow to Professor Rice, the former Evidence Master for the AT&T break-up litigation. Ben is a member of the...

Focus on estate & trust matters, estate planning, administration, litigation and mediation, as well as business transactions, entity formation, purchase and sale transactions and tax controversy matters. Certified Public Accountant (1981). Frequent lecturer for National Business Institute, Inc., Member - The Baltimore Estate Planning Council

I use my personal and legal experiences to help my clients and their families. I have written articles for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and Maryland State Bar Association. I spoken at Churches, Junior League, NARFE, Ameriprise, Prudential, Montgomery Hospice, American Association of Daily Money Managers, Grass Roots Organization for the Well-Being of Seniors (GROWS), and Hospice Caring on topics, such as, Estate Planning: Wills and Trusts, Common Mistakes in Estate Planning, Planning for Long Term Care, Advance Medical Directives, and Guardianship.

Nicole M. Whitaker, owner of Whitaker Legal, LLC, is also an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law where she teaches Legal Analysis, Research and Writing. After living in Madrid, Spain, Ms. Whitaker speaks Spanish fluently. In her free time, she teaches English as a Second Language for the Community College of Baltimore County.

Wayne Eig refers to himself as a business and tax lawyer for individuals and closely held entities, providing advice to clients involved in various business, investment, financial and succession planning activities. Sometimes, his clients are individuals or families, sometimes entities and often a combination of individuals/families and affiliated entities working together. Sometimes, these businesses have great value, sometimes they do not – but all of these clients have needs which require legal attention.
Over the course of his career, Wayne has chaired some of the firm’s major practice groups – Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning, Tax, and Corporate. In forty...

As an adoptive mother of 5, Sheri A. Mullikin represents expectant mothers and fathers, adoptive parents, and children in private or independent, agency, and international adoptions throughout central Maryland, including newborn, stepparent and other relative/kinship adoptions. Ms. Mullikin also helps individuals and families protect their loved ones through estate planning and administration legal services, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance health care directives.

Unique and Unconventional For nearly thirty years, I've cultivated a rich and diverse legal career, beginning with a focus on securities law and corporate compliance for seventeen years. During this time, I honed my skills in navigating the complexities of financial regulations and transactions, ensuring compliance and protection for my corporate employers. Transitioning into a general practice for the subsequent thirteen years, I broadened my expertise across various legal domains, providing comprehensive counsel to individuals and businesses alike. However, it was in the last five years that I found my true passion and calling in estate planning. Devoting my energy solely to...

Robert Maclay is Co-President of the firm, and a member of its Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration, Corporate and Tax practice groups, among others. In all areas of his practice, Bob’s clients continually praise him for the personal attention he consistently gives them, touting him as a good listener, responsive to their needs, and capable of managing complex issues.
On the estate planning side of his practice, Bob Maclay works with people who may be facing a very difficult time in their lives and alleviates their personal concerns regarding their children and grandchildren. Whether he is preparing wills, trusts or...

Britt is a dynamic and energetic Attorney who has dedicated her career to advancing the field of Estate Planning and Elder Law. She is a staunch advocate for the protection and privacy of her clients and has made great advances in Maryland with the Stouffer Legal NFA Trust and Family Gun Trusts. These are wealth preservation and privacy strategies that were previously only available to the wealthy and well connected, now tailors to protect firearm owners and their families. She has also pioneered the Maryland Asset Protection Trust designed for protection from the growing costs Nursing Homes and unexpected predators,rather...

Roy Niedermayer is a member of the firm’s Litigation, Appellate Practice and Government Contracts practice areas. He excels in risk management - he identifies and assesses risk in each of his cases and then discusses alternative strategies in light of probabilities of outcomes to determine what the best cost-benefit course of action is. He may create decision tree analyses, determining what factors affect risk, how to reduce risk, and assigns probability of success. When first meeting with a client, Roy finds out what the client is hoping to achieve and what their goals are - in doing this he understands...

As a native of Baltimore, Maryland, Attorney Cohen has been practicing here for over 20 years. She established the Law Offices of Kerri Cohen after working for 11 years for the State of Maryland in Baltimore City at the Office of the Public Defender as an experienced criminal defense trial attorney. She represented clients charged with serious felonies such as homicide, rape, robbery and drug charges among other crimes. Attorney Cohen has tried hundreds of cases before Judges and Juries in the Circuit Court, District Court and Juvenile Courts. Attorney Cohen graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of...

