Paré & Associates, LLC (formerly Law Office Of Alice Paré)

While there may be several resources that allow you to download a template from the internet and write your will, there is no guarantee that those do-it-yourself solutions will work for you when you need them to. Only an attorney can help you write a customized will that addresses all your wishes for asset division and more. Working with an attorney can be beneficial even if you don’t have a complex estate but becomes fundamental if you have several assets or real estate in more than one state. For many years, the attorneys at Paré & Associates, LLC have been helping clients navigate the process of creating their wills and other basic estate planning documents. We know the task may seem overwhelming at times, and that is why our clients can leverage our legal knowledge to confidently have the right estate plans in place to protect their family’s future.

When someone dies without a will in Maryland, the person (the decedent) is said to have died intestate, and it will be up to Maryland intestacy laws to decide how the decedent’s property will be divided. The court will appoint a personal representative for the estate, and that person may have to take care of the laborious tasks of identifying who the rightful heirs are and making an inventory of all the decedent’s assets. This step alone can take a long time, depending on the complexity of the estate and how many heirs the decedent has. Once the assets and beneficiaries have been identified, the probate court will use Maryland intestacy laws to divide the estate among heirs. If the decedent had children but no spouse, the children may likely inherit everything. If the decedent left no children and had no living parents but was married, the spouse may inherit everything. Stepchildren and foster children may not automatically get an inheritance, but adoptive children have the same rights to inherit as biological children. If the decedent left any minor children, the court might also need to appoint a guardian to those children. As you can see, taking the time to write your will may save your surviving relatives from a long process and a lot of headaches.

Besides essential information such as your name, date of birth, addresses, and the names and contact information of your immediate relatives and beneficiaries, a will should include a list of all the things you own solely in your name. Assets that are in a trust or have a named beneficiary do not usually require probate and do not need to be part of your will. You may include a variety of assets – from personal items, family heirlooms, jewelry, your sports cards collection, and your golf equipment to real estate properties, vehicles, and bank accounts, to name a few. You will also need to name a personal representative (or executor) to administer your estate on your behalf. It is worth mentioning that you may also include your pets in your will, but the pets cannot be a beneficiary and inherit anything. Instead, you can record your wishes for who should be your pets’ new owner if you were to pass away. Along with a list of all your assets, you may include beneficiary designations for each one of them if you wish for the assets to be divided in a specific way. Remember that for your will to be valid, you will need to sign the will yourself and obtain the signatures of witnesses (in most cases).

As you can see, the probate process in Maryland is not as simple as filling out a few forms and turning them in. The entire process can take a few months if there are no disputes and everything goes smoothly, but cases that involve heirs fighting over their inheritance and initiating will contests may drag on for over a year. Whether you were given the task of probating your loved one’s estate or you are thinking ahead and want to know how to plan for the future so your assets are kept out of probate, speaking to an attorney should be your first step. Your attorney can guide you through the probate process and help you avoid common yet costly mistakes.

Not all assets in an estate need to be probated before being transferred to the right beneficiary. In many cases, only the assets that were solely in the decedent’s name may require probate. For example, if your loved one had a bank account solely in his or her name, the bank will not transfer ownership of that account until the probate court assigns a personal representative to the estate, and most likely, the money in that account will need to go through probate before being distributed. However, if the bank account was both in the decedent’s name and in the name of a spouse (as in a joint account), the account may automatically go to the surviving spouse, usually without needing to be probated. Other examples of assets that usually stay out of probate and get transferred to beneficiaries directly may include life insurance, pensions, annuities, accounts or assets with a transfer-on-death designation, and assets placed in a living trust. In fact, many people find it beneficial to place a large percentage of their assets in a living trust with the purpose of avoiding probate. An attorney may be able to advise you on what assets need to be probated in your loved one’s estate, and whether a living trust is the right choice for your estate.

The probate process begins right after the person who owns the estate passes away. If that person left a will, the document needs to be registered with the Maryland Register of Wills shortly after the death. Next, the individual who is appointed as the estate’s personal representative may initiate a petition to the court to probate the estate and will need to determine whether the estate is small and may go through simplified probate or if it requires regular probate. After receiving a letter of administration from the court, the personal representative now has the authority to act on behalf of the estate. The personal representative may be required to file a document called a list of interested persons with the Register of Wills. As the name says, this is a list that contains the names and addresses of the decedent’s heirs. This document is usually filed along with the will for small estates and should be filed within a certain deadline for regular estates. The next few steps require making an inventory of the decedent’s assets and sorting out which assets were solely in the decedent’s name, and which assets had a beneficiary designation or were not solely in the decedent’s name. Then, any creditors that may have a claim against the estate may come forward but should observe the 6-month deadline for making a claim against the estate. The last step before all assets can be distributed is filing a final account. Depending on the complexity of the estate, the personal representative may want to recruit the help of professionals such as an accountant, a financial or tax expert, and a probate attorney.

Probate is a court-supervised process in which any assets in an estate that was solely in the deceased person’s name get divided among the decedent’s heirs. The court may assign an executor (also called a personal representative) for the estate or appoint the executor named in the decedent’s will, and that person will be responsible for managing the estate assets, handling all tasks required to probate the estate, and closing out the estate after assets were distributed. The probate process is necessary to ensure a decedent’s estate is divided fairly and honestly and that all debts and taxes are paid before the assets can be divided. In Maryland, the total value of assets in an estate usually determines what kind of probate you will need to select. Estates valued under a certain threshold are considered small estates, whereas other estates with assets that exceed these values are considered regular estates. This is important to know because Maryland has a simplified probate process for small estates, which is usually shorter and requires fewer formalities than regular probate.

While child custody matters are ultimately decided by a judge, having an attorney on your side can help you build a strong argument to defend your parental rights. You may also need to defend yourself from untrue or exaggerated claims from your ex-partner, and your attorney can help you show the judge your ex is trying to make you look bad or making false claims to gain an advantage in the process. Whenever possible, a family law attorney can help you negotiate a parenting plan and reach an agreement without ever going to court.

A divorce can be a difficult situation emotionally, and it is easy to feel a lot of pressure, fear, and even become overwhelmed – after all, there is so much at stake. Your future, your children, and your assets are all on the line. If your marriage is not salvageable and divorce is the only option, you need an attorney who can act as your ally and guide you through this process.

Family law attorneys handle a wide variety of issues that affect families in different ways. Clients may turn to a family law attorney when they are making plans to start a life together and would like to draft a prenuptial agreement, for example. A family law attorney also works to assist clients through times of conflict, such as initiating a divorce or an action for child support and custody. A family law attorney can be instrumental in helping mothers or fathers stand up for their parental rights and protect the rights of their children when child support or custody modification is necessary. When a divorce is inevitable, a family law attorney can be a fundamental part of your team and help you fight for a favorable outcome.

Good Evening - we offer 15 minute free telephone conversations. Hope this helps. Our number is 301 515 1190. Wishing you well ... Alice

Hi Jeannette. thanks for the question, but we don't handle divorce cases in Pennsylvania, unfortunately. thanks for checking in to ask. hope you are well.