Why? The days are getting shorter; the leaves are starting to fall.  Autumn seems to settle Chevy Chase residents down a tad.  The summer travel is over; the kids or grandkids are back in school. The holidays are not here yet, and the calendar has a few open weekends in it. That alone makes fall a good season to look at your estate plan or get one drawn up by a wills and estates planning attorney.  This particular fall carries something extra, because the federal rules changed and Maryland's did not.

What changed, and what did not. It's important to know about this. 

This can get confusing so having an Estate administration attorney on your team is very important. You are never too young Real Estate attorney Kensington MD. 

 

  • Many don't know this yet, but the federal estate and gift tax exclusion is $15 million per person for 2026, or $30 million for a married couple, and it is now permanent and indexed for inflation.
  • LLC formation attorney Montgomery County, MD is held at $5 million per person, and that figure is not indexed for inflation.
  • Maryland also kept its inheritance tax, which applies at 10 percent to beneficiaries who are not close relatives. Nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends are taxed. Spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, and siblings are not.

The practical result for most households here is simple. The tax that matters is Maryland's, not the IRSs, and the gap between the two is now $10 million per person.

The Chevy Chase numbers and items to know. Again, have your attorney go over each area with you.  

  • Example. A home in the Village or off Connecticut Avenue, plus retirement accounts, plus life insurance, can cross $5 million faster than people expect. It all adds up.
  • Life insurance counts. If you own the policy, the death benefit sits in your taxable estate even though it never passes through probate.
  • Maryland lets a surviving spouse use the unused portion of a deceased spouse's exemption, but only when a timely election is filed. What is this? It's important to review this with your attorney. That deadline is missed more often than it should be. Ask your attorney about this. 
  • Many families here also own a District condo or a Virginia rental, or a beach house in Rehoboth, MD which can pull a second jurisdiction into the picture. The DMV area can get complex with many investments in all three areas of the DMV. 

If your plan was built for the sunset. Note this can get confusing which is why we strongly recommend you get an attorney and have a meeting to discuss what is done and what still needs to get done. 

Plans drafted in 2023, 2024, and early 2025 were often designed around an exemption that was expected to be cut in half. Worth asking now:

  • Does the irrevocable trust or the large lifetime gift still serve a purpose, or was it insurance against something that never happened?  Review this with an attorney.
  • Do trusts that split automatically at the first death still make sense, or do they now create a second tax return and a lost basis step up for no federal benefit?
  • Is the structure still aimed at Maryland's $5 million line, which is where the real exposure sits?

Complexity you no longer need is not harmless. It costs money and attention every year.

A note for federal employees and retirees

  • TSP and FEGLI pass under their own designation forms and their own order of precedence. Your will does not control either one.
  • Survivor annuity elections under FERS or CSRS were made at retirement and cannot always be revisited.
  • Confirm what is actually on file with the agency rather than relying on memory.

Your checklist before December 31, 2026

  • Make annual exclusion gifts. For 2026 that is $19,000 per recipient, or $38,000 from a married couple.
  • Review beneficiary designations while open enrollment already has them in front of you.
  • Check the deed on your home and confirm the trust was genuinely funded. What does this mean? Check with an Estates Attorney in Montgomery County. 
  • Confirm your personal representative, financial agent, and health care agent are still willing and able. Very important. Many forget about this. 
  • Finish charitable giving for the tax year. Make notes and have copies made.

Schedule the review with your attorney before Thanksgiving, while calendars are still open.