Michelle Chapin, a member of the firm’s Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration, Tax and Corporate practice groups, advises individuals, families and small business owners regarding their estate and gift planning needs. Recognized as a Top Trusts and Estates Lawyer in Washingtonian magazine, Michelle excels at providing clients with easy to understand explanations of intricate legal and tax matters. She works closely with her clients to create comprehensive and customized estate and business succession plans to achieve their tax and non-tax wealth preservation objectives. She also helps clients implement lifetime gifting and post-mortem wealth transfer strategies and counsels fiduciaries on...

Lee Carpenter is a Maryland attorney whose practice areas include estate planning and administration, trust formation, and business and corporate law.

Mr. Carpenter works with clients at all asset levels to develop comprehensive estate plans using wills, powers of attorney, advance medical directives, real estate deeds, and other planning tools. Depending on the client’s individual needs, he may also prepare trust documents to help reduce estate taxes, provide for minor children, or care for people with special needs.

His corporate work includes the formation of small businesses and nonprofits as well as commercial leases, employee agreements, and similar matters.

Mr. Carpenter teaches...

Mark Binstock is a member of the firm’s Litigation practice group who concentrates a significant portion of his practice in litigation involving estates, trusts, guardianships and other fiduciary matters. He has experience in commercial litigation, a substantial portion of which involves commercial contracts, construction litigation, domestic relations and personal injury, while appearing regularly before the federal and state courts in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Every client has their own unique and individual needs and goals in pursuing matters in court. Mark strives to identify those needs during the course of representation. He is sensitive to his clients’ personalities...

Mark Rothman is a founding member of the firm and currently serving as senior counsel to the Corporate, Estate Planning, Tax and Estate & Trust Administration practice groups. He practices primarily tax and business law and estate planning, and represents large real estate holding companies and large retail operating companies. He has extensive experience structuring proposed business ventures, such as limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships and Subchapter-S corporations, and also represents clients in conjunction with the sale and acquisition of a business. In addition to his business-related practice, Mark handles sophisticated and complex estate and succession planning matters, particularly...

Kerri Castellini is primarily a DC-based attorney with a focus on estate and trust administration, guardianship for incapacitated adults and minors, and estate planning. She brings her legal experience to the Trusts and Estates Practice Group and is currently admitted to practice law in Washington DC, Maryland, and before the supreme court. She is passionate about providing a high level of attention to her clients to come up with a plan that is best for their unique circumstances.

Paul Marcotte, Jr. Chairs the firm’s Tax practice group and is a member of its Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration and Nonprofit groups. He concentrates his practice on federal, state and international tax matters (both planning and controversy), estate and wealth preservation planning, probate and trust administration, nonprofit organizations, and business counseling and succession planning. Paul helps his clients by putting complicated tax issues into simple English. He makes sure that the individuals, businesses and international clients he services have help navigating our complex tax systems and avoid potential minefields such as increased levels taxation and/or penalties.
Paul’s international...

Jeff graduated from Boston University School of Law’s Tax LLM program and practice as a tax, business, and estate planning attorney.

Jeff advises clients on legal and tax issues relating to business transactions, start-ups, corporate mergers & acquisitions, business successions, estate planning, and real estate. Jeff practices both federal and state tax law, and he assists individuals and businesses with tax audit defense and tax planning in the areas of income, corporate, partnership, franchise, sales and use, property, and estate taxes. Jeff's background allows him to consider clients' personal, business, and tax needs. Jeff was the 2013 president...

Mark Goldstein, one of the founders of the firm, is a member of its Corporate, Financial Services, Estate Planning and Estate & Trust Administration practice groups. He concentrates on corporate, business, estate and tax planning and advises large and small corporations, general and limited partnerships, associations and proprietorships on sophisticated business planning issues. He represents a large number of estate planning clients and is well respected for his ability to communicate and implement complicated plans in a practical manner. Mark has significant experience in structuring and negotiating business and financing transactions, reorganizations and private placement syndications. He has served as...

Paula Calimafde chairs the firm’s Retirement Plans, Employee Benefits and Government Relations practice groups and is also a senior member of the Estate Planning, Tax and Nonprofit groups. She has more than 35 years of experience advising companies and tax-exempt organizations on qualified and non-qualified retirement plans and employee benefits, including non-qualified deferred compensation, welfare benefit and cafeteria plans. She is a nationally recognized leader in the field of creative retirement plan designs for businesses and works closely with management and owners to prepare retirement plans, which suit the particular corporate needs.
Paula’s practice encompasses sophisticated estate planning and advising individuals...