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Questions Answered by Cedulie Renee Laumann
4 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law, Arbitration / Mediation Law and Probate for Maryland on
Q: My husband and his dad are on the deed for his dad's house. If his father dies and the will says otherwise, who owns?

My husband and his father are on the deed to his father's house. His father died but the will says that all 3 kids get the estate. So that would mean all 3 kids would be on the deed when he passes. Since my husband was originally on the deed before he died, does that mean it's officially... View More

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Mar 2, 2024

It all depends on how the deed was written. If the deed gave the co-owners survivorship rights, the surviving owner would own it all regardless of what the Will said (because there would be no interest to pass through the Will as it would have automatically gone to the survivor). However, if the... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Civil Litigation for Maryland on
Q: Is it legit for a lawyer to ask for a social security number through email?

My boyfriend and I haven't been together that long. He states that he needs someone on his next of kin paperwork. He wants to put me on there. The lawyer emailed me and said that he needs name, address, picture of ID and social security number to run security checks and verification to make... View More

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Mar 2, 2024

It really isn't clear what you mean by "next of kin paperwork." Do you mean the attorney is designating you in estate planning documents? While it is very common to request addresses and phone numbers of beneficiaries, it would be quite unusual to ask for a beneficiary's... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law for Maryland on
Q: Can I get free legal assistance in selling my fathers inherited house.
Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Mar 2, 2024

If you desire to handle the probate process by yourself without paying for an attorney to handle the full estate, you may find that a hour or so consultation with an experienced estate practitioner can help provide very helpful framework and tools. The average probate case in Maryland takes 9... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law and Tax Law for Maryland on
Q: My mother passed and I am selling her house. She had a reverse mortgage with balance of 393,000. The appraised value

is 473,300. How much would the estate tax be? I live in Md

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Feb 13, 2024

Maryland has several different "death taxes" and it really isn't possible to define the taxes without knowing the full context. If an attorney is assisting with the estate they should be able to discuss these in depth based on the specifics of your situation. However, generally... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Civil Litigation, Contracts and Real Estate Law for Maryland on
Q: 3 siblings inherit home 2 want to sell 1 doesn't. What are our options

Home in hyattsville.

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Jan 10, 2024

Hi,

This is a pretty common scenario. What options the family has depends in large part on where you are in the inheritance process. If the property is still in the name of the deceased person, then the Personal Representative usually has very wide discretion to sell the property and...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Maryland on
Q: Can my sister demand rent from my daughter when my mom gave her permission to live for free

I have signed documentation from my mother while she was alive that my daughter can live rent free in her house if she pays bge/oil. My mother has passed. My sister and her lawyer are demanding rent be paid to the estate. Is that legal?

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 20, 2023

An attorney cannot realistically answer questions pertaining to someone's specific rights in property based on unknown documents without sitting down and looking at the documents in question.

That said, it would generally be "legal" for an estate to ask someone occupying...
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1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for Maryland on
Q: PMI removal is being denied because I paid my mortgage down below 78% ahead of the amortization schedule?

Can PMI removal be denied for paying your mortgage down faster than the standard schedule? I'm at 76% LTV of my original loan amount, but 3 years before the standard schedule says I should be. Is there anyway around that without paying for a BPO?

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 20, 2023

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (a federal agency) has a wealth of information relative to this exact topic of removing PMI which can be accessed at the following site:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/when-can-i-remove-private-mortgage-insurance-pmi-from-my-loan-en-202/...
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1 Answer | Asked in Contracts and Consumer Law for Maryland on
Q: My car transmission has been replaced twice still financing and paying rental car what can I do

Along with other problems like catalytic covertor axle broke and transmission being replaced twice which they had for 6 weeks and we paid 3000 dollars in rental car

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 15, 2023

It isn't clear what legal issue you are seeking help with. It is neither fun nor cheap to replace a transmission but generally that falls 100% on the car owner unless the car is covered under a Lemon Law.

Maryland "Lemon Law" only applies to new (or newer) cars driven...
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1 Answer | Asked in Employment Law, Employment Discrimination and Small Claims for Maryland on
Q: My job was classified as a lower role, despite me performing the same duties as the high level role. Is this legal?

During my transition from temporary hire to permanent position was rewritten as a lower role than my counterparts due to varying education levels. The job function and responsibilities are identical but I’m paid $25k less.

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 15, 2023

An employer can generally make any kind of job classification they wish, and change descriptions and set pay scales for most any reason except they cannot do this for reasons that are illegal. Setting different pay bands based on educational attainment or years in the industry is on its face... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Family Law for Maryland on
Q: How do I guarantee that my funeral wishes are respected? I want cremation but my family is for burial.
Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 15, 2023

There is no way to absolutely "guarantee" what people will do after one's death but taking the following 2 steps will make it more likely that final wishes will be honored:

1) pre-pay your expenses. If cremation and/or funeral arrangements are made while living and prepaid,...
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2 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law, Construction Law and Environmental for Maryland on
Q: In the state of Maryland, Can you purchase a home and occupy that home knowing there is a failed septic?

