Cedulie Renee Laumann

Attorney Cedulie Laumann is the managing attorney and founding member of small law firm in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The firm handles real estate, small business, and estate/trust matters.

She enjoys helping clients reach positive solutions to their legal needs. Her firm employs innovative "flat fee" billing arrangements and fee options outside the traditional hourly based approach.

"Legal Answers & Representation Relevant to YOUR needs!"

University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Honors: Order of the Coif Top 10% of Graduating Class

managing attorney

Arden Law Firm, LLC

Current

Adjunct Faculty

St. Joseph's University

Current

Maryland State Bar

Member

2003 - Current

Maryland

Since 2003

• Free Consultation
  10 minute no-cost free phone consult. Call 410-216-7000. We can answer many quick questions for free, or browse our website for common answers to deed, trust and other questions. Or schedule a private, in-depth consultation (1hr - 1.5 hrs) with Managing Attorney (10-20 years experience) for a flat $250 consult fee for most matters. 100% of the paid consult fee is applied towards estate planning
• Credit Cards Accepted
  Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express Credit cards are only accepted for attorney fees, not for any government fees, third party fees or taxes.
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  10 min no cost initial consult by phone. Flat fee consultations for up to 1.5 hour attorney meeting. Option of flat fee billing many types of cases, including Estate Planning (Trusts, Wills, etc.), Business Formation (LLCs, etc.) and Real Estate (deeds, contracts, etc.) See our pricing guide on our website for representative fees or call us. While all the firm's clients are given clear understanding of fees up-front, this list is not a promise to represent, some situations may require additional work and no attorney/client relationship is formed unless we meet and both agree.

Real Estate Law

Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Mortgages, Residential Real Estate

Estate Planning

Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills

Business Law

Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions

Employment Law

Employment Contracts

Probate

Probate Administration, Probate Litigation

• General Civil

Q. If a prenup disposes of real property must it be recorded

November 8, 2023

A: Yes, one would generally want to update the deed itself to preserve rights in the property. Otherwise if the spouse owning property predeceases the property would go through their probate estate and then it would require asserting claims against the estate. Doing nothing to outline the rights now would have the potential of triggering wholly unnecessary contention (and possibly litigation) between the surviving spouse and the Personal Representative / other heirs.

Lifetime rights for a surviving spouse are commonly set up in one of three ways: A) by a life estate deed that names the life tenant and remaindermen or B) by a Revocable Living Trust (possibly an Irrevocable Trust) created during the owner's lifetime which outlines the other spouse's rights paired with a deed that transfers the property to such Trust or C) by a Will that outlines the rights to stay in the home. Of these options, A) or B) avoid probate.

While not a substitute for legal advice or engaging an attorney to prepare documents, I hope this general information helps! ... Read More

Q. My brother and I inherited our father's house with no lien (equal shares). I am buying his 1/2 interest in the property

August 31, 2023

A: Thanks for your post. One beneficiary/heir buying out the other(s) presents a fairly common scenario.

When an estate has enough other liquid assets, then to eliminate transfer taxes it often makes sense to distribute the real estate entirely to the child who wants to acquire it and distributing an equivalent amount in cash to the other chiild(ren).

Otherwise, if the real estate is the primary asset or there simply isn't enough cash this can be done either way your post mentions, EITHER with 2 deeds, the first a fully exempt deed of distribution out of the estate and the second a transfer of the 1/2 interest OR with a single deed. My law firm does it both ways regularly and in most cases it amounts to "six of one, half dozen of the other". A single deed does save slightly on deed recording fees.

If the sales price is more or less than the date of death value for the 1/2 interest, then this becomes an accounting question and any gain / loss would need to be determined.

An estate tax return is generally required when an estate earns more than $600 in income (or when there is a gain / loss). For example, if the property was rented out the Personal Representative would need to file an estate return to report the rental income.

While not legal advice, I hope that this helps answer your question. ... Read More

Q. My name is Axel and I am a real estate investor (wholesaler) and I was wondering what kind of contracts or what I would

July 19, 2023

A: An attorney would first need to know what you mean by "wholesale" -- do you intend to try and sell the property without ever coming into title? Or do you simply mean that you intend to buy property in bulk and once you have acquired same in your / your business name, resell to third parties?

An online forum cannot fully analyze specific situations and there are a host of laws that could come into play. For example, if you are buying distressed properties you would want to be very familiar with the Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure Act (PHIFA). Depending on what you intend to do you may need to be licensed. In addition there are numerous laws related to the sale of property which vary in Maryland from county-to-county (for example selling property in some jurisdictions requires first offering for sale to a tenant of the property while other Maryland counties do not have this requirement). There are other legal requirements for contracts that depend on the type of property (residential / commercial), age of the property, location of the property, so forth and so on.

You are encouraged to seek legal advice specific to your particular situation. While this response is not personalized legal advice, I hope that it helps. ... Read More

View More Answers ›