Thomas F. Curley

Attorney at Law

607 South Belnord Street

Baltimore, MD 21224

tfcurle@yahoo.com

Phone 443 858 9962

Mission Statement

            The mission of this law firm is to provide outstanding service in the practice of law with clear and understandable explanation to the client as to their rights and the applicable law that pertains to their case. In addition, the client will be afforded timely updates and access for questions about their case. Clients can expect written updates each month about services used and out comes to that point. Attorney client privilege begins as soon as an attorney begins to give a potential client advice. For that reason this law firm begins the process with a short meeting to discuss the client’s case and a determination of whether the firm can represent the prospective client. There are reasons that an attorney cannot represent a client such as a conflict of interest with another client who has already retained the firm. Clients can expect a timely letter on this matter and information about the statutes of limitations that might apply in their case even if our firm cannot represent the prospective client. Referrals can be made if needed.    

 

Legal Topic of the Month

            Spendthrift Trusts and Maryland Case Law. Spendthrift Trust allows families to create trusts that the person receiving the funds cannot access and that cannot be invaded by creditors of the person receiving the gift (beneficiary). Traditionally Spendthrift Trusts are protected in certain jurisdictions and Maryland is included in those states that allow for the creation of valid spendthrift trusts. Unlike wills which are governed based on the laws (statutes) of the jurisdiction (say Maryland) where the trusts are created, trusts are governed by the case law that is the development and accumulation of court decisions that have gone before in time. The lawyer’s job is to make sure the trust is written to protect the wishes of the person giving the gift. These types of trusts help the giving party find a way to pass to a relative a gift that the relative/receiver of the gift cannot invade but will continue to receive benefits from that gift/trust in accordance with the wishes of the person giving the gift. Not only can the beneficiary not have or invade the trust they cannot establish, by accident or design, creditors who would invade the trust in say a judgment from a lawsuit. This allows the family or giving party to protect their heir from themselves and perhaps their spendthrift ways. The higher courts in Maryland have ruled that Spendthrift Trusts are protected even when the circumstances of the case make the preserving of the trusts difficult for another party. For example our spendthrift/relative may have committed a fraud on a creditor by telling the creditor he will be able to collect from ‘their’ trust. In effect the giver of the gift never gives the spendthrift relative the trust and so they are not entitled to it they are in ownership of only the payments from the trust at the time they receive them.   

 

      Areas of Practice

• Contract Law
• Immigration Law
• Collections
• Equine Law
  • Product Liability
  • Equine Mortality Insurance Issues
  • Purchase Contracts/ General and
    • Foal Sharing Contracts: popup foal sharing is when two parties agree to breed a mare twice and each party is entitled to one live foal from each of the two breedings.
    • Stallion Shares Contracts: popup stallion season is much like a stock in a company and are often offered in an auction setting, as a published public offering or maybe private offering.
    • Pin hooking Agreements (weanling to yearling; yearling to two year-old in training): popup pin hooking is the pract6ice of buying weanlings to be resold as yearlings or buying yearlings to be trained and sold as two year-old in training sales or private sales.
    • Blood Stock Agent Agreements: popup blood stock agent is a person who represents purchasers of any type of racing stock of any age for any reason having to do with thoroughbred racing.
  • Selling Contracts
    • Consigning Agreements: popup Consigning is having a person or farm represent your interest in the preparation and sale of any bloodstock. Most common is yearling preparation for sale and the selling the yearling for public auction. (For example the Keeneland September Select Yearling Sale.)
    • Mare Leasing Agreements: popup Broodmare could be leased for a season at a set price. Also see Foal Sharing.
    • General Use Leasing Agreement: Traditionally an owner wants to lease their horse for a year or on a year- to-year basis.
  • Service Contracts
    • Equitation Training Agreements: popup These agreements would cover hiring a trainer to ‘green break’ a horse (teach the horse to lead, load safely, bathe, groom and be handled ‘on the ground’ in a reasonably safe manner.) or more advanced types of training.
    • Race Track Training Agreements: popup Race track trainers usually have a ‘daily’ say $45 a day to train a racehorse usually at a racetrack.

• Racing Issues
  • Syndicate Agreements: popup Groups put together in order to race a horse or horses as a group to reduce the cost to the individual owners.  
  • Legal management of Syndicate Agreements for groups/entities/teams or trusts: popup Appointing Trustees and overseeing the management of the group or individual’s racing interests.
  • Trusts for racing groups/entities/teams: popup Setting up a trust for a racing operation.
  • Referrals for the Copyrighting of equine products, or medical or pharmaceutical potential intellectual properties. 

                                   

Personal Profile

Education

 

09/01 - 05/05                 University of Baltimore School of Law, Baltimore, MD

                                    Doctor of Juris Prudence

                                    Degree:  2005;

 

01/75 - 08/76                 Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA

                                    MS Secondary Education

                                    Degree:  MS (1976);

 

09/69 - 05/73                 Mount Saint Mary's College, Emmitsburg, MD

                                    BA English

                                    Degree:  BS (1973);