Wicomico County,Md/ Also we will have a portta potty/ as well as trying to get a water reuse permit. We also will be using owner finance.

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 15, 2023

Yes, a buyer can legally purchase a home in great condition, terrible condition or anything in between. People can purchase property without a home on it at all, or with a home they intend to bulldoze.

Now most of the time a bank will not lend money to a borrower to buy a home if it is...
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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Family Law for Maryland on
Q: My grandmother has a house, when she purchased the house she put it in her name and 2 of her childrens name.

She is the only person that’s paid into the mortgage. She has 6 children one is deceased, 5 living. When she passes away she wants, after the house is sold (it’s already paid off) the money to be split evenly between the 5 living children and the the portion that would have went to her deceased... View More

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 7, 2023

There are a variety of planning tools someone can use to name beneficiaries while keeping power to freely change those designations. Perhaps, if your grandmother got good advice, the deed is a life estate deed with full powers still vested in the planner. If so, she could change it freely by a... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law, Estate Planning and Probate for Maryland on
Q: sisters want to sell a house they inherited, one wants reimbursed for paying the mortgage before the sale is that legal?

Two sisters inherited a house, one is the executor of the will. They both wish to sell the house but the executor payed the mortgage for the last two months out of pocket instead of out of the estate funds. She now wants reimbursed saying there were no estate funds only the bequeathments as set by... View More

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 5, 2023

An online post cannot fully answer specific questions about a specific estate, but generally speaking one way or the other the mortgage needs to be paid and in nearly all scenarios this legally is treated as an estate expense.

If an estate lacks liquid funds (cash) to pay the mortgage,...
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3 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Probate for Maryland on
Q: Is it legal for the executor of an estate to force a benificiary to pay for a mortgage on a house they inherited?

Two sisters inherited a house with a mortgage now one sister wants the other sister to quit claim deed the house. Said sister is also the executor of the estate and is forcing my wife to either pay half the mortgage or quit claim on said house

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Dec 5, 2023

When a house has a mortgage on it, the mortgage will need to be paid one way or another. Either the estate will pay off the loan with other cash and deed the house free and clear, the house will be sold and the loan paid at closing or the house will be conveyed to heirs "subject to" the... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Elder Law for Maryland on
Q: Are trust management services available and feasible for estates worth about $500,000?

I'm thinking about setting up a trust but don't know anyone I want to trust to be a trustee, so I'm looking for options. I've heard that trust management services are expensive and primarily for the wealthy. Would appreciate suggestions.

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Nov 30, 2023

This question comes up quite often.

Most of the time the person making the trust will be the initial trustee and designate others to serve after their death or incapacity. Whether hiring a professional trustee is feasible or not depends in part on how long you want/need trust oversight....
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2 Answers | Asked in Contracts, Estate Planning, Family Law and Real Estate Law for Maryland on
Q: If a prenup disposes of real property must it be recorded

Our prenup gives me a life estate if my husband predeceases me, assuming I continue to pay the mortgage. Do we need to record notice of the life estate?

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Nov 8, 2023

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... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Probate for Maryland on
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

based on the FMV. I am paying cash, no loan needed. I am wondering the pros/cons of either (1) transferring the property into our joint names first, then completing the buy-out after the estate is closed, or (2) doing the buy-out through the estate, then we distribute the house/funds accordingly.... View More

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Aug 31, 2023

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...
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2 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law for Maryland on
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

need in order to make sure I do everything correctly and not against the law and to make sure I do not get into any legal trouble. Like what the process would be and what I would need between a Seller and a Buyer.

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Jul 19, 2023

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... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Foreclosure and Real Estate Law for Maryland on
Q: If add my father to the deed for my townhouse in MD, could that void the mortgage and let the bank take the house?
Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Jun 29, 2023

Great question! In many situations, a new deed will trigger the "due on sale" clause in loan paperwork and require immediate repayment of the mortgage in full (for example if someone deeds all or part of their home or attempts to sell the house without paying off the loan).

A...
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1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law and Tax Law for Maryland on
Q: Hi, Md. gen. family partnership wants to trans. land into an LLC, said LLC to be owned by two corps.

Two corps. owned by same family members in same percentages.

LLC would be owned by corps., not the exact same people, but those same people own same respective percentage of shares.

Does partnership have to consolidate or dissolve?

What exceptions to transfer and recordation... View More

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Jun 16, 2023

Most real estate lawyers should be able to assist with such a transfer and the applicable deed affidavits and forms.

The transfer you describe (from a general partnership to 2 corporations owned by different owners than the general partnership) sounds like it would be subject to...
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