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AMD Law ⚖️ AMD LAW
🖋️ Strategic Estate Planning
✨ Keeping your loved ones out of court and conflict

Q: If both children are trustees, must they agree on everything?A: Not necessarily. The trust and applicable law determi...
10/20/2026

Q: If both children are trustees, must they agree on everything?

A: Not necessarily. The trust and applicable law determine how decisions are made.

At AMD LAW, a Personal Family Lawyer® attorney helps you consider shared authority before a disagreement arises. Naming two people is only the start. The plan also needs to address what happens when they cannot agree.

Equal love. Different responsibilities.You can leave your children equal inheritances without naming both to manage your...
10/19/2026

Equal love. Different responsibilities.

You can leave your children equal inheritances without naming both to manage your trust. Sharing the money and sharing the job are different decisions.

For Estate Planning Awareness Week, explore how willingness, family dynamics, and decision-making rules help you choose a trustee without making it a test of love.

Sundays are a reminder that stewardship also includes preparation, protection, and legacy.I partner with churches and mi...
10/18/2026

Sundays are a reminder that stewardship also includes preparation, protection, and legacy.

I partner with churches and ministries to offer faith-based educational seminars focused on:
• Estate planning
• Probate awareness
• Preparing families for the unexpected
• Preserving legacy across generations

These seminars are educational, not sales-driven, and are designed to support families, seniors, and ministry leaders with clarity and peace of mind.

If your church or ministry is interested in hosting an educational seminar that serves your congregation beyond the pulpit, I’d be honored to connect.

🙏 Serving churches. Strengthening families. Preserving legacies.

Me: “My spouse gets everything. Then my kids.”My estate plan: “We need to talk about ‘then.’”Later could mean after year...
10/17/2026

Me: “My spouse gets everything. Then my kids.”

My estate plan: “We need to talk about ‘then.’”

Later could mean after years of housing, care, and other expenses. That is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to make the timing and funding clear. I help you turn a loving intention into choices your family can understand.

“My children get what is left” is not the same as “my children get $400,000.”Suppose you have $800,000 intended to suppo...
10/16/2026

“My children get what is left” is not the same as “my children get $400,000.”

Suppose you have $800,000 intended to support your spouse and eventually benefit your children. Your spouse could need that support for another 25 years.

If your trust allows the original funds, not just the income they earn, to pay for that support, the remainder can shrink. Naming your children as the eventual recipients does not guarantee how much they receive.

That does not make the trust wrong. It makes the terms and funding worth understanding.

You can discuss whether your children should receive a defined amount, a percentage, or whatever remains. Some families fund the two goals separately, including through properly structured life insurance arrangements.

I want you to know which promise your plan actually makes. The article explains how to begin that conversation without treating your spouse’s needs and your children’s future as competing loyalties.

“My spouse can stay in the house.” Who pays for the new roof?Suppose that repair costs $24,000. If your children eventua...
10/15/2026

“My spouse can stay in the house.” Who pays for the new roof?

Suppose that repair costs $24,000. If your children eventually inherit the home, an unclear plan can leave everyone guessing about who pays now.

You can spare them that negotiation. This week’s article explains the housing questions to settle while you can still explain your wishes.

“You shouldn’t have to choose between caring for your spouse and protecting your children.”Angela Dawkins, Personal Fami...
10/14/2026

“You shouldn’t have to choose between caring for your spouse and protecting your children.”

Angela Dawkins, Personal Family Lawyer® attorney

You should be able to say, “I want my spouse to stay in our home,” without your children hearing, “You do not matter.”

You should also be able to discuss their inheritance without your spouse hearing, “I do not trust you.”

I help you turn those wishes into specific decisions: what support looks like, which resources fund it, who makes decisions, and what you intend to leave for your children.

Then I coordinate the legal plan with your account arrangements and other advisors. If you have an ongoing Personal Family Lawyer relationship, those choices have a place to be revisited as your family changes.

Your Life & Legacy Plan should reflect the people you love and the promises you mean to keep. Let’s start there.

Q: If I leave everything to my spouse, will my children inherit it later?A: I would ask you a question first: do you mea...
10/13/2026

Q: If I leave everything to my spouse, will my children inherit it later?

A: I would ask you a question first: do you mean a specific inheritance, or whatever remains after your spouse’s needs are met?

Those are different promises.

If you leave assets outright, your spouse generally owns them, subject to enforceable arrangements and other legal restrictions. Your original hopes do not automatically control what happens next.

I want you to understand that distinction without feeling you are being disloyal.

Wanting your children included does not mean you distrust your spouse.

I look at the actual terms, account arrangements, and resources. I ask who can change beneficiaries, who decides about spending, and whether the same money is being promised twice.

My article explains how I approach that conversation with you, starting with the people you love rather than a choice of documents.

You found love again. Planning for your children should not feel like apologizing for it.And caring for your spouse shou...
10/12/2026

You found love again. Planning for your children should not feel like apologizing for it.

And caring for your spouse should not feel like leaving your children out.

If either of you has children from a prior relationship, your estate plan needs to reflect both the family you brought into the marriage and the life you are building together.

“Everything to my spouse, then to the kids” sounds like one simple instruction. It actually asks your money to do two different jobs.

Does your spouse need income, a home, or both? Should your children receive a reserved amount, or whatever remains later?

I start with those questions before recommending documents. This week’s article walks through the choices, including who makes decisions and how your home fits in.

You do not need to pick a side. You need a plan that says what each promise means.

Your spouse knows where your important accounts are. Great. Now ask the next question.Could they find the accounts that ...
10/10/2026

Your spouse knows where your important accounts are. Great. Now ask the next question.

Could they find the accounts that matter, the recovery email, the two-factor codes, and the plan if you could not explain it yourself?

Knowing where the important accounts are is helpful. A practical plan is better.

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Bowie, MD

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+13014555354

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