Entities Face Looming Reporting Requirements—Preparing for the Knowns and Unknowns of the Corporate Transparency Act

The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), which takes effect on January 1, 2024, requires certain small- and medium-sized US corporations, LPs, LLCs, and similar closely held entities to report certain company information and beneficial ownership information to the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).  The CTA is expected to apply to 32 million entities […]

Death and the Automobile

Chances are, you own a motor vehicle. It is less likely that you have spent much time thinking about what happens to that motor vehicle when you die. There are many emotions that come with the death of a loved one, most of which cannot be avoided. Ensuring that your assets transfer easily at your […]

Divorce, Pensions and Avoiding Pitfalls in Dividing Them

A divorcing party may have acquired employer-sponsored retirement benefits during marriage. In most states, retirement benefits earned during marriage are marital property and can be divided at divorce. A court order is required to transfer a share of an employee’s retirement assets to the non-employee spouse. This article focuses on private sector and civilian federal […]

Jan White Retires

Jan White retired at the end of 2022 after 50 years of practicing law, 32 of them at Pasternak & Fidis as a family lawyer. In her early years of law practice, she was a trial lawyer at Legal Aid in Durham, NC, and then at Hogan Lovells (then Hogan & Hartson) in DC. She […]

Postmarital Agreements in the DMV— Lessons from Recent Cases

A postmarital agreement is a contract governing property and support rights between spouses who have no immediate intent to divorce; by contrast a separation agreement settles economic issues between spouses who expect to divorce. Some spouses may want to use a postmarital agreement to address property issues during an ongoing marriage. A postmarital agreement may […]

Treatment of Vermont Civil Union as a Marriage for Purposes of Divorce in Maryland

In 2020, in a case called Sherman v. Rouse, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals had to decide whether a 2003 Vermont civil union, which pre-dated marriage equality, should be treated the same as a marriage for purposes of granting a divorce and related rights, including spousal support and equitable division of property. One aspect […]

Custodial Accounts, 529 College Savings Plans and Divorce

Common options for families to save for their children’s education are through custodial accounts and 529 savings plans. When a couple divorces, the treatment of these resources needs attention. A recent unreported case from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals points this up. This article highlights issues that should be addressed as part of a […]

Premarital Agreements and Post-Execution Conduct

Parties to a premarital agreement are free to make decisions during the marriage that alter their financial circumstances so long as they meet their contractual obligations. Post-execution actions can strengthen the validity of the agreement, result in a claim that the agreement has been revoked, or leave the agreement intact but change the economic outcome. […]