On July 1, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service introduced a shortened application for organizations applying for 501(c)(3) status, known as the Form 1023-EZ, which is 3 pages long.  Those who have applied for 501(c)(3) status in the past or are familiar with the process know that the application (Form 1023) is upwards of 20 pages […]

Today, Governor O’Malley signed two bills that will significantly affect estate planning in Maryland going forward.  House Bill 739 (Maryland Estate Tax – Unified Credit) increases the Maryland estate tax exemption from the currently $1 million to $1.5 million in 2015, $2 million in 2016, $3 million in 2017, $4 million in 2018, and eventually […]

Coming towards the end of the 2014 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill on March 20, 2014, to increase the Maryland estate tax exemption over the next few years and eventually recouple with the federal estate tax exemption.  It is expected, despite the election year, that Governor Martin O’Malley will sign the […]

Goodwin Weber PLLC is pleased to announce that the March 2014 edition of the Maryland Bar Journal features an article authored by David P. Weber, focused on the role, history and law authorizing the Maryland Defense Force, formerly known as the Maryland State Guard.  A link the article can be found below. Mr. Weber, a […]

On the day of the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I have a Dream Speech, the largest settlement ever reached in a federal discrimination case was announced. In the settlement, which you can read more about here, approximately 700 current and former African American brokers at Merrill Lynch will be paid $160 million.  […]

Goodwin Weber PLLC Attorney Dominic S. DePersis has returned from study of Public International Law at the Hague Academy of International Law.  Mr. DePersis attended the Hague Academy during July 2013.  Mr. DePersis attended the Academy at the Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands.  Since its creation in 1923 with funding received from the Carnegie Foundation, […]

Recently, we lost a talented and relatively young actor, James Gandolfini, best known for his long-standing role as Tony Soprano in the HBO hit series, The Sopranos.  However, that may not be the biggest tragedy.  He is another example of an ultra-wealthy individual who did not engage in sufficient tax and estate planning.   And when […]

Goodwin Weber PLLC announces Dominic DePersis has joined as Of Counsel to the firm.  Dominic is licensed in New York, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Minnesota. He is a member of the UN Global Compact Anti Corruption Working Group and will be an invaluable attorney to those involved in international whistleblowing and compliance […]

Today, the United States Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings which greatly expand gay rights, striking down a 1996 federal law denying federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples and paving the way for California to legalize same-sex marriage. In the California case, the Supreme Court ruled that opponents of same-sex marriage did not […]

On June 21, 1964, three civil rights workers disappeared in Philadelphia, Miss. Their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later. Eight members of the Ku Klux Klan went to prison on federal conspiracy charges; none served more than six years. Later, it was determined that James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and […]