Blogs

Estate Planning

Choosing the Right Trustee: What Jimmy Buffett’s Estate Dispute Can Teach Us

When iconic singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett passed away in 2023, few expected that his carefully crafted estate plan would become the subject of controversy. But in a recent petition filed in Florida, Buffett’s wife, Jane Buffett, alleges that a co-trustee of her late husband’s estate slashed her income from the trust to less than 1%, acted with hostility, and failed to be transparent. Now she’s asking the court to have that co-trustee removed. This case is a cautionary tale for anyone…

June 12, 2025

Business and Financial Services

How to Stay Legally Compliant When Pivoting Your Restaurant

In recent years, the restaurant industry has undergone a dramatic transformation. Many restaurants, pressured by changing consumer habits, rising costs, and lingering effects of the pandemic, are turning to alternative service models such as ghost kitchens, catering operations, and delivery-only brands. These pivots offer growth opportunities, but they also introduce legal and compliance issues that…

June 6, 2025

Business and Financial Services

What DC Area Restaurant Owners Should Know Before Closing Their Doors: Legal Considerations Amid Lease and Business Challenges

A recent survey by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington revealed that 29% of respondents are at least somewhat likely to close their restaurants in 2025. That number rises to 44% for full-service casual establishments. [1] For many DC area restaurant owners, already grappling with high operational costs, staffing shortages, and shifting consumer habits, this…

April 15, 2025

Business and Financial Services

Maryland COVID-19 Small Business and Nonprofit Assistance

Maryland has announced a Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Loan Relief Fund (“Loan Relief Fund”) and Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Grant Relief Fund (“Grant Relief Fund”) to support small businesses and nonprofits during the COVID-19 crisis. The Funds assist businesses or nonprofits that can demonstrate financial stress or disrupted operations. Maryland also created a COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Fund (“Layoff Aversion Fund”) to assist small businesses and nonprofits to create remote work…

March 24, 2020

Estate Planning

Problems with DIY Estate Planning

One of the most common questions asked by someone discussing the need for estate planning is, “why can’t I just do it myself?” There are many risks to preparing your own estate plan over the Internet without consulting an expert. The Potential Costs are High The online will may be “free,” but if there are any problems with it, they likely will not be discovered until it is too late for the problems to be corrected. Oftentimes, online wills default to a specific state for the applicable law.…

November 7, 2015

Employment Law

New Law Limits Virginia Employers’ Access to Social Media Accounts

If you have questions related to this article, please contact our Employment Law attorneys: Doug Taylor rdougtaylor@beankinney.com or Maureen Carr mcarr@beankinney.com. Effective July 1, 2015, employers in Virginia will be prohibited from requesting usernames and passwords for social media accounts of current employees or applicants. Specifically, Va. Code 40.1-28.7:5 will prohibit employers from: Requiring a…

April 27, 2015

Business and Financial Services

The Eight Corners Rule and the District of Columbia

The “eight corners rule” can determine whether an insurer must defend a claim in the District of Columbia by limiting the coverage analysis to the allegations in the complaint and the language of the insurance policy itself. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, Jennifer O. Schiffer explains that insurers generally cannot rely on outside evidence and instead must evaluate the duty to defend based only on the complaint’s “four corners” and the…

September 2, 2014

Estate Planning

New Investment Thinking for Trustees?

Traditional trust investment strategies often emphasize preserving assets through cautious, low-volatility investing, but that approach may not always best serve beneficiaries over time. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Wills, Trusts and Estates Newsletter, Jonathan C. Kinney and Jennifer O. Schiffer examine whether trustees should rethink conventional investment models and consider more growth-oriented strategies when managing trust assets. The piece explores how…

August 4, 2014