Estate and Trust Administration
Premarital and Domestic Partnership Agreements
sperry@pasternakfidis.com
T 301.656.8850 Ext. 425
F 301.656.3053
7101 Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 1025
Bethesda, MD 20814
Education
B.S., Florida State University
J.D., Emory University School of Law
Bar Admissions
Maryland
District of Columbia
Virginia
Stephanie Perry is the Managing Partner of Pasternak & Fidis, P.C. in Bethesda, Maryland, and she concentrates her practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, and premarital and domestic partnership agreements. Stephanie delivers strategic guidance to clients, with a focus on achieving clients’ personal objectives.
Stephanie advises clients in the preparation of estate planning documents, and she also counsels clients with respect to the administration of estates and trusts. In estate planning, Stephanie’s goal is to provide each client with a plan that will meet the client’s personal objectives, while also preserving wealth and minimizing transfer tax liabilities. In estate and trust administration, Stephanie strives to make what can be a very challenging process as manageable and efficient for clients as possible. According to Stephanie, the most rewarding aspect of her practice is “getting to know clients and their families and serving as a trusted adviser who will help them achieve their primary objective of taking care of family.”
Stephanie also prepares and negotiates premarital and domestic partnership agreements on behalf of clients. Stephanie’s primary objective in working with clients in these matters is to make sure a client is properly educated, understands his or her rights, and concludes the process with an agreement that is acceptable to both parties.
A Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Stephanie is admitted to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. She has been recognized as a Maryland Super Lawyer in Estate Planning and Probate every year since 2015, including 2026, and is listed among the Top 100 Attorneys and Top 50 Women in Maryland. Her accolades also include recognition by The Daily Record as one of Maryland’s “power players” for the publication’s 2024 Estate and Trust Law Power List and as a top attorney by Washingtonian, Best Lawyers, and Bethesda Magazine.
Stephanie is a Past President of the Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland, and the Bar Foundation of Montgomery County (2022-2025). In addition, she has held leadership roles with the District of Columbia Bar and is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Montgomery County.
Stephanie earned her B.S. from Florida State University and her J.D. from Emory University School of Law. After beginning her career in Atlanta where she practiced estates and trusts law for six years, in 2010 she relocated to the Washington metropolitan area with her husband, Tracy, a career civil servant, and she joined Pasternak & Fidis that same year.
Stephanie understands the importance of giving back to the legal profession and she currently serves as a Director of the ACTEC Foundation and as a Director of the Bar Foundation of Montgomery County, Maryland. Additionally, Stephanie, an unwavering believer in the power of education, served on the Board of Trustees for six years and is a past Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Washington School for Girls (WSG), an all-girls, tuition-free private school. Located in the District of Columbia, WSG provides access to education and support to 3rd through 8th grade students and their families to prepare them for success in high school and beyond. Stephanie continues to support the school and its mission.
Activities and Affiliations
A premarital agreement addresses a couple’s rights and obligations to one another when their marriage ends by divorce or death. A recent Virginia Circuit Court case, In re: Algabi v. Dagvadorj, et al., highlights the importance of ensuring that a decedent’s estate plan is consistent with the terms of his or her premarital agreement; or, in the case where a decedent intends to depart from the terms of his or her premarital agreement, the importance of making this intent clear in the testamentary document. In Algabi v. Dagvadorj, the parties executed a premarital agreement in which they each waived all claims to the other’s estate at death. After the parties were married, husband executed a will under which he arguably intended to leave a… MORE >
The District of Columbia Death with Dignity Act allows an adult D.C. resident who is terminally ill (i.e., medically confirmed to have less than six months to live) to request medication to voluntarily end his or her life.
In order for a patient to participate in the Death with Dignity program, the following requirements must be met:
What is a Power of Appointment?
A power of appointment is a power given to a person (oftentimes under a trust) which enables the person to designate who will receive property or an interest in property. The person who creates the power of appointment is the donor; the holder of the power is the powerholder; and the possible recipients of the property are the permissible appointees.
A power of appointment may be general or limited. A general power of appointment is a power that the powerholder may exercise in favor of himself, his estate, his creditors or the creditors of his estate. A nongeneral power of appointment is commonly referred to as a limited (or special) power of appointment and may be exercised in favor of… MORE >
