Family Law

• Divorce
  Divorce and Family Law partner Linda Ravdin is Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of the Bethesda-based Round House Theatre. Round House is a critically acclaimed performing arts institution that has been a valuable member of our community for over 35 seasons. Its mission includes the production of classic and contemporary works for the stage as well as the development of community-based education programs.  Pasternak & Fidis, PC is proud to have sponsored seven productions since 2010 including the world premiere of
• Child Support
  Array ( [0] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1340 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2018-04-10 14:58:49 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-04-10 14:58:49 [post_content] => [post_title] => Brooke I. Hettig, Linda J. Ravdin, and Anne (Jan) W. White, "Impact of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Divorcing Families," P&F Reporter (Spring 2018) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => brooke-i-hettig-linda-j-ravdin-and-anne-jan-w-white-impact-of-the-2017-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-on-divorcing-families-pf-reporter-spring-2018 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-08-16 16:43:48 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-08-16 16:43:48 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://pasternakfidis.com/?post_type=publication&p=1340 [menu_order] => 23 [post_type] => publication [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1346 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2017-05-26 15:04:48 [post_date_gmt] => 2017-05-26 15:04:48 [post_content] => [post_title] => "On your way to the altar..., don’t forget to get married!" P&F Reporter (Spring 2017) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => on-your-way-to-the-altar-dont-forget-to-get-married-pf-reporter-spring-2017 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-08-16 16:22:47 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-08-16 16:22:47 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://pasternakfidis.com/?post_type=publication&p=1346 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => publication [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1535 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2016-08-19 17:36:41 [post_date_gmt] => 2016-08-19 17:36:41 [post_content] => [post_title] => "Getting Off to the Right Start: A Collaborative Premarital Agreement," P&F Reporter (Summer 2016) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => getting-off-to-the-right-start-a-collaborative-premarital-agreement-pf-reporter-summer-2016 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-08-19 17:37:39 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-08-19 17:37:39 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://pasternakfidis.com/?post_type=publication&p=1535 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => publication [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1536 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2014-09-19 17:37:55 [post_date_gmt] => 2014-09-19 17:37:55 [post_content] => [post_title] => "Passage of Maryland Collaborative Law Act Offers Privacy Protections to Divorcing Couples," P&F Reporter (Fall 2014) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => passage-of-maryland-collaborative-law-act-offers-privacy-protections-to-divorcing-cou
• Adoption
• Premarital Agreement
  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 be appropriate when estranged spouses want to attempt a reconciliation but want to know in advance what their economic rights and obligations will be if the reconciliation does not come to pass. A variety of other circumstances may also cause a spouse to seek a postmarital agreement, such as when parties intended to sign a premarital agreement but ran out of time before the wedding.
• Guardianship
  Partner Morriah Horani recently presented at a conference put on by the Maryland State Bar Association’s Estate and Trust Section and Continuing Legal Education Department entitled Fiduciary Litigation: Contested Wills, Trusts, Inter Vivos Transfers and Guardianships. Together with Clinical Psychiatrist Dr. Guillermo Portillo, M.D., Morriah spoke on the topic of “Mental Capacity: Standards, Nature and Evaluation of Testing.”
• Spousal Support
  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 of the problem presented to the trial court was that, unless the parties’ legal status could be treated the same as a marriage, the Maryland court would have no authority to dissolve it; and, because the parties were not residents of Vermont, a Vermont court would have no authority to dissolve it either, leaving them in a rather awkward spot. The other aspect of the problem is that, unless the… MORE >

Criminal Law

• Juvenile Crimes
  “No News Is Good News: Validity of Premarital Agreements and Cannon v. Cannon,” Family Law News, Section of Family & Juvenile Law, Maryland State Bar Association (March 2005)

Immigration Law

• Citizenship and Naturalization

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Vehicle as JTWROS may also require an update to the insurance policy. These issues, and other potential pitfalls, should be discussed with an estate planning attorney before titling a motor vehicle as JTWROS.
• Wills
  Are electronic wills coming?  Of course they are.  Last year in Australia, an unsent text message was accepted for probate as someone’s last will and testament.  (Unsent!  With an emoji in it!)  In July of this year, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court decision to accept for… MORE >
• Trusts
  When is an irrevocable trust not irrevocable? Answer: Pretty much all the time. That is, perhaps the irrevocable trust cannot be revoked per se but, with a little creative thinking and cooperation, it may be possible to modify, decant, or terminate an irrevocable trust. This is not the kind of news that makes headlines (except in our newsletter), but great changes are afoot in trust planning.
• Power of Attorney
  What happens to your online accounts and electronic information at your death? Email, social media accounts, online purchasing accounts, photo albums stored in the cloud—advances in technology can create a legal quagmire when the account holder is gone, whether or not the username and password are preserved. Anne played a leading role in the effort to enact legislation in Maryland that gives legal authority to appointed fiduciaries (personal representatives, trustees, agents acting under a power of attorney, and court-appointed guardians) to access and manage online accounts and other digital assets.
• Probate
  Super Lawyers – Estate Planning & Probate Law (Maryland and DC 2015-2022); Top 100 Attorneys in Maryland (2018-2022); Top 100 Attorneys in DC (2019-2021); Top 50 Women Attorneys in Maryland (2018-2022); Top 50 Women Attorneys in DC (2019-2022)

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Tax Law
  Partner Adam Swaim participated in a panel at Round House Theatre on Tuesday, June 26, discussing recent tax law changes, legacy planning, and the advantages of charitable giving. Other panelists included Michael Beriss, Private Wealth Advisor, Ameriprise, and Brad L. Mendelson, CPA, MST, Mendelson & Mendelson, CPAs.